Who will be the 13 unannounced entrants in the Royal Rumble?

With the big show in Philadelphia two days away, we know 17 of the 30 entrants in the traditional Royal Rumble match. They are:

1. Elias
2. Randy Orton
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. John Cena
5. Finn Balor
6. Baron Corbin
7. Matt Hardy
8. Bray Wyatt
9. Rusev
10. Aiden English
11. Apollo Crews
12. Titus O'Neil
13. The Miz
14. Tye Dillinger
15. Big E Langston
16. Kofi Kingston
17. Xavier Woods

This leaves 13 surprise entrants, though some surprises will be bigger than others. A combination of unannounced full-time stars, talent on loan from NXT, and a returning legend or two are to be expected, but which ones?

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#1 Roman Reigns

The Rumble will certainly be the Big Dog's yard again.

Fresh off his IC title loss, Roman Reigns isn't scheduled for a match on the card and as we learned last year, even if he was, he'll still be in the Rumble anyway. It's been defined by him in recent years and there's no way it'll stop now.

Since it's a foregone conclusion that he'll be in the main event of WrestleMania with Brock Lesnar, many consider him the favorite to win.

I personally don't think that will be the case since RAW has the Elimination Chamber next month (and maybe WWE has learned a thing or two since the last time this event was held in Philly), but Roman is a lock to be in the final four.

#2 Pete Dunne

The Bruiserweight is set to make an appearance.

If ever there were a lock for a one-night NXT call-up, it's Pete Dunne. In fact, the UK champ has canceled an appearance he was set to take on the British independent circuit this weekend. If it's not to make an appearance in the Royal Rumble, it's hard to imagine another reason.

Pete Dunne was in some of WWE's best matches last year and he's certainly earned a spot on one of the company's biggest stages. I'd love to see him.

#3 Jinder Mahal

The Maharaja will do better in the Rumble this year.

Although we now know that there will be a US title open challenge on the pre-show, it's likelier that Jinder Mahal spends the night in the Royal Rumble instead.

Given that WWE hasn't totally given up on him, he'll do better than he would have done last year. Expect to see him rack up an elimination or two during his run in the match to keep him strong in the mid-card.

#4 Goldust

The bizarre one will stay for maybe a minute.

Every Royal Rumble match has its jobbers. Goldust will dazzle with his entrance for a while and then come into the ring a little bit before getting eliminated in quick fashion.

#5 Curt Hawkins

And the losing streak continues!

There are jobbers and then there are super jobbers. Every Royal Rumble match has one or two entrants that run up to the ring and then get immediately tossed out. No one fits that description better than Curt Hawkins.

#6 Heath Slater

He's got, kids! He needs this opportunity!

He may have kids and could use the opportunity of winning the Royal Rumble, but it's one he won't get. Heath Slater is destined to be the second person that runs into the ring and gets immediately tossed out.

#7 Mojo Rawley

Is this the future?

Though he was unsuccessful in the US title tournament, Mojo Rawley has slowly risen up the ranks since turning on Zack Ryder in November. He's in a better spot than he was a year ago and the Rumble could give us a major clue as to where he stands on the totem pole as 2018 gets underway.

#8 Bobby Roode

A GLORIOUS entrant

Though he's in a kickoff show title match, he'll retain and show up in the Royal Rumble later on. There's no reason for him not to be there.

#9 Hideo Itami

RESPECT him!

WWE has recently experimented with letting the cruiserweights interact with the rest of the roster. It was long overdue. And now that Enzo is gone from the company, Hideo Itami's stock in the division is that much higher.

Not scheduled for the kickoff cruiserweight match, an appearance in the Royal Rumble is likely for the Japanese superstar.

#10 Bubba Ray Dudley

Will we see it again?

No Royal Rumble would be complete without a returning legend or two, and given that we just saw a bunch on RAW's 25th-anniversary show, there's a bunch to choose from.

Perhaps the likeliest is Bubba Ray Dudley, who was in top form putting Heath Slater through a table on Monday. Plus, he's already done this before, so it's not out of place for him to do it again.

#11 Billy Gunn

Will the "badass" return?

"Badass" Billy Gunn also looked in great shape on Monday as he laid a beating on the Revival with his DX stablemates, performing his signature Fameasser with no rust at all.

Out of that group at the Manhattan Center, I'll pick him as the likeliest legend to make an appearance in the match.

#12 Braun Strowman

The monster will take his place among men on Sunday.

He's competing for the Universal Championship on Sunday, but as we saw last year, that isn't an obstacle to making an appearance in the match. The Rumble match always has a monster in it, and it would be crazy not to include this particular one since he also happens to be the most over performer in the company.

It's likely that we'll hear him roar and run to the ring during the chaos, even involved as he was in a war earlier in the night.

#13 Dolph Ziggler

Do we deserve him?

WWE has actually done it. They've actually managed to bring some life back to Dolph Ziggler's career. By having him unexpectedly win the US title at Clash of Champions last month, and then having him drop it and disappear without a trace, everyone is wondering what he'll do next. It's been a month and we still don't know.

There would be no better time to put an exclamation point on his return than in the Royal Rumble.

In fact, Dolph Ziggler is my dark horse pick to win the whole thing.