It’s January, and you know what that means.
30 men and 30 women will be taking part in the annual game of the ‘Floor is Lava’ for the right to face off with their respective champion at WrestleMania.
We will be tackling the women’s Rumble as well, but for now it’s time to look at the lads, and who could face off with the Tribal Chief in LA.
Always a mixture of top stars, rising stars, returning legends or NXT stars, predicting exactly which 30 men will be running to the ring when the buzzer sounds is not exactly easy.
But nothing worth doing is ever easy.
So, here we go, it’s time to predict all 30 entrants into the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble match.
I should note, that this list is not in order of entry, and they are simply listed rather arbitrarily.
Already Announced
There are already a few wrestlers that have been announced for the 2023 Royal Rumble match, so instead of wasting time listing them, I will just get them out of the way here:
Kofi Kingston
Santos Escobar
Ricochet
So now with that out of the way, we move on to the rest of the field.
Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn
The Bloodline story has carried WWE television for months, and I don’t expect that to change when the Rumble match starts.
This is four spots used up, but I really feel it is necessary this year given the multiple stories involved.
Sami being in the match is a risk, as he’s not going to win the whole thing, and his elimination will result in a negative reaction, at least briefly.
Ultimately I still think the winner will get a great reaction, this isn’t a Daniel Bryan situation here.
Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford
The Street Profits recently returned to WWE after Montez Ford’s injury, and I can see both being in the Rumble match.
Ford has always been looked at as a future top star in the company, and Dawkins himself is someone who has impressed those within the company in recent months.
I think both men will get a nice showcase in the Rumble, though obviously neither man will come out on top.
Dominik Mysterio
In what could be considered controversial, I have gone with Dominik Mysterio as the sole Judgment Day representative in the Royal Rumble.
The rumours are pointing towards Edge taking on Finn Balor inside Hell In A Cell at the show, and with a match like that, I can’t see either being fit for the Rumble later in the show.
Priest could still be in the Rumble, but I can instead just see him accompanying Dominik for the match.
Dominik is needed in the match as it’s a very easy way to set up a specific angle heading into WrestleMania.
Speaking of which…
Rey Mysterio
One Mysterio is eliminating the other in the Rumble, the question is, which one?
In my head it’s the moment where Rey finally has had enough, and tosses his son out of the match to a big pop.
I can also picture a spot where Rhea catches Dominik when he’s tossed over the rop, so I guess that is a different spot?
Oh well, other than Bloodline stuff, this will be the main story for the match.
Austin Theory, Gunther
Very odd to have these two men grouped together, they couldn’t be anymore different.
However, these are your two midcard champions, and I don’t see either of them defending their belts on the show itself.
So into the Rumble they both go.
Gunther will likely be eliminated by Sheamus, as for Theory, I have no idea. Maybe Gargano?
Cameron Grimes
There is usually at least one NXT cameo in the Rumble, and this year I think it’s going to our boy Grimes.
Cameron Grimes has been absent from NXT television since his loss to Joe Gacy, and has been rumoured for a potential main roster call-up since October.
The Rumble would be a nice, easy place to introduce him to that audience.
Chad Gable
He just has to be in there.
I unfortunately did not have enough room to have Otis in the match too, but Gable has been an absolute standout on Raw for the past year.
He deserves the spot, even if he will likely just shoosh a giant man before being quickly eliminated.
That giant man in question being…
Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar is featured on the poster for the Royal Rumble, which heavily seems to imply that he will be a part of the match.
There were rumours that he might face Bobby Lashley again at the show, but I instead think both of them will be a part of the Rumble itself.
Whether it be Lashley or someone else, I expect whoever Brock is facing at WrestleMania to eliminate him from the match.
Bobby Lashley
I spent half of the last part talking about him so yeah here he is.
There are a lot of big names that could be a part of this year’s Rumble match, it’s actually kind of impressive.
Lashley’s not going to win, but he’ll certainly be a dangerous presence and eliminate a handful of guys.
Drew McIntyre, Sheamus
The Banger Bros are both still beefing with the Bloodline, so it would make a lot of sense for both of them to be in the Rumble.
