WWE considered having a surprise 'Forbidden Door' entrant into the men's Royal Rumble match, it was reported back in January.

The news followed the announcement that Mickie James, the IMPACT Wrestling Women's Champion at the time, would be part of the women's match at the show.

And now, some more information has emerged about why a non-WWE contracted talent was considered for the men's match, and why it ultimately didn't happen.

Who did WWE want in the men's Royal Rumble match?

As noted, WrestleVotes reported in January that WWE was considering a shock "Forbidden Door" entrant into the men's Royal Rumble match earlier this year.

Immediately fams started speculating that some top AEW talent, including the likes of Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho and even Bryan Danielson could be part of one of WWE's biggest matches of 2022.

However, speaking exclusively with GiveMeSport, WrestleVotes has now provided some more information on the matter, confirming that no one from AEW was considered for the match.

It was never on the table for it to be anybody from AEW. That that I know for sure. They agreed to have Mickie James wearing the IMPACT title, so I know the idea was 'if we do it in the women's, shouldn't we do it in the men's?'

So it seems like, at least according to WrestleVotes, that the feeling was if WWE was bringing in Mickie for the women's match, they should also look to bring in someone of the same ilk for the men's too.

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WWE Royal Rumble 2023

Image Copyright: WWE

Why wasn't a Forbidden Door included in the men's match

So, if the surprise entrant was considered, why didn't WWE pull the trigger and make it happen?

They went on to explain that Vince McMahon was presented by his staff with a handful of names that it was believed could be brought in, and the Head of Creative at the time didn't like any of them.

From what I understand, a list of four or five guys was presented, and Vince didn't like any of them, so that's where it ended.

In fact, WrestleVotes even suggested that it's possible that Vince didn't know any of the guys that he was offered to be part of the match, which would be another reason why the idea was scrapped.

Vince doesn't know every single wrestler outside of the WWE, so when this list was presented, there was nothing that jumped out at him. I'm not even quite sure he recognised the four or five or six guys that they said, 'we can probably do this.'

The feeling was that the guys on the list could have been part of the IMPACT roster, given that that's the promotion that Mickie James was working for, and a deal had already been sorted there.

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Vince McMahon has retired from WWE

Vince McMahon has retired from WWE

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