6 Female NXT Superstars who could be in the Royal Rumble 2020
If there is one brand in the WWE that is currently on fire, it has to be NXT. After triumphing with four wins at Survivor Series, The Black and Gold brand is now just as - and possibly even more - formidable a roster as RAW and SmackDown.
Although the men's team fell short at Survivor Series to the Blue brand and Roman Reigns, the ladies of NXT had perhaps the strongest weekend. Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae won WarGames despite losing two members as Dakota Kai turned heel and attacked Tegan Nox.
And if that wasn't enough, Ripley outlasted the ladies of both SmackDown and RAW the following night at Survivor Series. While the brands will likely focus on their own in-house business for the next month or so, it doesn't mean that it's the end of NXT's interaction with the other brands.
The Royal Rumble is next month and we should expect the Black and Gold brand to have a much bigger presence than ever before. Two years ago, only Kairi Sane and Ember Moon participated in the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match. Last year, Sane was joined by the likes of Ripley, LeRae, Xia Li, Io Shirai and Kacy Catanzaro. That makes six women in last year's match. NXT is chock full of uber-talented women and here are six names that could show up during the 2020 Royal Rumble.
#6 Mia Yim
Unfortunately for Mia Yim, she was "injured" prior to perhaps the biggest moment of her WWE career. As the NXT Invasion had been playing out, Yim was on track to be a member of both Ripley's team at WarGames and Team NXT at Survivor Series.
Due to a pre-event attack, however, she was taken off the team and out of the festivities. With that attack, it also deprived the HBIC of a potential spot at Survivor Series. Because she missed out on a main-roster PPV in November, the next best chance to get her in front of the WWE Universe is the Rumble. Yim has been hovering around the title picture in NXT but she could perhaps have an impact in the Rumble.
The HBIC has a great backstory that has been played up on NXT TV and she is popular with the crowd. Her veteran status is also something that would help the match out. Xia Li looked lost last year, but having Tamina be your base of offense will do that for anyone. Yim has been wrestling for almost a decade whereas Li is new to the sport. For those reasons, the HBIC should get a spot in the Over the Top melee.