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A victory in the Royal Rumble match is often rated as an achievement as big as winning a World Title. Since its inception back in 1988, every year, 30 male superstars try their luck in the gargantuan match. But only one lucky star outlasts 29 others and books his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania that year.
However, there are only a handful of performers each year who enter the Royal Rumble match with a legitimate chance of going all the way to the end, while the others enter the match only to get thrown over the top rope. This makes the Royal Rumble a highly unpredictable encounter, with the excitement and thrill at the very peak, until the very end of the match.
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Each winner in the past few years was the pre-match favorite, and there is a talented bunch of Superstars who have a solid chance of winning the Men's Royal Rumble. While one can add the likes of 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Kevin Owens to this list, the fact that they are either involved in other high profile programs (all except Nakamura) or have won the match recently, means they are not part of this list.
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Here are five potential favorites to win the Men's Royal Rumble match.
#5 Potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble: Sheamus
Sheamus is a former Royal Rumble winner, with his victory over Daniel Bryan in the WrestleMania XXVIII World Heavyweight Championship match a monumental part of both his and Bryan's career. However, he hasn't been in the World Title picture in more than 5 years now, with his last World Title reign coming back in late 2015. He has performed mostly in the Tag Team Division or the Mid Card since then.
Sheamus had one of the shortest stays in the Royal Rumble match when he was eliminated in just 2 seconds by, of all people, Heath Slater. The situation is different this time around, as not only is he back to being a singles star, he has been involved in a program with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
Given WWE's obsession with programs initiated by betrayals and the fact that a WrestleMania caliber feud between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre is a mouth-watering prospect, The Celtic Warrior enters the Royal Rumble match as a favorite to win the bout. Even if he doesn't emerge victorious he will, for sure, have a massive impact on the match, maybe by being the Iron Man of the Royal Rumble.
#4 Potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble: Big E
In the last three years, WWE has used a Royal Rumble match win as a way to start the mega push of a highly popular star who has either been away from the World Title scene or has never made it that high on the WWE ladder. It was Shinsuke Nakamura in 2018, Seth Rollins in 2019, and Drew McIntyre in 2020. If WWE continues to go the same route, we might see a new Royal Rumble winner this year as well.
Ever since his separation from former partners Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, Big E has been getting a sort of mega push as a singles star. He is one of the biggest babyfaces on the roster, and WWE sees him as one of the contenders to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. He is already holding the Intercontinental Championship and is expected to enter the Men's Royal Rumble match.
This has automatically made him one of the favorites to emerge victorious from the Men's Royal Rumble match. He is someone who is the complete opposite of Reigns, who is wreaking havoc on Smackdown as the dominant heel Champion. WWE loves to have an underdog storyline for WrestleMania, and it all starts with a win in the Royal Rumble match.
Given that Big E is long overdue a run at the top of the card, it won't be a surprise if he wins the Royal Rumble match and goes on to defeat Reigns in the main event on WrestleMania 37. Not only will this present a story similar to his former team mate's from 2019, but it will also finally reward him for his decade long run in WWE.
#3 Potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble: AJ Styles
Ever since he made his monumental debut back at the Royal Rumble 2016, AJ Styles has either been the WWE Champion at Royal Rumble or been in a match with the WWE Champion. He was unfortunate to injure himself at last year's event, but the situation is a lot different this time, as he has been doing some of his best work over the last 12 months.
Hence, this would be the first time in a while that he would be entering the Royal Rumble intending to win the namesake match. To absolutely no one's surprise, his chances of winning the entire match are better than most of the superstars' on the roster. He is someone who has never been a Royal Rumble winner in the past, and WWE can always rely on him for marquee matches in big events.
Another thing that gives him an upper edge is the fact that he still has some unfinished business in the WWE Title scene. His one-on-one shot at the Title at TLC was destroyed by The Miz, and he should be more determined now to win the Royal Rumble match and challenge McIntyre again for the WWE Title at WrestleMania.
Drew McIntyre has often called a match with AJ Styles to be on the top of his dream list, so it won't be a surprise if WWE goes all in to have a fantastic heel v face encounter between the two in Tampa. Add to this the Omos factor, and Styles' chances of winning the Royal Rumble match shoot even higher. Irrespective of whether he wins the match or not, we can expect him to have a huge impact on the Rumble match.
#2 Potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble: Keith Lee
Despite being the type of match that favors the heavier superstars, it is quite baffling that we rarely see a super heavyweight star win the Royal Rumble. A closer look at the facts tells us that The Undertaker and Yokozuna are the only two Royal Rumble winners who weighed more than 300 pounds.
Over the last few years, only Braun Strowman has been positioned as a legitimate super heavyweight performer in the Rumble match with his best performance, besides his victory in Greatest Royal Rumble, coming at the 2019 Royal Rumble.
This time, however, with Braun Strowman absent from WWE programming, Keith Lee seems like the only legitimate super heavyweight who has a shot at winning the Rumble match, and he is a pre-match favorite to win the whole bout.
Despite the few hiccups he endured after making his debut on Raw, the Limitless One has been portrayed as one of the strongest members on the roster. He solidified his position as a main event caliber star with a solid performance against Drew McIntyre a couple of weeks ago, that was arguably McIntyre's best match since becoming WWE Champion.
WWE is very high on Keith Lee, and with Mania season around the corner, a Royal Rumble win could be the kick that Lee's main roster career needs. Despite being on the main roster for only 6 months, he is already among the favorites to win the Men's Royal Rumble and challenge McIntyre again for the WWE Championship, this time at WrestleMania 37.
#1 Potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble: Daniel Bryan
The 2021 Men's Royal Rumble has Daniel Bryan's name written all over it.
This has to be Bryan's year. After the blunders that WWE made at the Royal Rumble in 2014 and 2015, which also should have been Bryan's years, the company can't afford to once again face the backlash of the fans by having Bryan enter the Royal Rumble match and not emerge as the winner.
A win in the 30-Men match is probably the only achievement missing from the Yes-Man's trophy cabinet, and WWE has the perfect opportunity of not only making amends for 2014 & 2015, but to finally pull the trigger on probably the most awaited rivalry in the company right now.
With Roman Reigns virtually guaranteed to enter WrestleMania as the Universal Champion, Bryan's Royal Rumble victory makes for the only logical outcome.
Reigns and Bryan have been on the same brand for a long time, and WWE has given many subtle hints about a rivalry between the two, including a weird program in late 2019 that ended without a proper conclusion.
Reigns, in the middle of a superb run as a hated heel, needs a super-over babyface challenger, and who is more popular among the fans than the former American Dragon?
Having Bryan be the first person to declare his entry for the Royal Rumble match has further solidified his odds, and WWE going ahead with his victory seems like the best possible option the company has in their bag right now.
The Yes Man thrives in programs that portray him as an underdog, and a hard-fought victory at Royal Rumble, followed by a heated program with the cocky Reigns and a win in the main event of 'Mania 37, would be as big as his win at WrestleMania XXX.
