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While no one in the Men's Royal Rumble match had a showing that stood out amongst the rest, there was one Superstar who had a showing that, along with his current matches on Smackdown with Re Mysterio, have stuck out to me and might be a good sign for the rest of the year. That Superstar was Andrade.
Andrade entered at #19 and lasted a little over 22 minutes before being eliminated by Braun Strowman. However, what was the most impressive stat about his time in the Rumble match was that not only did he reach the Final 4 in the match, but he was also the final Smackdown Superstar to be eliminated. Also, his lone elimination was Randy Orton, which is an impressive feat in itself.
Combine his Rumble performance and his recent feud with Rey Mysterio, where he has been putting on great matches(possible Match of the year candidates as well) week in week out and you have the makings of a breakout year for Andrade. Now that R-Truth has won the United States Championship, oe can easily see Andrade being the one to take it from him somewhere between now and WrestleMania, whether it be in a single match or a multi-man ladder match like WWE likes to do at WrestleMania for a mid-card belt. Ideally, one last match between him and Mysterio for the belt would be the best route to go for WrestleMania. Let them open the show and put on another 15-20 minute classic and have Andrade retain his title.
With a good long run as U.S. Champion and good feuds along the way, one can see Andrade being catapulted into the WWE Title scene later in the year, possibly leading to a World Title run in late 2019 or early 2020 at the latest. If this does indeed happen, you can thank his recent feud with Mysterio and his under the radar run in the Royal Rumble match.
