With Royal Rumble on the horizon, it is understandable why the rumour mill is filled with speculation about the pay-per-view. It would be obvious to include rumours about Rumble in the list, so we are going to take a different route here and take a look at those rumours that did not have Rumble as the focus point.
Bray Wyatt was a surprising name that poked up this week and he seems to be heading for an interesting spell in the company. There were rumours involving Kurt Angle, Triple H and many others as well.
As usual, we are going to take a look at the top rumours and the chances of them materialising.
#5 Bray Wyatt to have run as champion in 2017
After being on the main roster for more than two years, Bray Wyatt finally got his hands on some gold recently when he teamed up with Randy Orton to win the SmackDown Tag Team championships. While the reign was short lived, Bray breaking the jinx was important and apparently, there are plans to let him have another championship run this year.
With the main event scene of SmackDown being shallow, WWE would need to inject some star power into the title scene once WrestleMania is wrapped up.
The entry of Bray would be a refreshing change and letting him hold the WWE championship will certainly make matters interesting. Bray is also a good choice to hold the Intercontinental championship as well.
#4 Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman feud in plans
Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman could be heading into a television feud after Royal Rumble. These two are reportedly booked for house show matches after the Rumble and this is usually an indication about the plans that WWE has.
Earlier, there were rumours about the company wanting to put Braun Strowman in the WWE Universal picture.
If Reigns manages to get the title from Owens at the Rumble or after that, the Braun Strowman – Roman Reigns feud for the WWE Universal championship could head all the way to WrestleMania.
It might not sit well with the fans considering the heat that both the superstars have, but with all the other options that the company has at their disposal, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if these two are paired up for Mania.
#3 WWE still has big plans for Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks being relegated to a pre-show match with Nia Jax had raised a few eyebrows.
Sasha was coming in hot after her epic feud with Charlotte which saw both women headlining pay-per-views. While some rumours are suggesting that Sasha is probably being punished, other rumours point out that there is nothing to be worried about.
WWE apparently has big plans for Sasha going forward and the reason why she was sidelined for the Rumble was the packed card that WWE have put together.
Sasha could be back in the Raw Women’s championship scene heading to WrestleMania and there are talks about a potential fatal four way between Charlotte, Bayley, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks for the gold.
#2 Triple H to retire
Triple H looks all set to wrestle again thanks to his on-going feud with Seth Rollins. The storyline might culminate in a match between these two at WrestleMania. While this is good news for the fans, there is a catch.
Rumours suggest that Triple H might be considering in-ring retirement and some are even suggesting that the match with Seth Rollins would be his last.
With all the work that Triple H handles, taking such a decision would be understandable. If Rollins gets the chance to retire Triple H, it will be a big boost for his career as well and WWE will be aware of this fact too.
But if this is the case, WWE should think about pushing the match more, as the retirement match of Triple H would draw big.
#1 Kurt Angle to headline WrestleMania 34
Kurt Angle will be inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2017 and there are also rumours about Angle wrestling at WrestleMania 33. This week around, a new set of rumours have surfaced and they claim that Angle is in with WWE for the longer run.
Angle is apparently going to headline next year’s WrestleMania in a farewell match and also, he could be the face of WWE’s next 2K game.
As WWE has solid star presence on the WrestleMania 33 card, which is to break all the present records, saving the farewell match of Angle for WrestleMania 34 is a logical move.
Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and Undertaker are expected to wrestle this year along with the regular names and as such, the farewell match of Angle could easily get overshadowed if delivered this year.
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