10 Shocks WWE Could Pull At Royal Rumble 2024
Roll up! Roll up! Come see the biggest possible WWE Royal Rumble 2024 shocks!
Shock tactics are useful in wrestling, but there's always this nagging sense of dread once companies start to learn too heavily in that direction. Confused? It can be summed up simply: Spectres of Vince Russo's swerve-thick style can still be found haunting fan minds. WCW booked swerves for the sake of it rather than because they made sense.
WWE cannot veer off into that madness.
It's all a balancing act in early-2024 though. Fans do expect a few delicious surprises whenever the Royal Rumble rolls around. In fact, shock value is a big selling point for the January favourite. It's vital, however, that any surprises planned either contribute to WrestleMania season's appeal or (at the very least) don't detract from it and upset anything else Triple H is plotting.
There's next to no chance every single shock offered here happens at all once, but a few of them would be f'n epic to witness on the next major PLE. Unlikely title changes, grand returns during both titular Rumble matches themselves, and an elimination or two that stuns both fans and workers alike sounds great.
Let's dig in!
10. Braun Strowman’s Unlikely Return
Injuries suck.
Nobody needs to tell Braun Strowman that. He was basking in the beauty of a fun tag-team run alongside Ricochet when a serious neck injury benched him in May 2023. Surgery and painful rehab has followed, but Braun is still eyeing up the Rumble as a possible WWE re-entry point in the new year.
That's ambitious to say the least, but the thought of returning to a monster (ha) pop is something that's helping keep Strowman sane. He's been very candid online and during interviews about being bored out of his mind without weightlifting or any active work to keep him busy.
It'd be magic to see Braun storm out in Tropicana Field and eliminate a few folks from the men's Rumble match. His days as a World Title concern are probably over, but there's no reason why Strowman can't work a few spots with fellow big men like Bronson Reed, Ivar or Omos in the bout.
If he's healthy, that is.