The Royal Rumble is coming up in just a few short weeks and people are already making their predictions. Early betting odds are out and they have some surprising predictions as well.
Every year there are multiple people who could win the match but usually, one man that stands out above the rest. We don't really have that this year, at least not yet, but by now it may be too late to get any real indication of who might emerge as the victor.
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That means that this year, the Royal Rumble match may be the most exciting in a long time. It’s a toss-up with a number of different ways that it could go, all of which make sense.
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These are 5 men who shouldn’t win the match, both because there are better choices and because roles other than being World Title contenders would likely fit them better this year.
#5 The Undertaker
As of now, the betting odds actually have The Undertaker as the frontrunner to win the Rumble match so he could go on to challenge for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
It makes sense since many people believe that John Cena may win his 16th World Title at the pay-per-view. The dream match between ‘Taker and Cena has been speculated on for a long time, and this year it almost feels inevitable.
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If this happens, it invalidates The Undertaker's statement that he's not going to let WrestleMania define his career any longer.
The Royal Rumble match is designed as a direct road that leads right into WrestleMania. Winning this match and going to WrestleMania means that the first quarter of his 2017 is going to be defined directly by WrestleMania and the need to get there.
#4 Braun Strowman
This one is probably a long shot, but he's been starting to run with the big dogs lately and he has been targeting Roman Reigns. There is a very good possibility that Reigns will be leaving the Alamodome with the WWE Universal Championship, so having Strowman win the Rumble match fits in very well with that narrative.
Another speculated Universal Title match for WrestleMania is Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens, which would still allow for Reigns vs. Strowman, but to keep it away from the title picture, Reigns needs a WrestleMania without the big title involved.
A match with Braun Strowman is a big deal without the Universal Title being involved. The United States Championship maybe, but not the Universal Championship.
#3 Samoa Joe
He's been on the shelf for a few weeks with an undisclosed injury, but Joe might just be resting up and healing some nagging injuries in preparation for a run on the main roster. That run could conceivably begin with the Royal Rumble match, but a victory would be too soon.
Joe isn't the star that AJ Styles is, and while he'll probably get a very good reaction if he does show up, the timing just isn't right. A good run with a few big eliminations is the right move for Samoa Joe's debut, not a Rumble win and a title match right out of the gate.
#2 Brock Lesnar
The Beast Incarnate is probably best used away from the title picture. He’s a special attraction wrestler, much like The Undertaker, and there’s no need for him to be chasing titles or holding them, either.
There were some ramblings online that people expected a possible Lesnar / Reigns rematch at WrestleMania, but that would be ridiculous because we all know exactly who Lesnar will be in the ring with on April 2.
Lesnar and Goldberg, presumably, cancel out each other’s entries into the match, with the likelihood being that they’ll explode in combat and find themselves too involved with each other to focus on the rest of the competition.
Brock Lesnar’s time as a title contender is over, and he should be used to wrestle other big stars or used to give some credibility to guys who aren’t quite title contenders yet. There’s no reason he should be leaving San Antonio as the winner of the Royal Rumble.
#1 Goldberg
Between the staredown and general interactions they had on RAW and the large possibility that Roman Reigns will win the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble event, Goldberg could be a legitimate pick to come out on top in the Royal Rumble match.
Add to that the fact that Goldberg returned with a significant amount of fanfare last year, and we could be looking at the man challenging for the WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania.
I don’t even know if it feels like a long shot that he could win.
Lesnar feels like a long shot, and even though the two could cancel each other out at Rumble, they could opt to have a massive confrontation that leads to Goldberg getting the elimination (possibly with some help from whoever Lesnar’s opponent would be at WrestleMania) and moving on to win the match.
Goldberg vs. Lesnar could then happen at the last PPV before WrestleMania as a way to try to attract eyes to what would otherwise be a placeholder show. It should happen at WrestleMania, though, because Bill Goldberg should not be the Royal Rumble winner.
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