Royal Rumble has always given us memorable battle royals and epic encounters. But another highlight of the pay-per-view is the surprise return of superstars. From Hall of Famers to established stars, Royal Rumble has been a place for the wrestlers to make the crowd erupt and go wild. Throughout its history the event hasn’t failed to disappoint us when it comes to superstar returns and this year won’t be any different. So here’s a look at the possible wrestlers who could carry on the tradition and return at Royal Rumble.
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton was a superstar who used to woo the crowd with his sheer athleticism and ability to make his opponents look good. And after a long stint away from the WWE, he finally teased his return recently through his Twitter account. Though the WWE is yet to make a response, his return looks certain after he dropped such a big hint. But in the current landscape of the company, the creative wouldn’t want to bring him back on television, which makes Royal Rumble the ideal setting for his return. Shelton would be an excellent addition to the upper-midcard which is on a collision course due to the lack of experienced stars. A good show in the Rumble could directly propel him into the scene and he can be used instrumentally in making the United States or InterContinental title more relevant. Add all that possibilities together and what we have in our hands will be an eminent return of Shelton Benjamin.
Rob Van Dam
Mr. Monday Night Raw found it hard to find his feet when he returned last time around. A short feud with Alberto Del Rio and an alliance with Ricardo Rodriguez showed that the company didn’t have any idea on how to use him. But the story would be different if Van Dam returns during the business part of the year. With everything building up to WrestleMania, a Rumble return would be ideal for Van Dam who will be free of his film project by the time of Royal Rumble. It is to be seen whether he comes back as a rumble entrant or re ignites his feud with Del Rio. Either way his return would only be a good thing for business which is severely lacking the star power of wrestlers like him.
Sheamus
The Celtic warrior has almost ran his recovery time and is all set for a comeback, but what makes Royal Rumble the best place for his return is that he could directly go to WrestleMania from there. He has a history if winning the Rumble previously and has also been linked up with a possible match with the Undertaker. A title feud with John Cena is also in the rumors which surely will give us a chance to see him turn heel again. His injury came as a chaotic problem for the creative and they will be looking to bring him back with a bang. It would be interesting to see what kind of push he is assigned to, as anything less than a main event one could hinder the plans for WrestleMania.
Brock Lesnar
A feud between Lesnar and Ryback has been in the winds for some time with the Royal Rumble being the stage to witness the clash of these monsters. Lesnar and Paul Heyman are touted to return on Rumble interfering in Ryback’s match which would be a surprise catalyst to the babyface turn of Ryback. It’s sure that he won’t be returning as Rumble entrant as he wouldn’t want to lose out his swing going into WrestleMania, where is could face the Streak. Running down the ring and attacking a wrestler would be typical Brock Lesnar and Royal Rumble looks destined to boast a repeat of history. All things apart, the only thing that needs to be known now will be the person on the receiving side.
The Undertaker
One thing is for sure that there won’t be a WrestleMania XXX without the Undertaker, and it would only make sense if the Phenom makes his return before the grand stage to build some momentum for his once in a year showdown. Since the Rumble is the official start for Road to WrestleMania, the WWE would be more than happy to announce Undertaker’s opponent on January. Such a move will give the company enough time to promote the match and put in some interesting confrontations to add spice. He might not jump into the ring and knock his opponent down at Rumble but Taker looks certain to bless us with his presence. The lack of knowledge on his opponent makes it impossible to predict the manner of his return but the news of him coming back would be enough for the fans to fill the seats.
After tonight's WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view went off the air in Boston, John Cena challenged Randy Orton to a champion vs. champion match. Orton declined and Kane went after Cena but Triple H stopped him repeatedly. Kane grabbed Triple H for a chokeslam but Orton calmed him down. The Authority left and Cena took the mic to cut a promo until Triple H came back out.
Cena challenged Triple H to get in the ring but Vince McMahon came out and stopped Triple H from going in. Cena taunted Vince as Vince got ready to fight. This brought out Stephanie McMahon, who stopped Vince. The Authority walked to the back together but not before Vince stopped on the stage to do the Los Matadores' "Ole!" gesture with his jacket.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has published a new blog entry on JrsbarBq.com. Here are some highlights.
