10 Expectations Vs. Reality For WWE Royal Rumble 2020

4. Who Will Be A Surprise Entrant In The Women's Royal Rumble?

CM Punk Dolph Ziggler
WWE Network

Expectation:

The uninformed wrestling rumour mill is fairly easy to navigate, hence why so many awful chancers gain traction.

It's an exercise in dot connection in which these hacks use a developing story to plausibly make up another, and it is astonishing that, two days after it was revealed AEW just received a huge budget increase from TNT, none of these mutants have drawn clicks by writing an "AEW To Use Rights Fee To Sign CM Punk In Huge Turnaround" headline. Rumours of Paige's in-ring return have intensified because Edge's return has been more heavily rumoured. All necks are neck injuries are the same, who's going to check, and so Paige is coming back too!

Ta-da!

Reality:

Paige is retired from in-ring competition. Edge was withdrawn from it under different circumstances. Not all necks were created equal. Just look at Kota Ibushi. WWE will run a surprise or two at the Rumble, and given that the company ran Hornswoggle in a comedy spot last year, it's likely to be a spot of farce designed to add a note of fun to the boring mass-of-flesh middle phase.

Enter: Santina Marella!

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!