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With Survivor Series weekend in the record books, it's now time to start looking ahead to the Royal Rumble. The event is the first stop on WWE's road to WrestleMania, and is seen by many fans around the world as their highlight of the year.
The main reason for this has to be the Royal Rumble match itself. Whilst we are always fond of the odd battle royal, the Rumble match always gives off that special feel.
Not only do we get excited over what surprises and twists WWE might throw at us, but it also gives us the first indicator as to who the company envisions as their top star for the year ahead.
This year, the winners of the two Royal Rumble matches were Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins, who have cemented themselves as the new power couple of the WWE in the last 12 months.
Who will follow in their footsteps this year? Whilst there is still nearly two months to go, post-Survivor Series is usually the best time to start getting an idea who could be earning that WrestleMania title shot.
So here are five early favourites for the Men's Royal Rumble match.
#5 Kevin Owens
What a weekend Kevin Owens is just off of. Saturday night's NXT Takeover: WarGames event saw KO revealed as the fourth man in Team Ciampa - a surprise that near enough blew the roof off the Allstate Arena.
He followed that with a strong showing in the men's 5-on-5-on-5 match at Survivor Series, where the seeds were planted for a feud with Seth Rollins.
Ever since turning face earlier this year, Owens has received some of the loudest crowd reactions in the company. It's clear that the WWE audience want to see him pushed to the moon.
For KO himself, getting a title shot at WrestleMania will make up for the disappointment of losing the Universal Title to Goldberg just weeks before WrestleMania 33.
Plus, a feud between Owens and Brock Lesnar certainly is mouth-watering. The promo battles especially between him and Paul Heyman would be enough to draw anyone in.
#4 Cain Velasquez
Whilst it hasn't been plain sailing just yet for the former UFC standout, it's clear WWE has big plans in the works for Cain Velasquez.
A knee injury has stalled his early momentum in the WWE, resulting in the quick two minute match we saw at Crown Jewel between Velasquez and Brock Lesnar.
It was an injury which Cain had before joining the company, so WWE clearly pushed the boat to bring him in.
The way his last match with Brock finished left open the possibility for a rematch, presumably on as big a stage as possible.
With no Saudi Arabia shows scheduled until after WrestleMania, that makes the 'Showcase of The Immortals' as the next possible place for this showdown.
With Lesnar currently in possession of the WWE Championship, the easiest way for WWE to book this match would be for Velasquez to win the Rumble.
The obvious complication to this option would be the aforementioned knee injury. If Velasquez does need surgery as speculated, then the chances of him being fit and ready-to-go in two months are highly unlikely.
His time in the Octagon showed just how tough a competitor he is, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Velasquez delaying his procedure and working through the pain barrier if WWE want to make this happen. But is it worth the risk long term?
#3 Finn Balor
If we learned one thing from Survivor Series weekend, it's that WWE is committed to making NXT look like a major player. Their overall victory on the night over the established shows in RAW and SmackDown highlighted just how far NXT has come over the past five years.
One thing that stood out more than the battle for brand supremacy for the Black and Gold brand though was how much the battle for the NXT Championship shone on the overall card.
Adam Cole and Pete Dunne stole the show at Survivor Series in a match of the year contender. It has left many fans wanting to see more NXT title matches featured on the big main roster PPVs.
If WWE was to indeed pull the trigger on this at WrestleMania, then surely there is only one viable candidate to battle for the championship.
In Finn Balor, NXT have a major star not just on their brand, but across the whole of the WWE rosters. The thought of him missing out on the WrestleMania card due to his move to NXT is a criminal thought.
Having an NXT star win the Rumble would further continue the momentum WWE built for the brand this past weekend, and Finn is the logical choice to do this.
#2 CM Punk
It's been nearly two weeks now since CM Punk broke the internet. The 'Voice of Voiceless' return to WWE TV as an analyst on the FS1 show WWE Backstage sent shockwaves across the wrestling world.
Naturally, this led many fans to speculate whether we would soon see 'The Straight Edge Saviour' lace up his boots once more and make a return to the squared circle.
With Survivor Series weekend hailing from his home town of Chicago, some believed that he'd make his comeback there. With that dream not becoming a reality, all eyes are now drawn to the Rumble.
The Rumble match has often been the stage where superstars make their comeback. Just look at John Cena in 2008 and Edge in 2011 to see how this tactic works in an effective manner.
Using this platform to bring Punk back would arguably create a pop not seen in a long time in WWE.
But does this also book WWE into a corner?
If they do manage to convince Punk to return for the event, you can't imagine him not winning the match, and a potential encounter with either The Fiend or Brock Lesnar would be intriguing.
However, I believe Punk would be best served in another capacity at WrestleMania, namely a contest with one Seth Rollins.
#1 Roman Reigns
If you'd told me this time last year that Roman Reigns would be in contention for the Royal Rumble, I'd have said you were mad. 'The Big Dog' has made the greatest comeback in all of wrestling this year, bravely beating off cancer to return to the ring on a regular basis.
Since then, Reigns has stayed well clear of the world title picture. In fact, he has been used more in multi-man matches in 2019 than he has singles contests, with WWE clearly looking to maximise his energy.
Whilst some fans may still be against the idea of Roman challenging for the top honours again, it's hard to argue he truly doesn't deserve his shot.
He is fresh off the back of his finest performance in many years this past Sunday as he ended as the sole survivor in the Men's 5-on-5-on-5 match. His closing stretch with Keith Lee alone ranks as some of the best work WWE has done all year.
Reigns is arguably the biggest star on the SmackDown roster. If FOX really wants to push the program on its network, they would want to have a big mainstream face at the helm, and Reigns is that.
Is he the right person to dethrone and end the run of The Fiend though? I'll leave that question up to you.
What'd you think of Survivor Series? Rate the latest WWE matches right here on the site! And be sure to follow us on Twitter at Sportskeeda MMA and Sportskeeda Wrestling!