Survivor Series Kickoff:
Kofi Kingston was educated in Boston and is kicking off the pre show vs. the newly re-minted villain The Miz..so to get the crowd engaged and up...I'd go with Kofi winning. With that said, Miz likely wins the pre show match.
Intercontinental Championship:
Big E retains the IC Title vs. Curtis Axel in definitive fashion. Hopefully, Big E won't have to suffer through a series of losing efforts in the "non title' bouts that he's booked in the near future. Fans of any ilk can associate with winning and winners. Hopefully, Big E gets on a roll and resurrects the Intercontinental Title. BTW...Big E's 'Five Count' ala King Kong Bundy that "E" used in NXT was good stuff. I wish that he'd do it now. Fans loved it at Full Sail.
Traditional Elimination matches:
Two traditional Survivor Series Elimination tag matches involves 14 or so Divas in a bout that will likely feature rapid fire finishes with the Total Diva cast winning on a night that their show airs on E and coming off the heels that another season is in the making. This match will follow something that is expected to be hot. This match will be about comedy, one liners and to promote the E Network's Total Diva program.
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination tag #2....features a guaranteed Cesaro Swing in a somewhat cold match. I'd assume the fan favorites will win but I'm somewhat ambivalent as to the outcome. I'd expect WWE to protect Rey Mysterio especially if he's coming back to a close to full time schedule from knee issues. Watch for tension within The Shield.
Punk & Daniel Bryan teaming against Harper/Rowan:
Punk/Bryan vs. Harper/Rowan with Bray Wyatt....I see this as the potential show stealer. Gut says something is going to happen here in a significant way. Remember Bray Wyatt scheduled to be at ring side. It's hard to beat three up and coming villains when the villains have a man advantage and are in the evolution process. Nice thing about this match for me is that it is somewhat unpredictable. Wyatt Family need the win more than the two protagonist stars.
World Heavyweight Championship:
Cena vs. ADR for World Title....likely straight forward Cena win but the shocker would be for Cena to tap in his hometown of Boston and to continue the story. ADR losing essentially takes him out of the loop including the predicted live event rematches vs Cena that likely will include new stips. Remember, even Superman had kryptonite but it's likely a Cena wins via submission. To shock the world, get close to have ticket selling steam on a main event villain, and set the hero on a chase to regain his championship, the bold move would be to beat Cena in Boston. But if that occurs I will swear off BBQ for a month.
WWE Championship:
Orton vs. Big Show for the WWE Title....I'd expect some sort of a 'Boston Screw Job' at Survivor Series especially with Bret Hart on the HOF TV panel. Plus, remember when Bret got shafted at Survivor Series versus Bob Backlund. Just seems as if it's too easy to not cheat Big Show out of the title and to add much needed heat to Orton and the 'Authority' personas. Nice place here for the Shield to circle back through the PPV.
In a new interview with Chad Dukes, Cody Rhodes noted that he paid to have the white Intercontinental Title, currently held by Big E Langston, brought back. He said:
"You have no idea how difficult that was to get the IC Title, the white IC Title, which Big E Langston is now our new Intercontinental Champion and that was such a cool thing for him, to see that and see it still around. It makes me feel happy because that was such a pain to get done. Not many people know this; I paid for the title to be recreated. I was refunded, heavily refunded, but I paid to show it to the man and say, “Listen, this will get a reaction, that you might not think it will and here’s why,” you know? And I’m very happy to see it still in existence."
WWE Tag Team Champion Cody Rhodes joined Doug Mortman and Mike Riker on Busted Open. You can hear Busted Open on SiriusXM 92 and on the SiriusXM app. Here are highlights:
Thoughts on Rey Mysterio on the Survivor Series team:
Rey has a lot left to give. I got the opportunity to see him at the WWE Performance Center and to see him take him time to get back to work and that was the best thing that he can do. He’s had eight knee surgeries, I think. To take his time and properly rehab and properly facilitate in the fashion that he did. He’s one hundred percent and I’ve known Rey for a long time and I can confidently tell you in this situation, he is one hundred percent and if anybody knows anything about pro wrestling and sports entertainment, if they ever saw Rey Mysterio go, it’s some of the most exciting matches that you will ever see. He is just as good as he was when I saw him wrestle Dean Malenko at Halloween Havoc as he will be at Survivor Series.
