Last-minute WWE Royal Rumble rumors: Controversial finish planned, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Seth Rollins' return status

WWE Royal Rumble 2021 is a little over 24 hours away and it's time for the WWE Universe to start preparing themselves for the annual extravaganza of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. 30 men and 30 women will compete in two Royal Rumble matches respectively, with the winner getting a title match at WrestleMania 37 against the champion of their choosing.

The rumor mill is at its productive best as speculations are pouring in all over the internet as to who could show up in the Royal Rumble match this year and who could end up winning it and cementing their names in the history books.

To get you all ready for the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, here are five last-minute rumors that could end up having a huge impact on the show this Sunday. Comment down and let us know your predictions for the pay-per-view.

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#5 Brock Lesnar's WWE contract and return status ahead of Royal Rumble 2021

One of the biggest names speculated to appear at Royal Rumble this Sunday is that of Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate was last seen on WWE TV at last year's WrestleMania 36 where he dropped the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre. However, the shocking news came in August 2020 revealing that Brock Lesnar's WWE contract has expired and he is a 'free agent'.

As per Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Brock Lesnar is still a free agent and hasn't signed a new contract with WWE. He is also not currently scheduled to return at WWE Royal Rumble this Sunday.

Brock Lesnar entered the Royal Rumble match last year as the WWE Champion, and dominated the first half of the match, making a record 13 straight eliminations, before getting thrown out of the ring by Drew McIntyre, the eventual winner, and the current WWE Champion.

#4 Seth Rollins likely to return at WWE Royal Rumble 2021

There are nine spots remaining in the men's Royal Rumble match that have still not been announced. As per a report from the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, former Universal Champion Seth Rollins is likely to return to WWE TV in the Royal Rumble match this Sunday.

"Fewer spots are announced than ever before, leading to expectation of surprises. One would expect Seth Rollins to return, since he was supposed to weeks ago and suddenly that changed without explanation."

Seth Rollins, the winner of the 2019 Royal Rumble match, has been out of action since WWE Survivor Series 2020. Rollins was on paternity leave as he and his fiance and WWE Superstar Becky Lynch welcomed their first child in December 2020.

WWE had previously advertised the return of Seth Rollins for the first Friday Night SmackDown of 2021. However, his return was abruptly canceled without any proper explanations. There are no reports yet on the WrestleMania plans for Seth Rollins this year, but fans could get a hint of the same at Royal Rumble.

#3 Return status of Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch for Royal Rumble

As for the women's Royal Rumble match, as many as 17 spots are unknown and fans can expect a number of surprises and returns. Two of the biggest names speculated to return in the women's Royal Rumble match are former RAW Women's Champions, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch.

However, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, neither Ronda Rousey nor Becky Lynch is scheduled to appear at Royal Rumble this Sunday.

It was at the 2018 Royal Rumble pay-per-view where Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut and took the wrestling world by storm. Rousey last appeared for WWE at WrestleMania 35 where she dropped the RAW Women's Championship to Becky Lynch in the historic first-ever all-women's WrestleMania main event.

As for Becky Lynch, she relinquished her RAW Women's Championship to the 2020 women's MITB winner Asuka on the RAW after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and announced her pregnancy. Becky Lynch recently welcomed her first child with her fiance and WWE Superstar Seth Rollins.

There have been rumors of Vince McMahon wanting Becky Lynch back in time for WrestleMania 37 but it is safe to assume that Lynch won't be returning to the ring until she is healthy and ready to get back after giving birth.

#2 Controversial finish planned for men's Royal Rumble match

This year, there is no clear favorite to win the men's (or even women's) Royal Rumble match and the WWE Universe has been speculating how could the Royal Rumble end this Sunday. However, as per a report from WrestleVotes, a source has told them that there's a certain finish that is being considered for the men's Royal Rumble match that scares the death out of them. There is no confirmation as to what that finish is but it is being considered heavily.

"Sorry for the lack of details here but still noteworthy IMO; had a brief conversation earlier with a source regarding the Men's Royal Rumble match. 'There's a finish that scares the death out of me. And it’s legitimately getting heavy consideration' yikes."

There are several decisions that could cause a massive fan outburst at WWE Royal Rumble 2021. Any part-timer like Brock Lesnar or Goldberg returning and winning the Royal Rumble, taking away a spot from a young Superstar, would be met with a negative fan reaction.

#1 Details on why Edge's Royal Rumble return was announced on Monday Night RAW

This past week on Monday Night RAW, WWE Hall of Famer Edge returned and announced that he will be entering the men's Royal Rumble this year. It was at last year's Royal Rumble match where Edge made his shocking return to WWE after nearly nine years.

While fans were excited to see The Rated-R Superstar back, there were discussions as to why WWE announced such a massive return beforehand, rather than keeping Edge as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match.

As per a report from Fightful Select, the decision to announce the return of Edge ahead of the Royal Rumble was taken to create hype around the pay-per-view as there won't be any live crowd present during the show. The report further suggests that Edge's return would have been kept as a surprise if Royal Rumble was taking place with live fans present in the arena.

Edge suffered a triceps injury during his match against Randy Orton at WWE Backlash 2020 and has been out of action since then, recovering from the injury.