WWE Royal Rumble 2023: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True

8. Retro Surprises Don't Cut It Anymore

The Rock Sami Zayn
WWE

The law of diminishing returns is something pro wrestling knows all too well.

Everyone tunes into Royal Rumble expecting to see a smattering of returning favourites from yesteryear. 'Oh look, it's Molly Holly! Wow, it's Diesel!' That sort of thing. This is all well and good, but the gimmick of nostalgic faves coming back for "one last" whirl might be wearing a bit thin, at least for some stars.

Holly, for example, has popped back up in far too many of the women's Rumbles for it to really mean anything nowadays. If she's in the 2023 version, then it'll be sweet Molly's fourth cameo appearance since WWE started running female Rumbles in 2018. That's just one or two too many, eh?

Those backstage must start reaching out to some fresher faces (if possible), because some "surprise" entrants don't really qualify as surprises anymore. A polite pop from the Alamodome masses is all they can expect, and rightly so.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.