Amazed at Goldust’s comeback:
Dustin and I, were not as close as people think but we are real brothers and I know a lot about his personal life and he is such a fitness fanatic and he is living a healthy lifestyle. He has made that choice for three or four years now and I knew it would translate into his return to the ring in some fashion but I didn’t know how well it would translate. It’s full on competitive now between him and I and that’s what makes a great team. I don’t want to be any step behind my older brother and he doesn’t want to be any step behind his younger brother so it makes for a great dynamic. I’m shocked every time I see him in the ring, every time, because he is able to pull out something new and he able to perform at the level he was performing when he started out in the business.
Any changes after his promo on the night he was fired:
I think sometimes when people don’t expect you to say certain things, when they consider certain things taboo and when you step on someone’s toes with what you said but there is truth behind it. I think it makes for compelling television and I know nothing was given to me which is rare in a television show where you able to be free and tell our audience how you feel. I don’t know if anything has necessarily changed. I know for me having been here with WWE since I was twenty years old, I couldn’t even purchase alcohol when I started with WWE. I don’t have any fear with anything within the company anymore because there’s no point to have any fear. It makes for a very feel individual. I show up when I’m supposed to and I know that I have the ability to have a match with anybody on that roster and that’s what I’m going to try to do and it’s one of Vince’s things. You will get nowhere unless you step on a lot of toes and I’ve consistently been trying to do that. For me, that change wasn’t necessarily when that promo happened, I say that change happened when I started that rivalry with Rey Mysterio almost three years ago and it’s been the same ever since. I grew up very quickly here.
Connecting with the crowd:
I think some fans who are critics and some of our insider people who are too inside; they look at it from that perspective: “That he’s second generation, it was easy for him to get there and it easy to steal the elements from his father and brother”, they think that’s easy. For me, the best advice that I ever got was to be the exact opposite of everybody. Don’t have bleach blond hair, don’t jab, don’t do the bionic elbow, and don’t do any of that because it’s just too easy. For me, I’m a student of the game but I’m also a student of, if anything, not my dad or not my brother but of the guys that competed with him. I would say if I had to make a Survivor Series fantasy team, it would be the Ric Flair’s and the Kevin Sullivan’s because that’s where I learned the most from. I don’t do any service to anybody who turns into our product to come out to my dad’s music, which I hated by the way, and to do something that he did. I have to be who I am, Goldust needs to be who he is and at the end of the day when the fans say: “Hey, who is one of the great families in our industry?” Hopefully they will say us because of just that. We gave each audience, each generation and each age group something different.
Possibilities of the brother versus brother match at WrestleMania:
I can say that it’s something that is always buzzing out there of the idea of Goldust versus Cody Rhodes and that’s flattering but I can tell you that the worst thing that our audience can do is assume that’s what’s going to happen, let whatever transpire and it will be more entertaining than speculation. I know this though and I can honestly tell you, if I had the opportunity to wrestle any singles match at a WrestleMania which is a superstars dream and it happened to be against my brother, my real life brother, I don’t know any match that would be better, any match with titles or not that would have anymore meaning behind it as far as the sixteen year age difference between us and the true competitive nature of being the sons of a hall of famer and it’s something that I wouldn’t discourage.
Daniel Bryan recently spoke with The Boston Herald to promote tomorrow's WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. Here are some highlights from the article:
Boston ties with Brie Bella:
"I’m engaged to Brie Bella, and our very first date was in Boston. We went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and that was when we realized we really, really liked each other. That was in January of 2011, and now we’re getting married next April."
Dedicating Sunday's match to his dog, an 11-year-old yellow lab named Asparagus the Wonder Dog that died just five days ago:
"He was legitimately my best friend. Every title I’ve ever won, I would always take a picture with Asparagus with the title and proclaim him the champion. He was a very special dog."
The match with CM Punk against The Wyatt Family:
"You’ll see me bring an energy and enthusiasm when I team with Punk against the Wyatts. It’s a very different style matchup. The Wyatts are just big wild brawlers, while we’re aerial, technical wrestlers. It’s a grudge match, and we’re not going to find out who the best wrestlers are. We’re going to find out who the best fighters are, because this is definitely going to be a fight."
