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The Royal Rumble is now just a matter of days away. There have been a number of rumors doing the rounds ahead of the first WWE pay-per-view of 2021. Let's take a look at some of the latest rumors ahead of the show including a possible return for a former RAW Women's Champion as well as a 'scary' finish possibly being planned for the men's Royal Rumble match.
#7 Scary finish planned for men's Royal Rumble match
With the 2021 Royal Rumble set to take place behind closed doors, WWE has reportedly been discussing a whole number of unique scenarios for the show. According to a report from WrestleVotes, a source told them that one of the finishes being considered for the men’s Royal Rumble match 'scares the death out of me':
"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."
If we had to guess what this scary finish to the match is, it could have something to do with The Fiend and Alexa Bliss, who are being pushed heavily on RAW.
#6 Rhea Ripley could be a surprise entrant in the women’s WWE Royal Rumble match
Dave Meltzer has given an update on Rhea Ripley's status ahead of the Royal Rumble. Meltzer said that Ripley is considered to be a part of the main roster right now and was supposed to make her debut a couple of weeks ago but it was held off.
Rhea Ripley has not been on NXT since losing to Raquel Gonzalez. It definitely looks like Ripley is getting ready for the main roster and the Rumble could definitely see a surprise appearance by the former NXT Women’s Champion.
#5 Charlotte Flair has predicted a surprise appearance by WWE NXT Superstar
Charlotte Flair believes that Rhea Ripley could be a surprise entrant in the women's WWE Royal Rumble match. Speaking on a media call ahead of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Flair predicted that the former NXT Women's Champion could be a surprise in the women's Royal Rumble match:
"I think every year the Royal Rumble gets more difficult due to how deep and experienced the division gets. Now you have Bianca Belair on SmackDown. Now Bayley doesn't have a title, so she'll be in the Royal Rumble. RAW side, you have a repeat, Shayna, and then I don't know whether or not she'll be entering, but I could see Rhea Ripley making a surprise entrance."
Charlotte Flair challenged Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship at WWE WrestleMania 36. Flair came off with the win on the night.
Charlotte Flair will be pulling double duty at this year’s Royal Rumble. Charlotte Flair and her tag team partner Asuka will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler before Flair enters the women’s Royal Rumble match.
#4 More details on why WWE didn't keep Edge's return a surprise
On this week's RAW, former WWE Champion Edge announced that he would be making his return at the Rumble as a part of the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Edge has been out injured since his match against Randy Orton at Backlash last year that was promoted as the 'Greatest Wrestling Match Ever'. Edge tore his triceps during the match and has been on the shelf since getting surgery to reattach the triceps muscle back to the bone.
Edge's return could definitely have been kept as a major surprise but WWE decided to revealed it ahead of time. According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE decided to announce Edge's return ahead of time because there will not be crowds in attendance on Sunday. It seems like WWE would have kept Edge's return a surprise if the event had been held in front of fans.
Similar to this, the company will also be making some major announcements on WWE Backstage before Royal Rumble. The No. 1 and No. 2 entrants in the women’s Royal Rumble match will be revealed as well as the identity of the Superstar who will come in at No. 30 in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
#3 WWE holding rehearsals on Saturday
WWE is set to hold rehearsals for the Royal Rumble for six hours on Saturday, according to a report from Fightful. The rehearsals will take place in Orlando Florida. With the Royal Rumble set to take place on Sunday night, this should give everyone involved a chance to get ready for one of the biggest pay-per-views of the WWE calendar.
#2 WWE possibly teasing some unexpected surprises at Royal Rumble?
The Royal Rumble is one of the most eagerly anticipated pay-per-views of the year, with fans waiting to see what surprises WWE has in store. The same is the case for this year as well.
A graphic for Royal Rumble that was recently uploaded by the WWE on BT Sport Twitter handle has caught the attention of eagle-eyed fans. We have to stress here that this rumor must be taken with a grain of salt as BT Sport is only a WWE broadcast partner. You can check out the graphic posted by WWE on BT Sport Twitter handle below:
As you can see, the graphic hints at CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, and Ronda Rousey. More interestingly, the ‘Switchblade’ is a nod to Jay White of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
#1 Could we see a possible return for Ronda Rousey in the women’s WWE Royal Rumble match?
Ronda Rousey’s last WWE match came at WrestleMania 35, where she main evented the show with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Becky Lynch was the big winner on the night, leaving WrestleMania 35 as both RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Could we see Ronda Rousey return to the WWE? We don’t know for sure it but there could be a chance. WWE is hopeful that Rousey will return at some point according to Stephanie McMahon who spoke to TMZ Sports:
"Well, you know, Ronda's been very public that she would like to start her own family and you know, once she does that, our doors are absolutely open, our arms are open. We are very hopeful that Ronda will come back home to WWE."
Although Rousey is looking to start a family right now, a short run from the Rumble to WrestleMania could be something the former RAW Women's Champion is open to.
Rousey also recently took to Twitter to comment on odds of her winning the Royal Rumble. You can check it out above.
