It’s 2017 and the professional wrestling world is on the road to Wrestlemania. The first major step towards the biggest wrestling show of the year is the Royal Rumble. Almost all major titles are being defended in this year’s Rumble.
However, the pivot of attraction is the 30 man Royal Rumble match; after all, it’s the crown jewel of the Royal Rumble PPV. The winner of the Royal Rumble match receives a World Championship match and the opportunity to headline Wrestlemania.
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Over the years, many young and talented men have won the match to become an overnight success. Even the Attitude Era was kick-started by Stone Cold Steve Austin winning the 1998 Royal Rumble match.
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Thus, the Rumble match has been a great way to push a wrestler. However, even the already established superstars have also often won the match setting them on course to headline Wrestlemania.
There is a lot of fanfare surrounding this year’s Rumble, as it’s going to be the biggest Royal Rumble PPV of all time, and also because of the unpredictability of this year’s Rumble match.
There are almost seven to eight men who are genuine contenders to win the Rumble match, making it the most unpredictable 30-man Rumble match of all time. Here are three men who probably have the best chance of winning this year’s Royal Rumble match.
#1 The Undertaker
The Undertaker is in the twilight of his career. Even though he is already an established superstar and doesn’t need to be pushed, he still might win the Rumble. It’s widely believed that this year’s Wrestlemania might be the last of the Deadman’s career.
Thus, it would be a fitting farewell if he wrestles his final match for a World Championship in the main-event of the grandest stage of them all.
The Undertaker has been strongly booked throughout his career, however, he has only won the Royal Rumble match once. With his final Wrestlemania looming, the WWE creative team might book him to win the match again.
Even according to the storyline, the Phenom’s victory has a decent chance of happening, as it can give birth to a lot of potential storylines.
There is some hearsay, that the proposed booking idea for the Undertaker is to face John Cena at Wrestlemania 33 for the WWE Championship.
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Cena is currently scheduled to face AJ Styles for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble. Thus, he could probably defeat Styles to win the title; while Undertaker wins the Royal Rumble match. The two mega-stars could then go on to headline Wrestlemania 33.
Another potential feud that has been teased is between The Undertaker and Braun Strowman. Undertaker could win the Rumble with Strowman winning the WWE Universal title at Fast Lane. Thus, both men could go on to main-event this year’s Wrestlemania.
The Deadman’s career has never been defined by World title matches or by championship reigns. However, headlining the show of all shows in his final match will serve as a great tribute; it will also help the WWE in selling tickets for the 2017 Mania.
This year’s Rumble is in Texas which is The Phenom’s home state, so it can surely be expected that he could play a more important role at the event. Thus, he might win the match to add another feather in his cap.
It would still be better, however, if WWE used the Rumble match to set-up a non-title feud for The Undertaker with a rising star such as Finn Balor.
The Undertaker sharing the ring in his final match with “The Demon King” will propel Balor’s WWE career to new heights. Speaking of which, let’s get to the second wrestler on this list.
#2 Finn Balor
Finn Balor got a decade worth of push in one night alone. He made his main-roster debut in spectacular fashion by defeating Kevin Owens, Cesaro and Rusev in a Fatal 4-way match. He later defeated Roman Reigns on the same night to secure a title opportunity for the newly created WWE Universal title at Summerslam.
At “The Biggest Party of the Summer”, he defeated Seth Rollins to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion and won his first WWE World title.
“The Demon King” seemed to be at the doorstep of success and greatness. However, it was revealed that the newly crowned champion had sustained a shoulder injury during his match at Summerslam.
He was expected to be out of action for the next four to six months and was thus forced to relinquish the title. However, he never actually lost the title, so having him return as a surprise late entrant in the Rumble who then wins the match will be an uncomplicated yet exhilarating storyline.
Balor winning the Rumble can also help in setting up a potential Wrestlemania match between him and The Undertaker.
WWE has executed similar plot lines with Triple H, Edge and John Cena before. The fans were caught off guard on all three occasions as they didn’t really expect these stars to return at the Rumble, let alone win it. It also resulted in generating a memorable reaction from the crowd.
Triple H and Edge have been fan-favorites but even Cena who is usually booed by a vast majority of the fans got cheered and spurred on by everyone in attendance. Hence, Balor can be expected to generate a massively positive reaction from the crowd.
Whether he has been in NXT or on the main roster, “The Demon King” has predominantly been strongly booked. Thus, it can be expected that the WWE creative team might once again give him a felicitous push to win the Royal Rumble match.
#3 Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman is 6’8” tall and weighs over 350 pounds. Thus making him the stereotypical big bodybuilding wrestler that WWE are infamous for heavily promoting. He fits the bill for the being the superstar that is usually given a big push by the WWE creative team.
He too has received an immense push since he was drafted to RAW as a singles competitor, following the 2016 WWE draft. Since the WWE brand split, he has lost only once in singles competition. However, he still hasn’t been pinned or submitted.
“The Monster Among Men” has been on the receiving end of a monstrous push from the WWE. He arguably has been the WWE’s best-booked heel in their “new era”. He has been proving his critics wrong by churning out stellar performances as well.
His performance for team RAW in their match at Survivor Series was astounding, whereas his matches against Sami Zayn have also been coruscating. Whenever he has a microphone in his hands, he always comes across as a menacing monstrous heel who never fails to generate loud boos from the crowd.
Thus, he has demonstrated his mic skills to be satisfactory.
“The Abominable Strowman” might not be everyone’s cup of tea but almost all pro-wrestling observers would agree that he has improved by leaps and bounds. If Strowman wins the Rumble match, he would surely be serenaded by deafening boos from the crowd.
However, as a heel, Strowman would look forward to the negative and disapproving reaction from the people in attendance. If he does win the Rumble, he can go on to challenge The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33 or he can start a feud against the WWE Universal champion.
Winning the Rumble match will certainly thrust him into the main-event scene. It will also be a well-deserved reward for the phenomenal performances that he has been producing on a weekly basis.
Thus, a talented upcoming star like Strowman winning the Royal Rumble match would be a shocking but praiseworthy decision.
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