We have turned the corner of Summer and are rapidly heading towards winter, which means the Royal Rumble is just around the corner. So, we took a look at three men who could be surprise entrants in the match.
The Royal Rumble is one of the traditional “Big Four” WWE pay-per-views. At the turn of every year, it sees the start of the “Road to WrestleMania”. One-half of the ‘Mania main event is set up with the winner of the over the top rope Battle Royal getting a title shot against the top champion in the WWE.
In recent years we’ve seen a who’s who of the WWE winning the match. 2016 saw Triple H win the match, and in the process get his hands on the WWE Championship. Prior to that, we’ve seen Roman Reigns, John Cena, Sheamus and Edge win the match, and go towards a shot at the title at ‘Mania.
Whilst the main aim of the Royal Rumble is to win the match, a lot of the interest in the match comes via the surprise entrants who pop up every year. Whether to be Kevin Nash making a big return, John Cena or Edge returning from career-threatening injuries to win the match, or just the shock of a man like Bob Backlund popping up in the year 2000.
This year we have the added interest of the Brand Split, which sees men and women split between the Raw and SmackDown Brands. With so many men vying for a spot in the match, we may not see too many surprise entrants, but here are three we’d like to see.
WWE.com
3. Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam is a legend of the original ECW. He made his name in some mega matches with the likes of Jerry Lynn and alongside Sabu, including a near two-year reign as the ECW Television Champion.
When ECW folded in the early 2000’s he had a pretty good run in the WWE, including beating John Cena for the World Title (which became the ECW Championship). He left in 2006, made a dramatic appearance at the 2009 Royal Rumble, then made a return in 2013 and left again in late 2014, battling for the World and Intercontinental Championships before leaving yet again.
Van Dam is one of the most loved wrestlers of the last two decades. Some fans have clamoured to see him return, with his name talked about every year at Royal Rumble time. It’s not too much of an exaggeration to think that Van Dam would receive probably the biggest pop of the match if he was to make a return in early 2017.
If it was for a short run, Van Dam could be a great asset to WWE. If he was to work with some of the younger members on the roster, potentially some of the Cruiserweight Division guys or a run in NXT to help the development of some of the new wrestlers in the company, Van Dam could be a fantastic addition to the current WWE product.
WWE.com
2. James Ellsworth
James Ellsworth has to have a surprise spot in the 2017 Royal Rumble, the world just won’t be right if it doesn’t happen.
Ellsworth has become a cult figure for WWE fans around the world after being the first man (jobber) beaten by the newly focused Braun Strowman on Raw. Strowman has been part of some great one-sided squash matches, with Ellsworth being the first victim.
Since then he has appeared a handful of times, most recently getting a Dean Ambrose assisted win over WWE Champion AJ Styles on SmackDown. He heads into another match with Styles this week, with the title on the line, what a great way to get under the skin of the heel champion.
There will be no doubt that Ellsworth will continue to get used on both Raw and SmackDown, with the comedy jobber role becoming his calling card for WWE fans around the world. The Royal Rumble could see him worked into the role of the man who eliminates one of the biggest stars in the match, but then gets destroyed by them.
1. “Broken” Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy was one of the mainstays of the WWE for over a decade until the left the company in 2010. Since then he’s made a name for himself in TNA, but it’s in the last six months or so that he’s become one of the most talked about guys in wrestling.
Matt Hardy has turned himself into something altogether different. The Broken Matt Hardy character has pushed the boundaries of professional wrestling to the limit, and showed that thinking outside the box can make such a big mark on the business.
The whole thing came off the back of Matt’s feud with his brother Jeff Hardy, with Matt apparently regressing to what appears to be his former self from a previous life. The character has drawn in Jeff, or “Brother Nero” as he’s now known, Matt’s wife Reby Sky and son Maxel, and has seen the former Hardy Boys go on to win the TNA Tag Team Championships.
With TNA in dire straits financially, Hardy has hinted at the fact he may be tempted to buy the company himself. With Matt Hardy as the owner of TNA, he could set his sights on a war with WWE, he’s already had wars with Brother Nero and Decay and his greatest achievement could be his finest moment yet.
Hardy has spoken about a potential return to WWE, this could be the perfect opportunity for that return. The roof would be blown off the arena if he was to walk out during the Royal Rumble match. This could be a great crossover storyline that would lead to some of the most talked about moments of 2017.
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