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As it is now January, the 2021 WWE Royal Rumble is fast approaching. The annual gimmick pay-per-view has been announced to take place on January 31st, a week later than originally scheduled.
The Royal Rumble is one of the biggest events in WWE's calendar and is always one of the most anticipated pay-per-views of the year. The Royal Rumble signals the start of the road to WrestleMania and often sets off some of the biggest title feuds of the year.
WWE fans often speculate what will go down at the Royal Rumble way in advance of the event. Most years, fans see huge returns of WWE Superstars at the Royal Rumble, such as Edge at last year's event.
Here are five Superstars who could return in the Men's 2021 Royal Rumble match.
#5 WWE RAW Superstar Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman had a very up and down 2020 in WWE. The Monster Among Men started the year by winning the Intercontinental Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura, and later enjoyed a reign as Universal Champion after defeating WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg at WrestleMania 36.
As the year went on, Strowman began involved in a very intense feud with The Fiend, in which he turned heel and attacked Alexa Bliss, and lost the Universal Championship to his rival at WWE SummerSlam.
Strowman was drafted from SmackDown to RAW in the 2020 WWE Draft. He briefly feuded with Keith Lee before they worked together at Survivor Series to help Team RAW defeat Team SmackDown in a clean sweep. Shortly after Survivor Series, Braun Strowman was suspended indefinitely from the Red brand after headbutting Adam Pearce.
Strowman hasn't been seen on WWE television since the incident. On his social media accounts, Strowman revealed his impressive body transformation recently.
It would be great to see Braun Strowman return to the WWE ring soon, and the Royal Rumble may be the perfect time for the multiple-time champion to come back to competition.
#4 Former WWE United States Champion Andrade
Former WWE United States Champion Andrade has not been on television since October 12th, when he and Zelina Vega were attacked by The Fiend and Alexa Bliss on RAW.
In the build-up to this attack, Andrade had been competing for tag team gold with Angel Garza, and the pair were managed by Zelina Vega. However, the group split after Vega left Garza and Andrade, sick of their arguing. Vega was released by WWE not long after this.
It has not yet been announced when Andrade will be returning to WWE, but a Royal Rumble appearance may be a good way to bring the star back to in-ring action. Andrade's fiance, Charlotte Flair has just come back to the company after six months away from action, and the multiple-time champion won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Asuka in her first match back at TLC.
Suggestions point to Charlotte Flair and Andrade being paired up on-screen upon his return, and the duo being pushed on television as WWE's latest power couple. A way to establish Andrade into main event status could be a surprise Royal Rumble return, with an impressive performance in the match.
#3 WWE Hall of Famer Edge
Edge made his WWE return in last year's Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant, to a huge pop from the crowd. The Rated-R Superstar entered the match at No. 21 and survived right up until the final few minutes. Edge was one of the final three stars remaining in the match alongside Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns, the latter of who he was eliminated by.
Following the WWE return of Edge, he entered an intense feud with Randy Orton, bringing back their past as performers together. Their rivalry peaked at Backlash when the pair faced off in what WWE billed as 'The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever'. During the match, Edge suffered a torn triceps injury, which led him to be sidelined for around six months.
Since the injury was back in June, the timing seems right for Edge to be possibly ready to return to the ring. The former champion's presence on WWE television has been very much missed by fans, especially as his return was one of the biggest moments of 2020.
With rumors of The Rated-R Superstar and Randy Orton facing each other at WrestleMania 37 circling, an Edge return at the Royal Rumble could happen.
#2 Former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
Former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar hasn't been seen on WWE programming since WrestleMania, where he lost the belt to current titleholder Drew McIntyre.
A feud was ignited between the pair at the 2020 Royal Rumble match, where Lesnar, even though he was the WWE Champion, entered the match at number one and eliminated thirteen competitors until McIntyre knocked him over the top rope with a Claymore Kick before going on to win the entire match, and using his championship opportunity against Lesnar.
Following WrestleMania 36, Lesnar let his WWE contract expire as of August 31st, and is currently a free agent. However, it has been reported that Vince McMahon is eager to bring Brock Lesnar back to the company, and one of the big matches expected to happen at the event is Keith Lee vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre in a Triple Threat match.
A Royal Rumble return for Brock Lesnar could be a great surprise for WWE fans and would be somewhat of a full circle moment if the feud with him, Lee, and McIntyre was to go ahead, as all three stars crossed paths in last year's Royal Rumble match.
#1 Former WWE Universal Champion Goldberg
Over the past few weeks, there have been rumors that WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be facing Goldberg at WrestleMania 37. The pair were supposed to go head-to-head at WrestleMania 36, but plans were changed at Reigns decided to take a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so Goldberg faced Braun Strowman instead.
On an episode of WWE's The Bump in early December 2020, Goldberg called out Reigns when promoting WWE Untold: Goldberg's Streak. The multiple-time champion said of Reigns:
"He backed out on me at WrestleMania. He stole my move, god knows how long ago. And he continues to perform it at sub-par level. Let's me perfectly honest, I'm the dude who delivers the spear and I don't think that he understands what it's like until I deliver one to him. So Roman, it's coming and I'm coming for you. I may be old, I may be gray, but I'm still Goldberg."
As well as this, Goldberg has appeared in the crowd in the ThuderDome, to watch Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman in a match. Goldberg has continued to make somewhat of a target of Reigns for some time now, and it would make sense for him to return to WWE soon.
A Royal Rumble return for Goldberg would be a great way to bring him back to perform if he was to come back in that capacity.
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