Top 5 choices to win the WWE Royal Rumble
Ok so, I just did my blog on who I want to see return in the Royal Rumble....but who do I want to see win the damn thing? Thats a bit of a different story....and more important this year than most, as this year the WWE title is on the line.
Speaking of the title being on the line, lets get to the obvious elephant in the room, the reigning champion Roman Reigns:
On paper he looks "believable" to do it. He holds the record for most eliminations in a single rumble (With 12) and is a former Royal Rumble Winner.
The problem comes down to the fact that the Rumble he won was last years.....and it was received so poorly by fans,who viewed him as the person WWE wanted them to like, and would shove down their throats until they liked him, rather than someone they organically rooted for.
The damage was so bad it took WWE until NOVEMBER to get fans to actually be willing to embrace him again.
Heck the Rock came out last year to help him win the rumble.....and the fans booed the Rock because of how much they hated this guy winning.
And now WWE wants to do it again? And wants to do it in a way in which he would join Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin as one of the only people in history to win Back to Back Rumbles.
Also he's entering the Rumble as #1, meaning that even out of the above list, only Shawn Michaels has done the same thing (winning two rumbles back to back and once from the #1 spot).
Reigns may be many things, but as great as Shawn Michaels, at least this early in his career isnt one of them.
And should he actually win the match again, I expect the support of the fans that took 11 months for him to earn will evaporate immediately, leaving WWE without a major fan favorite moving forward, and possible permanently damaging Reigns career.
Dont get me wrong, I have no issue with Reigns in the Main Event of Wrestlemania I just think, at this moment in his career he would be much better served going into that event as the challenger and not the Champion...although Im not against him leaving as champ.
5) Daniel Bryan
Plus hell, given that most of WWE's top guys are currently out injured, someone has to give the fans a reason to buy Wreslemania, so why not the most popular wrestler since Stone Cold Steve Austin?
Assuming of course WWE will clear him to compete, and that they are willing to trust in his ability to stay injury free. After all the last two times they put a title on him he had to vacate it due to injury days after winning.
I will say this though, for their own sakes, if Bryan isnt going to win the thing....dont let him compete, thats just asking to piss off fans....again.
4) Brock Lesnar
To be honest in a year bereft of Randy Orton, John Cena and Seth Rollins WWE could do worse than going back to that same match again this year.....while also giving fans the definitive finish the mid match Money in the Bank cash in deprived them of last year.
And hell it fits the current storyline too, as Brock recently returned, and believed he should get a "bye" from the Rumble and advance directly to the Wrestlemania main event based on the fact he was never pinned to lose the championship and never got a rematch.
Only problem here is he outright annihilation by the Wyatt Family on RAW last week suggests the WWE may instead be looking at a Bray v Lesnar match.....but no reason that couldnt also be for the title.
3) HHH
The only real negative is that, at least based on his match against Sting at Mania last year, its not clear HHH still has the skill to headline Wrestlemania without a match entirely resorting to gimmicks and outside interference.
2) Bray Wyatt
All 3 of these guys are under the thrall of Wyatt and will help him do whatever he wants.....including winning the Rumble. And consider that at 6'5 and 275 Lbs Luke Harper is the smallest member of the family......
Basically if the Wyatt's all get in the ring at the same time, they will be damn near impossible for any one man, or even a group of men to remove.......especially Strowman, who to date has been knocked off his feet only once in his career....but it took both Undertaker and Kane to do it.
So yea, basically Wyatt's chances to win this rumble are very much dependent on when he comes out, and how many of his "family" are in the ring when he does.
Now from a storyline purpose, this would also be a big help the Wyatt gimmick as they've come up a bit short in their last couple of feuds against the remainder of the SHIELD and the Brothers of Destruction. So they need a big win to keep their mystique.
Also the simple fact is, that with the except of Harper's forgettable just under a month run as Intercontinental Champion during the brief dissolution of the family in 2014, none of these guys have won ANY WWE gold in a near two year run where theyve been near the top of the roster the whole time.
