10 Wrestlers Who Won't Be In WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Match
9. Shinsuke Nakamura
With the news that WWE's higher-ups have been restructuring the WrestleMania card with an eye toward the future, many people are expecting some major NXT stars to make their main roster debuts in the Royal Rumble. In fact, two-time NXT Champion Samoa Joe seems like a shoo-in to have a great showing and a major program leading into 'Mania.
Still, don't hold your breath for current champion Shinsuke Nakamura to make his debut in the match. Nakamura is almost 37 and it can be argued that WWE is wasting him in development, but the fact remains that he's the current champion. He'll be defending his championship at TakeOver: San Antonio against Bobby Roode, and while it's conceivable that Roode could win, don't expect Nakamura to come up the very next evening.
Instead, it looks like the earliest we'll see "The King of Strong Style" on Raw or Smackdown will be directly following WrestleMania. After all, it's not like the NXT brand can afford to lose Joe and Nakamura at the same time.