Alexa Bliss returned to WWE on Saturday in the women's Royal Rumble match. The former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion hadn't wrestled since the 2023 event, where she was unsuccessful in challenging then-champion Bianca Belair.
According to Fightful Select, confirming previous reports, Bliss shocked many in WWE when she appeared in the building on Saturday. Bliss and WWE had been far apart on contract negotiations, and as of Friday's rehearsal for the Rumble, Bliss had not been scheduled to be a part of the match.As far as was known ahead of Saturday, WWE initially had no plans for Bliss until the two sides had smoothed out their reported contract dispute. Bliss entered #21 in the match, which according to Fightful had originally been the intended spot for Shotzi. Shotzi hadn't wrestled in a main roster match since last year's Women's Royal Rumble, as she spent much of 2024 out with a knee injury, and has wrestled on "WWE NXT" since recovering from her injury to get reps in the ring before she returned to the main roster. Some sources who spoke to Fightful said that they were happy to see Bliss back in the WWE fold and participating the match, but some also felt bad for how the situation turned out for Shotzi.
Bliss had previously posted a photo of herself with her baby daughter, explaining it was where she was going to be for Saturday's event, but like Jordynne Grace's comment about spending the Royal Rumble with her mother, it's possible the post was a work to surprise fans.
