The Royal Rumble remains one of WWE's most exciting nights of the year and that's often down to the surprise entrants in the headline match.
The annual over-the-top-rope extravaganza has featured everything from wrestlers making long-awaited returns from injuries to legends rolling back the years, and even crossover celebrities.
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This year more than most, the WWE seems to be pulling out all the stops for the Royal Rumblepay-per-view.
With that in mind, here is what we know about some of the names making appearances at the first premium WWE event of 2024...
The Rock - May return
Let's start with the big one. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson remains, by far, wrestling's most successful export ever.
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The 51-year-old, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin, was the chief driving force behindWWE'smost successful period - the Attitude Era in the 1990s.
But aside from a programme with John Cena through WrestleMania 28 and 29, The Rock has only made sporadic appearances in WWE since heading to Hollywood in 2004.
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The Great One has been heavily rumoured with one final run in WWE before hanging up his boots against UndisputedWWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
The pair don't share the same blood, but they belong to the same famous wrestling Anoa'i family and refer to each other as cousins.
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The initial plan was for them to headline WrestleMania 39 - fittingly in Hollywood - but Rock confirmed talks eventually fell through.
The Great One has seemingly now put the wheels in motion for the programme to take place this year, having appeared on RAW on New Year's Day to reference Reigns by hinting that he wants to sit 'at the head of the table'.
The easiest way to set up a match for the two at 'Mania 40 would be for Rocky to enter the Royal Rumble and win for the second time.
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Brock Lesnar - May return
The Beast Incarnatehas been enjoying time off from WWE since losing to Cody Rhodes at Summerslam 2023.
However, the former UFC heavyweight champion has had many hiatuses during the past few years with WWE and will be back soon.
Lesnar will be needed to set up a programme for WrestleMania 40 and is no stranger to appearing at the Rumble, which he has won twice.
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John Cena - Won't return
The record 16-time world champion has had to undergo multiple surgeries after his two-month stint wrestling in late 2023 ended.
Cena's latest exit from WWE came at Crown Jewel earlier this month following an emphatic loss to Solo Sikoa.
Following the crushing defeat, WWE commentator Michael Cole said Sikoa’s record could now read as ‘the man who retired John Cena’.
Cenahimself has since teased multiple retirement clues on social media, as his career in Hollywood goes from strength to strength.
He told People: “I don’t have much time left in the WWE… I think it’s just the demand of age. You know, I’m trying to figure out when to close that chapter. I wouldn’t be who I am — professionally or personally — without the WWE, and I promised myself that I would never simply just be there for my own sake.
“Every time I perform, I want to give my all to the audience. And I’ve got to admit when I hit the 45 mark, I had to begin to try to form an exit strategy and I’m trying to work on that currently.â€
The 46-year-old's farewell run may come at WrestleMania 40, but the Rumble will most likely pass him by.
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Hulk Hogan - Won't return
Ironically the Hulkster himself teased an appearance in this weekend's Royal Rumble.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer transcended wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s to become wrestling's first global superstar.
Hogan, a two-time Rumble winner, appeared in a company video package to hype up the event and dangled a possible comeback.
"The wildcard factor… you never know who's going to show up," Hogan said in the 13-second clip shared on WWE's social media.
"You never know, I might have one left in me," he added.
However, the tease is most likely nothing more than just that from Hogan, who is now 70 years old.
The American's last WWE match was against Randy Orton at SummerSlam in 2006, and he hasn't wrestled at all since 2012 - having since undergone serval major surgeries.
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Rey Mysterio - May return
The Master of the 619 has been nursing a knee injury since losing his United States title to Logan Paul in Saudi Arabia in November.
However, the 16-time champion has publicly expressed his hopes of returning at the Royal Rumble, the site of his memorable 2006 win.
Mysterio told the Bakers Banerting Podcast: "I’m really working hard on my physical therapy. I just had knee surgery, thanks to Santos Escobar, and his time will come eventually.
"I do hope that I can return for the Rumble, if not shortly after that. I am working very hard to make my return as soon as possible."
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Big E - Won't return
The former New Day member sustained a serious neck injury in a match against Ridge Holland in March 2022.
Big E fractured his C1 and C6 vertebrae and, despite undergoing successful surgery, has not been cleared to return since.
Speaking to TMZ this week, the ex-WWE champion provided a worrying update on his current health situation.
