The 2023 WWE Royal Rumble was packed with unexpected events. To the delight of WWE fans, the women’s bout saw the comebacks of Chelsea Green, Nia Jax, and Piper Niven. However, the men’s match was impacted by a surprise no-show when an expected participant failed to appear after his theme music played.
Rey Mysterio was slated to enter the 30-man Battle Royale as entrant #17. However, he failed to show up, with no explanation from the commentary team. Instead, entrant #18, Dominik Mysterio, appeared with his father’s mask, leading to speculation that he and The Judgement Day attacked Rey and prevented him from competing in the match.
Rey Mysterio could not compete in the Royal Rumble due to an injury sustained in his match with Karrion Kross on the January 27th, 2023, edition of WWE Smackdown. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, despite a recent rivalry where Kross and Scarlett hinted at retiring Rey, he managed to secure a win with a roll-up in under 8 minutes, proving he still has some fight left.
The specifics of Rey’s injury remain undisclosed. Meltzer says it “isn’t serious,” but serious enough to prevent him from competing in the Rumble. He also mentions that the Mysterios were set to have a face-off in the Rumble as a build-up to a Wrestlemania match, but it remains to be seen if the injury will affect those plans.
