We are less than four weeks away from one of the biggest wrestling events of the year; WWE’s Royal Rumble. Each year wrestling fans are treated to a 30-man over the top rope elimination bout that kicks off the build to WrestleMania. The rumble match itself is one of WWE’s biggest spectacles and usually plays hosts to a variety of tropes, such as returning superstars, one-off legends appearances, the occasional celebrity inclusion and a lot of foreshadowing and set-up for that year’s WrestleMania show. Therefore, here are 10 predictions for the 2023 Royal Rumble that I think can realistically happen. Since WWE now has both a Men’s and Women’s Rumble match, these predictions could be for either match

10. Cody Rhodes Returns

This is an easy one. He’s been featured on the last two episodes of Raw at time of writing and his injury recovery period was predicted to enable him to return at the Rumble. A lot of folks are predicting a Cody Rhodes Rumble win but I think he’ll just miss it. I’m predicting he returns as one of the first 5 entrants then ends up in the last 3.

09. Rey Mysterio eliminates Dominik Mysterio

Ever since Dom turned on his dad, a program has been teased between the two but hasn’t actually manifested. We saw Rey jump to SmackDown to be kept away from his son on Raw and recently saw Dom turn up at the Mysterio household for both Thanksgiving and Christmas to cause chaos, with the latter resulting in Dom being arrested. My prediction is that Rey eliminates Dom, causing Dom to go on a rampage leading to Dom vs. Rey at WrestleMania.

08. Becky Lynch wins the Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Becky’s been treading water in the Raw Women’s division since turning face at SummerSlam. Granted, she had a few months off with injury, but since then she’s been feuding with Bayley and Damage Control which HAS to lead somewhere. A Rumble win would give multiple options. Lynch could win the Rumble and take on the new SmackDown Women’s Champion – and career rival – Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania or she could challenge Bianca Belair once again in an inverted rematch from last year’s show OR Bayley could win the Raw Women’s Championship at the Rumble and we get a showdown between the two at the Showcase of the Immortals.

07. Mickie James returns again!

As noted in our exclusive chat with Mickie James back in November 2022, James isn’t actually under contract to any wrestling company at present despite appearing prominently in Impact for the past year. This means that James could easily walk straight into a Royal Rumble appearance and, with her career seemingly winding down (she’s currently embarking on a storyline entitled “The Last Rodeo”) a Rumble return and 2023 WWE Hall of Fame induction seem highly likely.

06. Matt Cardona (NOT Zack Ryder) Surprises the World

Since being released the other year, the former Zack Ryder has completely reinvented himself. Cardona has held titles in GCW, Impact and NWA (with the latter being their World Heavyweight Championship) and has been talking repeatedly how he wants to get back to WWE and win the big one. Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes are prime examples of how a couple of years away from the ‘E to reinvent themselves can work wonders. A repacked Zack Ryder as Matt Cardona would be welcomed here and great to see.

05. Melina returns in the Women’s Rumble

Last year we saw Melina return and put on a great showing until she was eliminated in a spot that fans thought was a “botch” (i.e. something that had gone wrong). Like Mickie James, Melina is someone who could easily appear in the Rumble to then go on to be inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame

04. Brock Lesnar returns, gets eliminated by GUNTHER

One of the big matches currently rumoured for WrestleMania is Brock vs. Gunther and this is the easiest way to get there. Lesnar won last year’s Rumble so it would make sense for him to be in this one so having Gunther eliminate him, then cause an irate Lesnar to retaliate to cause Gunther’s own elimination in the progress would make a tonne of sense.

03. Alundra Blayze Returns, Gets the Lita treatment

Last year, WWE Hall of Famer Lita returned and set up an angle that ran into Elimination Chamber which saw Lita fail to capture the Women’s title and receive a standing ovation and “farewell” after the match. I’m assuming this was to balance the books after how she originally retired (They had Cryme Tyme steal her underwear because “humour”). Alundra never had that proper farewell run due to how she left for WCW and dumped the then-WWF Women’s title in the trash on live TV, however, since she returned and went into the Hall of Fame several years ago, a Royal Rumble appearance and subsequent “last match” has yet to materialise so I could easily see that happening this year. Speaking of Hall of Fame returns…

02. STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!

Following last year’s fantastic return from the Texas Rattlesnake at WrestleMania to face Kevin Owens, fans have waited with eager anticipation to see what’s next for the Bionic Redneck. While a rumble appearance isn’t needed to secure a spot at WrestleMania for the Hall of Famer, it would be amazing to see Austin return and mix it up with today’s generation of stars – and the guy I’m predicting to win (see below)

01. THE ROCK WINS THE WHOLE DAMN THING

It’s looking more and more likely that we’ll be seeing the long rumoured match between The Rock vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania this year and the only real way that can happen is if The Great One wins at the Rumble – especially with Roman holding both top titles. Plus – as The Rock was Stone Cold’s final opponent prior to last year’s return – if the pair of them were in the Rumble, it would be great to see them face off and even go so far as to have The Rock eliminate Austin and the pair to shrug it off based on how close the pair have been since their last encounter in 2003.