WWE Wanted THIS Released Superstar Back For Royal Rumble 2022

This former WWE star could've made their return at the Rumble.

by Andrew Pollard
Lana WWE Raw
WWE.com

With WWE bringing back several former superstars for last night's Royal Rumble PPV, one other name the company reportedly had interest in bringing in for the show was Lana.

As per Fightful Select, the Ravishing Russian was somebody WWE at one point had interest in having make an appearance at the Rumble. For whatever reason, this obviously didn't come to pass.

Other notable names who WWE held discussions about featuring at the Royal Rumble include Asuka and Kairi Sane. Again, neither of these stars were utilised at the January spectacle, with Sane technically no longer with the promotion. The former NXT Women's Champion initially departed WWE in July 2020, although she would later take up an ambassadorial role for the company in her native Japan and even worked as part of the Japanese announce team for that year's Hell in a Cell PPV. Sane fully exited WWE when her most recent deal expired this past December.

Advertisement

One name who was in St. Louis for the Rumble but ultimately wasn't used, is Jillian Hall. Hall was present for the Rumble match rehearsals in the days preceding the PPV, though she was only ever there as an 'alternative' should any of the women for some reason not be able to compete in the Rumble match.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.