WWE Royal Rumble 2022: 10 Surprise Entrants We Could See

10. Bayley

Bayley WWE SmackDown
WWE.com

Cruelly struck down by injury while training for WWE's transition out of the ThunderDome and back to fully-attended arenas, Bayley's knee decided to screw itself up while the pandemic era highlight was running through drills at the Performance Center. A torn ACL bad enough to require reconstructive surgery came with an estimated nine-month recovery window. If accurate, this would stretch until WrestleMania season.

Dave Meltzer reported in a recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter that February or March looked likeliest or Bayley's return, noting, however, that the Rumble wasn't impossible. Bayley has since responded with this:-

The above is about what you'd expect. Wrestlers are almost always working, especially on social media - and the former SmackDown Women's Champion has also teased being back in time for 'Mania 38.

If she is healed up and good to go, Bayley is comfortably the most compelling full-time wrestler WWE could bring back in the women's Rumble. She'd be a strong favourite to win, too, and could easily be placed into a WrestleMania title program with Becky Lynch or Charlotte Flair to make good for the disappointment of missing out last year.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.