Royal Rumble highlights main roster depth issues

WWE’s mismanagement of the women’s division continues to catch up to the company.

The 2022 edition of the Royal Rumble is coming, set for Saturday, January 29. The men’s and women’s rumbles are two of the highest-anticipated matches of the year, as they kick off the “Road to WrestleMania.” However, this year’s rumble shows a clear issue with talent management in the WWE when it comes to the women’s division.

Fans were shocked that Mickie James was announced as a participant for the Royal Rumble this year during SmackDown. Not only that but she was identified as the Impact Knockout’s Champion, one of the rare times the WWE acknowledges another promotion’s champion on air. Fans are rightly excited about this opportunity as James has a well-deserved diehard following.

But her return also highlights the lack of depth within the women’s divisions throughout the WWE. According to the current roster, there are 18 women combined on the Raw and SmackDown rosters. This includes the currently injured Bayley and Sasha Banks. Since the start of the pandemic the WWE has cut several wrestlers, but the deepest marks were left in the women’s ranks. Tegan Nox, Ruby Soho, Ember Moon, Franky Monet, Zayda Ramier, Mickie James, and many other names were cut from the promotion.

With 19 spots for the Women’s Rumble announced, fans wonder how WWE will fill out the ranks of the match. Of course, NXT performers are available, and fans should expect to see some involved. Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, Io Shirai, and perhaps members of Toxic Attraction stand out as potential wrestlers that could show up.

Lack of depth is a real problem for WWE main roster booking

Still, WWE has a clear issue with a lack of depth when it comes to the women on the main roster. Even with such small numbers on both shows, WWE continues to fail when it comes to booking the women in multiple, meaningful angles – instead, leaning on the practice of lumping them all together in angles. With five hours of television time each week, and even more when the time on Main Event and their YouTube channel is factored in, it’s disheartening that the group is in such a situation. It becomes even more unfortunate when taking into account the changes in hiring practices and presentations across the product.

The Royal Rumble usually creates a lot of excitement for the immediate future of the WWE product. This year, it also highlights the continued talent management woes that are impacting the women’s divisions on both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. It doesn’t have to be like this, but WWE continues to show no desire to effectively book the women like they deserve and fans push to see.