It's that time of the year again when the WWE stirs up the excitement of the fans more than ever, it's time for the 2018 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The annual tradition is one of the big-four pay-per-views of the biggest wrestling promotion in the world and the WWE will do everything in their capacity to put on an excellent show on 28th January at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Royal Rumble marks the beginning of the road to Wrestlemania and the 30 men battle royal will decide which Superstar will go on to the main event of the show of shows. In the past few years, it has been quite predictable who would be eventually winning the Rumble match, but this year looks to be different as there is no clear idea on who the WWE is planning to win the match.

As per the speculations in the wrestling world right now, three names are expected to win this year's match and they are Roman Reigns, John Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura. But this is the Royal Rumble we're talking about which is known for its unpredictability and this year's result might baffle all of us as someone who we least expect might be the one to win the 30 men bout this year.

Let's see 5 of those superstars who could be the dark horses and go on to win the 2018 Royal Rumble match.

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#5 Baron Corbin

The WWE universe didn't see it coming when Baron Corbin walked out with the money in the bank contract at the titular pay-per-view last year. It was evident that WWE had some big plans for the lone wolf and it was expected that Corbin would be successfully cashing in the contract to become the WWE Champion.

However, things soon went downhill after Corbin became a victim of his own doing after he got caught in a social media dilemma which resulted in him unsuccessfully cashing in the contract while becoming the third person in history to do so.

It is clear now that the backstage heat on Corbin is cooled off and it was made evident when he was given a run with the United States Championship. WWE can pull off a real surprise if they decide to go with the Lone Wolf as the winner of the 2018 Royal Rumble match; it would be a good opportunity for the superstar to redeem himself and also for the WWE to provide some fresh program going forward into Wrestlemania 34.

#4 Cesaro

The Swiss Cyborg is one of the superstars who is on the list of missed opportunities in the WWE. He had the potential to become one of the biggest stars in the company but somehow Vince McMahon did not feel the same way as the fans. Cesaro is now in a tag team with Sheamus and feuding over the Raw tag team championships against Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan.

It is being reported that WWE is protecting Sheamus as he is dealing with spinal stenosis, this could be the reason why Sheamus has been talking fewer bumps in recent matches as the injury had ended the careers of superstars such as Edge and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

This could be a blessing in disguise for the Swiss Superman, the WWE can capitalize on Cesaro and use him to his full potential. The Royal Rumble can be a good platform to catapult the Swiss Superman into the main event of Wrestlemania 34. A showdown against AJ Styles would do wonders for the swing king if he manages to win the rumble.

#3 Seth Rollins

The architect shocked the world when he became the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Wrestlemania 31. He had a great run as the top star of the WWE until he was caught back due to an injury. After making his return he did not enjoy the same amount of success he had earlier but he had an entertaining feud with Triple H which culminated in an unsanctioned match at Wrestlemania 33 where he defeated the game.

He is now one-half of the Raw Tag team champions alongside Jason Jordan and to be honest, it is not enough for a superstar of his calibre. He needs a move to Smackdown Live right now where he can reinvent himself as the top star of the WWE, and there may be no other way to do that other than the Royal Rumble match. Rollins can win the Rumble bout and go on to have a stellar match against AJ Styles at the grandest stage of them all.

#2 Samoa Joe

The Samoan Submission Machine was expected to do great things when he signed with the WWE, however, things were not as expected for Joe as he had to settle with only two reigns with the NXT Championship. While his TNA Colleague AJ Styles has won the WWE and US Championships multiple times, Joe has failed to achieve the same amount of success on the main roster.

Joe is now chasing his first major single's championship on the main roster as he is looking to dethrone Roman Reigns to become the new Intercontinental Champion. But a mid-card title is not enough to solidify Joe as a top star in the WWE.

WWE can pull off an absolute shocker if they decide to have Joe win the Royal Rumble match and have him go on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at the Show of Shows. The build-up towards their previous encounter at Great Balls of Fire was very entertaining and it went very well with the fans, so it won't be a mistake if WWE higher ups give the nod to have Joe win the 2018 Royal Rumble match.

#1 Finn Balor

It came off as a surprise when Finn Balor defeated Seth Rollins at the 2016 Summerslam to become the inaugural Universal Champion. Many of us did not expect the demon king to capture the Universal Championship after being called up to the main roster. His reign was short lived after he had to relinquish the championship the very next day on Raw due to the injury he suffered during the match.

Ever since he made his return to the ring, Balor is yet to receive his one-on-one rematch for the championship which he didn't lose. It was reported that Vince McMahon cancelled the match between Balor and Lesnar at the Royal Rumble because the chairman thinks that Balor is not over with the fans. This has created a serious displeasure among the fans as they have proved many times that they are behind the Demon King.

This could all be a way to distract the fans and hit them by surprise by having Finn Balor win the 2018 Royal Rumble match and go on to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34 for the Universal Championship.