Sheamus is currently one of 15 competitors that have been announced thus far for the men’s Royal Rumble match. As for the women’s bout, 21 competitors have been announced.
Both matches will feature active wrestlers, legends, and returning stars. For the women’s match, WWE announced several returning stars in advance instead of them being surprises.
This is something the longtime WWE star isn’t a fan of and talked about it during an interview with Louis Dangoor of GiveMeSport.
“I know this year, they’ve announced a lot of contestants for the women’s Royal Rumble. I like the fact that they just show up. I’m not a huge fan of telling people who is going to be in there. I think the men’s one is a bit more secretive. They’ve announced like ten people who are on the active roster. On the women’s side, there are a lot of girls coming back. It shows how much they’ve missed the product and missed being in the ring.”
Sheamus also gave some insight into the information the wrestlers know going into the match.
“We all know our numbers and when we’re going out. I’m not going to spoil the match for anybody. What we do is entertainment, I don’t like taking that away or pulling back the curtain. All I’ll say is, we know what our numbers are and what we have to do in there. Everyone knows their number, but they won’t find what number they are pretty much until two or three hours before the show. There has been a couple that have been really close on where we’re at coming out to the ring. That can be a little stressful, especially if you’re new. Now, I’ve been there 12 years, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
This year will mark the ninth time he has competed in the event. It will also be the ten-year anniversary of Sheamus’ Royal Rumble victory as he won the 2012 Royal Rumble by last eliminating Chris Jericho.