1) The Rock
Speaking of the title being on the line, lets get to the obvious elephant in the room, the reigning champion Roman Reigns:
As the defending champion, Roman Reigns needs to be mentioned on this list....I just refuse to include him in the top 5 for the simple fact that his winning the match would be a MASSIVE mistake.
On paper he looks "believable" to do it. He holds the record for most eliminations in a single rumble (With 12) and is a former Royal Rumble Winner.
The problem comes down to the fact that the Rumble he won was last years.....and it was received so poorly by fans,who viewed him as the person WWE wanted them to like, and would shove down their throats until they liked him, rather than someone they organically rooted for.
The damage was so bad it took WWE until NOVEMBER to get fans to actually be willing to embrace him again.
Heck the Rock came out last year to help him win the rumble.....and the fans booed the Rock because of how much they hated this guy winning.
And now WWE wants to do it again? And wants to do it in a way in which he would join Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin as one of the only people in history to win Back to Back Rumbles.
Also he's entering the Rumble as #1, meaning that even out of the above list, only Shawn Michaels has done the same thing (winning two rumbles back to back and once from the #1 spot).
Reigns may be many things, but as great as Shawn Michaels, at least this early in his career isnt one of them.
And should he actually win the match again, I expect the support of the fans that took 11 months for him to earn will evaporate immediately, leaving WWE without a major fan favorite moving forward, and possible permanently damaging Reigns career.
Dont get me wrong, I have no issue with Reigns in the Main Event of Wrestlemania I just think, at this moment in his career he would be much better served going into that event as the challenger and not the Champion...although Im not against him leaving as champ.
5) Daniel Bryan
Simple fact of the matter is, the last two Royal Rumbles have been less than successful, as fans turned on both winners for the sin of not being Daniel Bryan (and he didnt even compete in one of those). Assuming he is cleared to compete (unknown) this might be the year to give the fans what they want, rather than risk a 3rd straight year of pissing off viewers.
Plus hell, given that most of WWE's top guys are currently out injured, someone has to give the fans a reason to buy Wreslemania, so why not the most popular wrestler since Stone Cold Steve Austin?
Assuming of course WWE will clear him to compete, and that they are willing to trust in his ability to stay injury free. After all the last two times they put a title on him he had to vacate it due to injury days after winning.
I will say this though, for their own sakes, if Bryan isnt going to win the thing....dont let him compete, thats just asking to piss off fans....again.
4) Brock Lesnar
So no one really expected anything great out of last years Wrestlemania main event of Lesnar vs Reigns. But in hindsight, holy crap were we wrong, and thats before it got turned into a triple threat mid match.
To be honest in a year bereft of Randy Orton, John Cena and Seth Rollins WWE could do worse than going back to that same match again this year.....while also giving fans the definitive finish the mid match Money in the Bank cash in deprived them of last year.
And hell it fits the current storyline too, as Brock recently returned, and believed he should get a "bye" from the Rumble and advance directly to the Wrestlemania main event based on the fact he was never pinned to lose the championship and never got a rematch.
Only problem here is he outright annihilation by the Wyatt Family on RAW last week suggests the WWE may instead be looking at a Bray v Lesnar match.....but no reason that couldnt also be for the title.
3) HHH
Like I said in my surprise entrants blog, HHH hasnt been seen since Roman Reigns took him out months ago. So a return in the rumble, and a win, fits the storyline perfectly heading into Wrestlemania. Allegedly the original plan at Wrestlemania was supposed to be Reigns vs Seth Rollins, but Rollins injury changed that. HHH had already been established as Rollins mentor before the injury, and it was him stepping in as Reigns primary antagonist that got him attacked in the first place. So having Reigns fight Rollins mentor instead also has a nice symmetry too it.
The only real negative is that, at least based on his match against Sting at Mania last year, its not clear HHH still has the skill to headline Wrestlemania without a match entirely resorting to gimmicks and outside interference.
2) Bray Wyatt
So there are 3 good reasons why Bray Wyatt should win the Rumble. And they are Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman.
All 3 of these guys are under the thrall of Wyatt and will help him do whatever he wants.....including winning the Rumble. And consider that at 6'5 and 275 Lbs Luke Harper is the smallest member of the family......
