Last year, Triple H, AJ Styles, and Sami Zayn showed up at the WWE Royal Rumble and tried to win this prestigious competition. Who will be a surprise entrant this year? This is the question every wrestling fan loves to discuss and this year is no different than the last one. At the 2017 Royal Rumble, we are going to see surprising comeback or a memorable debut, and this entrant may easily become the favorite for winning the title. Here are five possible surprise entrants for the 2017 Royal Rumble.
Shelton Benjamin was supposed to compete in the WWE last summer, but he suffered from a torn rotator cuff, and that is why the former Intercontinental and United States Champion underwent surgery in September.
In November, he wrote on Twitter that he should come back to WWE in four to six months. However, his tweet was a bit ambiguous as it could mean another half a year of recovery or that he would be able to return for four to six months only. It is interesting because that four to six months time span from September is right now, around Royal Rumble.
Could it be that Shelton Benjamin will make a great comeback? If WWE was interested in bringing him back during the last summer, they would still be interested now. However, Benjamin wrote on Twitter that he would not compete in the Royal Rumble match. Still, this is WWE, where everything is possible.
Kurt Angle listed some of the WWE stars he would like to go against, and he has constantly hinted at a WWE return. Furthermore, he was announced as the headliner for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017, which increased the chances of him appearing at Royal Rumble.
However, several problems may prevent Angle from wrestling like his age and health to name a few. Fans are the ones who would like to see Angle in the ring and if Goldberg and Lesnar managed to book their spot, why Angle couldn’t do the same. He is currently the biggest available free agent who hasn’t wrestled for WWE and his impact on Royal Rumble would definitely be massive.
Kurt Angle reportedly signed a contract that would take him through WrestleMania 33, which means that he can return anytime during that span. Angle has also denied that he would compete in Royal Rumble, but we will wait and see what happens.
Sting wants to be in the ring, and he wants to go face to face with The Undertaker. Triple H made a comment that there is no clear WrestleMania 33 opponent for The Undertaker and we believe that Sting could be the one. If we can watch Goldberg, Batista, The Rock and so many other wrestlers again, why can’t we watch Sting?
Sting was announced as the pre-order exclusive character for the WWE 2K15 video game, and because of that, the sales increased. Take-Two Interactive 2015 report stated that the sales for WWE 2K15 were “up more than 40% versus the comparable period for WWE 2K14.” Bringing Sting back to Royal Rumble will be difficult, but this can be a great end of his career.
Triple H is at the very top when it comes to the Royal Rumble surprise entrants. He lost the title to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 32, and this was the last time we had a chance to watch this man fight. He definitely deserves another go for the title, and we would like to see him at Royal Rumble this year.
If Triple H appeared at Royal Rumble, it would be interesting to see Rollins eliminating him because it is a nice closure to a story that began at the last WrestleMania. What ensues is Triple H’s fight with Rollins at WrestleMania 33. Recently, Triple H has been devoted to rebuilding the NXT, and he has been scouting new talents, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t watch him at this year’s Royal Rumble.
Finn Balor wants to return to WrestleMania 33 after a shoulder injury, and he has said that several times. But does he really mean it or he wants to throw us off? It is a thin line between truth and fiction in this sport, and we cannot be sure whether he is telling the truth or not.
Watching Balor at Royal Rumble would mean that he has recovered faster than anyone expected, but that has happened before with John Cena, so it is possible to happen again with this guy. We should keep this in mind as the PWInsider.com reported that Balor “is slated to undergo medical testing this week that could clear him to return to the ring.”
