WWE Royal Rumble 2023: 10 Surprise Entrants We Could See

5. Naomi

Road Dogg
WWE.com

Triple H has thus far struggled to get his returning acts a pop.

This might be because he's taken that route one too many times. It might be because many of those names were cast as jokes by the end of their initial WWE runs. Or it might be because the only people who watch NXT on television blow dust when they bust a nut and tend not to get out much, particularly when it's cold.

Naomi is different. People actually watched and rather liked her performances, at least when Vince McMahon deigned to allocate time to a talent that actually went viral once upon a time.

Isn't...isn't that the point? Don't WWE want to make an impression on the wider cultural landscape?

The Royal Rumble is the perfect platform on which to reintroduce Naomi, since it was in 2020 that she briefly became adjacent to a sensation. Evidence of her ability to string her impressive spots together is scant, that cracker against Charlotte Flair aside, but she can do those spots in the Rumble and get over all over again.

Triple H is hardly Thanos these days, but Naomi would make the infinity gauntlet slightly less like a meme.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!