Speculation has mounted over a possible Royal Rumble entrant from wrestling's 'Forbidden Door'. We pick out eight possible candidates...  

Matt Cardona

Matt Cardona

No star has made better use of a WWE release in recent times that the man formally known as Zack Ryder. Cardona has appeared for both IMPACT and AEW in the last twelve months, as well as his memorable title stint in GCW and arguably his stock has never been higher. It may be the perfect time to dust off the woo-woo-woo’s.

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho

The WWE door has never fully been closed on Chris Jericho, despite him being the focal point of AEW ever since the promotion debuted. We’ve already seen Y2J crossover during his appearance on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull sessions and if anyone can break the doors down, it’s the demigod. Let the countdown begin…

MJF

MJF

Imagine the reaction if Maxwell Jacob Friedman strutted to the ring on January 29. Speculation has mounted in recent weeks over MJF’s next destination when his contract runs out in 2024, and he’s not been shy about dropping a WWE reference during his promo battles with CM Punk, so could it lead to the biggest Rumble shock of all?

Nick Aldis

Nick Aldis

A leftfield choice perhaps, but given his wife, Mickie James, is the Superstar who seemed to open the ‘Forbidden Door’ it perhaps makes it more feasible. Aldis has never worked for WWE before but has been a cornerstone in the new NWA, where he held the company’s world title for incredible 1043 days.

Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson

Or Daniel Bryan as he would be billed if indeed, he did make a quick one-off return to WWE at The Royal Rumble. With no heat between either party over Bryan’s departure, and given Danielson’s colourful history with the event, it’s certainly a possibility we could see the ‘YES’ chants reigning through St Louis come 29 January.

Moose

Moose

Another name who’s never stepped foot in a WWE previously but is currently top of the IMPACT wrestling tree as their world champion. His recent promo upon winning the belt, where he refenced a plethora of WWE Superstars, could have fuelled the company of giving him a one-off shot to mix it with those very same names.

Christian

Christian

A year-on from his shocking comeback at the 2021 Royal Rumble, could Christian work his peeps once again and return for another outing in the battle royal? His previous links with WWE make him an obvious candidate, but his appearance would perhaps be the least surprising star to come through the fabled door.

Cody Rhodes

Cody

The Forbidden Door would be blown off its hinges if Cody Rhodes, the mastermind behind AEW appeared at The Dome later this month. Rhodes has been far from subtle in his dig’s at WWE, yet could the joke be on all of us and could we see a Rhodes in The Royal Rumble once again?

You can also watch all the action at the WWE Royal Rumble on January 29 over here in the UK on the WWE Network.