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The Royal Rumble pay-per-view is merely days away, which means that most of the stage is already set for the big show. There are nine matches scheduled, including the Kickoff Show, with the majority of them being possible show-stealers. The championship matches on this show are top quality, with tried and tested matches like Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles and exciting prospects like Ronda Rousey vs Sasha Banks. It is going to be an amazing five hours at Chase Field. But the main attraction is obviously the Royal Rumble match.
With days to go, most of the field has already been set, with the entire WWE female roster declaring themselves in the women's Rumble match. On the men's side, 20 names have been confirmed for the match. They range from multi-time world champions to former NXT champions, to lower card performers. It is a diverse list that spreads over the main portion of the Raw and Smackdown locker rooms. These participants are as follows.
R-Truth, Drew McIntyre, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy, Dean Ambrose, Bobby Lashley, Samoa Joe, John Cena, Elias, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Apollo Crews, Andrade, Mustafa Ali, Rey Mysterio, Titus O'Neil and Randy Orton
So with two-thirds of the entrants set, here are ten likely candidates who could complete the field and enter the 2019 men's Royal Rumble match.
#10 EC3
Towards the end of 2018, WWE announced a bunch of NXT call-up to be debuting on the main roster in the near future. One of them was EC3. As part of the feeling out process for all the call-ups on both Raw and Smackdown, the former TNA World Champion has been hanging around backstage and showing off his impressive physique. Whether he ends up on the Red or the Blue brand, EC3 should enter the Royal Rumble and have a strong showing.
#9 Lars Sullivan
Lars Sullivan was supposed to debut weeks ago on Raw but walked out due to an anxiety attack. This unfortunate issue may have changed certain plans WWE had for him, but he still has a huge presence about him. As long as he is ready to go, Sullivan should show up in the Royal Rumble match and eliminate a bunch of people. A dominant run at Chase Field would go a long way in forming a pretty big first impression of the Freak on the WWE main roster.
#8 Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura is set to face Rusev for the United States Championship on the Royal Rumble kickoff show, but he could still show up in the 30-man bout. He won the entire match in 2018, with what was a fantastic performance, and should have the chance to compete again. Nakamura has fallen off pretty badly since his feud with AJ Styles for the WWE Championship concluded. WWE simply cannot ignore last year's Royal Rumble winner for the match, no matter how badly he has fallen.
#7 Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman was originally set to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at the pay-per-view but plans changed and now, Finn Balor will be fighting the Beast instead. It was not because Strowman wasn't cleared, as he faced the former Bullet Club leader on Raw. Despite that, he has not been added to the match yet. You should still expect the Monster Among Men to show up and cause some havoc in the match. Who knows, maybe he could even enter at number 30 after decimating R-Truth backstage?
#6 Mike Kanellis
It has been recently reported that Mike and Maria Kanellis had asked WWE for their release but were not granted them. With AEW looming large and many wrestlers considering their options, WWE has been pushing some of the people they wouldn't normally push. Sasha Banks has a big match on Sunday, while Zack Ryder has reunited with Curt Hawkins. They might just put Kanellis in the Rumble match to salvage something, as well as have some 205 Live representation in the match.
#5 Kurt Angle
The former Raw general manager has made a few appearances for WWE over the last couple of months, wrestling the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre before that sweet, sweet victory over Baron Corbin. Kurt Angle should make another one of these appearances, possibly eliminating Corbin before showing just how good he once was. In the physical state that the Hall of Famer is in, it would be best to keep him in the ring for a duration not too long. A short but sweet stay in the Rumble would be good for Angle and would give a certain rub to various superstars who come face-to-face with him.
#4 Matt Hardy
Over the summer, Matt Hardy had been suffering from a persisting back injury and stepped away from the ring, seemingly for good. However, he has now been cleared by WWE and will be ready to go. The Woken One might not be back full-time like he was, but a Rumble appearance on Sunday is a possibility. If the Phoenix crowd hears his signature laugh, the pop will surely be massive. He could possibly do something with his brother, Jeff Hardy before bestowing his Broken Brilliance on the field of Rumble competitors.
#3 Pete Dunne
Pete Dunne has been the WWE United Kingdom Champion for over 600 days, taking on every challenger stepping up to him. He is a more than worthy face for the young NXT UK brand and has been a semi-regular figure on usual NXT programming as well. He is a star. But the entire WWE universe is yet to know that. Therefore, putting the Bruiserweight in the Royal Rumble match would be an excellent showcase for himself and the entire UK division. Expect his music to hit at Chase Field.
#2 Bray Wyatt
Similar to Matt Hardy earlier, Bray Wyatt has been absent from WWE programming ever since his (former?) tag team partner took time off. He made a solitary appearance at the untelevised Starrcade event, defeating Baron Corbin, but hasn't been seen since then. We have been waiting for Wyatt to show up for months now but here we are, still waiting. Royal Rumble has to be the time and place where the Eater of Worlds finally makes his return. His fireflies are waiting.
#1 Velveteen Dream
Last year, WWE booked two NXT superstars to enter the 30-man Royal Rumble match. Then-champion, Andrade 'Cien' Almas entered at number 7 and lasted close to half an hour, in what was an excellent showing following his 5-star match against Johnny Gargano the previous night. Adam Cole (Baybay) also showed himself in the Rumble, heavily taped up from his brutal Extreme Rules match with Aleister Black. This year, the impending NXT call-ups are expected, as is Pete Dunne, part-NXT and part-NXT UK. Out of every big name currently in NXT, one man stands out as the perfect one-time entrant. The Velveteen Dream.
The real-life Patrick Clark is an insanely talented individual, making an obscure and weird gimmick work in the best possible way. Recently, among the flux of NXT talent coming over to the main roster, he voiced his concern over not being one of them who was moving on. Dream has been vocal on social media about wanting to be called up so much, that it is starting to seem like a work. At 23 years of age, he has an insane amount of time to carve out his own legacy and there should be no rush. Velveteen Dream should not join the WWE main roster, just yet.
That being said, he should make a similar one-time appearance at the Rumble and wow the casual hardcore fans alike. It very well may happen. He isn't even booked for Takeover, make of that what you will. Chase Field better be ready to bask in the experience of the Velveteen Dream otherwise, it's dream over.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
