The 2016 Royal Rumble is less than three weeks away, but so far there are only 10 WWE superstars who were announced as participants. Several surprise entrants and big names are rumored to be planned for the 30-Man Battle Royal, making it one of the most anticipated Royal Rumble events in history.

The Road to WrestleMania took a huge hit on Wednesday with the news of John Cena's shoulder surgery and missing the biggest event of the year. According to PWInsider, all the current plans for WrestleMania 32 are "out the window," but now is the perfect time to elevate new stars via the Royal Rumble considering main event talents like Seth Rollins and Randy Orton are also out with injuries.

Mr. McMahon announced on Monday Night RAW that Roman Reigns will be defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against 29 other superstars in the Rumble, per WWE.com. Reigns is currently joined in the Rumble by Big Show, Chris Jericho, Curtis Axel, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Braun Strowman.

Inquisitr noted that this year's Royal Rumble just got more interesting with the WWE title on the line. WWE should fill it up with more big names and several surprise entrants to create a buzz that will get a lot of people talking.

The first names to come up in the rumor mill are New Japan Pro Wrestling stars A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, who are the two biggest names in wrestling not in the WWE. They have reportedly signed huge contracts with the company and will likely debuting on the main roster with a possibility of entering the Rumble.

Styles just finished up his contract with NJPW while Nakamura will be working a few more dates before moving to the United States. NJPW stars and "Bullet Club" members Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are also heading to the WWE and could also be surprise entrants.

What Culture also suggested a few big names that could be making a surprise return or debut in the Rumble including Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Triple H. Bryan's health is still unclear, but a surprise return will surely make the crowd explode.

Zayn, Balor, and Joe are all ready for the main roster and what better way to make their debut in the Royal Rumble. The Undertaker appears to be in great condition and his WrestleMania 32 feud can be set up in this event while Brock Lesnar and Triple H are surely participating considering they have unfinished business with the current WWE champion.