With the Royal Rumble less than 24 hours away, the rumors of surprise entrants in the big match are really starting to heat up. WWE has a handful of spots to fill for the 30-superstar over-the-top-rope bout, and they could be taken up by anyone. Tonight on the NXT Takeover: San Antonio pre-show, one of the biggest rumors started swirling around and it is that the Hall of Famer and icon known as Sting would make his return for the Rumble .
Now, this is something that needs to be taken as a complete rumor and total speculation at this time. Sure, there are many rumored names such as Rey Mysterio , Kurt Angle, and some NXT stars, but this one is a total longshot.
Wrestling Inc. is reporting that tonight during the NXT Takeover pre-show, there was a Royal Rumble graphic that flashed up on the screen. The graphic was very small and right underneath announcer Corey Graves and detailed the start time of the pay-per-view (PPV) with the names of a lot of superstars written into the background.
Among the names of many superstars who are actually in the match and other matches on the Royal Rumble card, there were extra names. One Twitter user blew up the graphic, analyzed it, and saw Sting’s name right under the letter “M” in the word “rumble.”
In addition to finding Zack Sabre Jr’s name on the Royal Rumble name plates, I’ve also found Sting. Makes things VERY interesting. pic.twitter.com/nbPSpO4DKq
— Theland. (@DavockOrigi) January 29, 2017
The last time Sting was in the ring was Night of Champions in 2015 when he took on Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In that match, Sting suffered a very serious neck injury that would end up bringing an end to his career and forcing him to retire.
Seeing his name in that graphic could mean absolutely nothing and it could merely be WWE playing with the emotions of the fans as they like to do. It could be a collection of names of superstars, past and present, and Sting’s name just happened to be thrown in there.
Now, Sting’s name isn’t the only one that is shocking to find in the graphic. The names of Zack Sabre Jr. and Fabian Aichner are also in there, and many casual fans may not recognize them. They both competed in the Cruiserweight Classic and ended up signing a contract with WWE, so, it isn’t just past and present stars, but future as well.
PW Mania has even confirmed that there is a chance of Sabre appearing due to his name being on the graphic.
There are a handful of other WWE superstars also listed on the graphic who are not on the card at all for Sunday, as pointed out by 411 Mania .
- Seth Rollins
- Jack Gallagher
- Konnor
- Kalisto
- Jack Swagger
- T.J. Perkins
- Jimmy Uso
- James Ellsworth
None of those superstars are in the Royal Rumble match or any others on the card, but they could be used to fill some of the eight remaining slots that are still open. Then again, they could just be filler names for the graphic and nothing more, but only time will tell.
By far, the most interesting name on that list is that of Sting, but one other name should really stand out and it is that of Triple H. The one thing that makes an appearance by Triple H a bit more plausible is that he showed up at NXT Takeover: San Antonio on Saturday night after being called out by Seth Rollins, as recapped by WrestleZone .
There has been an angle being built up between Rollins and Trips which is thought to culminate with a match at WrestleMania 33 . Fans can also not forget that Sting’s first-ever feud in WWE was with none other than Triple H.
If Sting were to ever return to the ring, it would have to be in a match where he would have to do very little movement, take no big hits, and do it in a quick amount of time. Sure, he may be in better shape now, but there is no sense in risking further injury to his neck.
The Royal Rumble is the pay-per-view where anything and everything can happen, and in the past, that has actually been the case at times. Sting’s time in WWE was very short-lived and nowhere near what anyone thought it would be, but that was mostly due to injury. He has since retired and been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but that is not to say he couldn’t make one last appearance and shock the crowd by taking a spot in the Rumble .
[Featured Image by WWE]