WWE Royal Rumble: 10 Potential Winners of the Men’s Rumble

Credit: WWE.com

John Cena

I’m sure there’s someone yelling “but you said it was unlikely there will be a repeat winner” at this point. That’s absolutely true, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. While there has been some talk of the recently returned Rey Mysterio making a run to win the Rumble again, the most likely repeat option seems to be none other than 16-time World Champion and former two-time Rumble winner John Cena.

Perhaps the most telling piece of information about a potential John Cena return is the way his return to live events has been advertised, especially the changing nature of it. WWE announced earlier this month that Cena would be returning for a run of live events after Christmas and into early January. In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Cena indicated his return is for live events only and he has no plans to return to television.

It’s a plausible story considering Cena’s busy schedule in the film industry and willingness to lie to preserve a surprise. It is actually Cena’s mention of not being on television that makes me more suspicious of a return. Going all the way back to October of 2007, Cena suffered a torn pectoral muscle and reportedly would be out of action for up to a full year. Just three months later, he returned and won the 2008 Royal Rumble in shocking fashion.

If there were even the slightest inkling of a plan for Cena to win the 2019 Rumble, it would make sense for him to downplay his live event return in order to help the potential surprise of a Rumble win. While he’d initially said no television, WWE is now advertising him for the episodes of Raw on January 7th and January 14th. Could Cena be gearing up to make a triumphant return and chase that mythical 17th World Title?