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Royal Rumble 2022 proved to be an exciting premium live event. The show had its problems, but the negatives were overshadowed by the positive stuff on the show.
Many surprises happened, with Ronda Rousey's return being the most memorable. There were rumors of Rousey coming back to WWE after three years. Thankfully, the reports weren't false as The Rowdy One did return to the squared circle for the first time since WrestleMania 35.
Unfortunately, not every buzzing rumor about the show turned out to be true. Fans were disappointed to learn that certain exciting booking decisions they read about didn't happen. In this article, let's look at five rumors that didn't come true.
#5. Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar were not the Champions at the end of the WWE Royal Rumble
Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed in early January that WWE wants Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar to walk into WrestleMania 38 as the two world champions.
He also said The Architect was going to dethrone Roman Reigns as the Universal Champion, bringing the prestigious title back to RAW. The development would've opened the window for The Tribal Chief to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE title.
Surprisingly, none of the above happened. Reigns retained the Universal Championship by disqualification, while Lesnar lost his title to Lashley. Had this report come true, the Road to WrestleMania 38 could've been a lot different than it is right now.
#4. Paige didn't make her return at Royal Rumble
According to rumors, Paige had been cleared to return to the ring. Reports claimed that the former Divas Champion was going to shock the wrestling world by entering the Royal Rumble.
But Paige wasn't in the Women's Rumble, which disappointed many fans. The Anti-Diva could've gotten a huge pop from the St. Louis audience if she was one of the surprise entrants. It would've been a miraculous comeback, and the setting of the Royal Rumble would have made it even more memorable.
#3. Multiple NXT stars were reported to be part of the Rumble
There were reportedly plans for multiple NXT 2.0 stars to show up at the Rumble. Bron Brekker and Gunther (fka WALTER) were the two top names that WWE was supposedly bringing in for a surprise appearance.
It would've been amazing to see these stars in the Rumble to make things a lot more unpredictable. Moreover, it was a great chance for WWE to introduce these NXT 2.0 talents to the main-roster audience.
As it turned out, there weren't any such plans for these men to enter the Rumble. We didn't get to see an entrant from NXT 2.0 in the Women's Royal Rumble as well.
#2. Cody Rhodes did not show up as a surprise entrant
Talks of WWE possibly walking through the Forbidden Door have been in the news ever since AEW began working with other wrestling promotions. WWE added more fuel to the fire by announcing that the IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James would appear in the Women's Rumble Match.
The move hinted at Vince McMahon finally joining hands with other companies for the benefit of the whole industry.
The rumor mill was full of speculation that AEW star Cody Rhodes would take advantage of the Forbidden Door to return to WWE. Cody's contractual status with AEW is up in the air as he is presumably a free agent right now. Unfortunately, people's fantasy of witnessing the grand return of The American Nightmare didn't become a reality at Royal Rumble.
#1. Jon Moxley also didn't return to WWE for Saturday's premium live event.
Like Cody, Jon Moxley is another AEW star who was rumored to appear at the Royal Rumble. Addressing those rumors, Renne Paquette claimed that people would lose their minds if the former AEW Champion entered the 30 Men Battle Royal:
"We don’t live that far from St. Louis…We’re within driving distance…It would melt people’s brains. People would lose their minds! What music does he come out to? Does he get to come out to Wild Thing? He has to, right? You know what? I actually like the 'Lunatic Fringe' music. I actually liked that, I thought it was pretty good."
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins also mentioned the former Lunatic Fringe a couple of times during their segments.
All these indications led people to believe that Moxley was indeed coming back to settle his scores with his former Shield buddies. Sadly, it all turned out to be nothing more than false speculation.
