Report: Two surprise Royal Rumble 2013 entrants confirmed

PWInsider.com is now reporting that two surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble match scheduled for this Sun., Jan. 27, 2013, at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, are now confirmed and both are veterans of the company.

Shelton Benjamin is one and Carlito is the other.

Benjamin has been working in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling since leaving WWE back in April 2010, winning the tag team titles in ROH and teaming with MVP in New Japan. There had been prior talks to bring him back and it's a move that has been expected for some time.

As for Carlito, he also left in 2010 and has been humping the road in the independent circuit -- as well as WWC -- ever since. He wasn't exactly on the best of terms with everyone when he left the company but the same could be said for nearly half the active roster.

Another important thing to note is it's not confirmed if this represents a one-off appearance for the two of them or if they'll stay on beyond the Rumble. To that end, stay tuned.

Here's the updated list of Royal Rumble entrants:

- John Cena
- Sheamus
- Randy Orton
- Dolph Ziggler
- Heath Slater
- Jinder Mahal
- Drew McIntyre
- Antonio Cesaro
- Wade Barrett
- Ryback
- The Miz
- Kane
- Daniel Bryan
- Shelton Benjamin
- Carlito