Latest Reports on Ronda Rousey Showing Up at the Royal Rumble

01/26/2020 01:52 pm EST

Ronda Rousey hasn't appeared on WWE television since WrestleMania 35 when she suffered her first pinfall loss to Becky Lynch and dropped the Raw Women's Championship. Since then the UFC Hall of Famer has teased starting a family, increased her presence on YouTube and took a new acting role on the FOX drama 9-1-1, but she's never said outright when (and if) she's coming back to the WWE. With plenty of open spots left in the Women's Royal Rumble match on Sunday night, many fans are hoping that Rousey will return at some point during that match and win, setting up a long-awaited one-on-one bout with "The Man" at WrestleMania 36 in April. But based on the latest reports, it might not be happening.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported over the weekend that Rousey wasn't at the rehearsal for the Rumble match on Saturday night, nor has she been spotted at the hotel WWE Superstars are staying at in Houston. As of early Sunday afternoon, her Instagram and Twitter accounts haven't given any clues that she's on her way Houston. A return isn't full out the window — WWE is good at keeping secrets when they really want to — but as of now Rousey's arrival doesn't look likely.

Rousey first arrived in WWE at the 2018 Royal Rumble, where she joined Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Rumble-winner Asuka in the ring to close out the show. She made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 in a mixed tag match alongside Kurt Angle, defeating Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. It took a couple of tries, but Rousey eventually managed to get her hands on the Raw Women's Championship at the 2018 SummerSlam event by squashing Alexa Bliss. She set a new record for longest reign with the title at 232 days, a record that was broken by Lynch during her current reign (which is up to 293 days).

Check out the full Royal Rumble card below:

• WWE Universal Championship: Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan (Strap Match)
• Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka
• SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Lacey Evans
• United States Championship: Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo
• Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin (Falls Count Anywhere)
• Shorty G vs. Sheamus
• Men's Royal Rumble — Winner gets a world championship match at WrestleMania 36 (Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Erick Rowan, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Drew McInytre, Elias, King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Otis, Tucker, Rusev, Bobby Lashley, Aleister Black, Buddy Murphy, Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, Kofi Kingston, Big E, R-Truth, John Morrison, The Miz, TBA)
• Women's Royal Rumble — Winner gets a women's championship match at WrestleMania 36 (Chralotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Sarah Logan, Natalya, Carmella, Dana Brooke, TBA)

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