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A Look at Some Possible Surprise WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Entrants

January 23, 2019 | Posted by Justin Watry

Hi, I’m Justin Watry. You may remember me from such columns as March 2012’s “WWE WrestleMania 28: Sheamus Should Defeat Daniel Bryan In Less Than A Minute” and October 2016’s “WWE NXT: Bobby Roode, You’re Next.”

Backstory

This Sunday night is the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. I am pumped as usual because of the main event(s). 30 Superstars, the count down clock, the surprises, the call ups, the legends, the drama, the stakes on the line, the baseball stadium setting, etc. Everything about the Rumble is awesome each and ever year. I’m sure I will have my match predictions up in a few days (on another website) but until then, let’s dive into the idea of any shocking entrants in 2019 and a few other topics…

Royal Rumble Surprises?

This is one of those ‘darned if you and darned if you don’t’ subjects within the internet wrestling community. When WWE brings back a star, it is called a cop out and them relying on the old guys. Yet, when they come back, it brings attention, gets the loudest crowd reactions and gives us all a taste of nostalgia. We love it, deep down. No different than an unpredictable title change or something. We whine when something happens with no rhyme or reason yet beg for unpredictability and more ideas outside the box.

WWE can’t win. No matter what they do; it will cause an uproar of some kind. That is why I love the Royal Rumble. Every January, it takes all that junk and throws it into one nice neat package for wrestling fans. You want drama? Got it. You want shocking moments? You got it. You want a big time winner? You got it. So far, the field looks pretty stacked for the 2019 edition. Heck, I have made my selection known for awhile now (Seth Rollins). However, just as much fun as it is to talk about the eventual winner, we all enjoy the unexpected entries. Here are some that I would love to see in Phoenix Sunday night at Chase Field.

Velveteen Dream – Of all the possible NXT names, this is the man I feel most confident about. We have seen Andrade Almas and Adam Cole pop up, but there is something special about The Velveteen Dream. The place would explode if he walked out of the dugout and went to the ring. It may or may not be an official main roster promotion, but it would be enough. Like Andrade Almas and Adam Cole, all we would need is a taste.

Lars – I believe the rumors about his recent issues. I do not think this is some sort of “WORK!!!” or misdirection. It seems entirely plausible he is FREAKing out over a huge debut and potential story line with John Cena during WrestleMania season. That being said, I have thought all along that we wouldn’t see him until the Rumble. Nothing in the past couple of weeks has changed that. Simple: Cena is dominating the match and out comes Lars to toss him over the top rope like a piece of trash. Easy set up with the legend taking on the newcomer at the biggest event of the year. Personally, I’d go with an EC3/Cena feud…but that does not appear to be the plan.

Batista – No, I am not predicting a Batista return this Sunday. My girlfriend seems to think it is happening based on how much I bring up The Animal. No, I see him coming back a little bit after. My thinking is the Triple H vs. Batista match is still happening. If it doesn’t that would be fairly disappointing. HHH is healthy or close to it, and Batista WANTS to come back! Pull the trigger and follow up on the Smackdown 1000 tease.

The Rock – Ditto to The Rock. I am NOT predicting a Rumble surprise. What I am saying is he will be back sooner rather than later. My 2019 BOLD predictions include both Rocky and Batista returning to WWE in 2019. Keep your eyes open though. Nobody can deny the luster of Brock/Rock (or Batista/Brock) for the Universal Title at WM35.

Melina – Hey, the women have a Royal Rumble match too! I jus saw Melina this past Saturday night at the recent GLCW show here in Wisconsin. More on that later. She looked great and is clearly still a fan favorite. I don’t know if there is any bad blood between her and WWE currently. Quite frankly, I don’t care. The company can NOT go to the same well as it did last year. No Trish Stratus. No Lita. No Bella Twins. No Torrie Wilson. No Kelly Kelly. I want some different names this year. WWE has to know this and has already placed a few ‘shocking’ phone calls.

Victoria – Exactly like…Victoria. If she is indeed retiring at the end of 2019, one more big time appearance would be fitting. Plus, a WWE Hall of Fame spot.

