Is there still hope for Naomi, Sasha Banks for Royal Rumble?

Could Sasha Banka and Naomi reappear at WWE Royal Rumble later this month? Here’s the latest.

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It wouldn’t be a January in professional wrestling without some intense speculation about who might make a surprise appearance at Royal Rumble. And while that kind of discussion has often focused on legends from WWE’s past who could arrive for a one-off appearance in a Rumble match, the nature of free agency and talent movement today means people are much more interested in who might be coming back to WWE as regulars.

That’s especially true because the company has two stars who left together and might be ready to return. Sasha Banks (currently Mercedes Moné) and Naomi (performing at the moment as Trinity) famously walked out on an episode of Raw and left their tag team titles behind, but their beefs with the booking of the women’s division could very well have evaporated under the current creative leadership of Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

So does that mean we could see them as entrants in the women’s Rumble match? Yes, though, one looks much more likely than the other.

Dave Meltzer wrote about both wrestlers in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required) and made it clear he believes there’s a chance Naomi will be in St. Petersburg, since she’ll be clear of her obligations for TNA Wrestling.

Trinity Fatu is expected to finish up at the tapings on 1/19 and 1/20 in Kissimmee, FL, and then return to WWE. The timing would indicate she could be back at the Rumble.

Banks appears to be a much longer shot. She’s been rumored to be close to signing with AEW for some weeks, which would obviously exclude her from a WWE reunion any time soon. Meltzer, however, left the door open for something to come together within the next week.

The original plan was for Giulia to lose to Mercedes Mone on this show, but Mone hasn’t returned and even with all the AEW rumors (and there is expectation in AEW that she’ll be in after finishing up some acting commitments this month), nothing is for certain and some in WWE believe there is still a shot for her in the Royal Rumble.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful obviously feels otherwise.

So while neither woman is a lock to be involved in the Royal Rumble match, Naomi certainly looks like a much more likely possibility. We’ll find out soon enough, as the 2024 Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday, Jan. 27 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

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