WWE News Roundup: New Royal Rumble entrants revealed, Top star wants to face Roman Reigns, Nia Jax on Aliyah's record (January 15, 2022) 

Welcome to the latest edition of WWE News Roundup.

With this year's Royal Rumble event just around the corner, many superstars have already been confirmed to participate in the annual free-for-all. Most recently, four names from SmackDown picked up spots in the Men's Royal Rumble match.

Meanwhile, a top IMPACT Wrestling star told Sportskeeda Wrestling that he wants to break the 'forbidden door' by facing Roman Reigns. Aliyah created a new record in her latest match, and Nia Jax has reacted to the same.

Not too long ago, Nikki Bella speculated about her potential future in WWE following the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble match. Additionally, Kofi Kingston has highlighted his honest reaction to Mickie James' inclusion in the 30-woman contest.

Without further ado, let's take a closer look at these news stories.

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#5. Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, and two more WWE stars confirmed to participate in the Men's Royal Rumble

Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin certainly think you should bet on them to win the Men's Royal Rumble this year.

The two men officially announced their entries into the said match during a backstage promo.

"We are on a hot streak. That's right, we are declaring ourselves for the Royal Rumble, and as a betting man, I think you should put your money (on us)," Corbin said.

Sami Zayn will also join them in hopes of earning a future world title shot at WrestleMania. The SmackDown star's entry into the Royal Rumble is connected to his current feud with actor Johnny Knoxville — another participant in the upcoming multi-man contest.

Zayn is also the No.1 contender for Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE Intercontinental Championship. As a result, he found himself on the receiving end of an attack by Nakamura and Rick Boogs during this week's episode of SmackDown.

Later in the show, Kofi Kingston confirmed his entry into the Men's Royal Rumble bout. The development came after his ally, King Woods, suffered a torn plantaris injury.

Interestingly, it was Madcap Moss who defeated Kingston in singles action during the blue brand's latest episode. With these four additions into the 30-Man Royal Rumble match, here's the updated list of announced entrants thus far:

• Big E
• AJ Styles
• United States Champion Damian Priest
• Johnny Knoxville
• Sami Zayn
• Kofi Kingston
• Happy Corbin
• Madcap Moss
• Sheamus
• Angelo Dawkins
• Montez Ford
• Rey Mysterio
• Dominik Mysterio
• Austin Theory

#4. Moose hopes to face WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns

With all the talk about WWE opening its 'forbidden door' to other promotions, Moose has expressed interest in a potential showdown against Roman Reigns.

While speaking to Jose G of Sportskeeda Wrestling, the IMPACT World Champion praised Reigns by calling him "one of the best wrestlers in the world."

"It's something that I hope happens, I mean, Roman Reigns, his resume speaks for himself. He is the face of WWE, he has been the face of WWE for the last 5-6 years, maybe even longer. He is undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in the world and I feel like I am one of the best wrestlers in the world and I feel like I am the face of IMPACT Wrestling because I carry the IMPACT World Title," said Moose.

He added that they could create magic together inside the squared circle despite their different in-ring styles.

"I think we both have different styles and like they say styles make fights, right?" Moose continued, "And with how good he is and how good I think I am that it would be nothing less than magic if we were to get in the ring together."

The IMPACT Wrestling star also stated that irrespective of whether or not this match happens, he will attempt to speak it into existence moving forward.

Elsewhere during the interview, Moose even claimed that a WrestleMania clash against Roman Reigns was more enticing to him than a four-year-long title run in professional wrestling. According to him, lengthy championship reigns could eventually make the titleholders stale, which is why the IMPACT World Champion isn't a fan of them.

#3. Nia Jax sends a heartfelt message to WWE SmackDown star Aliyah

Natalya wanted to be the one to break Trish Stratus' fastest WWE match time record of 3.8 seconds on this week's SmackDown. However, the tables turned when the veteran's opponent, Aliyah, won in 3.17 seconds instead.

This bout marked Aliyah's singles debut on the blue brand. So regardless of where her career goes from here, the 27-year-old has already left a significant mark on WWE by achieving the fastest win ever in the company's history.

Following the SmackDown star's triumph over Natalya, Nia Jax took to Twitter to send her a heartwarming message:

Aliyah responded to the former RAW Women's Champion as well:

The two women appear to be close friends, and they have an in-ring history with each other as well. Jax and Aliyah shared the ring seven times as rivals between 2015 and 2016.

Most of these matches went down at NXT house shows, and whether it be in singles or tag team competition, the 37-year-old emerged victoriously on every occasion.

While Aliyah is currently looking to cement herself as one of the company's top names, Nia Jax departed the sports entertainment world last year after receiving her release.

#2. Nikki Bella addresses a few fantasy booking scenarios in WWE

Nikki Bella will be making her in-ring return at WWE Royal Rumble 2022, and she has already highlighted potential creative directions for herself following the event.

Speaking on The Bellas Podcast, Nikki expressed that she would be open to facing either Charlotte Flair (SmackDown Women's Champion) or Becky Lynch (RAW Women's Champion) if she won the Rumble:

"I’m going in to win. I’ve had unfinished business with Charlotte [Flair], so why wouldn’t I want to go back there. And then I never had business with Becky [Lynch], and I would love it."

Nikki added that she and Brie Bella — who is also returning to the ring on January 29 — could take the unexpected route after the Women's Royal Rumble match and challenge for the tag team titles:

"And then there’s the tag titles. Because I would like to be the first-ever winner of the Royal Rumble to kind of give the middle finger to both champions to go, ‘I want the tag titles.’ How badass would that be? Would I not be the coolest person to go down in history?”

While chasing after the tag team titles seems like a fitting direction for The Bella Twins, the two could very well be at odds following the Royal Rumble event. After all, the 30-person contest often features betrayals between WWE Superstars with only one ticket to WrestleMania at stake.

#1. Kofi Kingston reacts to Mickie James' impending WWE return

Kofi Kingston recently acknowledged how WWE, for the most part, hasn't precisely opened its 'forbidden door' to other pro wrestling promotions. So just like anyone else, he was surprised to hear the company announce Mickie James — the current IMPACT Knockouts Champion — as a 2022 Women's Royal Rumble entrant.

Kingston expressed his excitement regarding this scenario while speaking on the Bleav in Pro Wrestling Podcast:

“I was really surprised at that, because we as a company, have not really opened that forbidden door, like ever. There are other companies that have explored that, but it's really exciting, man."

The New Day member also highlighted that Mickie James has been somewhat of an older sister to him throughout his career. As a result, Kingston said he is looking forward to catching up with her backstage:

"And for Mickie to be the one to kind of like bust through the door, it’s so Mickie. It's so Mickie, you know what I mean? I love it. Mickie, to me, has been like an older sister throughout my entire career. So, I'm really excited just to see her, you know, just so we can B.S. a little bit and go back and forth.”

It should be interesting to see if James' Royal Rumble appearance opens more doors for future cross-promotional endeavors involving WWE. If that happens to be the case, fans could finally witness a dream match like Moose vs. Roman Reigns, among other exciting possibilities.