From the WWE Rumour Mill: Current WWE women's champions not competing at Royal Rumble
What's the story?
Whilst the speculation continues over which 30 women will be competing in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match, two women we know won't be competing in it are the two current women's champions - Alexa Bliss and Charlotte. Now, however, it seems that these two women will be missing out on the Royal Rumble pay-per-view completely.
In case you didn't know...
Stephanie McMahon made the historic announcement during the main event of Monday Night RAW. She interrupted a mass brawl between the members of Absolution and the rest of the RAW women's locker room to announce the first ever women's Royal Rumble match in the WWE.
We have since learnt that there will be 30 women in this Royal Rumble match after initial speculation suggested 20 and that the winner will get a shot at either of the current Raw women's champions.
The heart of the matter
With all of the current women in the roster expected to appear in the Royal Rumble match, there has been some speculation surrounding what exactly Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss and SmackDown LIVE Women's Champion Charlotte Flair will be doing at the pay-per-view.
However, the Wrestling Observer has reported on what the current plans for Bliss and Flair seem to be, as reported by Cageside Seats.
The Observer notes the Raw and SmackDown women’s champions may not be wrestling at Royal Rumble due to every woman needing to be in the Rumble match. The obvious speculation is they will sit ringside for the match.
What's next?
It's worth noting that this seems less like news and more like an educated guess based on some obvious assumptions from the Wrestling Observer. But if there's no-one for Bliss or Flair to fight at the Rumble then it would be a shame for them not to be involved in the historic occasion at all and kept off of television.
Author's take
Personally, I'd do another Flair vs Bliss, champion vs champion match at the Royal Rumble to give both ladies a match at the show, and also to highlight the prestige of the title-belts that the thirty women are fighting for in the Rumble match.