Asked how his neck is, Big E replied: “It’s all together. The bones are connected to the other bones.â€
On a possible return, he added: “I just want to make a smart decision. I didn’t start wrestling to end up in a wheelchair.
“So I want to make sure I’m making the best decision for myself. I don’t have a timeline unfortunately, so thank you for asking.â€
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AJ Lee - Won't return (in-ring)
Lee, who helped pioneer the women's division, has been heavily linked with a return after her husband CM Punk re-joined WWE.
The 36-year-old hasn’t wrestled since an episode of RAW in March 2015, having had to retire due to a chronic neck injury.
However, both Edge and Paige have made wrestling comebacks from similar injuries in recent years.
Punk name-dropped his wife upon his WWE return in November, while she also posted a video of herself training in the ring with him.
The video has since been revealed to be about AJ's acting role on the Heels TV show, with the ex-Divas champion herself assuring fans that's she still retired.
While a cameo appearance is certainly not out of the question, it is highly unlikely AJ will be featuring in any match.
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Dakota Kai - Won't return
The Damage CTRL member has been out injured having suffered a torn ACL on the May 17 edition of SmackDown.
On a recent Twitch stream, Kai provided an update on her recovery, explaining that she hasn't been cleared to come back yet.
She said: “I’m so sick of seeing people saying, ‘She can run and jump, but she’s not cleared still?’ No, that’s not how this works. Obviously, I can run and jump because I’ve been doing it for the last few months, but they have a set date for when you actually get cleared because I have to still do matches and they have to check all the boxes of when I’m actually cleared.
“I’m not going to be in a wheelchair for nine months and then suddenly stand up and go, ‘I’m cured.’ That’s not how it works.â€
She added: “I have been running. I have been jumping. Please stop with ‘she’s lying, she’s faking.’ Do you think it’s been my choice to not wrestle for nine months? Do you think it’s been my choice?
“No. I don’t know when the clear date is. Please stop asking me. Rehab is going great though. It’s definitely not long now.â€
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Liv Morgan - May return
The former SmackDown Women's Champion has been out of action since August due to a troublesome shoulder injury.
While a return date has not been confirmed, a report from PWInsiderindicated that WWE is hoping to feature her in a high-profile program for WrestleMania 40.
Kazuchika Okada - Won't debut
The Japanese sensation has been strongly linked with arriving in WWE once he leaves NJPW at the end of his current contract.
According to Fightful Select, the Rainmarker's deal expires on January 31 and he is still advertised for dates with NJPW in February as well.
Trish Stratus - May return
The WWE Hall of Famer hasn't been seen on TV since losing to Becky Lynch in a Steel Cage match at Payback in September.
The 48-year-old is in the twilight of her wrestling career and with July's Money in the Bank being held in her Canadian hometown of Toronto, the Rumble could kickstart her gradual retirement tour.
Asked in October what it would take for her to do another WWE run, Stratus said: “But again, I’ve been asked by people here (at Big Texas Comic Con), ‘Are you coming back? Do you want to do another run?’ But this is the thing, I’m like… the boxes it has to check.
“One is the creative. What is the creative? What am I going to come back and do? Is it going to check these boxes?
“So, I always turn it back to people and go, ‘I might go back but who should I face?’ Tell me, I wanna know."
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Mandy Rose - May return
The former leader of Toxic Attraction (now known as Mandy Sacs) made an infamous exit from WWE in December 2022.
Rose had held the NXT Women's title for 413 days before dropping the belt to Roxanne Perez and being released the very next day.
WWE's decision to cut ties was reportedly due to her violating company policy on using third-party monetization websites by raking in money by posting pictures of herself on FanTime.
Recent reports claimed that WWE would be open to bringing back 'God's Greatest Creation' if the opportunity presents itself.
Rose has since teased that she could be open to a return to the ring, with the landscape of the company different since Triple H succeeded Vince McMahon as creative control.
Speaking on thePower Alphas Podcast,which she hosts with fiance and former WWE star Tino Sabbatelli, she said: “I don’t know if I’ll ever be back in WWE. I don’t know what the future holds.
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“However, I’m enjoying my life a lot right now, and we’re getting married soon, we’ve got a lot of big plans, a lot of trips, a lot of exciting things in the works, so yeah, that’s your answer.
“You never shut doors. I will say, if I ever come back, it would be for my fans, for you guys, because I know you guys miss me, and I miss you guys too.â€
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