AEW recently ended its working relationship with IMPACT Wrestling, and that appears to have opened the door to the company once known as TNA embarking on some sort of partnership with WWE.
During last night's SmackDown, WWE announced the first batch of competitors for this year's Women's Royal Rumble match. There are lots of big names (and quite a few surprise returns as you'll see from the list below), but the biggest shocker came when it was announced that IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James will be in the match. Her association with that company wasn't ignored in any way, a surprise seeing as WWE tends to pretend other promotions don't exist!
There was a lot of controversy when James was released by WWE; her possessions were sent to her in a trash bag, and the story went viral (forcing WWE to fire its Head of Talent Relations).
In a statement, IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice-President Scott D'Amore said: "WWE wanted it, Mickie wanted it and IMPACT Wrestling’s philosophy is always to work with other major promotions to create buzz for the fans. Everything is signed and agreed with WWE and IMPACT Wrestling – the only question is whether or not Mickie will enter one of WWE’s most historic annual matches as the reigning Knockouts World Champion."
Here's the full list of Royal Rumble competitors:
Rhea Ripley
Lita
Naomi
The Bella Twins
Naomi
Zelina Vega
Michelle McCool
Shotzi Blackheart
Kelly Kelly
Dana Brooke
Tamina
Summer Rae
Shayna Baszler
Mickie James
Natalya
Aliyah
Nikki A.S.H