Sports Media

Three Last-Minute ‘Forbidden Door’ Entrants for WWE Royal Rumble 2023

Mark Izzo / Professional Wrestling, WWE / January 26, 2023

Jay White — Credit: Masashi Hara-Getty Images

Three Last-Minute ‘Forbidden Door’ Entrants for WWE Royal Rumble 2023

WWE Royal Rumble is just days away and the anticipation is building. The Royal Rumble is one of the most exciting events of the year. WWE always brings back old wrestlers, calls some up from NXT, and debuts new ones in the match. But now more than ever, wrestling companies are seemingly willing to work together more.

As of writing this, there have been 15 announced entrants in the Royal Rumble, leaving room for 15 more entrants — plenty of space for surprise returns and debuts. Here are three last-minute ‘forbidden door’ entrants in the WWE Royal Rumble.

1. Hikuleo

Hikuleo has competed mostly in NJPW since the beginning of his wrestling career. The 31-year-old star has a bright future ahead of him. He is a member of one of the most popular factions of the last decade, Bullet Club. Although Hikuleo has mostly competed in NJPW, he has wrestled for ROH, Impact, and even AEW in the past.

WWE allowed Karl Anderson to wrestle at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, which shocked many fans. Furthermore, WWE has reportedly expressed interest in Hikuleo. If WWE wants to get a closer look at him, what better way than to have him featured in the Royal Rumble?

2. Jay White

White may be on his way to becoming the hottest free agent in wrestling. According to Fightful Select, White is expected to leave NJPW once his contract is up. Furthermore, he’s reportedly expected to head to the United States.

WWE is reportedly interested in signing White as well. However, White is advertised to wrestle for NJPW on Feb. 11. This will be a Loser Leaves Japan Match, which makes things very interesting.

Still, White is a highly decorated wrestler and is only 30 years old. WWE seems to be willing to work with other companies now more than ever and BT Sport sent out an interesting tweet, too.

We said what we said.#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/nv7OYTv4sA
— WWE on TNT Sports (@wweontnt) January 25, 2023

3. Chris Jericho

Jericho is one of the best wrestlers ever. He continues to find ways to reinvent himself regardless of what company he’s wrestling for.

Jericho is currently signed to AEW, WWE’s biggest rival. However, he has never been shy about praising WWE or talking about the good times he’s had in the past with the company.

As shocking as it might sound, Jericho has never won the Royal Rumble. Now I’m not saying he’s going to win this year, but that’s just crazy to think about.

Jericho spent a lot of his career in WWE, so I think if he wanted to appear in the Royal Rumble, AEW may allow it.