WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Possible Surprise Entrants
5. Samoa Joe
Joe has been on an absolute tear in NXT, having great matches with pretty much everybody since his debut. The industry’s most convincing badass could become a mighty force on the main roster, and combined with the fact that Joe has just lost the NXT Championship, the timing could finally be right for the Samoan Submission Machine.
If, by an amazing chance, Joe were to enter and win the Rumble, it could potentially set up a showdown with his old foe AJ Styles. Anybody who saw their encounters in TNA has to be salivating at the thought of these two potentially squaring off on the biggest stage at WrestleMania.
Will it happen? Like Tye Dillinger, Joe is at something of a loose end, having come out on the losing side of a rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura. Traditionally, losing the NXT Championship has been a sign of a move to the main roster (see Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Neville, and others), although Triple H may be keen to keep Joe at Full Sail as a more permanent main-eventer. However, Joe is not getting younger, and a run on the main roster has to be tempting for the big man.