WWE's Royal Rumble was full of happenings and surprises, but there were a lot of surprising people not there, as well.
Fightful Select reported a ton of news emerging from the show:
WWE had their Royal Rumble lineup set by Sunday morning, and what you saw unfold is the order they had planned it. During big shows in the past, the lineup has changed all the way up until the show was actually on the air.
Adam Pearce was said to have been instrumental in putting the Royal Rumble match together, and it was received well backstage. Bianca Belair received a standing ovation upon returning backstage after her win.
We're told that Vince McMahon was not seen at the venue on Sunday, and has been missing several shows of late. McMahon has been dealing with the passing of his brother, Rodney. We extend our condolences to the McMahon Family.
Jey Uso was conspicuously absent from the WWE Royal Rumble graphic on Smackdown, and the entire tag team scene were pretty well absent from the show. Fightful learned that both Jey Uso and tag team champion Robert Roode were not backstage at the event.
This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts. It also appeared in our Fightful Wrestling Weekly newsletter, free on Fightful.
To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You'll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski's Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp's Q&A, Retro Reviews and more