Basically if the Wyatt's all get in the ring at the same time, they will be damn near impossible for any one man, or even a group of men to remove.......especially Strowman, who to date has been knocked off his feet only once in his career....but it took both Undertaker and Kane to do it.
So yea, basically Wyatt's chances to win this rumble are very much dependent on when he comes out, and how many of his "family" are in the ring when he does.
Now from a storyline purpose, this would also be a big help the Wyatt gimmick as they've come up a bit short in their last couple of feuds against the remainder of the SHIELD and the Brothers of Destruction. So they need a big win to keep their mystique.
Also the simple fact is, that with the except of Harper's forgettable just under a month run as Intercontinental Champion during the brief dissolution of the family in 2014, none of these guys have won ANY WWE gold in a near two year run where theyve been near the top of the roster the whole time.
1) The Rock
Even as a part time wrestler, the Rock can still wrestle as he proved just a couple years ago putting on a match with John Cena that had him suffer a serious injury seconds into the match....yet still make it decent despite that.
Also Rock is Roman Reigns cousin, and Reigns' gimmick since winning the title has been all about his honor and his family.
So seeing Roman be betrayed by a member of that same family would be a very interesting and unique storyline heading into Wrestlemaina. Especially given that its was the Rock's help that won him the Royal Rumble last year, and as a result allowed him to break though into title contender status.
Add to that the fact Rock is one of the few people who's star power can make up for the lack of Cena and Orton, while also still being able to wrestle a good match, and you have a instant recipe for success.
Finally there is also the chance for this to reverberate down the roster as well. The Usos are also cousins of Roman Reigns....and by extension, the Rock. I wonder who they would side with in a family feud? Just saying this could also allow them to turn heel, helping reenergize their characters if they turned on Reigns too. Also would further Reigns storyline of constantly being betrayed by people who either are or who he considers his family (like his former Shield "Brother" Seth Rollins).
So who knows what that might do to his preception of his relationship with his remaining Shield "Brother" Dean Ambrose?
And while not as likely to impact Reigns directly as much as the Usos turning on him would, its worth noting they arnt the only real life family Reigns has....2/3rds of Team B.A.D., in Tamina and Naomi are also members of the family. Again I wonder who they would side with?
Like I said, this win has the deepest storyline repercussions and impact, and given Rock's real life/off screen support for his cousin Roman and how much hes said he wants him to succeed, you can be sure a Wrestlemania match between these two would be one of the best the Rock can have now, so as to help make Roman look even better by beating him and recapturing the title.
Also Rock is Roman Reigns cousin, and Reigns' gimmick since winning the title has been all about his honor and his family.
So seeing Roman be betrayed by a member of that same family would be a very interesting and unique storyline heading into Wrestlemaina. Especially given that its was the Rock's help that won him the Royal Rumble last year, and as a result allowed him to break though into title contender status.
Add to that the fact Rock is one of the few people who's star power can make up for the lack of Cena and Orton, while also still being able to wrestle a good match, and you have a instant recipe for success.
Finally there is also the chance for this to reverberate down the roster as well. The Usos are also cousins of Roman Reigns....and by extension, the Rock. I wonder who they would side with in a family feud? Just saying this could also allow them to turn heel, helping reenergize their characters if they turned on Reigns too. Also would further Reigns storyline of constantly being betrayed by people who either are or who he considers his family (like his former Shield "Brother" Seth Rollins).
So who knows what that might do to his preception of his relationship with his remaining Shield "Brother" Dean Ambrose?
And while not as likely to impact Reigns directly as much as the Usos turning on him would, its worth noting they arnt the only real life family Reigns has....2/3rds of Team B.A.D., in Tamina and Naomi are also members of the family. Again I wonder who they would side with?
Like I said, this win has the deepest storyline repercussions and impact, and given Rock's real life/off screen support for his cousin Roman and how much hes said he wants him to succeed, you can be sure a Wrestlemania match between these two would be one of the best the Rock can have now, so as to help make Roman look even better by beating him and recapturing the title.
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