On Monday night, the WWE threw us a curveball by having a video package put together from WWE Hall of Famer, Edge, who made his amazing return after eight years away due to spinal stenosis, a shrinking of the vertebrae that stripped the wrestling world of one of the best performers right after Wrestlemania that year.
Last January, he made his amazing return, and had two wonderful matches with Randy Orton, until in that second match at WWE Backlash, he tore his tricep, which put him back on the shelf. The Gorilla Position doesn't report on injuries that are fake, and both Edge's Spinal Stenosis and torn tricep were real. So, again, Edge, last night made a "vignette" appearance, a pre-taped segment added to draw some interest to the show, announcing that he was coming back at the Rumble again.
Why not have Edge's return be a surprise? There are a couple of reasons, starting with the most obvious one, which is that the initial thought was that Edge would continue his storyline with Randy Orton, but it is believed that the story they are going with is that he now becomes a favorite to win the Rumble, which means a win in the match gives him a historic matchup against either Drew McIntyre or Bill Goldberg at Wrestlemania. More likely, he'll be one of the last guys in the match, only to be tossed out by the likes of an AJ Styles, lining up a dream matchup of Styles vs. Edge at Mania instead.
Another belief, however, is that Edge announcing early means that the WWE has an even bigger surprise being considered for the event. That's what we'll discuss here, as well, who are the possible surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble in 2021.
Jimmy Uso - The brother of "Main Event" Jey Uso, and cousin to the WWE Univeral Champ, Roman Reigns has been out for almost a year, so it'd be great to see him make his return here, and his return seemed like it may be around rumble time.
Booker T. - Booker T. is a former five-time WWE Champion and two-time Hall of Famer in his own right, and the reason why this seems like an obvious return is that Booker is currently featured in the song and video "Booker T." from Bad Bunny, who will be performing at the event, meaning the likelihood of Booker being in the even is higher than usual. Odds? Pretty Likely.
Mark Henry - The Busted Open co-host and also a WWE Hall of Famer announced a few weeks ago that he wanted to get down the WWE Performance Center, get in the ring, and have a match at some point this year, so why not the Royal Rumble? He was also seen in a boot recently on WWE programming, so him coming in and taking out Randy Orton would be a pretty big Surprise. Odds? If the boot is real, he may not be ready, and he's a big dude, so landing on that leg could do more damage, so not as likely as Booker.
Adam Cole - Even though he's still prominent in NXT, he's taken a large backseat recently, and he's a star. It's time to get his theme screamed by the Thunderdome. Odds? Highly Likely.
John Cena - The biggest of the big, and I believe the WWE tipped their hand with this during the announcement video of where the next three Wrestlemania events will take place. Cena made a surprise appearance in the video, stating that WM39 will take place in Hollywood, California, and at the end of his little bit, yelled "If you want some, come get some!" leading this fan to believe that while things are still slower in Hollywood, Cena may be available for this and a Wrestlemania match. Odds? 50/50.
Brock Lesnar - If the money's right, the Beast shows up. Odds? 10% The Rock - Gotta add him here but tell you, it isn't likely while there are no fans. Odds? 1%
And how about some smaller names that would shock the world:
Jay Lethal - The Ring of Honor mainstay would definitely shock the world, and have a crowd behind him. It would require WWE working with a small promotion, but they've done it in the past, but odds? Not likely.
Rob Van Dam - He recently ended his commitment with IMPACT Wrestling, so this is possible. "Switchblade" Jay White - the former New Japan mainstay is possible if he hadn't signed a seven-year contract that was rumored last year. Marty Scurll, if I had to guess, is highly unlikely.
Nick Aldis - If you aren't a wrestling fan, you may not really know this name, but he's one of the best pure wrestlers in the industry, and currently is sitting at home as the NWA champion, as they still don't have a show. This is one I'd personally be extremely excited about.
And there you have it. Chime in the comments, let us know who you think will be the surprises at the Rumble. Though the ladies' Rumble wasn't mentioned, I can predict that Rhea Ripley is a lock, and Tessa Blanchard is not.
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