WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Power Ranking Most Likely Surprise Entrants

The Royal Rumble match is always one of the most exciting events of the year. It creates stars while also beginning the buildup of multiple feuds for WrestleMania. Moreover, the Rumble has been well-known for surprise appearances over the years—from legends making one-off returns to developmental wrestlers coming up to the main roster.

These special appearances can often be the defining factors of the Rumble. In the 2016 Royal Rumble match, nothing in the match was more impactful than the official debuts of AJ Styles and Sami Zayn, who would both go on to be major parts of the product for the rest of the year.

This year, rumors have run rampant for a variety of wrestlers to make appearances in the Rumble—from the top wrestlers in the world outside of the company to the best young stars still waiting for their main event call-ups.

The following is a list of the top rumored surprise entrants in the 2017 Royal Rumble. They are ranked by the likelihood of them competing in this year's Rumble.

8. Shawn Michaels

Credit: WWE.com

Shawn Michaels is on this list based on the overwhelming amount of speculation surrounding The Heartbreak Kid that has flooded the rumor mills over the past few months. At one point, AJ Styles had even kicked around the idea of wrestling HBK at the Royal Rumble.

However, that is all pure speculation at best, and Michaels has seemed content with his retirement. In his time away, he has published an autobiography, Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar, hosted an outdoor television series, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures, and co-starred in a movie, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.

While a Rumble appearance would only be a one-off appearance, which is something Michaels has done before, including at WrestleMania 32, a Rumble appearance would require the most of him physically since retiring. Not to mention that Michaels has refuted the rumors multiple times. He will be in attendance with an appearance on the pre-show, but that is likely to be the extent of his Rumble involvement.

If he did enter, though, the crowd in Michaels' hometown of San Antonio would blow the roof off the Alamodome. Even if Michaels' tone had changed, and he wanted to appear, it might be one too many legends in a match already headlined by Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and Undertaker.

7. Kenny Omega

There may not be a wrestler on a hotter streak right now in professional wrestling than Kenny Omega, a current NJPW star whose match with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11 has been heralded as one of the greatest matches ever wrestled. With his recent comments about stepping away from wrestling to re-evaluate his career, rumors have begun about Omega signing with WWE.

Those rumors were only further aggravated by John Cena, who used his Instagram to tease the idea of Omega in WWE. With AJ Styles' debut last year at the Rumble after similar teases from Cena, this led to the rumors only growing in number. Who wouldn't want to see WWE add one of the best wrestlers in the world to its roster just in time for WrestleMania?

However, a Rumble appearance may be impossible, given the current contract Omega has with NJPW that does not expire until the last day of January, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc).

It is hard to imagine WWE has worked through contract negotiations of this magnitude so quickly. Not to mention Omega's recent comments officially denying he would be in the Rumble. Still, there may be some validity to it all, given that WWE recently edited a video where Seth Rollins talked up Omega, removing his comments.

Whatever happens with Omega, it probably won't culminate at the Royal Rumble. The star outside WWE's system has many options, and he does not need to choose anything too soon. If he does come to WWE, though, he would likely be portrayed with as big of a spotlight as Styles has been given since debuting.

6. Shaquille O'Neal

Credit: WWE.com

The closest thing we have to a scheduled match for WrestleMania 33 is Big Show vs. Shaquille O'Neal, as the contest has been all but confirmed for this year's Showcase of the Immortals. Despite that, O'Neal has not made an appearance in WWE since last year's WrestleMania, where he was a shocking entrant into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. A Rumble appearance by O'Neal would help to begin hyping up this battle of giants.

WWE will rarely pass up an opportunity for celebrity involvement in its product, but it would make little sense logically for O'Neal to want to win the Rumble. He and Big Show are already unofficially set for WrestleMania, and a Rumble win would ruin their chance to face one another.

A story that would make more sense would be for O'Neal to appear and cost Big Show the Rumble early on, which can lead into The World's Largest Athlete and O'Neal making their WrestleMania match official the next night on Raw. Thus, WWE could still have the former basketball star appear without putting him in a match he has no reason or right to win.

If O'Neal does make an appearance in any way at the Rumble, hopefully it will not take away from the other talent. It would be fun to simply have an on-screen confirmation that Big Show vs. O'Neal is on.

5. Triple H

Credit: WWE.com

Many may have forgotten at this point that Triple H won the Royal Rumble last year. Given that his match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 32 was mostly a letdown and that he disappeared soon after, his Rumble victory has faded from memory. Since WrestleMania, The Game has mostly played WWE COO, promoting NXT, the Cruiserweight Classic and the United Kingdom Championship Tournament.

His one special appearance that has hardly been explained since was his interference in the Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way match on Raw, where he cost Reigns and Seth Rollins the match to crown Kevin Owens Raw's new champion. Rollins has held a grudge against Triple H and called him out on occasion since, but The King of Kings has never explained his actions.

