5 WWE stars who would be wasted spots in The Royal Rumble 

The Royal Rumble is right around the corner and it seems that the Raw roster is already preparing themselves for one of the biggest events of the year.

Clash of Champions still stands in the SmackDown roster's path before they can get a clear view of the annual event, but it seems that the show is now close enough that the WWE Universe is already making predictions when it comes to who should win next year's match.

The winner of The Royal Rumble traditionally goes on to main event WrestleMania and with various plans already considered to have been leaked, it seems that there are only a handful of WWE stars who could actually make history and become the 2018 Royal Rumble winner.

That means that there are a number of spots in the match that would just be considered fillers and it seems that the following five stars would be the most obvious choices to fill them.

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#5 Tye Dillinger

Dillinger was a surprise entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble

Tye Dillinger made his main roster debut as part of the 2017 Royal Rumble when he was announced in the number 10 spot. It seems hard to imagine anyone else in that spot again this year, but if Tye Dillinger is chosen to be a part of The Rumble then it's likely only because he is going to be quickly eliminated.

Dillinger hasn't been part of any meaningful storylines since his debut and it's highly unlikely that WWE would push him to win the match. Braun Strowman could well be a wrecking ball inside this year's Rumble match which would mean he would need a number of victims and Tye Dillinger could be an interesting star for him to eliminate.

#4 Apollo Crews

Apollo Crews has been wasted on the main roster

Apollo Crews will probably be chosen to represent The Titus Brand in The Royal Rumble next year since he is the better choice out of Titus O'Neal and Akira Tozawa. Crews made quite an impression when he was down in NXT, but he hasn't been able to continue that on the main roster.

Crews has been destroyed by Samoa Joe in recent weeks and it seems unlikely that he or Apollo will gain any credibility in the coming weeks ahead of the match. WWE has 30 slots to fill so it's obvious that they will call on a number of WWE stars who make up the core part of their roster, and it seems that Apollo could be one of the choices even though much like every other star on this list, he will only be there to make up the numbers and then be eliminated.

#3 Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston's Royal Rumble antics have become well-known

Kofi Kingston may be one of the most decorated Tag Team wrestlers of all time, but the one thing Kofi will be remembered for long after his career is over is his incredible antics in The Royal Rumble.

Kofi has shocked the world by managing to cheat being eliminated a number of times over the past few years, but it seems that recently his exploits haven't been as shocking as the WWE Universe have come to expect. Last year Kofi didn't fully deliver on his usual gravity-defying tricks, which has left many fans wondering if The New Day member has run out of ideas now.

Kofi was the only member of The New Day in the Rumble last year and if he's chosen once again, it's obvious that he won't be winning the match so WWE is only adding him to the show because they think that he has some impressive tricks up his sleeve that the WWE Universe will be hotly anticipating.

#2 Rusev

Rusev has been on a downward spiral in WWE over the past few months

A few years ago Rusev would have been at the top of the list when it comes to future Royal Rumble winners, but recently The Bulgarian Brute's career has reached the point of no return.

Rusev used to be undefeated, now he's been defeated by Randy Orton and John Cena at recent WWE pay-per-views as well as being put into a team with Aiden English on SmackDown Live.

Rusev hasn't been used effectively since his return from injury back in July and it could be too late for WWE to turn his career around at this point. Given that Aiden English has already been seen as a talent enhancement star for a number of months, it seems that Rusev being partnered with him as only pushed him further down the ranks in WWE over the past few months.

#1 Finn Balor

Finn Balor has been making headlines this week for all the wrong reasons

Finn Balor was originally scheduled to face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at next year's Royal Rumble, but it seems that these plans have recently changed. Balor could now be put into the Royal Rumble match instead, but it's obvious that he wouldn't be winning the match.

If McMahon doesn't have enough faith in Finn to face Brock at The Royal Rumble then it's highly unlikely that he will allow the Inaugural Universal Champion to win the match and go on to main event WrestleMania.

Add that to the fact that Roman Reigns is practically already confirmed to be challenging The Beast at WrestleMania and it seems that a SmackDown superstar will be the one to win next year's annual match and Finn doesn't match this description.