Predicting the final 4 for the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches

Surprises (Men’s Royal Rumble Match)

Could Sting make a surprise return to WWE in the Royal Rumble?

I don’t expect that we will be treated to any big surprise entrants in the men’s match. There are a lot of men on the main roster who haven’t been announced, and at least one cruiserweight is sure to find his way into the 30-man fray. Don’t count on seeing any legends or past stars, and don’t expect to see the two most recent men released from Impact Wrestling. Bobby Lashley, according to all reports, isn’t cleared to wrestle for another company until February 1, so if he is returning to WWE the earliest he can appear is the February 5th episode of RAW.

Ethan Carter III, formerly known in WWE/NXT as Derrick Bateman, is eligible for the match but is extremely unlikely due to his relatively unknown status. He was a joke in WWE that they had no confidence in, and TNA/Impact Wrestling was an afterthought for his entire stay. That’s not to say that EC3 didn’t develop and become a top-notch wrestler, but he’s not the kind of guy who would make a splash by returning to WWE in the Royal Rumble match. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him sitting front row for the NXT Takeover event, however. Speaking of NXT, the only current NXT star that I could possibly see entering the Rumble would be UK Champion Pete Dunne, but I would call that an extreme long shot.

I’ll throw out one name: Sting. He’s been posting some cryptic stuff on Twitter lately, and why not?