The Royal Rumble is almost upon us, and with it comes the unpredictability of who will be competing for a world title in the main event of WrestleMania. There will be a larger than life cast of characters in this year’s Rumble with The Undertaker, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, and Brock Lesnar among the 30 competitors in the match.
The aforementioned WWE Superstars were listed as favourites to win the 2017 Royal Rumble in this previous article. However, there have been years where the winner of the Royal Rumble was an underdog or complete surprise.
For example, Rey Mysterio defying the odds and lasting over an hour in 2006 or even Vince McMahon’s surprise win in 2001.
This article will take a look at five WWE Superstars who are not the top favourites to win the Royal Rumble in 2017 but could surprise. They range from wrestlers returning from injury, wrestlers who are newer to the main roster to a wrestler who has been in the mid card who could surprise.
Read on to see the five WWE Superstars who could be the surprise winner at this year’s Royal Rumble.
#5 Finn Balor
Remember the 2010 Royal Rumble when Edge made the shocking return from injury early to win the match? The same could hold true for Finn Balor, the first ever WWE Universal Champion who has been out of action since August with a torn labrum.
Finn Balor has stated before that WrestleMania seemed to be a realistic goal for his return, but he has also teased a return sooner than that. Balor loves to joke and tease on social media, and that is a good thing because his return could be a big surprise. There is no better time to surprise the WWE Universe than at the Royal Rumble.
Since Finn Balor was Champion at the time of his injury, it would be safe to say that if he is in the Rumble match, he’s going to win it.
#4 Luke Harper
While the spotlight of the New Wyatt Family has been the former WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton, there is another dangerous member laying in the weeds in Luke Harper. Oddly enough, Harper has actually held singles gold in his career as an Intercontinental Champion; whereas Wyatt has not won singles gold in the WWE yet.
Can you imagine if Luke Harper did win the Royal Rumble? Would he become the defacto leader of the Wyatt Family now, where Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton would answer to Harper? The thought of it is very interesting but also very possible with someone as skilled as Harper.
#3 Big E
The New Day held the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships for 483 days surpassing Demolition’s record for any tag Championship that existed in the WWE. Since losing the tag team titles in mid-December, this could be a good time to get one of the best factions in the WWE in the main event picture.
All three members of The New Day are great wrestlers for sure. Kofi Kingston and Big E are definitely seen as wrestlers who could capture a world title. Xavier Woods is just as talented too, but the WWE just doesn’t use him enough as a wrestler (thankfully that is changing as of late).
The WWE is clearly high on The New Day, so having a force like Big E win the Royal Rumble is not completely out of the picture.
#2 Baron Corbin
Ever since debuting at WrestleMania 32, Baron Corbin has impressed not only the WWE Universe but the WWE management as well. He’s been in many high profile feuds in 2016 and has won most if not all of those feuds. Though he’s not been on the main roster for a year yet, he’s proven that he’s main event ready.
Let’s not forget Baron Corbin’s debut on the main roster was at WrestleMania 32, where he won the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Considering he’s already proven to be able to win a high calibre Battle Royale match, it could mean that he has the tools to be able to win the Royal Rumble as well.
#1 Goldberg
After defeating Brock Lesnar in a minute and a half at Survivor Series, you might wonder why Goldberg is on the “unlikely” list. Part of that is because he’s been away from the ring for 12 years, and part of it is we have no idea how long Goldberg intends to continue his run.
We do know that he will be wrestling through WrestleMania, but beyond that is probably a long shot.
However, having Goldberg win the Royal Rumble would be a monumental story. The ability to get another world Championship at WrestleMania would be the perfect cap to a Hall Of Fame career. It is not expected that Goldberg will win the 2017 Royal Rumble match, but he could surprise us all like he did at Survivor Series.
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