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With WWE Royal Rumble just less than a week away, there have been a lot of speculation and rumors on various superstars who may win the Men's Royal Rumble match. The Philadelphia crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, as well as the millions of viewers around the globe, are surely hoping for a spectacular Royal Rumble, with each and everyone speculating who the winner may be this time around, as the day's inch closer to the event. Let us break down the 10 likely superstars who may win the Royal Rumble match this year at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.
#10 Big Cass
Royal Rumble is always an event known to play with a lot of shocks and surprises. Over the years, the Royal Rumble match has seen lots of surprises and returns, who in turn end up winning the Royal Rumble. See John Cena in 2008, Edge in 2009, Triple H in 2016. Big Cass has been out with an injury since soon after SummerSlam last year. Just prior to that, he was a big singles push. Having him return at the Royal Rumble and winning the match would be a huge push for Big Cass continuing forward, and you can't teach that.
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#9 Matt Hardy
With the breakout of the "DELETE" chants at every arena, one cannot ignore the impact that 'Woken' Matt Hardy has brought into the scene. In usual cases going into the Royal Rumble, the winning superstar is mostly made a bit less relevant, by not having a major impact on the RAW or SmackDown before the Royal Rumble.
Same was in the case of Matt Hardy, who lost his match to Bray Wyatt at Raw 25, yet evoking the "DELETE" chants. With the Philly crowd getting ready to chant "DELETE" on top of their voices, do not count out Matt Hardy from winning this year's Royal Rumble.
#8 Jason Jordan
There is a huge heat on Jason Jordan and this probably would be the best time to cash it on his heel turn. Jason Jordan has been portrayed as a character to the fans, that intentionally generates heat from the fans. His promos are cut in such a manner that just simply causes the fans to boo him.
With Jason Jordan winning the Royal Rumble match, one can be very certain that the Philly crowd is going to boo him out of the arena which would be a perfect move for his heel turn and a huge match for him at Wrestlemania that is going to generate a loud reaction that night.
#7 Sami Zayn
Yep! Sami Zayn is already in the WWE Championship match against AJ Styles, alongside Kevin Owens. So why is he a likely candidate to win the Royal Rumble match? Last year's winner, Randy Orton too had an interesting faction going on alongside Bray Wyatt.
Notably, he won the Royal Rumble match and went on to ignite the feud with Bray Wyatt himself who won the WWE Championship at WWE Elimination Chamber, prior to Wrestlemania. Could we have a similar twist with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens? Maybe, being part of the WWE Championship match at WWE Royal Rumble may just be a way to make him seem irrelevant from winning the Royal Rumble match. The only way to find out, is at the Royal Rumble event, this Sunday.
#6 Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin was the winner of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Since then, many speculated a big push coming up for him. But that didn't happen. He then went on to win the Money In The Bank briefcase last year. Many then thought that his time has arrived at the world title picture. But that didn't happen as well.
However, Corbin has played a prominent role on SmackDown Live and has even won the United States title. He certainly seems to be a superstar who still has a potential for a big push and one must not ignore his chance of winning the Royal Rumble match this year and finally entering into the world title picture at Wrestlemania.
#5 John Cena
The 16-time World Champion may be all set to break the record that he has tied with Ric Flair currently. And what better way to do it then win the Royal Rumble match one more time and headline Wrestlemania for his biggest history-writing match.
Over the months, John Cena has been heavily speculated to win the Royal Rumble match and break Flair's record, and one cannot ignore the fact that he is John Cena, and The Champ is Here to win the Royal Rumble match.
#4 Finn Balor
Finn Balor had one of the greatest debuts in WWE in recent years. He was the first WWE Universal Champion and won the championship within 2 months of his debut in the main roster. However, he had to relinquish the title the very next night on Raw due to injury. Ever since his return, he never got a shot at the title ever since.
During a segment of Raw last year, however, Paul Heyman discussed how Finn Balor was "the most talented in-ring performer in WWE today".and teased the possibility of "Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor for the Universal Championship". This probably could be the time for Finn Balor to win the Royal Rumble match and possibly face Brock Lesnar for the championship Balor never lost.
#3 Dolph Ziggler
Undoubtedly, Dolph Ziggler's absence from the WWE soon after winning the WWE United States Championship could make for a great return at the Royal Rumble match and even memorable with him winning it. And truly, Ziggler deserves every bit of it. He has been a talented performer in the ring over nearly a decade now and has been cutting some fantastic promos.
His Money In The Bank cash in, at Raw after Wrestlemania in 2013, was one of the most memorable moments in WWE. With Dolph Ziggler returning to the ring and winning the Royal Rumble match this time, there is absolutely no doubt that the Philly crowd is going to erupt in madness.
#2 Roman Reigns
It has been highly rumored for almost a year now that the main event of Wrestlemania this year may feature Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal title. Even Paul Heyman teased a match between the two, during the Raw after Wrestlemania last year. Furthermore, it'll be a match of the only 2 superstars who managed to beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
While the match may make sense, having Roman Reigns win the Royal Rumble at the very same arena where he won the match last time around and receiving a huge shower of boos ever since, would be a huge gamble for the WWE, but if done well, it could also very well plant the seeds of steady heel turn.
#1 Shinsuke Nakamura
Arguably, the odds-on favorite to win the Royal Rumble match this year, at the moment, is none other than The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is a superstar who simply can get the whole crowd on his side. He has a huge fan following and his entrance is probably one of the best, if not the best, in the WWE today.
Nakamura had been the top face of the NXT division as an NXT Champion, and he surely can replicate the same success as a WWE Champion. It's only time that Shinsuke Nakamura won a world title in the WWE, and 2018 Royal Rumble match may be the best start to that Road to Wrestlemania.
