The Royal Rumble is one of WWE’s most entertaining and compelling PPV’s that they put on. Surprise entrants or returns, numbers drawn by fan-favourites and who wins the match itself are always the most intriguing parts of the event.
The past couple years, the Rumble has been somewhat predictable when it came to who was going to win. This year that couldn’t be further from the truth. Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Braun Strowman, The Wyatt Family, and New Day have all joined the match already, with plenty of spots remaining.
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A couple of the remaining spots are sure to go to surprise entrants that will bring the crowd to their feet in the San Antonio. Here’s a list of five superstars that could make a surprise return or debut during the 2017 Royal Rumble:
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#1 Conor McGregor
Arguably the most well-known fighter in UFC, Conor McGregor’s agent has mentioned in the past that he’s open to hearing offers from the WWE. What better time than the Royal Rumble?
While McGregor is also being rumoured to get into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather, McGregor is obviously trying to find ways to make money outside of the Octagon, and the squared circle just may be the answer he (and Dana White) are looking for.
There’s no denying McGregor doing some work with WWE would increase viewership for both WWE and UFC. All he would need is the green light from White to participate in WWE activities. While McGregor has virtually no pro-wrestling experience, he would certainly bring excitement to the event.
#2 Kurt Angle
This past Monday night on Raw, Kurt Angle was announced as the headliner and first entrant into the WWE Hall of Fame, class of 2017. One of the greatest professional wrestlers ever, Angle spent eight years in WWE in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and won the United States Title, the Intercontinental Title, the Tag Team titles, the WWE Title (four times), and won the King of the Ring tournament in 2000.
He became the tenth pro wrestler to win WWE’s Triple Crown and only the fifth ever Grand Slam Champion for the company. Since his days with WWE, Angle has spent most of his time in TNA, where he solidified his standing as one of the best ever, with feuds against Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.
As soon as Angle was announced for the Hall of Fame, fans everywhere started to speculate that Angle would be in the Royal Rumble. While nothing official has come out yet, it would not completely shock us to see Angle as a surprise entrant in this year’s Rumble.
Angle is almost 50 years old and has had several serious injuries and concussions throughout his career, however, so he may just be coming back to the company for his Hall of Fame induction. If “Medal” hits over the loud speakers in San Antonio during the Rumble, the crowd is sure to explode!
#3 CM Punk
Talk about someone that would blow the roof off the arena if his entrance music hit out of nowhere. Punk was one of the most popular WWE Superstars in the history of the company, and honestly, his popularity is still there considering he’s been gone three years now.
“CM Punk” chants are still loud at Raw or a PPV, sometimes even during matches. Punk left the company in the early part of 2014 after disagreements with the company, including several with Vince McMahon and Triple H specifically.
Punk spent the next few years bashing the company he once worked for and starred in, and eventually made his way to UFC. After months and months of speculation on when he would make his UFC debut, he finally did so, facing Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September of 2016.
His UFC debut did not go as planned, however, when Punk tapped out to Gall in two minutes and fourteen seconds. Since then, Punk has kept somewhat of a low profile. Dana White does not seem too eager to get Punk back in a UFC ring anytime soon, and even though he’s burned some bridges within WWE, Vince is not scared to bury a hatchet with a Superstar if it makes the company money.
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura
This is a dream of alot of WWE fans, specifically the ones that watch NXT. Shinsuke Nakamura debuted at last year’s NXT Takeover: Dallas during Wrestlemania weekend against Sami Zayn and instantly became a fan favourite.
With one of the coolest entrances in the company and being one of the most charasmatic Superstars in all of WWE, Nakamura would be a perfect surprise entrant for the Rumble. It would also be a perfect spot to debut a guy like Nakamura, whose English isn’t great at the moment because his debut would be based on his entrance, charisma, and in-ring ability; not his ability to cut a promo or anything like that.
It didn’t take The King of Strong Style long to make a huge impact in NXT, defeating Zayn during his debut, beating Austin Aries at Takeover: The End, overcoming Finn Balor in Finn’s final NXT televised match, and feuding with Samoa Joe for the better part of 2016, winning the coveted NXT Championship twice during the feud.
All of this was done in a span of less than a full calendar year, so many believe Nakamura’s time in NXT isn’t up yet, especially if Triple H has anything to do with it.
#5 Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega has become one of the most popular names in sports entertainment over the past month. Ever since his classic match with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11, which Dave Meltzer from WON rated a six-star match (out of five), the wrestling world has been enamoured with the man they call “The Cleaner”.
The newest leader of the famed Bullet Club in Japan, Omega has captivated the wrestling world with his immense talent and unworldly charisma.
Not only has his ability been greatly talked about, but also his contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. During an appearance on The Taz Show, Omega claimed he is now a free agent and is considering signing with WWE.
Omega talked about how his career in Japan is “close to complete” and how he felt WWE would be much more accepting of a talent like himself and would use him to his full potential, while also saying in the past, that may not have been the case.
He also said he didn’t want to sign to WWE just for the money, but wanted to do things that made wrestling fans happy, and if WWE felt the same way about him, then he would seriously consider an offer from the company.
Omega showing up at the Rumble would be a lot like last year when AJ Styles debuted during the Rumble match. Not only would this be huge for WWE (and its fanbase), but it would also be a huge blow to NJPW, one of WWE’s biggest global competitors.
Not only would Omega debuting during the Rumble add to the spectacle of the event, but it would give WWE a huge global name moving forward to use in their main event scene.
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