Former champion puts target on IYO SKY ahead of WWE Royal Rumble

It's that time of year again in WWE. A week from tomorrow, the Road to WrestleMania will officially commence. The winner of the Women's Royal Rumble match will receive an opportunity to face either IYO SKY or Rhea Ripley at the Show of Shows in April.

It appears former Women's Tag Team Champion Piper Niven is looking to win the annual battle royal and head to Friday Night SmackDown.

While speaking on WWE Playback on YouTube, the Scottish star sat down with her tag partner, Chelsea Green, to rewatch last year's Royal Rumble. She would go on to express an interest in stepping inside the squared circle with the Women's Champion of the blue brand:

"I would like to wrestle IYO in a WWE ring. I think it would be great." she said. [H/T: Fightful]

There is a section of the WWE Universe who are rooting for the leader of Damage CTRL, Bayley, to win her first Rumble and face her protege on The Grandest Stage Of Them All. According to them, the Role Model is the most deserving of all the women on the roster at the moment.

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IYO SKY reflects on her WWE NXT run; she assumed that a main roster move would happen sooner

During an interview for Tokyo Sports, the 33-year-old stated that her time in NXT went well, albeit once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was hard not to wonder what was the point of being in WWE.

This was on account of the company not using her much at the time. However, the pandemic has affected work overall for everyone:

"My career at NXT was going pretty well. But it was four years, so it was a long time for me. I thought I was going to be on the main roster, but there was no information."

The Japanese star continued:

For two years, due to the Coronavirus, the company itself had not been active (in the way it was pre-pandemic). There were weeks when there were no matches, even though I was ready to wrestle. I had to ask myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ It was hard for me to ask myself that question for too long." [H/T: POST Wrestling]

At SummerSlam 2023, SKY captured her first Women's Title by cashing in the Money in the Bank contract she had won a month prior in London. She has been reigning as the division's top star for 157 days and counting.

As for Damage CTRL, there seems to be an issue brewing among the faction and its leader. However, Bayley recently cleared the air about what has been going on in WWE programming.

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If IYO SKY walks into the Show of Shows this year as Women's Champion, who would you like to see step up to face her? Let us know in the comments section below!