5 Outside picks to win the Royal Rumble this year

#1 Tommaso Ciampa

Tommasso Ciampa Returns For Goldie

Possibly the best story going in NXT right now is the long angle of Ciampa trying to find a way back into the title picture. He was gone for many months and had to forfeit the NXT Championship, something that he holds near and dear to his heart.

If WWE wanted to truly shock the fans and at the same time put over NXT big time they could have Ciampa win the Royal Rumble. The Blackheart has stated before he has no desire to go to the main roster as he feels his long term health would be in jeopardy. However, if you had Ciampa win he could challenge Adam Cole for his NXT championship. This would solidify the Black and Gold brand as an equal to RAW and SmackDown as well as possibly have storyline reasons to put the NXT Title on the WrestleMania card.

There is no better person to help elevate the NXT brand as a whole as well as the title than Ciampa. This would be an incredible way for the Blackheart to bring this chapter of his chase for gold to a close.