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The Royal Rumble 2023 was a highly regarded event by fans and insiders, as well as hosting the great returns of Cody Rhodes and Pat McAfee. Some enthusiasts criticized the male and female royal brawl due to the absence of surprise participants.
The return of 'The American Nightmare' had in fact been announced well in advance and the former AEW star was very favorite for the final victory also according to the bookmakers. The same argument can be applied to Rhea Ripley.
In the latest edition of 'Reffin Rant', former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas gave his sincere opinion on this matter: “I understand that fans expected more surprises during the men's and women's royal brawl, but it can't be said that the fun was missing.
Also, the betrayal of Sami Zayn against Roman Reigns was the ideal epilogue. If some people were disappointed that The Rock or someone else didn't appear, that's their fault alone. The Great One was known not to be there."
Update on The Rock
Fans hoped to see The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin again at Royal Rumble 2023, but their expectations were dashed.
WWE had announced 27 men and 18 women for the royal fight even before the event started, in order to keep fans' expectations low. After the show, 'The Brahma Bull' took to his Instagram profile to reveal to his huge fan base that he was working during the Royal Rumble and would be catching a flight the following day at 4am.
During the post-Royal Rumble press conference, Triple H explained that it is not so easy to reach an agreement with The Rock: “People have no idea how busy he is. There is a part of him that would like to return to the ring and electrify the WWE Universe as he once did, but it is not easy to organize his return.
I am very sorry to say these things, but I don't want to mislead people or create false expectations." WWE President Nick Khan has given his take on The Rock. "In terms of Dwyane, looks he's focused on being the megastar that he (has) built himself into.
We're always talking to him, about different opportunities and what could come. WWE is a producer on young Rock, they graciously allowed us to do that because they wanted us to be partners in it. So there's more to be done with them," said Khan.