Two more big names to be in the match to help it feel important, even though neither are likely to pick up the win on the day.
Wade Barrett, Pat McAfee
These two have been lumped together for one primary reason, that being the SmackDown announce team.
Wade Barrett making a Royal Rumble cameo would make a whole lot of sense given his spot at the booth on Friday nights.
He’s filling in for Pat McAfee, who is on hiatus from the role while he hosts ESPN’s College GameDay.
That gig is set to end in January, so Barrett and McAfee facing off in the Rumble would be a very fun spot, and I really want it to happen.
Dolph Ziggler
We need established names to fill out the show.
That’s really all Dolph is here. Sorry Dolph.
Gable Steveson
WWE is taking it’s time with Gable Steveson, really making sure he’s ready before he makes his official debut.
I think there’s a decent chance that Gable enters the Rumble this year, probably with Kurt Angle’s music hitting first.
Does that set him up to get booed? I feel like that sets him up to get booed.
Johnny Gargano
Yeah Johnny Gargano is your perfect number one or two. Him and Sami Zayn probably.
An underdog Iron Man run in the Rumble will be the WWE main roster’s first true taste of Johnny Wrestling.
He’s not winning the match, but he’s definitely going to be there and he’s going to show out. Probably eliminates The Miz.
The Great Muta
So Nakamura’s match with the Great Muta in Pro Wrestling NOAH happening, I can see that being part of an agreement between WWE.
Muta will likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but a Rumble cameo would be insane.
The only caveat I have is that the Rumble takes place after the Great Muta Final Bye-Bye show, which is set to be his last match as the Great Muta.
If we can look past that though, we get to see dream interactions between Muta and guys like Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, and most of all…
The Miz
OK so I may have been joking with that part there, but The Miz will be in the Rumble also.
He’s actually a great guy to have in matches like this, because whoever dumps him out will get a nice reaction simply by being the one to eliminate The Miz.
Braun Strowman
Yeah Braun is going to be that guy that eliminates a bunch of people in this match.
It was either him, Omos or Bronson Reed, and I went with Braun due to Omos not really featuring much on TV recently, and I can see Bronson Reed not being in the match due to not yet wrestling since his return.
Braun also holds the record for the most Royal Rumble eliminations in a single match, tied with Brock Lesnar, and this would be the first time both of them would have been in the same Rumble since Brock tied him in 2020.
These are the random facts you read these lists to see.
Matt Cardona
We are all expecting a ‘Forbidden Door’ entry into the Royal Rumble, and while that role could be given to Muta, what’s one more?
Chelsea Green is on her way back to WWE, and will likely even make her return in the Women’s Royal Rumble.
That means Matt Cardona could easily make at least a cameo in the men’s bout, but the question lies, as who?
If it’s a one off cameo, then I’d expect “Woo Woo Woo, You Know It!” to echo around the Alamodome.
However, Cardona has spoken recently about how he would want to return as the Matt Cardona he has become since his WWE release, so if he was in fact re-signed, then it would be under that name most likely.
We shall see.
Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins
The thing is, while Roman Reigns holds both the World Championships, you just can not rule out Seth Rollins winning the Royal Rumble.
He’s Roman’s eternal rival, the Edge to his Cena, the Savage to his Hogan, the Rock to his Austin, and Roman has yet to actually defeat him during this run.
I don’t think he’s winning, but I absolutely can not outright rule it out.
I think Rollins ends up as the runner up in the Rumble, behind the eventual winner…
Cody Rhodes
Yes, no Rock. I just don’t see it happening.
Cody however, his return is basically confirmed from the videos that have been airing on Raw the past few weeks.
A lot of people are annoyed that WWE is ruining the “”surprise”” that we’ve all seen coming for the past seven months, but I actually think teasing Cody is the right move.
If the returns of CM Punk, Bray Wyatt and Mercedes Mone’ have taught us anything, it’s that anticipation can be just as important, if not more so, than a surprise return.
The anticipation building for weeks before the buzzer sounds and we are reminded about how many royal families wrestling has, that moment when the bottle cap is lifted.
Adrenaline up and down my entire soul.
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