Legendary commentator Jim Ross came out with another episode of his Grillin JR podcast this week and one of the topics that he and co-host Conrad Thompson discussed was the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, specifically who he expects to be surprise entrants into the men's match.
Ross said that he fully expects two former AEW stars to make appearances in the match: Chris Jericho and Powerhouse Hobbs.
Jericho, according to Ross, is too smart not to figure out a way to get himself booked on the show and Ross feels his return to WWE would generate a huge pop. Ross also said he's pretty sure Hobbs will be at the event as it would be crazy for WWE to sign him so close to one of their biggest shows and not have him on it.
"Hell yeah. Absolutely. He’s (Jericho) too smart not to get himself booked on this show for his return. He’ll get a big pop. I’m especially excited about ‘Big Willy.' I don’t know if it’s a secret or not. He’ll be in the Royal Rumble, I think. Why in the hell would you sign a guy this close to a major event and then not utilize him? And that’ll be a new face. And he looks great."
Ross did caveat his statements by noting that he has no insider information about either Jericho or Hobbs. While Hobbs is essentially confirmed to have departed AEW and subsequently signed with WWE, Jericho's situation a bit more murky as AEW continues to list him on their online roster page.
