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What’s the story?
According to a report suggested by Cageside Seats, it seems like WWE is currently planning on crowning a top superstar from Smackdown Live as the winner of next year’s 30 man Royal Rumble event.
In case you didn’t know…
The Royal Rumble is an annual WWE pay-per-view, which takes place in the month of January and is WWE’s first show of the year.
The Royal Rumble event also features the 30 man Royal Rumble match— which is almost similar to the WWE battle royal but features more participants. During the 30 man Royal Rumble match, the WWE Universe gets a chance to witness superstars from both Smackdown Live, Monday Night Raw and even NXT compete against each other in the very same ring.
The heart of the matter
Cageside Seats have speculated that WWE is planning on having a top superstar from Smackdown Live win the 30-man Royal Rumble match in 2018.
It was previously reported that former WWE Champion and new Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns was the favourite to win the Royal Rumble next year and then go on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. However, due to Elimination Chamber being a RAW PPV, WWE seemed to have changed their plans and now are planning on moving forward with the possibility of a top superstar from the blue brand win the 30 man Rumble match.
What’s next?
The Royal Rumble PPV will be held in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next year and as of right now there are many top names who are capable enough of winning the Rumble match next year.
The likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and more are all worthy contenders of being crowned as the 2018 Royal Rumble winner.
Author’s take
Personally, I believe that the best choice from here on would be to have Shinsuke Nakamura win the Rumble match in Philadelphia next year. Nakamura has been booked very poorly on the main roster, in my opinion, and having him win the Rumble match will be a huge boost to his career.
If “The Artist” does manage to win the Royal Rumble match in 2 months time, then the WWE fans could also witness the dream match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Title come true. The two men will surely steal the show at next year’s Wrestlemania if given the opportunity.
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