12 HUGE WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Predictions You Need To Know
5. Now Entering Dixieland
One of the bigger open secrets ahead of the Royal Rumble has been the planned return of former developmental washout-turned-TNA mainstay EC3.
As Derrick Bateman on the preposterous original incarnation of NXT, the future TNA World Heavyweight Champion was enjoyable comedic foil in perhaps the most pointless 'universe' ever curated by WWE. It marked a rare time during the dismal 2009-2012 period that Vince McMahon was actually in sync with his audience - neither party were watching.
Derrick Bateman making a return would rival Grandmaster Sexay's 2011 return for roof-raising pops, but the company may similarly struggle to bring people from their seats with Ethan Carter...unless he brings his Aunt.
The longtime top boss of TNA during the years they were at least perceived as rivals to WWE (despite the brutal truth positioning them quite far from it), Dixie was briefly considered the next Eric Bischoff before she hired the original one midway through some of the worst creative and financial decisions that decade.
She made an unexpected WWE Network debut in a Kurt Angle '24' special in early 2017 - the 2018 Royal Rumble will mark a long-awaited live audience arrival.