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Styles would certainly be a popular choice to win the Rumble.
The Royal Rumble is one of WWE’s most popular PPV’s, second only to WrestleMania. However, in recent years, WWE has not picked the greatest winners.
Last year it was won by Randy Orton, a pick not many expected or cared about. The year before Triple H won it. But everyone knew that was just leading to Roman beating him at WM. And the year before that Roman Reigns was victorious and was met by one of the worst receptions in Royal Rumble history.
Hopefully, WWE will not have a similarly bad pick in mind this year. Here are five people WWE could pick to win the 2018 Royal Rumble.
#5 Finn Balor
When Finn Balor debuted on RAW he, very likely, had the best debut of any superstar for some time. In his debut night, Balor won a fatal four way vs Rusev, Cesaro and Kevin Owens. In the same night, Fin would then go on to pin Roman Reigns clean to earn a shot at the Universal title.
Considering Roman Reigns is Vince’s newest chosen one, the fact Balor pinned him clean on his debut night speaks volumes about how much WWE wanted to push him.
However, when Balor won the title at Summer Slam he would also pick up an injury in that match that would put him on the shelf for six months.
But since Balor returned in February 2017 he has seriously struggled. WWE has not pushed him nearly as much and Balor has been stuck in some boring feuds. Including one with Bray Wyatt which was only cut short because Wyatt was unwell.
One way WWE could push Balor back to the top level is by having him win the 2018 Royal Rumble. More specifically from number one. Balor winning from number one would be a great underdog story. He is quite a small wrestler and he has a large fan following. So, if WWE paints him as a babyface in pearl then have him barely survive till 30 fans would certainly get behind him. This would also make him one of only three people to have ever achieve this feat other than Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit.
Also, Balor and Lesnar would further develop Balor as a giant underdog going up against The Beast, Brock Lesnar.
If WWE plays it right, they could create a similar story to the one Daniel Bryan had at WM 30, except Balor would win the rumble after overcoming all the odds.
#4 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe has recently returned from injury on the October 30th episode of RAW after being out injured since Summer Slam. Before he took time off though, Joe was becoming quite the monster on RAW.
In fact, he became number one contender to Brock Lesnar’s Universal title at Great Balls of Fire. The match itself was decent. But cut quite short. However, it was the build-up to the match that showed Joe can be a star.
During the build-up, Joe cut some excellent promos, one of which involved him very softly explain to Paul Heyman that he was going to wrap his arms around him so he could tell Brock what it felt like.
Both the fans and management were far behind Joe during the build to that match. And if Joe were to win the Royal Rumble there’s no doubt he and Brock could produce an excellent program. Plus if Joe main events Mania against Brock, the pair would have more time than their G.B.O.F match and would likely put on a great match.
#3 AJ Styles
Since debuting in WWE AJ Styles has certainly lived up to the hype that surrounded him on the independent scene. Styles has put on countless top quality matches, most recently at TLC vs Fin Balor.
Styles has also been WWE Champion and a two-time U.S Champion. Styles even won Vince McMahon over with his great work ethic which shows how good Styles. It was unconventional as Vince very rarely likes smaller independent wrestlers. Especially one that garnered the nickname "Mr TNA".
Despite the TNA nickname, WWE management seems to like AJ as he has been booked fairly strong since his arrival in WWE. Therefore, it could be possible that WWE let AJ win the 2018 rumble. Styles is a clear fan favourite and him winning would certainly send fans home happy -- something that has not happened in recent years at the rumble.
AJ has already proved that he can be a good WWE Champion as he held the title for 140 days in a pretty successful run. Although it would be nice if James Ellsworth was not involved in this title run. Finally, if Styles did win the rumble, he would be the perfect representative for a WWE title match at WrestleMania, perhaps against Shinsuke Nakamura?
#2 Braun Strowman
If you tune in to Monday Night Raw every week there is one thing you can be certain of. That is that Braun Strowman will be the highlight of the show. Whether he is beating up Roman Reigns, putting Kalisto in a bin, or most recently emerging from a garbage truck and terrifying The Miz. Braun Strowman is a true monster and also a character fans love.
He is one of the most over stars in WWE. And after the year he has had, winning the Royal Rumble is exactly what he deserves.
Despite being 6ft 8 and 385lbs Strowman is extremely athletic and can often move like a 6ft guy. He is also excellent at delivering his style of promos’.
Strowman also put on a great display at SummerSlam. He was in the main event, a fatal four way against Reigns, Joe and Lesnar. In that match, Strowman stole the show as he tossed Lesnar around like a rag doll. Unfortunately, Strowman lost that match and his next title challenge at No Mercy.
Despite this, people would still love to see Strowman vs Brock again. And given that Lesnar is likely leaving WWE soon, he should pass the torch to Strowman as the ‘beast’ of WWE. The best way to do that would be for him to win the 2018 rumble. Then finally capture the Universal title vs Brock at Mania.
#1 John Cena
After beating AJ Styles at the 2017 Royal Rumble in one of the matches of the year, John Cena tied Ric Flair’s record of 16 World Titles. Since then though Cena has yet to capture his 17th. And given that Cena is the WWE poster boy, you can bet Vince will want Cena to be the one to beat Flair’s record.
Cena has been somewhat part time for a while now. He has also been branching out a lot more into TV and films. Therefore, if WWE wants Cena to break the record, they will need to do it sooner rather than later.
What better way would there be to do it than at WrestleMania this year. Cena is currently absent from WWE after losing to Roman Reigns at No Mercy. But he is a free agent meaning he can return to either brand.
Also, if he wins the rumble, it will create some buzz as people wouldn’t know if Cena would challenge Brock Lesnar or AJ Styles. A match against AJ Styles would undoubtedly be the match of the night, as they've stolen the shown on all three occasions that they've faced.
So, WWE should let Cena win the rumble then beat Styles at WM as this may well be Cena’s last big year in WWE. So why not give him world title #17?
