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The Royal Rumble is just a couple of days away and the rumour mill is on overdrive.
From possible legends returning to the person who could eliminate Brock Lesnar, we take a look at the latest rumors ahead of Sunday's PPV.
#7 Returning star could eliminate Brock Lesnar
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One of the big names already confirmed to be in the men's Royal Rumble match alongside Brock Lesnar is Lesnar's old UFC rival Cain Velasquez. Lesnar and Velasquez already wrestled each other at WWE Crown Jewel last year, a match Lesnar won quite easily.
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Velasquez needed time to heal up from earlier injuries and will be looking to come back better. According to Dave Meltzer, Cain Velasquez is one of the favourites at this point to eliminate Lesnar from the Royal Rumble match:
"I want to go into detail of what I expect from Brock Lesnar in this match. Coming in at #1, instead of coming in and just announcing for the Rumble, means to me that he’s sort of going to segregate the match. So I don’t think we’d get to see a classic Ironman in this match. We’ll see maybe the first seven or ten entrants will be all based around Brock Lesnar, so you’d have people come in, particularly fan favourites, and get thrown out in short order.He’ll dominate the match and then probably come up against someone like Keith Lee or Braun Strowman and that will really slow him down and then stay in the match afterwards.
The idea is that Lesnar becomes more and more hated, that’s why we saw R-Truth, that’s why we saw Ricochet... we are supposed to really detest Brock, because the more you hate Brock, the more you’re going to like whoever eliminates him. And they are doing this because they are not confident they will get a pop for whoever eliminates him because easily the favourite person to do that is Cain Velasquez."
#6 Rumor killer on one of Lesnar's possible Mania opponents
There have been a number of names floated in the last month as possible opponents for Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Amongst these possible names was Tyson Fury. Fury made his WWE debut at WWE Crown Jewel last year, beating Braun Strowman by countout.
Dave Meltzer spoke about this on Wrestling Observer Radio, and according to him it looks unlikely. Here's what Meltzer said about the matter:
“Lots of speculation regarding Tyson Fury & WrestleMania. The source said his fight at MGM Grand vs. Deontay Wilder on February 22 is crucial to him appearing in Tampa. If Wilder wins, Vince isn’t throwing $$ at a guy who just lost on PPV. So to a degree, the ball is in Fury’s court.”
#5 Shannon Moore could return at the Royal Rumble
One thing fans always expect at the Royal Rumble is former Superstars making surprise returns. We got Rey Mysterio making his return a couple of years ago and Jeff Jarrett during last year's men's Rumble match.
One former Superstar who could be returning during the Royal Rumble match is Shannon Moore. WrestlingNews.co reported that Shannon Moore could come back to work for the WWE.
It was also stated that WWE could have something for him at the Royal Rumble although the exact role hasn't been revealed. Moore wrestled WCW as part of 3-count before moving to WWE after the former's demise. Moore had a successful run in the cruiserweight divison, with his most memorable storyline coming as Matt Hardy V1's lackey.
#4 Naomi could make her return at the Royal Rumble
Naomi has been absent from WWE television for a number of months. She addressed her absence herself on Twitter last year, saying that she had to take time off because of personal reasons.
However, it looks like we will see the former SmackDown Women's Champion back in the ring soon. Mike Johnson of PWInsider is reporting that Naomi could return during the Women's Royal Rumble this Sunday. He also added that she would probably be on SmackDown going forward:
"The word making the rounds is that she will be returning shortly and will be placed on the Smackdown brand. The Royal Rumble would be the most logical place for that return."
#3 Edge could still be returning at the Royal Rumble
Despite Edge's denial, rumors of him returning at the Royal Rumble continue to persist. Mike Johnson of PWInsider recently spoke about this and he also believes that the 11-time World Champion could return at the Royal Rumble. Here's what Johnson said:
"I've heard that Edge signed a new deal with WWE that has a pretty nice upside. We also reported a few months ago he was in Pittsburgh for WWE business and that's where WWE Wellness Policy head Dr. Joseph Maroon is headquartered. My gut feeling is we'll see Edge in the Royal Rumble as a surprise (as that seems like the perfect place to make a big splash with a return for Wrestlemania season) and possibly even see him do a few matches on major events.
I will point out that Edge has denied on social media that he's doing anything, but the talk has persisted internally that he's on the way back to the ring and I do believe there is something to it. We will see if I am right soon enough."
#2 Finn Balor could be in the men's Royal Rumble match
A number of NXT stars could feature in the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches. One of these is former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor who is being considered as a surprise entrant. Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue discussed this in his new YouTube video:
"Triple H is teasing a few obvious choices. In his words, he has suggested people who can have big moments. The obvious one that he described was Matt Riddle, another person who is being teased is Finn Balor, being teased by himself on Twitter if you catch it recently. Finn Balor has a lot of casual appeal, I reached out and asked about this one to see of they were someone they were thinking of.
He’s definitely a name they are thinking of, would like to have involved. Mostly because there are a lot of people who would be watching the Royal Rumble who don’t necessarily watch NXT. They are probably wondering where Finn Balor is, so I think it would be a good moment there and it could some exciting even for viewers of NXT."
Check out our Royal Rumble 2020 Preview and Predictions video below:
#1 Possible Rumble plans for Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman hasn't had a lot of meaty storylines to chew on in the last few months but he could still get a big match at the Royal Rumble this Sunday.
On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed WWE's plans for Strowman at the Rumble. According to Dave Meltzer, WWE could still announce a big Intercontinental title match with Strowman challenging the current champion, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Here's what Alvarez and Meltzer discussed:
Meltzer: I would think that they are probably going to add Nakamura and Braun Strowman but I don’t know if that is a fact
Alvarez: Well Nakamura and Strowman are both in the Rumble, so unless they do two matches just like Corbin and Roman Reigns. But I mean that’s like the whole gimmick with Corbin and Reigns, so I don’t know why you have to do it twice.
Meltzer: Okay, but then why would you keep having Strowman beat Nakamura now. You could have waited three weeks due to the next PPV.
Alvarez: Maybe that’s what they are doing.
Meltzer: So why would you beat him now?
