What’s the Story?
WWE has revealed the 10 participants in the Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship that will take place on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live.
AJ Styles, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Kalisto, Luke Harper, Mojo Rawley, and The Miz will compete to face Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
In case you didn’t know...
Randy Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble after eliminating Roman Reigns to become a two-time Rumble winner, joining the likes of Triple H, Batista, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan.
However, when Bray Wyatt won the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber, Orton revealed that he would not be following through with his guaranteed championship match and refused to fight the leader of the Wyatt Family.
Harper is also a member of The Wyatt Family but has continued to show signs of dissension ever since Bray continued to trust Orton more rather than Harper, one of the original Wyatt Family members. He has attacked Bray on multiple occasions since the Royal Rumble match and will likely play a big role in the WWE Championship match.
The Heart of the Matter
Cage Side Seats reported that the WWE is considering the possibility of a triple threat match between the Orton, Bray, and Harper for the WWE Championship and this seems like the best scenario to get the SmackDown Live Creative Team to that match.
Other rumoured matches for WrestleMania are an Intercontinental Championship match between Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin as well as a mixed tag team match between Cena and Nikki Bella against The Miz and Maryse.
Both feuds have had segments and interactions that have laid the foundation for these potential matches and this match may also be stepping stone for those storylines to become official matches for WrestleMania.
What’s Next?
There is a chance that the WWE could swerve us by having another wrestler win the match, but that would throw a big wrench into the rumoured WrestleMania card that becomes more and more legitimate as the weeks go on.
Sportskeeda’s Take
While the programming for Monday Night Raw has had a few moments of brilliance, SmackDown Live is consistently entertaining the fans to the point where many people regard it as the A-Show.
This match is a perfect way to get their storylines developed and to satisfy some of the fans who were disappointed by the Royal Rumble. Aside from a few competitors, everyone in this match has something going for them and that element will make the main event that much more exciting.
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