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The 2018 Royal Rumble event will emanate from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This will be the 30th anniversary of the event and will officially kick off the road to Wrestlemania 34. The first ever Royal Rumble event was held in January 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.
The Royal Rumble is an exciting event and is the most anticipated show of the year, besides Wrestlemania. The match itself is interesting due to its unpredictability with regards to special appearances, returns and the eventual winner of the match. Already, speculations have been rife on who is going to win the Royal Rumble for a chance to main event Wrestlemania. The number of candidates fronted to win makes the event quite unpredictable. The event is also synonymous with returns of legends or past wrestlers. The WWE universe always gets the chance to witness incredible debuts and returns at the Royal Rumble and it is no wonder that this event normally creates lot of excitement and buzz.
Here are five surprise entrants the WWE universe would pop for at the 2018 Royal Rumble;
#5 Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam is the only wrestler to have simultaneously held the WWE Championship and ECW World Championship.
RVD competed in his last match for WWE against Seth Rollins at the August 29 episode of SmackDown. He made his final appearance at the 2014 Slammy Awards to present the Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year. Van Dam had a memorable showing at 2006 Royal Rumble where he was drawn number 20th, lasted 23.54 minutes and eliminated four people.
His return at the Royal Rumble would get a massive pop. Chants of "ECW" and "RVD" would rent the air the entire time. At 46 years old, RVD is still able to put on a good performance just to remind us why he is one of the greatest performers of all time.
#4 Christian
Christian helped revolutionize the tag team division alongside his partner Edge. Their match at Wrestlemania 2000 against the Hardy Boyz and Dudley boyz was epic. It is this match that led to the creation of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
Christian is the only wrestler to have held the NWA, ECW, and World Heavyweight Championships. He won the World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Alberto Del Rio at the 2011 Extreme Rules pay-per-view event. He later had great matches with Randy Orton for the World title. Christian's final match took place on the March 24th episode of Raw where he won a fatal four-way match against Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus to challenge Big E for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
A special appearance at the Royal Rumble would make the fans at the Wells Fargo arena erupt. It has been almost four years since Christian competed inside a WWE ring. A "kill switch" move on any of the other 29 competitors would be nostalgic and a moment to remember.
#3 Goldberg
Goldberg was absent from the WWE for 12 years before making his return in October 2016 to feud with "The Beast" Brock Lesnar. During his most recent run, he defeated Kevin Owens at Fastlane to win the Universal championship. He dropped the title to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 33 in a match that pundits claimed was better than their previous encounter at Wrestlemania 20.
It is worth noting that Goldberg is the only person to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, and the WWE Universal Championship. He has been dominant in his career and is sure of a future hall of fame induction.
Wrestling analysts do not expect Goldberg to return as a full-time performer. His most recent run was a successful one following his title win and remarkable feud with Brock Lesnar. He also achieved his goal of performing in front of his wife and son and went on to have a good match with Lesnar at Wrestlemania to erase the memory of their lacklustre performance at Wrestlemania 20. However, a one-off appearance at the Royal Rumble is highly likely. The WWE fans would be elated to see Goldberg once again. A number of spears inside the ring would be a moment no one would want to miss.
#2 Bobby Lashley
Lashley is a two-time ECW champion and a one-time United States champion in WWE. He was the first African American in ECW history to win the ECW title. Lashley had a Wrestlemania moment at Wrestlemania 23 when he defeated Umaga in a match in which the now President, Donald Trump, sided with him against Umaga who had Vince McMahon in his corner.
Lashley's last match in WWE was on July 30, 2007, an episode of Raw in a match against Mr. Kennedy. WWE announced that Lashley was released from his WWE contract on February 4, 2008. Lashley moved on to TNA wrestling where he has achieved immense success, capturing the World Heavyweight Championship four times. Also, in Bellator MMA, he remains undefeated in five heavyweight bouts.
It has been a decade since Lashley last appeared in a WWE ring. His physical prowess and fighting skills have been compared to that of Brock Lesnar. He has made a name for himself outside the WWE and everyone would welcome him wholeheartedly should he return. A collision with Brock Lesnar would be mouth-watering and is a dream match that can still happen. A return as a surprise entrant into the Royal Rumble would just be the best way to introduce Bobby Lashley back to the WWE universe. The fans would go wild in giving him the reception he deserves if indeed he makes his big return at the January 28th, 2018 event.
#1 Daniel Bryan
In 2016, at only 34 years of age, Daniel Bryan retired from professional wrestling due to medical issues arising from multiple concussions. In July of that year, he was named the General Manager of SmackDown following the return of WWE's brand extension.
Bryan has not wrestled for over two years now since April 16, 2016, the episode of SmackDown, in which he teamed up with United States Champion John Cena to defeat WWE Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Tyson Kidd by submission.
However, Bryan has lately hinted at a potential return to the ring. His wife Brie Bella also recently revealed in an interview with Lillian Garcia Podcast that Bryan had visited doctors all over the US and they all gave him encouraging news. Bryan still needs to get clearance by the WWE medical team for him to compete. It is very clear that he misses wrestling and cannot wait to lace his boots one more time. What better place to make a return than at the Royal Rumble. An appearance at the Rumble would make the fans go crazy with chants of "YES! YES! YES!" almost blowing the roof off the arena.
