WWE announces the Royal Rumble is returning to the Alamodome

Rumors were swirling earlier this year that the Royal Rumble was headed to Los Angeles in 2017, but on Friday WWE announced that the dual-brand pay-per-view will take place on January 29th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. 

One of the best aspects of the Royal Rumble each year are the surprise returns from stars involved in the 30-man Royal Rumble match. In 2015 we saw Bubba Ray Dudley and Diamond Dallas Page enter the fray, and the year before it was Kevin Nash. Staging a Royal Rumble in Texas is especially exciting for a number of reasons, as there's a huge list of WWE legends from the Lone Star state who could conceivably return. The Undertaker still hasn't officially retired and could be returning for another WrestleMania match, while Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels made guest appearances at WrestleMania 32. 

Nearly 20 years ago, the 1997 Royal Rumble took place in the Alamodome. Austin controversially won the Rumble that year despite being eliminated by Bret Hart, as the official never saw Austin land outside the ring. This led to the Hart-Austin match at WrestleMania 13, which remains one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time.