Exploring WWE's Increased Options with 40-Man Royal Rumble

With WWE going to a 40-man field again, the Royal Rumble will be big on both bodies and opportunity.

It's a surprising move considering the lack of roster depth WWE has right now. There are, however, a good number of reasons to go with this format. A bigger, more inclusive version of the Rumble means more chances to bring back names from the past, to highlight NXT and to set records.

WWE announced the expanded Rumble for 2015 during Tuesday's SmackDown tapings, per Ringside News' Aaron Grant. It will mark the first time the company has done this since Alberto Del Rio won the Battle Royal in 2011. 

Of the many things fans can be sure of about 2015's Rumble is that Del Rio won't be winning it thanks to a contentious departure. They can also count on NXT having more of an influence.

NXT Taking Over

The WWE Network is partly responsible for NXT's growth into more of a brand than a developmental system. It has exposed more fans to the consistently entertaining product the prospects are delivering down at Full Sail University.

That will make it easier to have more of a WWE-NXT crossover come next January.

This year, Rusev debuted at the Battle Royal. The year before that it was Bo Dallas earning a chance to step onto the big stage. With 10 additional spots up for grabs next time out, WWE can have more NXTers make an impact.

If Tyler Breeze, Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville aren't regular parts of the main roster, this could be where they officially make their way to WWE's big leagues. Or else, the Rumble could host The Ascension's arrival or Hideo Itami's debut.

With a 40-man field, WWE is not limited to plugging in just one prospect. The match could boast a mini-invasion akin to what we saw on Raw in September.

More Surprises

In 2012, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and Booker T all entered the fray at the Royal Rumble. It was a fun surprise seeing each commentator get up from the desk and step into the ring. 

They took up three precious spots, though.

With a bigger field, WWE has more room to work with. It can throw in silly moments like Cole and Lawler as surprise entrants but still have plenty of room for the roster and a handful of unexpected arrivals.

Call up John Morrison or Chris Masters. WWE could have Stardust pull a Mick Foley with him first appearing as Stardust and later entering as Cody Rhodes.

A bigger Rumble opens the door for more moves like that without leaving many of the lower-card guys off the card.

Record-Breaking Performances

Del Rio is the only man who could brag about winning a 40-man Rumble. Now a second Superstar will mirror his achievement. That's one excellent addition awaiting someone's resume.

The bigger match skews the Rumble statistics, but it gives WWE a chance to have emerging stars break a number of records.

Kane will get 10 more chances of surpassing Shawn Michaels as having the most total eliminations. Both men are sitting at 39 eliminations. 

Roman Reigns just broke Kane's record for eliminations in a single Rumble, so it's highly unlikely WWE has someone top that already. If the company chose to do so, though, there'd be more men to take out in order to up that record number.

The record that makes the most sense to tackle belongs to Rey Mysterio. He survived over an hour in the 2006 Royal Rumble.

The second 40-man Rumble is all but guaranteed to go longer than the traditional 30-man version. The 2011 one holds the record for longest Rumble, per WWE.com. Going with this format again allows officials a great chance to pass this record onto someone new.

Whether it be via more chances to break records or adding more wrestlers to the mix, the move to the 40-man Battle Royal gives WWE additional puzzle pieces to move around.