WWE News: Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe Among JBL And Paul Heyman’s ‘Royal Rumble’ 2017 Entrants To Watch For?


In the latest WWE news, a newly unveiled talk show on the WWE Network brought to light a couple of names of NXT stars who could find their way into the Royal Rumble match. Radio personality and diehard wrestling fan Peter Rosenberg hosted the brand new network show that featured JBL and Paul Heyman as his panel guests. During the show, they discussed multiple topics, including who they’d like to see enter this year’s Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Texas.

An article via the Inquisitr recently discussed WWE rumors for Royal Rumble surprise entrants. Among them were NXT stars Samoa Joe and Tye Dillinger. In addition, there were some longshot names such as Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, and Jeff and Matt Hardy. Kurt Angle was also mentioned as a potential surprise entrant, but there have been reports he may not come back to WWE until April with WrestleMania going on.

Will WWE NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura be part of the ‘Royal Rumble’? [Image by WWE]

On Monday night, WWE rolled out a brand new post-Raw show on their network called Bring it to the Table Show host/moderator Peter Rosenberg asked guests JBL and Paul Heyman who they most want to see in this year’s Rumble. According to Cageside Seats, as a WWE corporate presence, JBL’s pick for a Royal Rumble participant he wants to see in several weeks is “noteworthy.” JBL, aka John Bradshaw Layfield, named off Shinsuke Nakamura, the current NXT Champion. Heyman had a bit of a different answer, naming off Shinsuke and Samoa Joe as his choices.

When giving his thoughts about Nakamura, JBL was high on his talents, as most are.

“This kid is just unbelievable. I mean, it’s like, I worked with Muta, and Chono, and Jeff Hardy. He’s kind of an amalgamation of all three.”

Heyman’s response was interesting in that he talked about how he thinks 29 other competitors will fall at Brock’s feet in defeat at the match, but he added that NXT stars need to be promoted rather than used as surprises.

“I disagree with the premise of this question. I don’t want to see any surprises at the Royal Rumble. I’d love to see Nakamura, I’d love to see Samoa Joe in the Royal Rumble match. I’d love to see other members of the NXT roster, but I’d like them to be promoted. It makes them bigger stars.”

In a video clip posted to Twitter, both WWE personalities can be seen giving their full responses to Rosenberg’s question.

In terms of odds for either Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura to actually appear in this year’s WWE Royal Rumble match, Samoa Joe is tied with Tye Dillinger at three to 10 odds to enter the Royal Rumble. The Paddy Power WWE novelty odds to make an appearance list, which began with just nine potential competitors has increased to about 17 now. Shinsuke Nakamura has six to five odds and is tied with the only other listed NXT roster member, Bobby Roode.

Former NXT champ Samoa Joe has strong odds to make a 2017 ‘Royal Rumble’ appearance. [Image by WWE]

Is it possible that Heyman and JBL’s comments were a tease for either or both of these NXT stars to get into the Royal Rumble this year? It still seems that Samoa Joe and Tye Dillinger are stronger possibilities than Shinsuke Nakamura. It would be a major surprise to put the guy who is currently the major champion into the Rumble match, but WWE is known for surprises. While Heyman feels there should be more build towards an appearance by one of these future stars of the main roster, he’s also overlooking how AJ Styles debuted.

Styles made his big entrance at the 2016 Royal Rumble match and has gone on to a nice title run, establishing him as a top star in the company. Styles wasn’t exactly an NXT rookie when he showed up, but one could say the same about Joe and Nakamura too. Nonetheless, WWE fans are hoping for a surprise or two up the creative team’s sleeves when some of the 30 superstars make their way to the ring in San Antonio on January 29.

WWE fans, do you believe Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura will be a part of this year’s Royal Rumble match? Which other surprise entrants are you hoping to see in the match?

[Featured Image by WWE]

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