There is plenty to love about the Royal Rumble match, but one of the most exciting features that has been used for the past several years is bringing in surprise entrants. The premise behind the Rumble is that anything can happen, and surprise entrants certainly prove that.
Sometimes a surprise entrant is somebody returning from injury like John Cena in 2008 or Edge in 2010, while others are legends from the past like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka or Kevin Nash. Whatever the case, the element of surprise keeps the Rumble fresh.
Here are the three most logical surprise entries for the 2012 Rumble match.
Goldust
Goldust hasn’t competed in a WWE ring for several months as an injury sent him to the sidelines. He returned as a trainer for the Divas and it seemed as if his in-ring career was over. Goldust made an appearance on SmackDown a few weeks ago as Dustin Rhodes, however. His brother, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes, proceeded to assault him.
That interaction has caused many to clamor for a possible feud between Goldust, a former Intercontinental Champion, and Rhodes, the current titleholder. Rhodes is on the very edge of Rumble contention, so having Goldust enter as a surprise entrant and eliminate his brother would really kick-start the feud. Goldust entering wouldn’t exactly be a “mark-out moment” since he hasn’t been away for long, but the fans would eat it up.
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
With the 2012 Royal Rumble marking the 25th anniversary of the event, the WWE would be wise to embrace the history of the match. One way to do that would be to welcome “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan as a surprise entrant. Duggan won the first ever Rumble in 1988 so a one-off appearance would be quite fitting. It also isn’t outside the realm of possibility as he appeared in the 2009 Rumble match.
Duggan is still, by all accounts, on good terms with the company so I am almost expecting him to show up. Duggan was never the most technically-sound wrestler or the best on the mic, but he truly resonated with the fans. His American patriot gimmick is fantastic and I think it would be a good idea to let Jinder Mahal eliminate him since it would help Mahal finally get some true heat.
Road Dogg
Oh, you didn’t know? The Road Dogg is now an agent and producer for the WWE, so a Rumble appearance could be in the cards. The five-time WWE Tag Team Champion as a member of the New Age Outlaws also was a guest presenter at the Slammy Awards a couple months ago. Since Road Dogg is back in the public consciousness to some degree, he seems like a decent bet to be one of the legend returns at the Rumble.
I understand that Road Dogg may not have the pedigree of a Piper or a Snuka, but he held plenty of gold in the WWE, was part of one of the most successful tag teams of all time, and was part of perhaps the best stable in WWE history in D-Generation X. The Road Dogg was always extremely entertaining and underrated as a worker, so I would love to see him in the Rumble.
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