WWE Royal Rumble 2022: 10 Surprise Entrants We Could See

8. Io Shirai

Io Shirai
WWE.com

The NXT women's division was built in Io Shirai's image for much of 2020 and 2021, when she served as a vanguard figure for the developmental brand during the dying days of its "super indie" era. One of WWE's best and most consistent periods throughout that period, regardless of roster position, Shirai was outworking everybody - something she was capable of long before she'd even signed for the market leaders.

But NXT has changed. Now a true developmental brand of wacky gimmicks, inexperienced wrestlers, and whatever Von Wagner is supposed to be, it is no longer built for wrestlers like Shirai. Keeping her there is the equivalent of housing a shelf of David Foster Wallace books in a children's library.

Putting her in the Rumble to start a main roster run is a viable option, particularly with SmackDown's ranks looking so thin at the moment. She's one of the best wrestlers in the world. Would she be booked that way beyond the first night? Probably not, but neither is anybody not named Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.