Ronda Rousey lost the SmackDown Women's Title unexpectedly on the final blue brand show of 2022. The December 30 SmackDown included the return of Charlotte Flair who proceeded to challenge the then-champion moments after her music hit. One match later, Flair was once again SmackDown Women's Champion, and what's next for Rousey is yet to be revealed.
Ronda Rousey Not In The Rumble
Since The Rowdy One hasn't come after Flair in the weeks since, it's assumed she will be leaving The Queen to her own devices for now. Perhaps a belief that Rousey might enter the women's Royal Rumble match this Saturday. Well, according to Fightful Select (via TJR Wrestling), that isn't on the cards either. In fact, the report claims there were never plans for Rousey to be in the Rumble.
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Even on December 30 when Rousey lost the title, the plan wasn't to have her enter the Rumble to try and earn a shot to get her title back at WrestleMania. Perhaps even more interesting is the note that WWE is very confident in its current crop of female Superstars. A sidenote insinuating there will be fewer surprise entrants in the women's Rumble this year.
Seven Entrants Announced
That confidence flies right in the face of what has been announced for that particular Rumble match. Only seven of the 30 entrants have been confirmed which means a lot of Saturday's participants are presumably going to be surprises. It might be safe to assume Lita and The Bellas will be in there after being advertised for Raw 30 but not appearing on the show, although Nikki and Brie's public comments on social media during the show might have cost them those spots.
Rousey isn't exactly the most popular wrestler on the WWE roster right now, so news that she won't be a part of the Rumble may well be welcomed by many. Very little is ever certain in wrestling though, and it's still entirely possible she's a part of the match. As for plans beyond Saturday, most fans would probably be happier to see Rousey team with Shayna Baszler and chase the Tag Team Titles.
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