5 NXT Superstars who could appear in the 2018 Royal Rumble
Now, I don't know about you guys, but I love the Royal Rumble.
I have loved Battle Royals, ever since I started watching wrestling. Naturally, my favorite type of Battle Royal is the one that comes once a year, every January - the first stop on the proverbial "Road to WrestleMania," the Royal Rumble. Sure, we haven't really gotten a wholly satisfying Rumble match since maybe 2010, but it's still a thrilling bout nonetheless.
The match features roughly an hour of nonstop action, including dominating performances from our favorite superstars, surprise returns (from legends and injured superstars alike), and thrilling face-offs, some of which we didn't even know we wanted. The Rumble is also a great place to introduce NXT superstars to mainstream audiences. Granted, WWE has only done so twice (Rusev in 2014 and Tye Dillinger this year), but I have a strange feeling that it is going to become a trend.
So, I've looked through the NXT roster and determined which five superstars I believe are most likely to enter the 2018 Royal Rumble. Feel free to disagree with me here, as none of these are fact-based in any way; I just happen to think that there are a few talents that are not quite "done" with NXT, so to speak. Also, I find it worthwhile to note that most of these entries have some kind of condition to it, but you'll find that out as you read.
Anyway, onto the list -
#5 Andrade "Cien" Almas
It took a long while for Andrade "Cien" Almas to really make a splash in NXT. Saddled with a white-meat babyface gimmick upon his debut, the former La Sombra regularly received lukewarm-at-best, apathetic-at-worst responses from the Full Sail crowd.
That was until he turned heel and aligned himself with Zelina Vega.
With Vega as his manager, Almas began racking up wins, beating the likes of Johnny Gargano and No Way Jose before shockingly defeating Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. He's easily one of the most interesting characters on the entire NXT roster, and he's been main-roster-ready from an in-ring perspective since he arrived.
For all of these reasons (and because WWE is likely looking for someone to further help them appeal to the Mexican market), Almas could feasibly enter the 2018 Royal Rumble. Of course, this is under the condition that he loses the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia the night before. If he doesn't lose his title, then we'll have our answer.