Summer Rae – Even a Summer Rae. She may get a big pop or anything, but it is a name that fans will kinda/sorta remember and be excited to see again. Like I said, the same people as last year can not happen.

Kharma – Why not? The GLOW Netflix series has cast her in a new light. Whatever turmoil there was with WWE is obviously long gone in the past. We have seen guys return for doing far more damage than anything Kharma has done. Quick Rumble spot does no harm to anybody. I’d love it.

Roman Reigns – In my opinion, this would be the John Cena of 2008 Royal Rumble shockers. Biggest moment you can imagine and completely out of left field (pun!). It is not going to happen; I get that. I just can’t wait for Roman Reigns to be happy, healthy, and back in that ring.

Kenny Omega – Stop it. First of all, reports have his contract expiring at the end of January. Secondly, he is clearly going to All Elite Wrestling. Thirdly, unlike AJ Styles, I am not sure if the crowd reaction would be very good. Sorry.

JBL/Jerry Lawler – No explanation needed.

Jeff Jarrett – From WWE Hall of Fame to the Royal Rumble? Dude was just backstage at Smackdown and even helped promote the show on FOX during NFL! Freakin’ Jeff Jarrett on Fox promoting the blue brand television move come October. It actually happened.

Long story short, WWE has a massive talent pool. Sami Zayn is due back. Kevin Owens is due back. There are a bunch of stars from NXT, NXT UK and even free agents out there to debut. Will all of these stars be in the squared circle Sunday night? No. Of course not. There is not enough room for everybody! Just the same, you can just take one look at this column and know that the Royal Rumble is just as unpredictable as just as fun as wrestling SHOULD be. I’m ready.

GLCW What A Rush Review

Once again, I had a blast at my local independent wrestling show. Great Lakes Champions Wrestling put on a dandy of a show Saturday night. Melina and ODB had a Last Woman Standing bout for the vacant Womens Championship. Jay Bradley (who I once interviewed for this very website) picked up tag gold, and Road Warrior Animal was there to help pay tribute to Mean Gene Okerlund. All fans also got a commemorative Mean Gene photo print. I got Animal’s autograph before the show, and he seemed to be very fan friendly with kids wearing his shoulder pads and the like. He also came out during the main event with his theme music to throw a punch or two. Very cool. Next event is in March with the one and only Kevin Nash appearing live, and I already have tickets. Pictures from Saturday’s show can be found on my Twitter account for those interested. As always, I love wrestling and am more than willing to part with my money for an entertaining product. Good stuff.

Pick Any Royal Rumble

If you could show one Royal Rumble match to a new/casual wrestling fan, what year would you choose?

My girlfriend has no clue what the Rumble is, except me telling her how important it is on the Road to WrestleMania for a championship shot and the constant reminders on WWE Raw and Smackdown LIVE. The other night, I wanted to show her a past Rumble match and see what her thoughts were. Get her ready for this Sunday’s night big event. I thought long and hard about which year to pick. The first inclination is 1992 because that gets all the love, but that is probably too old. She would honestly not know anybody and likely get bored in a hurry. After figuring out it had to be recent, I decided between the 2018 versions (women’s included) or MY personal favorite – 2008 with John Cens’s return and subsequent victory. Others in my head were 2005, 2007 and even 2012 to show off the surprise factor.

I went with 2008. Not only because it was my favorite but because it had plenty of star power, plenty of surprise moments, a huge finally three showdown and more importantly – wrestlers she knew. Thus, she got invested. Started with The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, had a moment with The Great Khali (who she actually picked to win when he first came out), Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka appearing, and as I mentioned – Triple H, Batista, and John Cena with the exciting finish. Needless to say, it was a success. She stayed with it for the hour, made plenty of jokes about The Miz (she calls him a joke), became stunned when HBK and Taker were both eliminated within seconds of each other, was rooting for HHH and had the big ending with Cena standing tall. Not only am I now ready for the Rumble on Sunday, she is as well.

I ask again. If you could chose one Rumble to show a newer fan, what year would YOU choose? Let me know in the comments…

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article topics :

Royal Rumble, WWE, Justin Watry