Backstage WWE Rumors: Latest on Royal Rumble, Becky Lynch, More

Raw women's champion Becky Lynch is about to get a big-time WrestleMania 38 opponent if reports heading into Saturday's Royal Rumble are any indication.

The topic of Big Time Becks' rival for The Showcase of the Immortals headlines a collection of rumors that also covers two potential returns in the women's Rumble match, celebrity involvement on wrestling's grandest stage and an update on Veer, who appears to have made like Spinal Tap and got lost on his way to the stage in Raw.

Dive deeper into those topics as the most significant period in the WWE calendar rapidly approaches.

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp reported that former Raw women's tag team champions Asuka and Kairi Sane are being mentioned as potential entrants in this year's women's Royal Rumble match.

Sane exited WWE in 2020 and has been serving as one of the company's ambassadors in Japan.

Asuka has not been seen since the 2021 Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July. She posted a photo on social media in September in which her arm was in a sling, suggesting she was nursing an injury.

The Kabuki Warriors are, arguably, the best tag team to come out of what has been a mostly up-and-down women's tag division. They still have equity with fans in that it was not all that long ago that they were mixing it up with the likes of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross and The IIconics.

Add in the fact that Asuka remains perpetually over, and you have two surprises worth the entries into the Battle Royal on Saturday night, especially at a time when WWE is struggling to field a 30-woman field with its current roster.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that all signs point toward Raw women's champion Becky Lynch defending her title against Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 38.

The matchup does make sense, though, and isn't an instance of WWE bringing in talent just to pop a buyrate record.

Lynch became the first woman to pin Rousey in a WWE ring at WrestleMania 35, and fans have wondered ever since if the former UFC star would return for a blockbuster one-on-one match between the two.

It appears that time is now, setting up a bona fide main event for either night of this year's Showcase of the Immortals on April 2-3.

Whether Rousey will exhibit any ring rust or she is able to step right back in and be the explosive, rookie phenom she was during her first year of in-ring action is open to question. Even if she is not, Lynch will have her prepared to deliver the contest both they and the fans deserve.

Fightful Select's Sapp first reported Rousey could be on her way back to WWE in time for Saturday's Royal Rumble PPV.

Johnny Knoxville's appearance at the Royal Rumble will be one-and-done, according to WrestleVotes, but the company is working on another celebrity appearance for WrestleMania 38.

Who remains a mystery, "either because it's 'top-secret' (unlikely) or undecided." 

The Show of Shows has a long history of celebrity involvement, and with the show taking place at the huge AT&T Stadium in Dallas, it stands to reason that WWE would want to load up the card with as many major names as possible, even if one of them comes from outside the wrestling world.

Last year, Bad Bunny wowed the fans with a performance that instantly ranked among the best celebrity involvements in wrestling history.

Previous 'Mania celebrity highlights include Mike Tyson, Lawrence Taylor, Mr. T and Pamela Anderson.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reported that there are no plans for Veer to appear at the Royal Rumble.

The former on-screen associate of Jinder Mahal has been "coming to Raw" for months now, according to vignettes filmed by WWE, but there has been no indication that it will actually happen. Instead, it has been treated as a joke of sorts.

After months of pre-taped video packages, it feels like the company's lack of plans for him extends beyond having no plans at the Rumble to having no plans for him at all.

It is unfortunate for the wrestler, who appeared to have a good thing going with Mahal and Shanky before inexplicably being split from them during the most recent draft.

When, or if, he does debut remains a question without an apparent answer.