Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Returning for Royal Rumble?

Every January the rumor mill kicks into high gear heading into the WWE Royal Rumble. Which stars from the past will make a surprise return to appear in the gigantic battle royal?

We're already starting to hear some rumblings on the 2018 edition of the Rumble, with most recently a former WWE Intercontinental Champion teasing he will be part of the show.

Wade Barrett, who competed with WWE from 2006 until 2016, teased a return to the company for the Rumble recently on his Instagram account.

I’d like to be under the sea, in an octopus’s garden in the shade. 🐙 EDIT: To those complaining about my abs, don’t worry they’ll be back by The Rumble 😘

A post shared by Stu Bennett (@stubennettofficial) on Dec 30, 2017 at 2:16pm PST

Is he actually coming back? Maybe, or he could just be trolling his followers without any intention of actually returning for the show.

Barrett's exit from WWE back in 2016 was handled amicably by both parties, so a return for the Rumble would seemingly be an easy agreement to come to. He originally had decided to leave wrestling in 2015 to concentrate on an acting career. He therefore declined a contract extension in 2015, with his deal set to expire in June 2016. He ended up leaving a month early, in May 2016, with both he and WWE coming to terms on his release.

While part of WWE, Barrett won five Intercontinental championships, the 2015 King of the Ring, and a Slammy Award in 2010 (Shocker of the Year for the debut of the stable NEXUS).

Barrett (now going by his real name Stu Bennett) has not wrestled since his exit from WWE. He did appear in 2017 for What Culture Pro Wrestling on commentary. When WCPW was rebranded as Defiant Wrestling this fall, Bennett was announced as the company's new television general manager.