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On Smackdown this past Friday, Matt Striker said Big Daddy V would be participating in the match, and although WWE.com has yet to add him to their official list, he seems a lock to be included. We haven't heard of any matches during this past weekend's house show swing being announced as "Royal Rumble" qualifiers, so as it stands right now, it appears there are 20 wrestlers set for the 30-man match next Sunday.
Of course, Triple H has a qualifying match against a mystery opponent tonight, but other than that, there are no other Rumble qualifying matches have been announced for television this week (at least not yet). Other than Triple H, the most notable WWE names not yet included on the Royal Rumble card (and who haven't been given a chance to qualify) would be Ken Kennedy, CM Punk, Chavo Guerrero, Elijah Burke, and Jimmy Yang & Shannon Moore (who actually won a qualifier on a house show that was later ignored by WWE). It will be interesting to see if WWE fills up the remaining slots in advance of this Sunday's PPV, or leaves them open as "mystery entrants".
Here is the current lineup for the Royal Rumble:
- World Champion Edge vs. Rey Mysterio.
- WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy.
- U.S. Champion MVP vs. Ric Flair.
- Chris Jericho vs. JBL.
- 30-Man Royal Rumble. Current participants:
From Raw:
Umaga - Defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan on December 31, 2007 edition of Raw (taped 12/29) from Greensboro, North Carolina.
Snitsky - Defeated Drew McIntrye on January 4th at a house show in White Plains, New York.
Hardcore Holly - Defeated Trevor Murdoch on January 5th at a house show in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Mick Foley - With Hornswoggle, defeated The Highlanders on January 7th on Raw from Uncasville, Connecticut.
Cody Rhodes - Defeated William Regal on January 11th at a house show in Jacksonville, Florida.
Santino Marella - With Carlito, defeated DH Smith & Super Crazy on January 12th at a house show in Tallahassee, Florida.
Carlito - With Santino Marella, defeated DH Smith & Super Crazy on January 12th at a house show in Tallahassee, Florida.
Shawn Michaels - Defeated Trevor Murdoch on January 15th on Raw from Mobile, Alabama.
From Smackdown:
Hornswoggle - With Mick Foley, defeated The Highlanders on January 7th on Raw from Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Undertaker - Announced on WWE.com on January 8th.
Batista - Announced on WWE.com on January 8th.
Kane - Announced on WWE.com on January 9th.
Finlay - Announced on Smackdown on January 11th.
Jamie Noble - Defeated Chuck Palumbo on the January 11th edition of Raw (taped 1/8) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Great Khali - Announced on WWE.com on January 15th.
Mark Henry - Announced on WWE.com on January 15th.
From ECW:
John Morrison - With The Miz, defeated Jimmy Yang & Shannon Moore on January 6th at a house show in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The Miz - With John Morrison, defeated Jimmy Yang & Shannon Moore on January 6th at a house show in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Shelton Benjamin - Defeated Tommy Dreamer on January 12th at a house show in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Big Daddy V - Announced by Matt Striker on Smackdown on January 18th, but not yet listed on WWE.com.
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