Tons of Royal Rumble news and notes!

Lots of news and notes for the Royal Rumble!!

- As many have pointed out on Twitter, AEW star Ricky Starks was at WWE Royal Rumble. He's remained close with Cody Rhodes, and was at WrestleMania last year. This is not out of the ordinary at all. Dolph Ziggler was at the AEW LA show, and Britt Baker was at NXT shows often when Adam Cole was there.

- WWE had more media events in relation to Royal Rumble than any PPV in recent memory. This included events with 2K, Special Olympics, and military.

- WWE were very happy with the numbers of the Royal Rumble, and sent out press releases touting viewership and live gate records. The live gate was over $7.7 million

- The company pushed hard to implement more sponsors for this show, which was evident on the broadcast. Triple H noted to media they doubled their previous high for sponsorship dollars for the Royal Rumble. We're told to expect this to continue.

- The Hardy performance was largely scoffed at by those we spoke to in the company, and felt like it compromised

- Pat McAfee was originally pitched for a Royal Rumble spot, as he confirmed our report. Michael Cole and Corey Graves both did not know that he was coming out. We're told that a private jet brought McAfee in the day of the show. WWE are hopeful that they can have him wrestle again this year.

- Chelsea Green was not hidden, and was at the venue throughout the day. She brought several different kinds of gear to the show.

- Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were not in town for the show. We're told they were never planned for the event after AJ Styles' injury.

- Cody Rhodes claimed that he wasn't officially cleared until the day of the Royal Rumble. Those close to him had told us that he wasn't cleared as of last month when he went to the WWE Performance Center.

- The NIL recruits had a big week with WWE. Several were at the Special Olympics event, a fireside chat and dinner, as well as the Royal Rumble itself. We spoke to some within WWE that specifically spoke highly of Abby Jacobs. One source said they believe she would transition to wrestling well if she goes that route.

- We're told that the Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Bloodline and Sami Zayn was a "curtain sellout" for many, and wrestlers and staff were crowded around the monitors in silence watching the angle play out.

- One source called the Royal Rumble backstage experience "very laid back" and noted that the children of many wrestlers were backstage having fun.

- The PPV went a little over time. It was scheduled for four hours. It ended up going about twelve minutes past that.

- Ronda Rousey was not expected for this show from the point that she lost the Women's Title.

- There was no realistic situation for Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock to have an in-ring faceoff at the Royal Rumble, as some had inaccurately speculated. Austin had been pitched for several other things over recent months, and talks with the Rock hadn't went anywhere.