The Royal Rumble is so much fun to watch every year. On top of it being a really gripping match with lots of twists, they normally a few surprise and/or joke entrances into the rumble to keep it entertaining and in some cases light hearted. Hopefully this year will be no exception.

Some of the people on this list are more wishful thinking rather than genuine predictions. That being said, I have omitted some predictions that I personally would love to see however it would be highly unlikely that it would happen (CM Punk, Neville, Cody Rhodes, AJ Lee, Kenny Omega and John Morrison to name a few).

So let’s get down to the predictions:

Pete Dunne

Let’s be fair, this guy has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of putting on a world class match with pretty much anyone and he is still only 25. So time is on his side, which means he doesn’t need a full time call up yet, but he definitely deserves it. One possible reward could be a one time call up from NXT to get his name out there to casual fans as the current UK champion, then send him back down until they are ready to send him up to the main roster permanently.

Dean Malenko

OK, one for the attitude era, but he was an excellent wrestler. Arguably the Daniel Bryan of mid 90’s WCW (Without the push). A relatively small guy who could carry a match with any type of wrestler. Granted he is getting on a bit now so it would be a brief appearance, but he does work for WWE as a producer so it is feasible, and it would definitely be an unexpected entrant.

Santino Marella

Speaking of nostalgia pops, what is Santino doing nowadays? He’s been gone long enough to give people something to talk about if he did show up.

Jason Jordan

Is he or isn’t he retired? There are a lot of rumours going around and he has been working backstage. However his neck surgery was nearly a year ago now so he could be ready to go but WWE are keeping it under wraps. He won’t get a huge pop, but if Kurt Angle is entrant number one and eliminates Curt Hawkins before Jason Jordan comes out as number three, that could be interesting to watch.

EC3

Trouble trouble trouble trouble trouble trouble trouble… EC3 hasn’t done much since he last came back so maybe a promotion to the main roster during the rumble could be good for him. I’m a big EC3 fan, but sadly I fear that his fate may be the same as Chris Hero’s (Kassius Ohno) while he is with the company…

Corey Graves

WWE doesn’t like messing around with concussions, and given that Corey Graves retired because of post concussion syndrome makes this prediction unlikely. But at the same time it was a few years ago, and he does seem very alert while on commentary. The key thing here is that he CAN wrestle, so it could be a possibility to have him enter the rumble from commentary, hit a few moves then get bundled out by a heel, teasing some sort of return without having to follow through with it

Bray Wyatt

Where the hell is this guy? WWE champion two years ago, now he’s been off television since Matt Hardy retired. I don’t think he’s injured so they could be holding him back for the rumble and have him in the final three (Or two) teasing a comeback win but giving it to someone more predictable instead

Ricochet

I predicted this last year. He didn’t enter the rumble but he did in fact sign for the WWE. His time in NXT has shown just what he can do including THAT phenomenal flip where he casually landed on his feet. Yes he’s the North American champion, but the rumble is two months away. He could easily lose it by then. Better yet, make him and Pete Dunne entrants one and two. Give them a few minutes to show the world what the two champions are all about down in NXT and get the fans excited for when they do come up to the main roster.

Damien Sandow

OK, I admittedly don’t know what Damien Sandow is up to nowadays, but one thing I have noticed recently is that he looks A LOT like Elias. Wouldn’t it be funny to see these two face off in the Royal Rumble? Sandow is loved by the fans anyway so it would be great for them, and having him face Elias would distract the fans from thinking about how the WWE underutilized him when he was with the company

Scott Steiner

Also a prediction from last year. I was wrong, but Scott did come back into wrestling with Impact. Scott doesn’t need to wrestle, but it could suit both parties for a one night appearance.

Velveteen Dream

This guy can do no wrong at the moment. Ever since his stellar performance with Aleister Black he has kept proving despite his young age that he is already a star in the making. Speaking of which:

Aleister Black

The guy oozes charisma and has already been NXT champion so it is about time he transitioned onto the main roster. There is never a perfect time for someone to come up though; and if he hasn’t been promoted by the time the rumble comes around then what better time to put him in? Plus it’s an extra surprise entrant to tick off the list.

William Regal

He has been out of the ring for a long time now, but he is still highly respected in the company. I reckon he can still hold his own, so giving him a run out would be great to see and from a personal standpoint I’d love to see him tangle with Cesaro.

Evan Bourne

Again, a very unexpected entrant given how long he has been away. I doubt they would sign him to a long term contract as he seems to be happy in the indies right now. But I’d love to see him hit ‘Air Bourne’ in the middle of the rumble. That would be a great nostalgia pop for people that remember him, and a perfect shooting star press for people to see that don’t remember him…

Pentagon Jr

Most likely a bit too soon for this guy as he is having a great time building up his reputation around the world. WWE would also be wary of having a lucha star come into the WWE after what happened with the original Sin Cara. However a rumble appearance could work for them. That being said, even if this does happen I highly doubt it would happen this year. Maybe in a year or two year’s time.

Jeff Jarrett

Almost laughable if I said this two years ago. But McMahon has buried the hatchet with Jarrett and even put him in the hall of fame. We always see a legend in the rumble and although Hulk Hogan appeared at Crown Jewel I can’t see them putting Hogan in the rumble. Jarrett however is another story. He was always a solid wrestler while he was at what was then known as WWF and did pretty well for himself in Mexico and TNA.

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The women’s rumble is far harder to come up with surprise entrants as quite simply there are far less wrestlers and legends in the women’s division to choose from than the men’s. Despite this, even though there were a lot of legends in last year’s rumble I still feel WWE can come up with a few surprises regarding the 2019 women’s rumble.

Sara Amato

And what better person to have enter the rumble than the lady responsible for it all? When most people mention the women’s revolution a few names come to mind (Paige, Emma, Sasha Banks, AJ, Charlotte…). But the woman who should be getting most of the credit is Sara Amato, one of the head trainers in NXT. I have no doubt that the quality of women’s matches in terms of ring psychology, entertainment and move set is down to Sara training the women and pushing them to the next level. What better way to acknowledge her than to put her in the match that she indirectly helped to be made possible?

JoJo

JoJo is an announcer, but she used to be a wrestler, and not a bad one either considering she was only 19 at the time. She’s employed with the WWE so it would be easy to arrange. This could add a bit of depth to the rumble and surprise a few people that only saw JoJo as an announcer and not someone who can wrestle.

Kacy Catanzaro

Oh yes, the Ninja Warrior signed a contract with WWE last year and has been training ever since. There were signs of real progress when she wrestled in the Mae Young Classic and her gymnastic background and general core strength gives her a very unique offensive style. This style would be perfectly suited to a match like the rumble, and given the fact that she is extremely likeable means I can only see positives from putting in there with seasoned performers.

Tessa Blanchard

Unfortunately as I mentioned with Pentagon Jr, this may be too early for Blanchard to go to the WWE. But there’s no denying she is tearing it up wherever she goes. She is so good at what she does that people forget that she is only 23. She doesn’t need WWE right now, and equally WWE are most likely keeping an eye on her but are letting her hone her skills. Undoubtedly though it is only a matter of time before she comes to the WWE as she already has connections with them (She was previously a rose bud with Adam Rose, and her father Tully was a WWF tag team champion in the late eighties) so it’s not impossible to think a rumble appearance could happen sooner rather than later.

Do you have any predictions for for the 2019 men's and women's Royal Rumbles? Let me know in the comments section and I'd be happy to discuss them with you.

• Just recently published on my sirlewisofclarke blog. Link below:

https://sirlewisofclarke.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/20-possible-surprise-entrants-for-the-2019-mens-and-womens-royal-rumble-matches/