WWE Royal Rumble match won't feature any AEW stars at all - report

The WWE Royal Rumble 2022 is set to take place soon and wrestling fans are obviously excited about the event. One of WWE’s traditional “Big Four” events, the Royal Rumble is the prelude to WrestleMania.

However, fans got even more excited when a report in WrestleVotes came out. This report stated WWE were keen to break down the proverbial ‘Forbidden Door’ for the men’s Rumble match.

Of course this got many talking about who could show up in WWE. Many speculated that members of the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) roster might also get involved. Especially those who have prior history with WWE.

But that doesn’t seem likely to happen, at least according to Dave Meltzer. In the Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer Daily Update, he said that no AEW stars would be at the Rumble.

He further added that Jon Moxley, known to WWE fans as Dean Ambrose, would definitely not be present. Moxley, it is worth noting, had a very public falling-out with the company.

After the expiry of his contract and joining AEW, he was very critical of WWE’s creative process. He also reserved plenty of harsh words for WWE chairman Vince McMahon; this would explain why an Ambrose appearance was never on the cards.

Naturally this would leave many fans disappointed, but it would make some degree of sense. Relations between the company aren’t exactly strong; WWE recently took shots at AEW over their content.

What’s more, it is unlikely any outside talent would be booked to win the match. This of course means only few wrestlers would even be interested in such a deal anyway.

That doesn’t mean nothing is possible in the future though. Former AEW world champion Chris Jericho did appear on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast while contracted to AEW.

WWE Royal Rumble: what we know so far

However, the women’s Royal Rumble match has already confirmed quite a few returning stars. The likes of Lita, The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, Summer Rae, Michelle McCool and the aforementioned James are advertised for the match.

What’s more, James was even recognised on-air as the Impact Knockouts champion. This is a massive deal, as WWE is not known to generally recognise outside promotions; especially American ones.

And that might not be all. New reports suggest WWE will be bringing back Arianne Andrew – known to WWE fans as Cameron – as well as Melina, who now works for Impact and the NWA.

As of now, there are no confirmations on any surprises for the men’s match. But ‘Jackass’ star Jonny Knoxville is part of the match.