NXT superstar Adam Cole made a surprise entry in this year’ Royal Rumble but those weren’t the original plans for him, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.
Cole was originally scheduled to answering Bobby Roode’s United States Championship open challenge, but those plans were scrapped.
WWE ultimately decided that having Cole lose in the kickoff show match was not a good idea. WWE made the same decision regarding Dolph Ziggler, who also appeared in the Rumble match later in the night.
