5 WWE Superstars who could make a name for themselves at the Royal Rumble

The 2021 WWE Royal Rumble is just around the corner, and fans have been speculating for months over which two Superstars will win a WrestleMania title opportunity.

Over the years, fans have seen many WWE Superstars emerge as big stars in their Royal Rumble performances. For instance, The Rock was - at the time, unexpectedly - established as a force to be reckoned with during the 1999 Royal Rumble, despite the performer not winning the match.

More recently, current WWE Champion Drew McIntyre was rocketed up to the top of the card in the 2020 Royal Rumble after he managed to eliminate Brock Lesnar who, up until that point, had thrown out thirteen WWE Superstars in a row.

Also in the 2020 Royal Rumble, fans saw then-NXT Superstar Bianca Belair become of the WWE's most talked-about women at the time. During the women's match, Belair managed to capture the attention of the WWE Universe with her impressive performance, in which she managed to eliminate a record eight superstars including WWE Legend Molly Holly.

In the same match, Shayna Baszler similarly made her presence felt, and had a top-notch performance at the event.

Here are five WWE Superstars that could make a name for themselves in the 2020 Royal Rumble.

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#5 Former WWE United States Champion Andrade

Former champion Andrade wasn't featured in the 2020 WWE draft and hasn't been seen on WWE television since October. During his absence, Andrade has undergone a minor medical procedure.

According to reports, Andrade is due for a push when he returns to WWE television, potentially alongside his real-life partner Charlotte Flair, who recently came back to WWE at TLC 2020.

A way to set off a big push for Andrade could be a great performance in the 2021 Royal Rumble. The return date for the Superstar is still yet to be announced, but if the reports of him coming back at a similar time to Charlotte Flair are to go ahead, his comeback should be imminent.

Upon his return, it would be great to see Andrade have a defining performance in the Royal Rumble. He is a WWE Superstar who definitely has the potential and ability to achieve this in 2021. Even if Andrade doesn't come out of the Royal Rumble as a winner, he could still have a match that could set him up as a mighty force in WWE.

#4 WWE SmackDown Superstar Chelsea Green could impress in the Royal Rumble

Chelsea Green could give fans a surprise at the Royal Rumble, as she hasn't had the best luck in her most recent WWE run. The former Tough Enough contestant's big call up match to the Blue Brand resulted in the star suffering from a broken wrist instead of winning the Fatal Fourway match and becoming a member of Team SmackDown at WWE Survivor Series, and she was replaced by Liv Morgan.

It seemed that Chelsea Green was due for somewhat of a push upon her main roster debut, but her injury scuppered WWE's plans for the former NXT star.

There have been no further updates to Chelsea Greens' injury status since the star posted a photo of herself working out wearing an arm brace to her Instagram account in early December. Hopefully, Chelsea Green should be back to full health and be able to return to WWE this January.

When Chelsea Green makes her return to WWE, she could make a name for herself with an outstanding Royal Rumble performance. If WWE were intending to push the Superstar, they could pick up where they left off upon her return, and the Royal Rumble is a great event to make a star out of a performer who has potential like Green.

#3 Former WWE NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley could dominate the Royal Rumble

Rhea Ripley seems like she could be an NXT Superstar that is bound for WWE's main roster and an exceptional Royal Rumble performance in 2021.

The Australian star began 2020 as the NXT Women's Champion after defeating Shayna Baszler and ending her record-breaking reign in December 2019. Ripley fought off some stiff competition but was ultimately dethroned by 2020 Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36. This was the first-ever time that an NXT title had been defended at WrestleMania.

Rhea Ripley has been involved with some huge NXT moments this year, including the rivalry between herself and Raquel Gonzalez, and was a member of the women's WarGames team, which this year was headed by Shotzi Blackheart.

In 2019, Rhea Ripley showed the WWE Universe that she was able to go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest stars in the women's division of RAW and SmackDown. During the women's elimination match of Survivor Series 2019, Ripley scored the win for team NXT by pinning current WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks. This was only one day later than her team's victory at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

More recently, fans of WWE have been speculating a main roster push for Rhea Ripley. In a similar vein to Shayna Baszler in the 2020 Royal Rumble, Rhea Ripley could make her presence felt in the 2021 Royal Rumble.

#2 WWE SmackDown Superstar Sonya Deville could steal the show at the Royal Rumble

Sonya Deville could be set to steal the show at the Royal Rumble. After a great first half of 2020, the WWE SmackDown star made her return to the Blue Brand on the New Years Day 2021 edition of the show.

Sonya Deville first came to the attention of the WWE Universe as a part of Absolution, alongside fellow Tough Enough contestant Mandy Rose and former WWE Divas Champion Paige, up until her retirement from in-ring activity.

In 2020, Sonya Deville was met with high praise for her work during the Mandy Rose and Otis storyline. She demonstrated a massive improvement to her in-ring ability, and wowed fans with her promo and character work, and seemed to slowly descend into a more chaotic and vicious persona.

Sonya Deville had huge momentum by the time SummerSlam 2020 rolled around and was set to face Mandy Rose in a Hair vs Hair match. However, due to Deville being at the center of a horrific attempted kidnapping and stalking ordeal, the match was changed to a Loser Leaves WWE match, which Rose won.

Deville hadn't been seen in WWE since August 2020, and her surprise return on SmackDown was met with much excitement. Just in time for the Royal Rumble event.

WWE could pick up from where they left off with Sonya Deville's rising status by having a great Royal Rumble showing from the Superstar.

#1 WWE RAW Superstar Ricochet could have a stellar performance at the Royal Rumble

He was an essential part of the last Royal Rumble. But most recently, former WWE United States Champion Ricochet has been feuding with RETRIBUTION, who seem to want the star to join their faction.

Over the past few weeks and losses to members of RETRIBUTION, the WWE RAW Superstar appears to have lost confidence and could be close to aligning with the group. RETRIBUTION member T-Bar even posted a picture of the stable with Ricochet as a sixth member to social media recently.

However, the star may have a resurgence during the 2021 Royal Rumble. The in-ring style of Ricochet is perfect for a top-notch Royal Rumble performance, potentially in the vein of shocking saves like Naomi, Kofi Kingston, and his real-life partner Kacy Catanzaro.

It would be great to see Ricochet come back to a prominent position in WWE through a standout Royal Rumble performance in 2021. Even if Ricochet doesn't emerge as the winner - which currently seems unlikely for the star - a strong showing in the match would be enough to raise his status in WWE.

Ricochet has the potential to be one of the best performers in the 2021 Royal Rumble with his level of in-ring skills, and it would be interesting to see if he could put his name on the map during this years event.