WWE News: Likely 2015 Royal Rumble Surprise Entrants
WWE’s Royal Rumble match is one of the most exciting and sometimes unpredictable matches of the entire year. It’s one of the few matches where the stipulation actually means something to the fans, and it officially kicks off the road to WrestleMania.
Just a couple of weeks ago, WWE reduced the number of Royal Rumble participants from 40 to 30. According to multiple sources, WWE had originally planned to have multiple former ECW wrestlers make an appearance in the match, since the event is taking place in the home of ECW, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, it looks like WWE either couldn’t come to terms with a lot of the ECW originals, or they just changed their mind.
There are several former WWE superstars that are being thrown around as potential candidates for a return at the Royal Rumble, and the first of which is Shelton Benjamin. It’s been four years since Benjamin was released by WWE but, according to a report, WWE has recently applied for ownership over the trademark “Shelton Benjamin.” So, that makes it pretty clear that WWE is considering bringing back Benjamin.
Benjamin was “supposed” to return back at the 2012 Royal Rumble, as there were reports that he and several other former WWE stars were at the site of the event. However, it turned out that Benjamin and the others were there to work an event for a separate company.
If Benjamin returns in the 2015 Royal Rumble match it likely won’t be just a cameo, as WWE will likely use him as a full-time wrestler.
Another candidate to return to WWE during the 2015 Royal Rumble match is a guy who returned to WWE during last year’s Royal Rumble match, and that guy is Sheamus. He’s been off of WWE television for several weeks now, and WWE is likely planning to bring him back during the Rumble match.
Recently, WWE put a stop to all Brock Lesnar-related merchandise, and WWE’s merchandise suppliers were told that anything that was earmarked for Lesnar, now should be done for Sheamus.
There have been rumblings of WWE turning Sheamus heel when they bring him back. This could freshen up his character, which has been stale for several years now.
Bully Ray a.k.a Bubba Ray Dudley is another candidate to return in the 2015 Royal Rumble match. He’s been out of WWE for a little under a decade now, and in a recent interview, he expressed his desire to make a return to WWE either by himself, or with his tag-team partner D-Von Dudley.
Bubba Ray would likely get a huge response from the Philadelphia crowd, as he was one of the aforementioned ECW originals. If he returns, the big question is that will WWE have him return as Bubba Ray Dudley? Or Bully Ray? Chances are he’ll return as Bubba Ray Dudley, as WWE likely doesn’t want to promote a persona that was established in TNA. That’s why they didn’t sign AJ Styles.
Last but not least, the 2015 Royal Rumble could see the return of one of the most hated men in last year’s Rumble match, Rey Mysterio. Now, in all fairness, the WWE fans were likely booing WWE’s decision to have Rey Mysterio enter the match 30th instead of Daniel Bryan, and not so much at Mysterio himself.
There have been reports that Mysterio has worked out his issues with WWE and could be signing a new deal soon that would bring him back full-time. Mysterio’s fist contracted date could be at the Royal Rumble on January 25 in Philadelphia, where he’ll hopefully get a better response than he did last year when the Rumble was just Pittsburgh, just 305 miles away from Philadelphia.
[Image via WWE]
