WWE Rumors: Three Former Superstars Who Could Return As ‘Royal Rumble’ 2017 Match Surprise Entrants

The WWE rumors are running rampant with a little over three weeks until WWE’s Royal Rumble 2017 pay-per-view. The big 30-man match has just a handful of entrants so far, including Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, and Baron Corbin. Despite only five or so superstars having entered the field of 30, there are odds floating around for plenty of potential winners. In addition, there are odds for superstars to just make an appearance in the match. These odds include some names of WWE Hall of Fame superstars or wrestlers who have departed WWE over the past years.

In a recent report by the Inquisitr, the WWE Royal Rumble rumors for a few NXT stars to appear in the match were addressed. Tye Dillinger was one of the stars who fans are speculating will show up at the No. 10 spot, since after all, he’s got the “Perfect 10” gimmick right now. Samoa Joe was the other likely star based on the odds. Joe is a former NXT Champion who is ready for the main roster and could fit in nicely as a new heel on Raw or SmackDown. As of that report, there were just nine competitors listed on the odds listing for possible appearances.

Fast forward to today, and according to a new report at WWE Leaks, there are several more superstars named as possible entrants at Paddy Power’s list. Among those who were added recently are former WWE stars Carlito, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, CM Punk, Scott Steiner, and Wade Barett. First, the most unlikely to appear seems to be CM Punk. Punk has really distanced himself from WWE, and unless some major secret behind closed doors deal has gone down, it’s going to be a huge long shot that he shows up. Cody Rhodes is another guy who recently left WWE for other wrestling companies, including TNA and more recently, New Japan.

Hall of Fame superstar Hulk Hogan has been rumored to be less distanced from WWE lately. He had the leaked audio tape fiasco which led to WWE removing him from their website and merchandise listings. Recently, Hogan’s name was mentioned briefly during WWE programming again. Adding him to the Royal Rumble match would be a major surprise that could also take away from whoever wins it. While it would be a fun entry, there’s not much expectation that WWE would jeopardize messing up the impact of making a statement with this year’s winner. With that said, there are at least three names that are on the list of former WWE stars who may be worth considering.

Kurt Angle is someone who was already discussed, and in the previous report, he was among the top three favorites to appear on the odds. However, in recent days, Angle has slipped and Shelton Benjamin has moved up to the No. 3 spot. Benjamin has odds of 4-to-6 to appear in the match and is just ahead of NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Shelton was featured in a brief promo months ago advertising his return to SmackDown. It never happened due to injury and he was sort of forgotten, but the Rumble could be the perfect time to reintroduce this top star. In an interesting sidenote, Angle is scheduled to face Cody Rhodes in a Northeast Wrestling steel cage match in March, as reported on WrestleZone.

What about Carlito? Carly Colon is also on the potential Royal Rumble appearances list carrying odds of 3-to-1, which actually ranks him a spot below Shawn Michaels. Also on the listing are Christian at 4-to-1, and Wade Barrett at 10-to-1. Carlito is currently with World Wrestling Council (WWC), which is where he initially debuted in professional wrestling. He was officially released by WWE back in 2010 due to his violation of the Wellness Program and his refusal to attend rehab for his reported painkiller addiction issue.

Wade Barrett was released by WWE last year in a mutual agreement to do so after deciding not to re-sign with the company. However, as WWE Leaks points out with Barrett, he made a surprise appearance on the Talksport Gorilla Position podcast in London this past December. The significance of that is the fact that WWE also had current talents Finn Balor and Bayley on the show, and Barrett was there doing his WWE gimmick of “Bad News Barrett.”

Barrett’s appearance using his WWE gimmick has raised the speculation for him to return to action with WWE since his initial release was a mutual agreement in order for him to take some time away to pursue other endeavors including acting. Barrett had mentioned plans to return to the wrestling ring one day, though. According to ESPN on Wednesday, Barrett was recently spotted hanging out with current WWE star Sheamus and former WWE star Drew “McIntyre” Galloway.

Christian also seems unlikely to make a surprise appearance. Back in March of 2016, he was on the Talk is Jericho show and told Chris Jericho that he is unlikely to wrestle again. In May, he was reportedly released from his talent contract, most likely due to lack of medical clearance due to concussion-related injuries during his career. Due to the fact other popular stars including Daniel Bryan and Edge are done with wrestling, it seems Christian’s high odds to return to the Rumble match are surprising, especially when he is higher on the list than someone like Wade Barrett.

With that said, three former WWE stars who stand out from Paddy Power‘s list for potential appearances in the Royal Rumble are Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, and Wade Barrett. All three are capable of making a return to the ring with WWE, but the question is will they at this particular pay-per-view? In particular, Angle’s appearance would blow the roof off the arena, while Benjamin and Barrett would also be great to see back in action. Don’t be surprised if one or all three show up in the 30-man field for this year’s spectacle.

WWE fans, do you feel that Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, or Wade Barrett will appear at the WWE 2017 Royal Rumble match? Would WWE bring all three back in this match or at different times?

[Featured Image by WWE]