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WWE has officially kick-started their year with a bang, thanks to the 2019 Royal Rumble, which by far was one of the better-produced shows by the company. Considering the Royal Rumble is one of the more popular PPVs' of all time, WWE pretty much did everything right from the beginning till the end, booking some of our favorite stars' in the best way possible.
A wild night at the Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, capped off with crowd favorite Seth Rollins winning his first ever Rumble match, whereas, 'The Man' Becky Lynch won the Women's Royal Rumble match. Elsewhere, the likes of Asuka, Buddy Murphy, and Daniel Bryan retained their titles, as Shinsuke Nakamura and the newly formed duo of The Miz and Shane McMahon shockingly won the SmackDown Tag Titles.
The Universal Championship match also turned out to be quite the outing for former champion Finn Balor, who almost dethroned 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar but eventually fell short.
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Following the Rumble, however, WWE also capped off with a brilliant episode of Raw and now the focus has shifted over to the blue brand of SmackDown Live. That being said, let's take a look at 6 superstars who could possibly return or make their debut on tonight's episode of SD Live and in doing so could make the Road To WrestleMania 35 even more exciting.
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#6. Luke Harper
Luke Harper remains as the likeliest superstar to make his return to WWE TV tonight. At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, we witnessed the formation of one of the strangest alliances' of all time, as former Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan made his return to TV in casual clothes and helped WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan retain over AJ Styles.
With Rowan and Bryan now forming a bond which looks like the beginning of a "cult movement", it would only make all the sense in the world for Rowan's long-time tag team partner Luke Harper to join his former Wyatt Family brothers.
A stable consisting of Bryan, Harper, and Rowan would definitely make things a lot more interesting.
#5. Lacey Evans
Lacey Evans is currently a free agent on the main roster and has not been assigned to a particular brand, however, in her official debut on the main roster, Evans did compete against Raw star Natalya in a dark match and has also been making cameos over on the red brand.
However, having entered the Women's Royal Rumble match at #2, Evans did make a lot of impact on what was her first Rumble outing. 'The Lady Of WWE' also scored two big eliminations when she got rid of The IIconics from the Rumble match before being eventually thrown out of the ring by Charlotte Flair.
Considering that Evans was in a confrontation with some of the top female stars from the SmackDown Live roster, it would make all the sense in the world for her to officially join the blue brand and maybe challenge The IIconics or Charlotte Flair to a match.
#4. Nikki Cross
Known as NXT's twisted sister, Nikki Cross has had quite the impact on the main roster, where she has competed in a match for both the brands. Cross' initial appearance was under SmackDown Live where she went toe-to-toe with former SmackDown Women's Champion, Becky Lynch. And few weeks prior to the Rumble, Cross teamed up with Natalya and Bayley to defeat The Riott Squad.
At the Royal Rumble, Cross lasted around 9 minutes before being dumped out by The IIconics. I personally feel that it is about time for WWE to officially assign Nikki Cross to the SmackDown Live brand where she can join Sanity once again and run roughshod through the entire roster.
With Becky Lynch now drafted over to Raw, SmackDown Women's Champion, Asuka is in need of a fresh new challenger and Nikki Cross could very well be that new challenger 'The Empress of Tomorrow' has been waiting for.
#3. Tye Dillinger
Heading into the new year, Tye Dillinger seemingly picked up an untimely injury during a Live Event, however, just a few weeks ago, 'The Perfect 10' would return during an episode of Main Event.
The strange part here, however, is why WWE didn't opt to use Dillinger at The Rumble? Usually, one would expect him to come out at #10 but this year, Seth Rollins instead replaced him as the 10th entrant and eventually winning the match as well.
Therefore, the wise decision for WWE would be to have Dillinger make his return to SmackDown Live tonight, ahead in time for WrestleMania 35.
#2. Maryse
Ever since making her return to the WWE in 2016, Maryse has been a very important part of The Miz's career, not only acting as the valet for her husband but also playing an important role on the mic as well.
Maryse's last appearance in the WWE was a singles match against Brie Bella, the former's first in-ring match in over 8 years. However, after that bout, Maryse has not been seen again on WWE TV, as The Miz ignited a newly formed alliance with Shane McMahon.
The Miz and Shane's alliance has now seen the two men shockingly win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships from The Bar at The Royal Rumble and one could pretty much expect Maryse to make her return to TV in order to celebrate The Miz's big title win.
#1. Lars Sullivan
There are several strange reports currently surrounding Lars Sullivan, however, as we have previously mentioned that mental issues are no joke. Lars Sullivan is seemingly poised to be WWE's next big superstar (and I mean literally as well). The former NXT Championship challenger was set to make his debut on Raw several weeks ago, however, his debut eventually got postponed when he suffered an anxiety attack backstage on Raw.
There have been several updates on Sullivan's health since then with WWE COO, Triple H confirming the fact that Lars is seemingly in a better place and in a recent update on Twitter, it was also confirmed that Sullivan is indeed in a better place.
That being said, there is surely a possibility that Sullivan might finally make his main roster debut tonight on SmackDown Live and shock the world. With the likes of AJ Styles, Andrade, and even Randy Orton in need of fresh feuds, I feel Sullivan could possibly step up to the plate and take full advantage of the opportunity presented to him.
