Absent legend, Lacklustre delivery - 5 mistakes WWE made at the 2023 Royal Rumble

The 2023 WWE Royal Rumble was main evented by Roman Reigns' victory over Kevin Owens before Sami Zayn finally betrayed The Bloodline.

After weeks of teasing, the former Intercontinental champion hit Reigns with a steel chair and was then taken out by The Bloodline. However, Jey Uso refused to be part of the assault and walked away from his family.

This angle was the high point of the show after two lackluster Royal Rumble matches as well as the Pitch Black Match, which seemingly failed to deliver.

#5. Why didn't Rhea Ripley enter the Men's Rumble?

Rhea Ripley won the Women's Royal Rumble Match after lasting from number one to last eliminate Liv Morgan. Still, the former RAW Women's Champion had ample opportunity to make more history in her own right.

Rey Mysterio failed to appear in the Men's Royal Rumble, which meant that there were only 29 men in the bout and a spot for her to walk out and declare. Ripley went as far as coming out to the ring to attack Edge following his elimination but was then assaulted by Beth Phoenix.

Instead of wasting a place on Michelle McCool, WWE should have put Phoenix in the Rumble and allowed the two women to settle their issues.

#4. Both Royal Rumble matches were too predictable

In the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, betting odds made it clear that Rhea Ripley and Cody Rhodes would win their respective matches. Sometimes WWE pushes things like this, so there is a huge swerve. However, this wasn't the case this year since both bouts lacked surprises and were as predictable as expected.

The Bloodline didn't enter the Royal Rumble at all, which could have been a much better angle since Adam Pearce could have forced them to compete and caused even more friction ahead of the main event. Instead,, the stable skipped the match,,, and Rhodes was the obvious victor.

#3. The Pitch Black Match was confusing for the WWE Universe

The Pitch Black match was expected to play to Bray Wyatt's strengths by making it clear that anything could happen in the dark. Instead, it was a seemingly awful gimmick contest that wasn't even in the dark as both men took advantage of glow-in-the-dark weapons and paint.

Uncle Howdy appeared and botched his only involvement in the match before Wyatt's real-life puppets reappeared and were wasted on a throwaway image where they were seen watching from above. The match was clearly only made to advertise Mountain Dew and could have been so much better without the gimmick.

#2. Where were the surprise entrants in the Men's Royal Rumble?

The Men's Rumble Match kicked off the show, so it was clear that expectations would be low if that were the one to set the tone for the night. But the fact that the only surprises in the match were Edge, who lasted less than two minutes, Booker T, who almost botched his elimination, and Logan Paul, was underwhelming for the fans both at home and in attendance.

WWE's Royal Rumble has become famous for its surprises, and even the Women's match only had Nia Jax, Chelsea Green, and Michelle McCool,, which disappointed many fans.

#1. Where was Rey Mysterio?

Rey Mysterio was set to enter the Rumble match at number 17, but his music was played, and he was nowhere to be found. Instead of the cameras heading backstage to see where he was, Dominik later came out with his mask, and the WWE Universe was left to assume he had been attacked again.

The slot was never filled, though, and it was the first time in WWE history that someone was taken out, and no performer took their place. This would have been the perfect time for Ripley to come in and help Judgment Day before Edge's return.