This year’s Royal Rumble is expected to deliver plenty of surprises, according to WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque. But one top star has already been ruled out as a surprise entrant.
Ethan Page will not be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Friday’s SmackDown or Saturday’s Royal Rumble. Instead, the NXT North American and AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion will remain with NXT as it hosts a trio of live events through Saturday.
“Knoxville, Nashville, and Birmingham, I have very good news for your second-rate
cities. ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page is coming to your town,” Page revealed on X. He added that the “bad news” is he’ll be traveling with a bus full of NXT superstars, though he didn’t name names.
WWE’s website features Ricky Saints, NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne, Sol Ruca, Jaida Parker, and Trick Williams in the promotional graphics for all three shows. Former NXT Champion Oba Femi is also shown still holding the title.
However, several names shown in the graphics are currently tied to main-roster plans. Williams officially joined SmackDown on Jan. 2, while Femi was revealed on Raw as an entrant in this year’s men’s Royal Rumble.
PWInsider has also reported that WWE discussed having Ruca appear in the women’s Royal Rumble. Both Ruca and Jayne were absent from NXT programming this week.
Meanwhile, venue listings for Knoxville and Nashville advertise matches featuring Myles Borne, Tony D’Angelo, and SmackDown’s Street Profits. Birmingham’s listing still shows Femi as NXT Champion, but notes that talent is subject to change.
On Wednesday’s ESPN Get Up, Levesque promoted the Royal Rumble, saying it will include “a lot of surprises” and be “one of the most star-studded Rumbles” he can recall, citing established stars such as Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Rhea Ripley.
With Page committed to NXT’s live events, he is advertised to defend the NXT North American Championship, which includes a triple threat match tonight in Knoxville against Borne and AAA lucha libre star El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
