Two NXT stars are rumored to make a surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble PPV and show the main roster what the third brand is made of.
The Royal Rumble PPV is just around the corner, Jan. 29, with the event happening in one week. Fans, and myself, included are very excited to see what surprises the PPV will bring. The Royal Rumble match is the perfect place for a surprise entrant. WWE has already spoiled a few women’s Royal Rumble match entrants with Lita, Summer Rae, and Mickie James, and a few others already being announced.
However, the men’s Royal Rumble match also has some rumored surprises from NXT. According to PWinsider NXT Champion Bron Breakker and Gunther formerly known as WALTER are rumored to be involved in the PPV. It isn’t known if they will be in the Royal Match or just make an appearance at the PPV. I would be surprised if they were not in the Royal Rumble match. WWE has always had some NXT wrestlers entering the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches. Those two wrestlers would be the two most likely for the men’s match.
Breakker Looking To Break His Fellow Opponents
Breakker recently became the NXT champion after he defeated Tomasso Ciampa. WWE really likes him and has pushed him really hard with his first feud being against Ciampa who was NXT champion at the time setting up the feud the night he debuted back in mid-September 2021.
Even though Breakker has been pushed to the champion position extremely fast, he has received a lot of praise from both fans and wrestlers including legends like Shawn Michaels. Michaels was even quoted saying Breakker was someone who has really impressed him in NXT after Michaels took over for Triple H.
RELATED: SHAWN MICHAELS REVEALS WHO FROM NXT 2.0 HAS IMPRESSED HIM
It would make a lot of sense to have Breakker enter the Royal Rumble match and introduce the general fans to Breakker and try to get more viewers for NXT. He could eliminate some main roster Superstars and show everyone what a big threat he will be when he moves up to the main roster.
Breakker spoke with Bleacher Report and talked about what he thought about being asked to be in the Royal Rumble match and if he would accept.
“If [the opportunity] presents itself, I’m going,” Breakker said. “That’d be awesome. I’d love to have that opportunity. It’d be freakin’ nuts. I hope it happens.”
Gunther Ready To Show Royal Rumble Participants Why He Was The Longest Reigning NXT UK Champion
Another NXT star WWE has just started pushing is Gunther. He was a very dominant wrestler on NXT UK and has since moved over to the NXT brand. Gunther defeated Pete Dunne who is no pushover himself to win the NXT UK Championship. He went on to hold the championship for 870 days which is unheard of in the modern era.
As part of Gunther’s jump over to the United States was a name change. Gunther had his name changed from WALTER to Gunther by WWE. Probably because they were trying to be sneaky and not let anyone know what a destroyer they let join NXT or maybe not. However, the name change did have some controversy surrounding it as Gunther shares a name with a very unfortunate person.
It would also make sense for WWE to want to have Gunther make his presence known to the main roster and its fans as they just changed his name and look to be pushing him very soon.
RELATED: NXT UK’S WALTER HAS NAME CHANGED AND CAUSES CONTROVERSY
Neither of the stars will win the match, but it is possible they may find themselves in the final four of the match, especially Breakker.
The PPV Card Is Developing Well
The Royal Rumble is shaping up to be a very interesting PPV and an interesting Royal Rumble match, especially on the women’s side so far. However, it is also rumored that the men’s match may have a “forbidden door” entrant so that could be very interesting as well.
The PPV card is as follows and we may get a few more surprises in this upcoming week:
30-Man Royal Rumble Match: Johnny Knoxville, Austin Theory, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, Sheamus, WWE United States Champion Damian Priest, AJ Styles, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Sami Zayn, Madcap Moss, Happy Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, 15 Superstars TBA
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match: SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella, Shotzi, Natalya, Michelle McCool, WWE 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Carmella, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Queen Zelina Vega, Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James, Tamina Snuka, Kelly Kelly, Aliyah, Summer Rae, Naomi, Shayna Baszler, WWE Hall of Famer Lita, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, nine participants TBA
WWE Championship Match: Bobby Lashley vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
WWE Universal Championship Match: Seth Rollins vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos are banned from ringside.
RAW Women’s Championship Match: Doudrop vs. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
Mixed Tag Team Match: WWE Hall of Famers Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz and Maryse
Do you think Breakker and/or Gunther will be in the Royal Rumble match? Who do you think will win the men’s match? What about the women’s match? Let us know who you would like to make a surprise appearance in the two Royal Rumble matches in the comments below and be sure to share your reactions with us on Twitter.
Sources: PWinsider, Bleacher Report, Wrestling Inc.
KEEP READING: ROYAL RUMBLE MAY FEATURE A “FORBIDDEN DOOR” ENTRANT