If The Game is set to fight Rollins at WrestleMania this year, he must make an appearance soon. It would make perfect sense for him to appear in the Rumble, particularly if Rollins gets back into the match after Triple H's entrance music cost The Architect his spot in the Rumble on Raw this past Monday. This rivalry could, however, be just as easily sold by Triple H interfering in the match without being an entrant.

Of everyone on this list, The Game appearing seems the most necessary, but his actual inclusion in the match may be the least likely. There would be little reason for Triple H to include himself in the match if his only goal is to screw Rollins out of a title shot. He could easily just interfere or appear in a backstage brawl with Rollins instead.

4. Tye Dillinger

Credit: WWE.com

Tye Dillinger has worked in NXT since 2013, not including his stint in WWE developmental from 2006 to 2008 that led to a short run in ECW as Gavin Spears. Few wrestlers have shown more growth over the years than Dillinger, who has gotten over massively despite often being portrayed as enhancement talent.

With Dillinger recently ending a feud with Bobby Roode, many have speculated that The Perfect 10 is on his way to the main roster, as he has little left to learn in NXT. It helps that Dillinger debuting at No. 10 in the Rumble sounds perfect, but that does not mean WWE will feel the same way.

NXT stars have a sketchy track record of success upon debuting in WWE, particularly when they have never won NXT gold. Tyler Breeze came onto the main roster with much more success in NXT, and he has fallen into the background since. A Rumble debut is often left to those who WWE has big plans for going into WrestleMania. Plus, Dillinger has begun a feud with Sanity that likely will not end at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio.

Dillinger could build an audience and be successful in WWE, especially if he is given the 10 spot in the Rumble. The spotlight would allow him to launch right into a feud for gold, perhaps for the United States Championship or Intercontinental Championship. This just would require WWE to show interest in a performer who has only recently been given basic feuds.

3. Kurt Angle

Credit: WWE.com

It is official. Kurt Angle will return to WWE, though it is only to accept a WWE Hall of Fame induction. At 48 years old, Angle has been on a retirement tour for the past year or so. The Rumble almost always includes a special veteran appearance, and Angle is in the perfect position to make an appearance at the Rumble.

It is hard to say how likely this appearance would be. With Angle still wrestling on the independent scene, he could physically work the Rumble, but WWE would also have to be interested. For several years now, WWE could have brought back Angle for one more match, but it has not made the effort, instead signing other veterans like The Dudley Boyz and Goldberg.

If a deal can be reached between the two sides, this might be one too many appearances from part-time performers, but Angle might just get a bigger pop than anyone else with how long he has been away.

While he would not be victorious, a Rumble appearance could also lead to signing on for one last WrestleMania match, as Angle likely still has one big match left in him. Given that he is one of the greatest in-ring performers in all of pro wrestling, that would be a huge coup for a show that already has multiple top stars on the card.

2. Samoa Joe

Credit: WWE.com

Few men have been more of a force in NXT since the developmental brand's inception than Samoa Joe, who has held the NXT Championship twice and defeated everyone in his path, including WWE Superstars Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin and Finn Balor. The promise of watching Joe bring that same destructive style to the main roster is enticing.

If there is one NXT star ready to make the jump right now, it is Joe, who was already a veteran performer when he debuted in NXT and has done all he can on the brand. At 37 years old, he needs to make the move soon in order to maximize his impact on the main roster.

The most telling sign that Joe's debut is imminent is his lack of representation on the card for NXT TakeOver: San Antonio. This will be the first TakeOver that Joe has missed since debuting, and it is the perfect time to set him up for a huge push toward WrestleMania.

If Joe does make his debut, he would be the perfect foil to a host of legendary monsters, perhaps even building up a future clash with Brock Lesnar, Goldberg or Undertaker. Other former NXT champions have immediately headed to the main event scene following their debuts, and Joe could fit right in on either Raw or SmackDown.

1.Finn Balor

Credit: WWE.com

WWE has spent considerable time building up Finn Balor not just as one of the top guys, but also as the top star on Raw. He was the third Superstar drafted for Raw over current universal champion Kevin Owens and his Rumble challenger, Roman Reigns, and it took him less than a month to win Raw's top title. If he was not injured in that match, he might still be champ.

Balor's four- to six-month injury timetable lines up perfectly with the Rumble, which has already made him one of the favorites to win the match, according to OddsShark. Not only would it make sense for Balor to return, but it would also be in WWE's best interest to get a head start building Balor back up through a strong showing in the Rumble.

This is contingent on Balor being medically cleared, but that seems all but certain without being officially announced. With the way that the Rumble is structured, Balor would not even have to wrestle at too intense of a pace, only needing to work about seven minutes at most, even if he is victorious.

Balor fighting for the Universal Championship is already a ready-made story, given his history with both Owens and Reigns. If he does not win the Rumble, any top Raw star he could be paired up with would make for an enticing contest, with even the outside chance of Balor battling Undertaker in a war between The Deadman and The Demon.