WWE Royal Rumble 2020: 10 Former Stars Who Should Return Tonight!

As exciting as the Royal Rumble pay-per-view is, it's safe to say most fans look forward to the event for the Rumble matches themselves and the surprises they have in store. This year's installments should be no exception.

NXT involvement in this year's Rumble matches is virtually guaranteed. Matt Riddle and a handful of women from NXT are expected to enter their respective Rumbles, along with a wrestler or two from NXT UK or 205 Live.

John Cena technically remains on the active roster but hasn't competed in over a year. A Rumble return for him is very possible, along with anyone else who has been inactive for the better part of the past year (Ronda Rousey, Nia Jax, Naomi, Jeff Hardy, etc).

However, the list of former WWE Superstars who could return in the Rumble is much smaller. Almost anyone who fans have wanted to come back to WWE have resurfaced at one point or another over the last decade or so. However, that hasn't stopped stars such as Rey Mysterio, The Hurricane and Jeff Jarrett from popping up and making their presence felt in the annual Battle Royal.

The focus should be on the future, but a nostalgia pop here and there doesn't hurt and only adds to the unpredictability of the bout.

Of everyone who could realistically return at the Rumble this year, these 10 would be the most satisfying to see.

No Royal Rumble return wish list is complete without CM Punk, but because we're still a ways off from him getting back inside the squared circle, he ranks at the very bottom.

Punk's last WWE match was actually the 2014 Rumble. After lasting almost the entire bout, he was unceremoniously eliminated by Corporate Kane, never to be seen by the WWE Universe again... or at least until he resurfaced on WWE Backstage late last year.

There had been rumblings for months about him potentially joining the show as an analyst, but few fans thought much of it until it actually happened in early November. Whether he's truly "changed the culture" as promised is arguable, but he has certainly been a breath of fresh air on the program thus far.

As soon as Punk popped on Backstage, fans started to speculate whether a return in the Rumble was in the cards. From a storyline standpoint, the timing couldn't be better, but Punk has expressed zero interest in wrestling again at this time.

Considering he wasn't even advertised by the company for this week's Backstage ahead of time, there's clearly a lot that needs to be done for that relationship to be rebuilt.

Then again, Punk coming back to win the match he never could and going on to rekindle his rivalry with WWE champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 would be one heck of a story, wouldn't it?