The Royal Rumble is coming up in just a few short weeks, and we already know a little under a third of the WWE Superstars who are confirmed for the match. We also know a few Superstars who are confirmed for other matches, making them much less likely to join in the Rumble. Below are our predictions, as of right now, who we think will take part in the big 30-man match in San Antonio on Jan. 29.
Confirmed Superstars
The wrestlers listed here have already announced they will be entering the Royal Rumble:
Brock Lesnar
Bill Goldberg
Chris Jericho
Braun Strowman
Kofi Kingston
Big E
Xavier Woods
Baron Corbin
It’s interesting to note that only one SmackDown wrestler has announced he will be in the Rumble. This means we’ll likely see a few more SmackDown wrestlers announce their plans over the next few weeks.
We also don’t want all of the positions announced ahead of time, and there are probably going to be surprise entrants and returns, so don’t expect everyone to be coming forward before match day.
Confirmed For Other Matches
The Royal Rumble event isn’t just the Rumble match. We already know a few other showdowns that will be taking place. Because wrestlers are in other matches, it’s much more likely they will not be in the Rumble as well. While not a sure thing, these Superstars are confirmed for matches and probably will not be in the Rumble:
Roman Reigns
Kevin Owens
John Cena
AJ Styles
High Probability
These wrestlers aren’t confirmed for the Rumble just yet, but there’s a good chance we’ll see them walking down the entrance ramp at some point.
Seth Rollins
Rusev
Sami Zayn
Kalisto
Kane
Big Show
Titus O’Neil
There are also high probabilities of NXT callups and surprise returns from veterans. While these can be very hard to predict, the NXT wrestlers listed are the most ready for the main roster (in my opinion) and the veterans are the people with the best standing with WWE (so no Del Rio or Cody Rhodes returns):
Shinsuke Nakamura
Samoa Joe
Tye Dillinger (at the #10 spot, for best effect)
Bobby Roode
Bully Ray Dudley
Diamond Dallas Page
Kurt Angle (because what Rumble list is complete without Kurt Angle?)
Low Probability
These wrestlers will probably NOT be in the Royal Rumble match due to other matches that will possibly be scheduled, or because they aren’t really doing anything. It is the Rumble, so you never truly know what will happen, but these Superstars shouldn’t be counted on to show up:
Dean Ambrose (probably will defend the IC belt)
The Miz (probably will challenge for the IC belt again)
American Alpha (probably defending the SmackDown Tag belts)
Sheamus and Cesaro (probably defending the RAW Tag belts)
The Club (seem to be building into a program with Sheamus and Cesaro)
A SmackDown tag team. While the Wyatts make sense, we’ll wait until after next week to see how everything plays out with them.
Who Knows?
These wrestlers could show up, or could not show up. Either they are just not getting used on TV right now, or it’s unknown if they will even participate (looking at you, Undertaker).
Undertaker
Bo Dallas
Curtis Axel
Mojo Rawley (no Zack Ryder hurts, but this could be a good boost for a solo run while Ryder’s out)
Darren Young
Jack Swagger
Apollo Crews
All of the Cruiserweight division
Triple H
So what do you think? Who will be joining Brock Lesnar and Goldberg in this year’s Royal Rumble? What big surprises will there be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
