It’s almost time for everybody’s favorite night of the year once again.
No, not Christmas Eve; something even more magical, and only disappointing about half as often.
That’s right, Royal Rumble season is finally upon us, and you know what that means.
It’s time to wildly speculate about who’s going to make a surprise appearance in this edition of the Rumble, and then become incandescent with rage at WWE when those wrestlers fail to show up.
So hold on to the top rope and count down from ten, as we look at 11 of the potential surprise entrants for the 2023 Royal Rumble.
11. Cody Rhodes
Does it count a surprise when it’s the exact thing we’ve all been fantasy booking for the past six months?
We haven’t seen Cody since his pec went into business for itself and exploded right before he was due to face Seth Rollins in the main event of Hell In A Cell 2022.
Or rather, we haven’t seen him since about two hours after that, when he showed up looking like a dye pack had burst on his chest and he still beat Rollins anyway.
Ever since Rhodes left to rehab his injury, fans have been speculating on when he might return, and what better night than the Royal Rumble?
Picture the scene: Rollins clears the ring right before the countdown for the final entrant begins. Who’s it going to be? Three. Two. One. Adrenaline! In my soul! Number thirty: Cody Rhodes!
It would be worth it just to see the look on Rollins’ face, as the ghost of surprise appearances past comes back to torment him once again.
10. Nick Aldis
NWA stalwart Nick Aldis made headlines recently after requesting his release from the company, and later calling his employers “toxic.”
Assuming AEW doesn’t snatch him up, Aldis would be a great addition to the Rumble.
Though he may not have the name recognition of some of the other people on this list, the Rumble can be a great way to let fans know that a new signing is a big deal even if they haven’t necessarily heard of them (cough AJ Styles cough).
Let Aldis come in, run wild, do some cool moves, eliminate a semi-big name and generally show the crowd that he can go.
Maybe put him opposite Butch (Pete Dunne), a fellow Brit, as an initiation into – or potential feud with – the Brawling Brutes.
9. Sasha Banks
Could it be? Oh my! It is! It’s Boss Time!
People like to make fun of Michael Cole for losing his mind every time Sasha Banks makes her entrance to the squared circle, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t miss it a little bit.
Banks hasn’t been seen on WWE television since she walked out during the May 16 episode of WWE along with tag team partner Naomi.
Banks is long overdue for a return, teasing as much on social media over the past few months, and the Rumble would be the perfect time to reintroduce her to fans.
Banks has never won a Rumble, so this could also be a great time to give us the Sasha/Bianca rematch that we were denied at SummerSlam 2021, when Banks was mysteriously absent.
8. Naomi
If WWE is planning to bring back Sasha Banks, it only stands to reason that they’d bring back Naomi too.
Fans have been clamoring for some female representation in the Bloodline, and as the wife of Jimmy Uso, Naomi would be the perfect candidate to bring some girl power to the Island of Relevancy.
7. Bo Dallas
Bray Wyatt’s brother Bo hasn’t had a televised WWE match since the World Cup Tag Team Turmoil event at Crown Jewel 2019.
Dallas was officially released by the company in April 2021, ending his 13-year tenure as a WWE wrestler.
While Dallas doesn’t seem to be too bothered about being absent from the ring for all this time, there have been indications that we could see him on our screens again soon.
Ever since the return of Bray Wyatt, there have been indications that the mysterious “Uncle Howdy” character who features in his promos could be Dallas.
Most notably, fans spotted Howdy wearing an earing that had previously been worn on television by Dallas.
Could it be time to Bo-lieve again at next year’s Royal Rumble? And more importantly, could it finally be time to say Howdy to a new friend?
6. Matt Cardona
The former Zack Ryder has been making waves in recent years on the independent circuit, restyling himself as a hardcore wrestler and holding the top belts in promotions as diverse as the NWA and GCW.
While he may not be in any rush to return, allegedly making more money these past few years than he did during his time with WWE, there have been indications that he could return along with wife Chelsea Green at some point in the near future.
What better time to reintroduce the repackaged Cardona to the masses than with a shock Rumble appearance, maybe while accompanied by his old Internet Championship?
