WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Predicting 12 Wrestlers Not Yet Announced

The 2017 WWE Royal Rumble takes place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on January 29th, and we're finally in the home stretch. There's just one week of television to go, and while the Rumble match has been filling up nicely, there are still plenty of spots to fill.

Goldberg was announced as the Rumble's first participant on November 21st, and his rival Brock Lesnar followed him one week later. A further 16 entrants have been announced since then, with Sheamus, Cesaro, and The Wyatt Family joining the group earlier this week.

It already looks like one of the most star-studded Rumbles in history, particularly when you add guys like The Undertaker and Chris Jericho to the equation. The bulk of WWE's biggest names have now been covered, but there are still 12 spots left to fill and only 11 days until the show itself.

Looking at the current card, it's highly unlikely that any of Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, and John Cena will be in the match if they lose their respective title matches. It has been years since WWE last threw a wrestler into the match under these circumstances, and given the current roster bloat, we shouldn't expect it this year.

This leaves a number of major players still on the table along with a smattering of surprise entrants, but who will complete the line-up?

Jinder Mahal wasn't exactly the big name return fans were looking for when it was reported that WWE had reached out to several former stars to pad-out their post-draft rosters, but the former 3MB has found a role regardless. Mahal was shoehorned into the ongoing Rusev vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass a few weeks ago, and took the decisive pinfall in their tag team loss earlier this week.

It remains to be seen whether or not Jinder and Rusev's alliance will endure, but Mahal is back in the WWE Universe's collective consciousness. There's absolutely no chance that he's going to win the Rumble, but his re-emergence makes him a strong candidate for inclusion, particularly given the current lack of lower midcard wrestlers among the current participants.

Every Royal Rumble needs a couple of geeks to bolster the other wrestlers' elimination numbers, and Jinder is likely near the top of the list for this role. Other candidates like Bo Dallas, Curt Hawkins, and Curtis Axel haven't been seen on television in months, and it's unlikely they'll show their faces on January 29th. If selected, Jinder's run will be short, forgettable, and largely inconsequential, but it'll at least allow someone to score an elimination.