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2017 has almost come to an end and all of the WWE pay-per-views for the year are over. Now that could mean only one thing. It is time for one of the most anticipated WWE Pay Per Views, the Royal Rumble. The WWE Universe just loves the Royal Rumble PPV, especially the main event that features 30 superstars from both the brands competing in a Royal Rumble match for obtaining a chance to headline WrestleMania.
The Royal Rumble match is always exciting to watch, thanks to some unexpected surprise entrants, gravity-defying moments, jaw-dropping eliminations and much more. The Royal Rumble 2018 PPV is scheduled on January 28, 2018, and will be held at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia. With that said, let us look at a few of the superstars who stand a chance of emerging victorious in the Royal Rumble match next month.
#5 Samoa Joe
The Samoan Submission Machine has a good chance of winning the Royal Rumble match next month. The WWE creative team has always seemed to protect Samoa Joe by booking him strong. Joe was booked as Lesnar's equal during their feud over the Universal Championship a few months ago and although Joe ended up losing to Lesnar at the Great Balls of Fire PPV, there seemed to be a moment when we all thought that Joe had got the better of Lesnar.
Joe also boasts of not losing to Roman Reigns in a singles match as of yet. Currently, Samoa Joe appears to be in the middle of a feud with Roman Reigns and we might get to see Reigns vs Joe at the Royal Rumble PPV for Reigns' Intercontinental Championship. It won't come as a surprise if Joe somehow finds a way to overcome Reigns and become the new Intercontinental Champion.
However, this doesn't diminish his chances of winning the Royal Rumble match and challenging Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34. After all, his performance against Lesnar at the Great Balls of Fire PPV and during the buildup to the same does make him a deserving candidate to re-challenge Lesnar for the precious prize that he holds.
#4 Finn Bálor
Finn Bálor came in red hot when he made his debut on the main roster. On his debut night, not only did he win a fatal four way match that also consisted of Rusev, Cesaro and Kevin Owens, he also scored a clean pinfall victory over Roman Reigns in singles match on the same night which let him advance to the finals of the tournament that would crown the first ever Universal Champion.
At SummerSlam 2016, Bálor faced Seth Rollins to determine the first ever Universal Champion, in which Bálor won, thus making him the inaugural Universal Champion. But during the match, Bálor sustained a shoulder injury that ultimately resulted in Bálor relinquishing his title the very next night on Monday Night Raw.
Although Bálor made his much-anticipated return after WrestleMania 33, he has not yet received his title rematch that he so rightfully deserves. Rumor has it that Vince McMahon thinks the "Demon King" isn't over with the crowd yet. But the splendid reaction that he receives from the crowd every time he makes his entrance is more than enough to prove that the WWE Universe has a great liking towards him.
It can be said without the shadow of a doubt that Bálor possesses the charisma and the in-ring talent that is required to be a very successful superstar in the WWE. On the top of that, Bálor also has his demon persona. The Demon Finn Bálor vs The Beast Brock Lesnar would be a dream match and could come to fruition if Bálor wins the Royal Rumble match.
#3 Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is undoubtedly one of the favourites to win the Royal Rumble match next month. Vince McMahon has marked Reigns as The Chosen One. While John Cena has served as the Face of the WWE for a long time, Reigns is inevitably the one who will be taking his place. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34 appears to have been planned from the moment Lesnar dethroned Goldberg at WrestleMania 33.
The plan has been to book Lesnar as an unstoppable monster and for Lesnar to defeat almost every big name in the WWE in his 1 year of championship reign, then have him lose his title to Reigns at WM34. Now both Lesnar and Reigns share two things in common, something that no one else has been able to do till now: (i) They are the only 2 superstars who boast a victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania; (ii) They are the only 2 superstars who have scored a clean pinfall over Braun Strowman (Reigns pinned Strowman at Fastlane 2017 and Lesnar pinned Strowman at No Mercy 2017).
Roman Reigns has also headlined WrestleMania 3 years in a row now (WM31, WM32, WM33). The only thing that remains to be seen is how the WWE will be booking this match, i.e. whether they will have Reigns win the Royal Rumble match and go on to challenge Brock Lesnar at WM34 or if they will have someone else win the Rumble and instead look for a different way to book the Reigns vs Lesnar match.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura
AJ Styles shocked the entire WWE Universe when he beat The Modern Day Maharaja, Jinder Mahal and became the new WWE Champion just about a month before WWE's Tour of India. It completely came as an element of surprise and also gave us a chance to witness a dream match at Survivor Series 2017 between AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar.
At Clash of Champions, AJ Styles retained his title against Mahal. Now it seems that Styles is going to enter WrestleMania 34 as the WWE Champion. But who could prove to be a worthy opponent for The Phenomenal One at the grandest stage of 'em all? Well, the first name that would come to anyone's mind would be The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is a former 2-time NXT Champion and he brought the same momentum and charisma to SmackDown! Live on his debut to the main roster.
He has also scored clean victories over the likes of superstars like Randy Orton and John Cena. But his momentum came to a halt when he lost his opportunity to become the WWE Champion as he failed to defeat the then WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. Since then, Nakamura has not been booked up to the mark. He has been losing in all of the PPVs, irrespective of whether it is a singles match or a tag team match. But all the wrongs that have been done to Nakamura can be corrected by booking him to win the Royal Rumble match.
Nakamura has great in-ring capabilities and can provide a Match-of-the-Year worthy performance with AJ Styles. The proof to that is their match at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 10. Both of them were a part of the Money in the Bank match previously in the year and although none of them was able to win the match, there came a moment when the two had a staredown and collided with each other.
The crowd went berserk on the sight of it. Nakamura vs Styles at WM34 could do great wonders for the WWE and having Nakamura win the Royal Rumble match would be the stepping stone towards it.
#1 John Cena
John Cena has been the top superstar of the company for the last 9-10 years. He has also been called The Face of the Company. Cena has been a part of the company for more than 15 years now and in that course of time, he has accomplished many things which includes winning multiple championships and being awarded with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year on multiple occasions. Cena is currently a record 16-time World Champion, a record that he shares with The Nature Boy, Ric Flair.
One more World Title win for him would make him a record 17-time World Champion. Vince McMahon has always favored John Cena and would definitely agree on giving another World Title reign to Cena. To be able to get Cena back into the World Title picture, there could be nothing else better than having him win the Royal Rumble match. John Cena is currently acting as a free agent, i.e. he is not working under a specific brand.
So a Rumble win for him could lead to two different situations. He can either challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship or he can go after AJ Styles' WWE Championship (assuming that Lesnar and Styles remain the champions until WrestleMania). But as Lesnar vs Reigns at WM34 appears to be already on the card, Cena vs Styles for the WWE Championship could be the match that we get at WM34.
Cena vs Styles at Royal Rumble 2017 was unquestionably the best match of 2017 and so we can expect a match of a similar calibre at the grandest stage of 'em all. WWE would definitely want to pay tribute to John Cena by giving him his 17th World Championship reign at WrestleMania.
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