Last week, WWE announced that the Royal Rumble event will be returning to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, for the first time since 1997, and almost immediately after the announcement, fans began to speculate about who may show up at the event, which is taking place on January 29.
Over 60,000 fans packed the Alamodome the last time the Royal Rumble event was held there, making it the most attended Rumble event of all-time, and according to ESPN , WWE is looking to break that record when they return to San Antonio in January.
It’s hard to believe that WWE will be able to break the attendance record by just having their current roster of male and female superstars compete on the show, which is why, according to Cageside Seats , WWE is looking at bringing in three WWE legends, and perhaps more importantly, three Texas natives to appear on the show.
Rumor Roundup (Oct. 4, 2016): Rumble plans, TNA meeting, Ric Flair/Halle Berry, NXT releases, more! https://t.co/I8iDSb79YD
— Cageside Seats (@cagesideseats) October 4, 2016
In their daily “Rumor Roundup” article , Cageside Seats noted that WWE is pitching ideas for the Royal Rumble show to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker.
“WWE is expected to make a big pitch for Texans like Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and possibly even Undertaker to work Royal Rumble in San Antonio, even if only in small, non-wrestling roles.”
On Saturday, The Inquisitr’s own Will McCormick noted that WWE was planning on reaching out to Steve Austin regarding an appearance at the Royal Rumble . Of course, it’s unlikely that Austin will end up wrestling on the show, because he seems to be more than content with staying retired. In fact, during an interview on Sirius XM’s Opie with Jim Norton show earlier this year, Austin said “I have no business being in a wrestling ring” after he was asked if he was ever going to wrestle again. So, it looks like Austin has his mind made up, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t see him dish out a couple of Stone Cold Stunners if he appears at the event.
Like Austin, Shawn Michaels isn’t interested in wrestling again. After he retired in 2010, Michaels promised that he’d never wrestle again, and so far he’s stayed true to that promise. But, from time to time, we have seen him come back and get physical, so him hitting at least one super kick at the 2017 Royal Rumble event isn’t out of the question.
Both Michaels and Austin were huge parts of the last Royal Rumble that took place in the Alamodome, as Austin was that year’s Royal Rumble winner, and Michaels regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Sycho Sid in the show’s main event.
For the first time in 20 years, @WWE #RoyalRumble comes to The @Alamodome in San Antonio this January! #RAW pic.twitter.com/TVSYNss2HV
— WWE (@WWE) October 4, 2016
WWE has brought the Rumble back to San Antonio since the 1997 event, as the 2007 Royal Rumble was held in San Antonio’s AT&T Center, and The Undertaker ended up winning that year’s 30-man match. As previously noted, WWE is planning on reaching out to “The Deadman,” but will he actually show up at the event?
The last time we saw The Undertaker was at WrestleMania 32 , where he defeated Shane McMahon inside Hell in a Cell. Following the match, it was reported by the Wrestling Observer that Undertaker told Vince McMahon that he was done with wrestling — meaning that he had decided to retire from in-ring competition. He was then pulled from the annual post- WrestleMania European tour, which suggested that he was, in fact, retired.
On top of reaching out to Austin, Michaels, and Undertaker, What Culture has reported that WWE is planning on reaching out to several Mexican wrestling legends, including Rey Mysterio, hoping that they’ll want to be a part of the 2017 Royal Rumble . Of course, Mysterio, who was officially released from WWE last year, has said that he’d be interested in returning to the company if they offered him the right deal.
[Featured image by WWE]