3: Samoa Joe
According to backstage reports Samoa Joe is set to make his main roster debut at the Royal Rumble, if not a couple of weeks earlier. With SmackDown Live’s roster lacking star power, Joe should definitely join the blue brand instead of Monday Night Raw and instead of debuting Joe in the Royal Rumble match itself where he could get lost in the shuffle, WWE could instead set his debut as a match for the WWE Championship against AJ Styles with Joe going over as the monster heel and AJ turning babyface heading into Wrestlemania season.
Joe has proven that he has what it takes to headline big shows with some stellar performances down in NXT and he could be WWE’s next monster heel if built up correctly ala Umaga, and the first step in his path of destruction could be at this year’s Royal Rumble.
Joe and Styles already have a history in TNA, which WWE could play upon without mentioning those three ‘dreaded’ letters. Styles and Joe will be sure to tear the house down at the rumble as they did in the X-Division.
