5 Superstars who won't win the Rumble but will have good showings

With the Royal Rumble only weeks away, the Road to Wrestlemania has finally arrived and the WWE Universe could not be more excited.

After a year of questionable booking and creative decisions, it is time for a fresh start. This give the creative team a chance to make up for past mistakes and put forward a product that is exciting, and this is a perfect time to start.

Every year the Royal Rumble has superstars that may not necessarily win the match. They will, however, enter the match early and prove their resilience and stamina by lasting a lot longer than others or making a large amount of eliminations.

Last year, an example of this was Finn Balor who lasted just under an hour before being eliminated.

Here we look at 5 superstars who should have strong performances in this years although it may not be their time to win it just yet.

#5 Elias

Elias

After his loss to Baron Corbin on this week's edition of Raw, it could be a case that Elias is going to be a victim of the dreaded 50/50 booking.

This is a superstar that was more over as a heel than most babyfaces could dream of being, as he has a gimmick that fans have latched on to. It could be argued that he is a perfect fit for the mid card scene on Raw but this writer feels that Elias could go above and beyond that.

His mic work is brilliant and he has been presented as a character that talks smack but is then not afraid to jump in the ring and back it up.

Although it is far too soon for him to challenge for world titles I expect Elias to have a prominent spot in the Rumble. Perhaps he could enter at Number 1 and be this year's Iron Man before falling at the last hurdle.

Elias could be a major player for the WWE moving forward, a good way to start building his momentum would be a strong showing in the Rumble match!

#4 Andrade "Cien" Almas

Andrade Almas

Andrade "Cien" Almas is the kind of heel that Vince Mcmahon loves to get behind: a foreign superstar with a disregard for the American culture. When you have the kind of moveset and technical ability that Andrade has, you have the recipe for a major player moving forward.

In NXT he stole the show at multiple Takeover events, with his match wit Johnny Gargano being a strong contender for Match of the Year 2018. It even earned a 5 star rating from Dave Meltzer, which, for a match not booked by NJPW, is massive.

His booking, however, has not been the best since his move up to the big leagues. At some point this will need to change and a strong showing in the Rumble match could be the perfect remedy.

After a pinfall victory over Rey Mysterio on Smackdown last night it seems that creative might be ready to get behind him in the weeks leading up to the Rumble. With this in mind expect him to perform well in the match with multiple eliminations.

#3 Mustafa Ali

Mustafi Ali

It is safe to say the whole WWE Universe was in complete shock when Mustafa Ali was suddenly called up to Smackdown Liveo for a permanent spot. There were no hints, and then out of the blue he was in a match with the WWE Champion.

With this in mind, he has clearly been hand picked from a pool of super talented superstars, and the WWE creative team must have some big plans for him.

Thanks to the way he talks about his family, this is a babyface that people can truly empathize with and get behind, and he could well be the biggest underdog story since Rey Mysterio when he first won the Royal Rumble.

There is a small chance that the WWE goes in all in with Ali and picks him as a shock winner and sends him to Mania to face Bryan. This writer, however, thinks it would be too soon and his coronation can wait.

Although he will not win, expect him to hit the ring and perform some jaw dropping moves and perhaps a few surprise eliminations to make him look good heading into the business end of the WWE calendar!

#2 Finn Balor

Finn Balor

The Extraordinary Man Who Can Do Extraordinary Things has built up some solid momentum in the last few weeks with pinfall victories over both Drew Mcintyre and Dolph Ziggler.

It seems finally - based on rumors - that the creative team are finally read to get behind the Irish man with a huge fan base. This seems to be correct with the way he has been protected and booked lately and it looks like he will have a prominent role going into Wrestlemania.

This choice is risky because there is a big chance that they could choose Finn Balor (as the Demon King) to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, so there is a good chance of him winning the whole thing. This writer, however, expects him to come up just short as this feels like the year of Seth Rollins.

He was last year's Iron Man, and expect him to retain this accolade for another year. Expect an early entry, a long run and loads of eliminations to keep his momentum going but don't expect a victory.

#1 Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens

When Kevin Owens first debuted on the main roster it really looked like the sky was the limit for 'The Prizefighter'.

With a cut throat attitude that has not really been seen since Stone Cold and an in ring ability you would not see from a guy his size, he went on to win cleanly over John Cena on his first match on the main roster and was also the second Universal Champion on RAW.

Since then, however, Kevin Owens has been more of a joke act, being defeated by management and being unceremoniously squashed by the like of Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley weekly on television.

On his last night before leaving due to injury there seemed to be hints of a double turn as he was dismantled by Lashley and played the role of the resilient, never say die baby face and the crowd really got behind it. It seems a character change might be exactly what is needed for Owens.

With this in mind now is the perfect time for him to return at the Rumble and put in a star performance. Best case scenario is he enters early and and goes over an hour to establish himself as a babyface that will 'FIGHT OWENS FIGHT' until the very end!