Royal Rumble 2018 News: Ronda Rousey rumored as surprise entry to the rumble match

Rousey might soon trade the octagon for the squared circle.Wikimedia Commons/Rbautista91

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) women's division recently made history when Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon announced the first ever women's over the top rope elimination match to take place at this year's "Royal Rumble" pay per view.

The event will put together the entire women's rosters from both Raw and Smackdown to go head to head for the opportunity to face the reigning champion of the winner's brand.

However, although the event has been announced as a 30-women Rumble match, the main rosters' only have around 20 female competitors, leaving a lot of open slots for other contestants.

The WWE has been known to add surprise entries to the Rumble for added excitement and they usually include big names such as legendary wrestlers or celebrities for the extra pop. That is why when the historical match was announced, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey's name was once again added to the mix.

Rousey has been in talks with joining the company for quite some time now. The fighter had a special guest appearance in Wrestlemania 31 where she had a confrontation with McMahon that didn't end well for the Commissioner.

She also released a video in early December 2017 where she was shown training with WWE superstar Natalya, who is also a Royal Rumble participant. Rousey was also present during the "Mae Young Classic" tournament where she was cheering for fellow Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter turned wrestler Shanya Baszler, who was competing in the tournament's final.

There was even footage from WWE's official YouTube channel where Rousey, along with her "Horsewomen" allies Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir had a confrontation with the company's own version of the Horsewomen featuring Bailey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, further teasing the possibility of the UFC star stepping into the squared circle.

TMZ reported in mid-December, however that the negotiations for Rousey's jump to the WWE hasn't even started yet, and given that there are only a few weeks before the "Royal Rumble," it certainly puts into question whether "Rowdy" will be able to finalize something with McMahon and surprise everyone during the event.

The "Royal Rumble 2018" will be on Jan 28, 2018 at 7 p.m. ET