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Before we know it, it will be 2019 and the Royal Rumble will be soon upon us.
It can be argued that the Royal Rumble is one of the most important PPVs on the WWE's schedule.
It offers up challengers for main championships at WrestleMania and it also helps to jump-start or prolong potential storylines. Wrestlers either return from injury (Edge, John Cena) or to the company as a whole while others debut at the event (AJ Styles).
As things currently sit with the two top men's titles on the main roster, Brock Lesnar holds Raw's (supposed) top belt and Daniel Bryan holds the top prize on Smackdown, the WWE Championship.
Both are likely to hold their respective titles until the big show. And since both are technically heels, then the winners of the Elimination Chamber and Royal Rumble matches respectively will likely be from the face side of things.
So among the current members of Raw and Smackdown, who could win the Rumble and who shouldn't?
Should: The Miz
The Miz has been a heel for what seems like forever. He's always been great in that role but a lot of allegiances have shifted on the Blue Brand.
Daniel Bryan, his mortal enemy, is now a heel champion. The main challenger, AJ Styles, will get his requisite rematch(es) and then will likely be shifted to the back of the line.
When Styles ultimately fails to regain the title he's worked so tirelessly to defend, a new challenger will need to emerge, and it needs to be a good one for WrestleMania 35.
The Miz and Daniel Bryan always have good chemistry on the mic and they have tons of history with each other to draw upon for a huge feud. Switching up the heel/face dynamic will also freshen up the feud.
He's always been a big part of whichever show he's been on and he has always delivered in any feud.
It's so easy to root against the Miz, but if Daniel Bryan continually steals the low blow tactic from Shinsuke Nakamura, it might have fans cheering for the Miz instead.
Should Not: Any part-timer
One big mistake the WWE could make is having any part-time wrestler win the Royal Rumble.
That would include performers like John Cena, the Rock or the Undertaker.
While the Rock vs. Brock would be a big-money match, a lot would have to go right for the Rock to wrestle next April.
He'd have to get time off from whichever movie he's filming and knowing him, it's likely a huge action movie like Skyscraper or Rampage or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The Black Adam movie is coming out within the next two years and filming is slated to start at some point in 2019. He'd have to get the okay from the film producers for any match.
That's not an easy thing to get as the money behind the movies will look to protect their investments.
The Undertaker doesn't have much left in the tank and if he faces someone at Wrestlemania, it would be better suited as an attraction match rather than one of the championship matches.
John Cena will probably break Ric Flair's number of title reigns at some point in the future, but that could be saved to sell another PPV. It would be a huge moment, but he tied Flair's record at a Royal Rumble. Cena's a part-timer now and has been more focused on making movies.
When he does come back for an extended run in the near future, it can be focused around breaking the record.
If the brass want him to be cheered for breaking the record, it would have to be against someone other than Daniel Bryan or Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is still physically dominant over Cena and it would be hard for fans to cheer for either man.
Cena would probably have a hard time being cheered against Daniel Bryan, but if Bryan continues to commit dastardly acts, it could happen.
Needless to say, that would be a storyline that could carry a summer program leading up to a Summerslam title shot.
Should: Seth Rollins
The Kingslayer has carried Raw for much of 2018.
His Intercontinental Title matches may have saved the Red Brand as Brock Lesnar has been the part-time Universal Champion.
He's shown up every week, put on great matches and has truly gotten the fans behind him. His move set is exciting and begets that of a true top babyface.
What better way to continue to cement that fact than to have him either start and win the Royal Rumble or be one of the first entrants and win?
He could continue to play on the iron-man status he's gained this year and regardless of alignment, the fans always cheer for someone who's lasted for much of the rumble. He's won practically everything else in the WWE except for a Royal Rumble.
All the great ones have a rumble win under their belts and Rollins would need one for him to eventually be considered an all-time great.
Lesnar and Rollins have plenty of history to play going back to when Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Lesnar and Roman back at Wrestlemania 31. They can also play into the recent comments Rollins has made speaking out about the part-time champion and how he (Rollins) is there busting his butt every week.
Some recent reports, whether to be believed or not, have suggested that it will indeed be Rollins to challenge Brock at Wrestlemania 35.
It would be a good match if it happens because Rollins is fantastic at selling anyone's offense and Lesnar would likely be motivated for a big match at Wrestlemania. He also might not be motivated if he's scheduled to drop the title, but will likely wait and see until the Royal Rumble is actually upon us.
