Three women from the WWE NXT roster were participants in this year’s Royal Rumble – Zoey Stark, Indi Hartwell, and NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez. But a new report from Fightful Select says that fans shouldn’t expect these appearances to be call-ups.
Last year, it was reported that WWE had drawn a hard line in the sand about NXT talent being used for the annual battle royal. Damien Priest was used for the Rumble in 2021, but that served as his main roster call-up. In 2020, Matt Riddle was the lone NXT participant, though he only lasted a matter of seconds.
As for this year, rumors of NXT talent appearing were swirling before the show. According to reports, WWE higher-ups were more concerned with filling out the women’s Rumble for 2023. Ivy Nile wasn’t used for the show, but was also brought in for the pay-per-view and was available as a stand-by. WWE creative felt satisfied with the non-traditional surprises they had planned. They also felt that they were set for talent on the men’s side of things.
