Report: Robert Roode Was Originally Going To Be In The WWE Men's Royal Rumble

Since the Royal Rumble, multiple reports have noted that WWE switched out the participants in the Rumble matches for a variety of reasons. 

Jey Uso was originally scheduled to be in the Men's Rumble but he wasn't medically cleared for in-ring action on January 31 and an alternate had to be found. Angel Garza was also set to be briefly in the match for a comedy spot but WWE went with Otis instead. On the women's side, Reckoning had to be pulled from the Rumble after she tested positive for COVID-19 and her boyfriend Keith Lee failed to appear in the Men's match.  

Another name pulled from the Rumble has recently come to light following a report from Fightful Select. They noted Robert Roode was originally scheduled for the pay-per-view but The Glorious One was unable to compete for an unknown reason.

Roode has since returned to the ring and The Dirty Dawgs defeated Chad Gable and Otis on last week's SmackDown.  

Fightful also reported that Montez Ford wasn't an alternate for the Rumble. He was shown backstage celebrating with his wife Bianca Belair after her Royal Rumble win.