Hell, why not go crazy and let Cardona win the whole thing? It isn’t like he hasn’t been winning everything else these past two years.
Or have him eliminated by Logan Paul, setting up a battle of the viral internet sensations for WrestleMania?
No matter what they do with him, one thing’s for certain: it can’t be any worse than what they did with him the first time around.
5. Randy Orton
Orton has been out of commission with a back injury since May 2022, and his absence has left a hole in the WWE roster.
The Royal Rumble is the perfect time to plug that hole, by bringing back wrestling’s second favorite snake man (we’ll get to their favorite later) for a huge pop.
Orton has already won the Rumble twice before, in 2009 and 2017, so there’s no need to do that here.
However, it would be a great time to reunite him with former MMA fighter and professional horticulturist Matt Riddle.
The two men gave each other’s wrestling career’s new life in 2021 and early 2022 by teaming up as RK-Bro, and it would be great to see them rekindle some of that magic.
Right before Riddle turns on Orton and hoofs him over the top rope, breaking all of our hearts.
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin
When Steve Austin was rumored to compete at WrestleMania 38 this past April, nobody could have guessed that the subsequent match against Kevin Owens would a) actually happen and b) be good.
But good it was; so good, in fact, that there are rumors that Austin will make another appearance at the next show of shows for one more “one more match.”
If Austin does decide to make an appearance, WWE could do worse than putting him in the Rumble first.
One of the big complaints about the ‘Mania 38 match was that Owens worked the feud entirely one-sided.
By putting Austin in the Rumble first, and then following it up with some TV appearances, it allows time for WWE to actually tell a full Austin story before the big one.
Besides, is there any sound more iconic in a Royal Rumble than glass shattering? The pop would tear the roof off the place, and for that alone it would be worth it.
3. Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch was unfortunately injured at SummerSlam 2022, in a barnstormer of a match with WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair.
Although the match saw Lynch finally snap out of her Big Time Becks persona and turn babyface, fans have yet to see the full return of ‘The Man’ of yesteryear.
The 2023 Rumble would be a great time to bring back Becks, having her run in to save Bianca from Damage CTRL before teaming up with the EST (which was the story WWE initially teased at SummerSlam).
Alternatively, Becky could win the whole thing, becoming the first two-time Women’s Royal Rumble winner in history.
This could allow her to have a singles match against WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey – something fans have been hungry for since the two feuded in 2019.
2. Charlotte Flair
The Queen of WWE last appeared on our screens at WrestleMania Backlash back in May, losing her WWE SmackDown Women’s title to Ronda Rousey in an I Quit match.
She subsequently took some time off to marry long-time partner Andrade, and hasn’t returned since, with Andrade recently citing personal issues as the reason.
Flair would be a great candidate for a surprise Rumble appearance, if only because if she hasn’t already appeared by then people will have probably started to assume that she might not be coming back at all.
She’s already won a Rumble, so let’s give that to somebody else, but the event is always a great time to start a feud between wrestlers further down the card.
Maybe this would be a good jumping off point for the long awaited non-title Charlotte Flair feud, and she gets put over the top ropes by a midcarder like Candice LeRae or Raquel Rodriguez.
1. The Rock
There is no bigger name that could possibly enter the Royal Rumble in 2023 than the People’s Champion, Mr Jumanji himself, Rocky “the Dwayne” Maivia.
People have been hungry for this match ever since Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns first showed up and announced to the world that the Anoa’i family only had room for one inexplicably handsome Samoan superstar.
A face-off between Reigns and the Rock would be ideal here, with Rocky putting Reigns over the top rope and handing the Tribal Chief his first significant loss since he debuted his heel gimmick (with the added bonus of not having to make Roman eat a pin to do it).
Similarly, having the Bloodline enter after the Rock’s win and having him fight them off – or better yet, having them be too scared to take him on – would send a real message about who the real head of the table is.
It would also provide a great parallel to the 2015 Rumble, where the Rock emerged to raise his cousin’s hand as the winner, exposing him to his first real taste of heat since 1997.
Giving the big win to a 50-year-old part timer may not be a popular idea, but you can’t deny that it just screams money.
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