WWE Royal Rumble 2023: 10 Surprise Entrants We Could See

4. X-Pac

Road Dogg
WWE.com

In this scenario, X-Pac could be considered Triple H's large adult nepo-son; they starred alongside one another in the D-Generation X stable throughout 1998 and formed a friendship along the way.

To this day, X-Pac still appears infrequently on WWE television whenever DX or the New World Order are required to spike the ratings for a one-off jump-start.

It's hard to begrudge him of that; he never gets in the way, he's endured a hard life and learnt his lessons, and the wrestling landscape would look unrecognisable without his contributions in the 1990s. "X-Pac heat" is the worst phrase to enter the wrestling vernacular. So many electrifying back-and-forth sequences are patterned after the Lightning Kid's series with Jerry Lynn, even if today's workers aren't aware of it.

Besides which, sticking around too long with zero character development is something of which entire generations, plural, are guilty in WWE. Why isn't it Miz heat? Dolph Ziggler heat? Elias heat?

This may be considered hypocritical, but while it's OK for Waltman to soak up one last pop, it's probably not OK if...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!