Wrestling veteran says she was unhappy WWE announced her for the Royal Rumble
In January last year, WWE announced during an episode of SmackDown that Summer Rae would be among the 30 entrants in the Women's Royal Rumble match. In a recent interview, she said she didn't want it to be disclosed beforehand.
Mickie James, who was the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champion at the time, was also announced for the bout. The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Lita, and Michelle McCool, were announced as returning stars as well. Neither of them won the bout, however, as the victor was Ronda Rousey, who made her WWE comeback after being gone for some years.
Speaking to Chris Vlan Vliet in a recent interview, Summer Rae said she was annoyed WWE announced her for the match ahead of time, as she wanted it to be a surprise.
"You know, I was bummed that they announced me before because I felt like no one thought I was going to come back ever. And I'm so good at hiding stuff like pretending that I'm somewhere else... So I remember when they said they were gonna announce me, they literally called me the day of and I was doing cardio... I'm like, okay, cool. And then I'm like, I haven't told any of my friends. I was fabing everyone," she said.
Summer Rae says she was nervous before her WWE in-ring return at Royal Rumble last year
The 39-year-old made her in-ring return as the 23rd entrant in the Women's Royal Rumble match last year. She tried to eliminate Natalya, but the latter eliminated her instead.
Summer Rae said she felt nervous before the match.
"And what a moment. And I actually was so so so so nervous backstage, so I'm like, Oh, God, I only have like a little bit to get it out. And it makes the fans want more, you know, you don't go in there and mess up a 10-minute thing and then they never want to see you again," said Rae.
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Summer Rae was referred to as a WWE legend when she returned. It'll be interesting to see whether she will compete in another Royal Rumble match.
Would you like to see her as an entrant in the 2024 Royal Rumble? Sound off in the comments section below!