Royal Rumble 2012: Randy Orton and Superstars Who Will Return from Injury

One of the most exciting parts of the Royal Rumble is the unpredictability it provides. While some of that comes in the form of legendary superstars from the past returning for one night only, it can also involve injured superstars getting back into action.

There is certainly no shortage of high quality wrestlers on the shelf right now, and while some look like very good bets to return in the Rumble match, others are toss ups. In such a wide open field, it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that a returning star could win the whole thing.

Here are three elite performers who will come back from injury and enter the 2012 Rumble match. 

Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio has been out for several months after undergoing knee surgery, making just one appearance during that time as a guest presenter at the Slammy Awards. While there hasn’t been any indication regarding Mysterio’s timetable for return, the Rumble match is a good option since it wouldn’t force him to press the action with so much else going on in the match.

Mysterio has one Rumble victory during his career and he is always a major player in the event. On top of that, he is incredibly over with the fans, so he would get a major pop from the crowd if his pyro went off after the buzzer signifying a new entrant. I wouldn’t pick Mysterio to win the match since he’s already an accomplished veteran, but his mere presence would be beneficial. 

Christian

During his crusade for “one more match” for the world heavyweight championship, Christian suffered an ankle injury that put him out of action for the past couple months. However, it now looks as if he is very close to returning, so an appearance in the Rumble match is a realistic possibility. Since Christian’s ultimate goal is a world title match, it stands to reason that he would do anything possible to enter the Rumble.

There are plenty of good things that could come of Christian entering the match, particularly what type of interaction he might have with Sheamus. After all, he was the one who injured Christian from a storyline perspective. Therefore, while it’s fair to say that Sheamus has been touted as the favorite to win the match, I could see Christian screwing him out of a win and making a good run in his own right.

Randy Orton

It has already been announced that Randy Orton will make his return to SmackDown on Friday, so I can’t imagine that anything will keep The Viper from entering the Rumble, particularly since it’s in his hometown of St. Louis, Mo. Orton has reportedly been dealing with vertebrae issues and he was written off television when Wade Barrett threw him down a flight of stairs.

Orton is undoubtedly one of the premier stars in the company and should be considered a Rumble favorite. However, since he has already won once before, I don’t anticipate Orton being victorious. Barrett could certainly put a feather in his cap by eliminating Orton, or the feud between the two could be furthered by them eliminating each other.