WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Staff Predictions: Men’s Royal Rumble Match
By Bryan Heaton
Who is the most likely surprise entrant?
Paul Bradley: My heart wants Velveteen Dream to be a surprise entrant this year but reports have said he is nowhere close to a return. My gut says Adam Cole will be making an appearance but that isn’t exactly a surprise entrant. Unless you use his appearance in the Rumble to set him up with a big match at WrestleMania. I believe Cole will enter the Rumble and go fairly far and will eliminate a Raw or Smackdown main eventer to set up a marquee NXT Title defense at WrestleMania. The rumor mill has brought up whispers backstage that NXT will have an appearance on the WrestleMania card this year and I believe Cole making a big splash in this year’s Rumble is how we start to build to NXT invading “The Biggest Thrill Ride”.
Bryan Heaton: Who really counts as a surprise these days? Anyone not declared would be a good bet, but as of this writing there’s already more than 20 superstars officially entered. With less than 10 to go, the surprise entrants really need to be attention grabbers, and not “oh hey it’s Zack Ryder.” Many fans may be hoping for CM Punk to make a surprise appearance, but I don’t think that’s in the cards. Perhaps John Cena has some time open in his busy Hollywood schedule to shock the WWE Universe?
Chris Jeter: The Worlds Collide show that takes place the night before the Rumble guarantees that some of the NXT UK talent will be in the area for the show, so it stands to reason that at least one or two members of that roster will appear in the match. As to who, I guess Tyler Bate makes the most sense. He’s popular enough and given his move set, he could produce some fun spots for a few minutes before he’s tossed out.
Joe Anthony Myrick: I’m not exactly sure how likely it is we’ll see Keith Lee, but after his Survivor Series performance, I’d be surprised if WWE don’t have him show out again at another one of their Big Four shows.