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The 2019 Royal Rumble match is just 11 nights away and a plethora of superstars have already made their entry official for the 30-man over the top battle royale match. The list of the announced superstars goes as follows:
R-Truth, Drew McIntyre, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy, Dean Ambrose, Bobby Lashley, Samoa Joe, John Cena, Elias, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Kalisto, Apollo Crews, Andrade Cien Almas, Mustafa Ali, and Rey Mysterio.
Every year in the Royal Rumble match, one superstar is assigned the role of an Ironman, which means that superstar will join the match early and will stay in the match until the final four. Last year, we saw Finn Balor emerge as the Ironman of the Royal Rumble match but this year he will be competing in the Universal Championship match. So, the chances of Finn being this year's Ironman are very less.
WWE Creative may look for another Ironman this year and here are the 5 potential superstars who can play that role:
#5 Andrade 'Cien' Almas
The former NXT Champion, Andrade Ciel Almas has been one of the favourite superstars of Vince McMahon and several reports support the claim that he has impressed the boss with his in-ring technicalities. A few rumours even suggest that Andrade Cien Almas is the favourite to win the Royal Rumble match of 2019.
Well, the chances of El Idolo winning the Rumble are very less in my opinion and so, he may be in the Ironman role of the match this year. He has the potential to carry the match and the WWE Universe can even get some dream confrontations if Almas is chosen as the Ironman.
#4 Jeff Hardy
The Charismatic Enigma is one of the most trusted superstars backstage and the WWE officials have always believed in Jeff Hardy's wrestling abilities. He has taken numerous bumps all through his career. Also, Hardy is a multi-time WWE Champion who has given the WWE Universe several memorable matches.
The probability of Jeff Hardy winning the Royal Rumble match of 2019 is negligible but the WWE Creative can assign him the role of the Ironman due to his stamina. Hardy has wrestled in many Royal Rumble matches and can be called a veteran of this match. If he stays in the match from start to the end, the WWE Universe will be guaranteed some high-risk spots and also some dream confrontations like Jeff Hardy and Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre and many more.
#3 Elias
When the Drifter was a part of the developmental territory WWE NXT, very few members of the WWE Universe expected him to be as successful as he is currently on RAW. Elias started as a heel who used to insult the fans in attendance with his songs. However, as time passed the popularity of the bearded superstar has grown a lot.
His popularity amongst the WWE Universe increased so much that he was finally turned face by the WWE Creative. A lot of fans have been asking for a huge push for Elias on the main roster but the WWE has constantly disappointed them by limiting his role to a mid-carder.
With Elias being in the Royal Rumble match, the WWE can initiate his push from the time interval battle royale, where he had spent 26 minutes in 2018. Giving him the Ironman role in 2019 will just be the best way to commence Elias' push.
#2 Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is another veteran who has been associated with the WWE since years. He held the record of spending the most time in a Royal Rumble match (which was broken by Daniel Bryan last year in Saudi Arabia). Mysterio has been one of the most popular superstars amongst the WWE Universe because of his underdog character.
WWE Creative can use this underdog as the Ironman of the Royal Rumble match this year as he has no storyline on SmackDown Live currently and the 30-man Rumble match can give him a future WrestleMania feud. WWE can even book a David vs. Goliath face-off between RAW's Drew McIntyre and Rey Mysterio. Mysterio had made his emphatic return to the WWE in last year's Royal Rumble match, where he spent nearly 10 minutes after entering the match at #27.
#1 Seth Rollins
This year, the Royal Rumble PPV will take place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona and with 40,000 fans in attendance, the fans would love to push the Kingslayer as the next face of the company in front of such a huge crowd. Seth Rollins is the favourite to win the Royal Rumble match of 2019 and challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35.
Also Read: 11 Predictions for the remaining participants of the men's Royal Rumble match in 2019
Seth has lost some momentum of late, as he has lost several Intercontinental Championship matches in the last few weeks. So, the WWE Creative may keep him as the Ironman of the Royal Rumble match to solidify his character.
An Ironman Seth Rollins winning the Royal Rumble match after conquering 29 other superstars will surely tell a story to the WWE Universe and so, he is the best option with WWE as far as the Ironman of the 2019 Rumble is concerned.
