Tonight’s WWE SmackDown held all sorts of surprises, including the first entrant in the Royal Rumble match. A backstage segment featured New Day’s Kofi Kingston, and while he would later get a huge match against Gunther, he first took a moment to announce that he was the first entrant in the Men’s Royal Rumble match. Now there are 29 more reveals to go, but it’s good that we’ve already got someone to lock in, as Royal Rumble isn’t that far away. Rumble kicks off on January 28th of 2023, and now the guessing game begins about who else will join Kofi in the ring for one of WWE’s biggest events of the year.
With 30 slots to fill in both the Men and Women’s matches, you can expect a lot of the current roster to be included, especially after the recent flurry of returns and call-ups. SmackDown alone now has Legado del Fantasma, Hit Row, Karrion Kross and Scarlett, Emma, Braun Strowman, and Bray Wyatt, and Raw will add names like Johnny Gargano, Mia Yim, and Candice LeRae.
.@TrueKofi is the first Superstar to declare for the #RoyalRumble Match!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/OBTSWRSMXX
— WWE (@WWE) December 3, 2022
Then you have to figure in other names like Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul, who are both injured right now but could be healed up in time for the big event. Becky Lynch also just made her big return after an injury at WarGames, and Charlotte has also been teasing a return to the ring after a recent absence.
Then there is of course the rumored involvement of The Rock, which has been part of the long-rumored match-up with Roman Reigns that many have wanted to see. That’s purely in the realm of speculation right now, but if it did happen at WrestleMania 39, you can definitely expect something to kick that off at the Rumble.
The Rumble is also a perfect place to bring back some fan favorites and Legends, and after last year, perhaps we even see a company crossover, like what happened with Impact Wrestling’s Mickie James. She even had the Impact Women’s Championship with her, so who knows what could happen this time around with Triple H now running the show.
Who else do you want to see in the Royal Rumble? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!