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With WWE NXT Takeover: Philadelphia in the books, the excitement now shifts from the developmental brand hybrid to the main roster and the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
This year’s show will feature two Rumble matches for the men’s and women’s wrestlers and the energy surrounding these two matches is causing the internet to buzz more than usual.
The latest rumors are geared towards the Royal Rumble entrants as wrestling fans in Philadelphia keep their eyes peeled hoping to the get the next scoop on potential Rumble participants.
The Undertaker and Michelle McCool were spotted flying into Philadelphia on Friday night which caused many fans to question what role The Phenom will have on the show and whether McCool will return to the ring for the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
However, the latest rumor suggest that The Animal Batista is in Philadelphia and could be a surprise entrant for the Men’s Royal Rumble match after fans saw his training partner, John Rafferty, post this photo on his Instagram.
It would make all the sense in the world to bring back Batista for a Royal Rumble appearance as it would not require him to be involved in any major storylines. Batista has discussed in several interviews that he would be open to comeback, but only if he could have a storyline with Triple H or if he could have a role where he doesn’t have to deal with creative.
Unfortunately, when you take a closer look at this potential sign of Batista’s comeback, the odds of The Animal actually being in Philadelphia aren’t as great as you would think.
The main reason fans assume that Batista is coming back is due to the T-shirt he’s seen wearing in Rafferty’s picture which reads “SMOKIN’ JOE FRAZIER’S GYM – PHILADELPHIA, PA.”
Rafferty has worked with WWE superstars in the past like Samoa Joe, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, but most of his workouts and training seem to take place primarily in Tampa, Florida.
Another big factor that severely decreases the odds of the two-time Royal Rumble winner being spotted in Philadelphia is a video of his training with Rafferty that was posted by Batista who tagged the location at the Powerhouse Gym Athletic Club – a gym exclusive to Tampa.
Many would argue that Batista could be tagging the location to mislead fans, but towards the end of Batista’s video you can clearly see the “Powerhouse Gym” sign in the back which matches photos of the Tampa gym from Yelp and the gym’s website.
This information doesn’t mean that Batista couldn’t show up for the Royal Rumble because a flight from Tampa to Philadelphia would only take about two hours, but the information making the rounds on the rumor mill is far from confirmation of Batista’s return.
