WWE Royal Rumble 2018: 5 Potential Entrants At No. 30
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3. Samoa Joe
Joe has been absolutely outstanding since he got called up to the main roster last year. He has cut great promos, performed well in the ring and had a buzzworthy feud with Brock Lesnar last summer.
He hasn’t lost any of the tough-guy swagger that made him such an effective heel champion during his time down in NXT. Joe has established himself as a dependable top of the card star and WWE will likely spotlight him in the Royal Rumble match. How WWE spotlights him is an open question.
WWE can go two ways with this. They could have Joe enter midway through the bout and eliminate a bunch of mid-carders before another headliner tosses him out. Or, he could enter late and trade blows with other top stars. Joe would be a great choice for number 30. He fits the mold of pre-2007 number 30 entrants: a believable threat to win who ultimately falls short in the end.
I don’t see Joe winning the Rumble this year (unless he jumps to SmackDown to wrestle A.J. Styles, but that’s pure fantasy booking on my part), by he could enter last and serve as an obstacle for the eventual winner to overcome.
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2. Randy Orton
Orton had a pretty blase 2017. His WrestleMania match with Bray Wyatt featured projections of insects on the mat that failed to frighten anyone. Their House of Horrors rematch at Payback was so bad that WrestleCrap named it an early contender for their annual Gooker award.
After three boring WWE Championship matches with Jinder Mahal and an uninspiring feud with Rusev over the summer, Orton has been treading water ever since. A strong showing in the Rumble match may get him back on track. I could see him entering 30th and making it near the end in an effort to win his second consecutive Rumble.
This is another tricky one because I could see Orton entering early and wasting a bunch of people with RKO’s. Orton has been the 30th entrant before (2006) and he could serve the same purpose as he did then: to put over the Rumble match winner.
“The Viper’s” win last year was a bit underwhelming, so I don’t think he’ll repeat this year. An Orton win would likely draw the same moans and groans that a Cena or Reigns win would. I also fear that Orton as the final entrant would also disappoint (fans might expect a surprise at number 30). I do think that he will make it to the final eight.