Three Wrestlers Who Should Enter The Forbidden Door At The Royal Rumble
The Road to WrestleMania officially begins in two weeks when the Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday, January 28th, in San Antonio, Texas, at the Alamodome. Every year there have been speculations about who will return and who will make their debut, as I mentioned in my Top 5 Royal Rumble moments article. However, this Royal Rumble will be the first one booked under Triple H, who has been head of WWE creative since July 2022.
There have been reports over the last month about WWE opening the Forbidden Door again like we saw last year when Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James entered the Rumble. Today I will look at three wrestlers I would like to see enter through the Forbidden Door for the Royal Rumble.
3) Deonna Purrazzo
Deonna Purrazzo is one of the top wrestlers in the Women's Division in professional wrestling. Purrazzo had a quick stint in the WWE as an enhancement talent. Since then, she has made a name for herself in other promotions such as AEW, Impact, Ring of Honour and AAA Lucha.
Deonna has won the Impact Knockouts Championship, Knockout Women's Tag Team Championship, ROH Women's Championship and AAA Women's Championship. She is still under contract, but her appearance in the Rumble would be unique as it would be two years in a row for an Impact Knockout to be in the Women's Royal Rumble match. If she were to enter the match, this would be a different Purrazzo from the last time we saw her in WWE.
2) Matt Cardona
In recent months there have been rumours about Matt Cardona, known to wrestling fans as Zack Ryder, returning to the WWE. After being released by the WWE, Cardona went to the independent scene wrestling in GCW. Cardona said he would like to return to the WWE but under his real name, which he is using.
Cardona could return at the Rumble. Bleacher Report reported that Cardona's wife, Chelsea Green, has signed a contract with the WWE and will likely return in the Women's Royal Rumble match. This creates a Cardona return possible and would be a great surprise, but only time will tell. Cardona spent 15 years in the WWE, winning the United States, Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships.
1) Jay White
Now, this is a stretch but let's be honest here. It would be awesome if this were to happen. Jay White is one of the best wrestlers in professional wrestling. White is the current leader of The Bullet Club, his contract will expire soon this year, and he said he would like to wrestle in North America. Sources within WWE are "confident" that he will ultimately choose to sign with the company reported by Mike Chiari of Bleacher Report. White has been seen interacting with former Bullet Club members AJ Styles and Finn Balor on Twitter.
White will be in a match vs. Hikuleo on February 11th in a Loser Leaves Japan match. This could give incite that White's contract is up sometime in February. White has been rumoured to be an entry in the match. Still, unfortunately, it might not be looking positive for that to happen without Triple H and New Japan working out a side deal where they can allow White to make an appearance while being under contract. Of course, it's wishful thinking, but it would be fantastic if it came true.
Photo Credits: NJPW