WWE Royal Rumble 2018: 3 Improbable Long Shot Surprise Entrants for Women’s Royal Rumble Match

AJ Lee

File this one to the “oh, jeez, this is NEVER going to happen, bro” column. But that’s what I’m here for – expecting the unexpected.

There’s a multitude of reasons why AJ Lee will likely be far, far away from Philadelphia come Rumble Sunday. She hasn’t wrestled since retiring back in 2015. There’s a history of neck injuries, which superstars like Paige and Edge can tell you you don’t mess around with. AJ is focusing on her writing career, as well as developing her memoir into a television series.

Oh, she’s also married to the dude who walked out on WWE on incredibly bad terms, so one would assume that is a major factor.

But man, if AJ popped up at the Royal Rumble, it would get one of the biggest pops of the night. Even when working as a heel, she was consistently one of the most popular performers on the WWE roster. Her “unstable” character really resonated with the WWE Universe, and she played it to perfection.

And let’s not forget her involvement in the “Divas Revolution.” We all make the jokes about “Some say Paige started the Divas Revolution;” later on, Emma billed herself as the one who started the Women’s Revolution. But back in 2015, AJ took a major chance and called out Stephanie McMahon via Twitter regarding the disparity of screen time and wages between males and females on the roster. If that didn’t start the “Divas/Women’s Revolution” in earnest, I don’t know what did.

The neck injury is a major red flag, but as long as AJ could get cleared, there’s no reason she couldn’t show up for a brief run in the historic Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Of course, the sure-to-be accompanying “CM Punk” chants may not be worth it.

Next: The Mount Rushmore of Women's Wrestling

Who is the most likely of these long shot candidates to appear in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match?