Should not: Bobby Lashley
A portion of the WWE Universe has clamored for Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar to collide ever since the former returned to WWE the night after Wrestlemania 34.
While that would have the potential to be a good match of strength vs strength, the alignments of both men don't set up for the potential of the match happening next April.
Lashley recently turned heel when he and his manager, Lio Rush, relished in the fact that they put Kevin Owens out of action.
It would be hard to turn him again so quickly. And Lesnar is hard to cheer for unless he's fighting against a heel group that can beat him down or is counter to Paul Heyman. Neither is happening any time soon for the Beast.
While both could play on the fact that both had success in the MMA world (obviously Brock had more), Heyman would destroy Lio/Lashley on the mic.
That would make it hard to cheer for Lashley.
The match could have happened over the summer when Roman and Bobby were feuding for the right to face Brock at SummerSlam. They missed the boat on that front though when they once again had Reigns triumph and face Lesnar.
Things might have changed had they gone the other route. They didn't and things have happened beyond everyone's control that has drawn out Raw's blueprint as it currently is with injuries or shifted alignments.
The timing wouldn't be right for a Brock/Bobby Wrestlemania showdown and a Lashley triumph in the Royal Rumble would likely infuriate the fans once again.
The WWE won't care about that, but the perception won't do them any favors.They gained some good will back when Nakamura won last year and a Lashley win would just erase that.
Should: Drew McIntyre
Reports have suggested that the Scottish Psychopath is in line for a huge push next year.
We've started to see signs of that when he was a final member of the Raw Survivor Series team along with Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley.
That dominance continued when he, Lashley and Baron Corbin put Strowman out of action for the foreseeable future with a brutal attack after their six-man tag match against the Monster on Raw. McIntyre has been on fire since joining Dolph Ziggler earlier this year.
He's been great on the mic and has had great matches with Finn Balor, Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns since his return.
His platform has also been refreshing, running down a lot of the 'boys in the back' for being content and complacent with just being on the roster. That criticism could easily be shifted to target a part-time wrestler who has held a stranglehold on Raw's top title.
McIntyre's even started to be noticed as the top full-time heel on Raw with his brutalizing of Kurt Angle and his bullying of Finn Balor.
While Strowman could be Universal Champion at WrestleMania 35, McIntyre would deliver against the Monster or the Beast.
If they want a clear heel/face dynamic for the 'Mania match, it would have to be Strowman vs. McIntyre. They could play on the recent history of teaming together and then McIntyre putting Braun out of action.
If they want a different marquee match, McIntyre vs. Lesnar would certainly be a big-time match/feud for WrestleMania.
McIntyre has held his own on the microphone and would do well against Paul Heyman. He is also a physical threat who can dish out just as much punishment as Lesnar. He'd be a believable threat to The Beast or The Monster Among Men.
Could his alleged push start with a win in the Royal Rumble?
It would be great for another first-time winner to earn a match at Wrestlemania rather than a former winner.
Should Not: Randy Orton
Randy Orton is currently on a mission to destroy anyone the fans love or have ever loved. He brutalized Jeff Hardy and almost ripped off his ear. He even spit on the legacy of Lucha Libre and ripped off Rey Mysterio's mask on Smackdown this week.
While the heel work has helped to freshen up the once staggering Orton, the problem lies therein. He's a heel and so is the current champion on Smackdown.
Oh, and it's Daniel Bryan. You know, the guy who fought against Orton and the Authority throughout most of 2014 en route to a heartwarming and well-deserved WWE Championship win over Batista and the Legend Killer at WrestleMania 30.
It would be highly unlikely to have Orton get cheers from the crowd any time he would oppose Bryan. The two are polar opposites and have had hugely different paths to the top.
One spent numerous years in the independent leagues and was never deemed worthy of main event status.
The other has a famous last name and was hand-picked from developmental to be a part of one of the biggest factions (Evolution) of the last 20 years. Another strike against Orton is that he won the Royal Rumble in 2017.
It's too soon for him to win another rumble and he doesn't necessarily need another rumble win on his resume.
The main reason he won in 2017 was to set up a match with Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania and to have fans cheer him when he and Roman Reigns were the final two participants in the match.
Had it been someone like Rollins or Ambrose instead of Orton, Orton wouldn't likely have been cheered as he was.
It's time for another first-time winner to get a title shot a Wrestlemania.
