10 Last-Minute WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Rumors You Need To Know

Who will be the last man standing?

Finn Balor
WWE.com

The Royal Rumble is finally upon us! It's been weeks and weeks since WWE first started the hype for the event (specifically, two months since Goldberg became the first man to declare he was entering the bout), and fans have been speculating ever since. Now, it's time to give all of the predictions a rest and just sit back and enjoy it. Well, almost.

As the hours count down to the biggest Rumble in WWE history - a six-hour show altogether, including the two-hour kickoff program - we're going to get together and take one last look at the most prevalent rumors heading into the event. We already know it's going to be an unusually unpredictable match, with Goldberg, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, and Randy Orton among the potential winners, but who will claim victory? And who will return or debut in the bout?

Let's also not forget that the Royal Rumble is just one match, and there's a strong undercard on the show, as well. John Cena will be challenging AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, and if Cena wins, he becomes a 16-time world champion. Roman Reigns will also be challenging Kevin Owens for the Universal Title in a no-DQ match with Chris Jericho suspended over the ring in a shark cage. Add in a Raw Women's Championship bout and a Cruiserweight Championship contest, and this will be a show to remember.

Here are 10 last-minute rumors you need to know for the Royal Rumble. As always, they'll be ranked from least plausible to most plausible.

10. Kurt Angle Enters The Royal Rumble

Finn Balor
Oli Sandler / The Ringside Perspective

Two weeks ago, WWE announced that Kurt Angle would be the headliner for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class. It marked the first time in over a decade that Angle would be working with the company, and it certainly seemed to open the door for a greater cooperation between the two parties.

So will Angle start working for WWE once again in a non-wrestling capacity? Almost certainly. Will he have a retirement match down the line? Maybe, if he can pass a physical. Will he be in the Royal Rumble match this year? No.

Kurt Angle's not going to return to the ring for WWE without hype or fanfare. When he does come back, it'll be on TV, where he'll make a speech in front of a cheering audience - it won't be as number 24 or whatever, while everyone kind of wonders what his motivation is. Angle has gone on record as saying that he won't be in the match, and while wrestlers can't often be taken at their word, Angle's only slightly more likely to show up than CM Punk.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013