As Royal Rumble season approaches, so does the speculation about what surprises the WWE might have in store for this year's matches. With a surprise factor built into both the men and women's versions of the matches, fans always speculate and look forward to WWE's Royal Rumble PPV.
With the Women's Royal Rumble existing since 2018, there have been a few years of surprise entrants that can now be looked back upon and rated. These are the 10 best surprise entrants in the history of the women's Royal Rumble.
10 Ronda Rousey - 2022
While her run since has seen fans turn on her thanks to being miscast as a babyface and underdelivering in all of her matches, Ronda Rousey's grand return to action for WWE came at the 2022 edition of the Royal Rumble. After 2021's show took place in the Thunderdome, this event would be the first time the Rumble was back in front of fans since January 2020.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet would enter the match at the 28th spot, scoring four eliminations on her route to victory. The 2022 PPV as a whole was panned by fans and critics, and while Rousey is polarizing to say the least, her return was a major one to kickstart WWE's year.
9 Victoria - 2021
Despite the limitations of the WWE Thunderdome, the company would deliver greatly with the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble. Eventually won by Bianca Belair, the match worked to pretty great effect. One great surprise came in the form of women's wrestling legend, Victoria, making her first-ever appearance in a Royal Rumble match.
On top of it being cool for fans to see Victoria back in a WWE ring, the match would also serve as one of Victoria's final matches ever as she would announce her retirement from in-ring action shortly after the PPV.
8 Ivory - 2022
While the 2022 Royal Rumble lacked any surprise entrants from the NXT Brand, something many fans voiced their displeasure with, the match would be filled to the brim with WWE Legends. After making a genuinely great return at WWE Evolution a few years prior, Ivory would get the call to enter the 2022 Royal Rumble as one of the surprise entrants.
Rather than portraying the regular version of Ivory however, she would play her Right To Censor character for a brief cameo in the match. She would not last long, instead getting dumped out by Rhea Ripley in quick fashion, though it was a fun nod to the past.
7 Mighty Molly - 2020
One of a few names that seems regularly tied to the Women's Royal Rumble is none other than Molly Holly. Having made multiple surprises entrances into the match over the past few years, Molly is a reliable legend that the company seems to like counting on for these matches.
Looking at her 2020 entrance, Molly would enter the match donning her superhero gimmick from the past, Mighty Molly. Entering in the third spot, Mighty Molly would last for nearly 11 minutes before being eliminated by NXT's Bianca Belair, who had a star-making performance in the same match.
6 Kacy Catanzaro - 2019
While she may have a different name in NXT nowadays, Kacy Catanzaro would make her own surprise entrance in the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble. That year's Rumble would be dominated with NXT entrants, including Kacy as well as other names such as Kairi Sane, Candice LeRae, and Io Shirai.
This would be Kacy's only Royal Rumble appearance, though she would impress and thrill fans with her amazing acrobatic skills. She can now be seen wrestling for NXT on a weekly basis, where she now reigns as NXT Women's Tag Team Champion alongside Kayden Carter.
5 Michelle McCool - 2022
Appearing in the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble in 2018, Michelle McCool would show fans that she still had it in that first run, though just a few years later she would manage to outdo herself. Returning for the 2022 Women's Rumble, Michelle McCool would prove once more that even past her prime, she still has it.
Lasting over 20 minutes, McCool would have the longest run in the match for any unsigned talent or WWE Legend appearing in the bout, as she would also score an elimination, tossing out Dana Brooke, before being eliminated by Knockouts Champion Mickie James.
4 Beth Phoenix - 2020
A name that many fans have waited to get a proper final run in WWE, Beth Phoenix has wrestled a few one-off matches for the company since entering her first retirement. Entering the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble, The Glamazon would give fans hope of a final run on the main roster, though it has yet to come to fruition.
Entering the Rumble as the 19th entrant, Beth Phoenix would shock fans as she would last nearly 30 minutes in the match, even scoring an elimination on Natalya before being taken out by Shayna Baszler, who would pick up 8 eliminations herself before losing to Charlotte Flair.
3 Mickie James - 2022
Though it pushes the boundaries of what a surprise entrant is for the Royal Rumble match, Mickie James' entrance in the 2022 Royal Rumble match was one of the biggest surprises in all of wrestling in 2022. With WWE announcing nearly all of the women in the 2022 version of the match, leading to nearly no true unannounced entrants, the company would shock fans with an announcement during SmackDown that Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion, Mickie James, would be entering the match.
At the PPV, James would enter the match to her "Hardcore Country" theme song that she uses in Impact, rather than her old WWE entrance theme, and would also wear the Knockouts Championship to the ring. It was a fairly historic moment for James, and she would last for almost 12 minutes before being eliminated by Lita.
2 Bianca Belair - 2020
Entering the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble match in the second position, Bianca Belair would take WWE fans by surprise as she would be positioned as the iron woman of the match. Belair would look to dominate, with the strong superstar scoring 8 eliminations in her first-ever Royal Rumble match, taking out names such as Alexa Bliss, Mighty Molly, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville.
Belair's Royal Rumble dreams would come crashing down after lasting over 33 minutes as she would be eliminated by Charlotte Flair, who would go onto win the match, challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36. Belair would come back the following year, winning the Royal Rumble in order to main event WrestleMania 37.
1 Rhea Ripley - 2021
Following up on Bianca Belair's incredible run in the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble Match, another NXT Women's Superstar would get the chance to make herself into a star in 2021. Rhea Ripley would enter the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant in January 2021, entering at the 14th spot and lasting just shy of 40 minutes in the match.
Ripley stole the show, delivering a gutsy performance that helped continue to build her in front of the main roster fans, something that she had done in past Royal Rumble matches already. She would even come close to winning the match, as she and Bianca Belair would be the final two, with Belair righting the wrong of 2020, winning the match and heading to WrestleMania 37 to face Sasha Banks. With Belair in need of a new challenger, Rhea Ripley could redeem herself by winning the 2023 Royal Rumble Match.