The 2017 Royal Rumble is set to be the most unpredictable instalment of the event in years, with virtually every matchup for debate regarding who will walk away as the winner. There are title matches, grudges to settle and the Rumble match itself to consider when jotting down predictions over the next few days.
But never fear, because we at Sportskeeda feel as if we've got five predictions that are nailed on to come to fruition. Whether they’re slightly obvious selections or picks that are a bit more out there, everyone is doing to disagree either way right up until Sunday night.
Plus, a lot of people will just choose to look at the bookies' odds and decide for themselves from that.
One thing is for sure, you need to cancel any plans you may or may not have for Sunday night and get yourself focused on the only important thing that's happening - the Royal Rumble. You could be a casual fan or a hardcore member of the WWE Universe, it doesn't matter.
People are going to be coming from all corners of the world to see what transpires in the Alamodome, and we're no different.
Here are our top 5 WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Predictions:
#1 Styles vs. Cena will steal the show
Every wrestling fan that has a brain is excited for AJ Styles vs John Cena because there are just so many possible outcomes. The build has been great, the atmosphere will be electric and they've proven before just how good they can be together when put on a big stage.
If you need any proof, just take a look at their match from SummerSlam.
Also read: 5 men who shouldn't win the Royal Rumble match
The Royal Rumble is always fun but people tend to find holes here and there that frustrate them, meanwhile for Cena vs Styles it would be incredibly hard to mess things up.
Come hell or high water we're going to see something resembling a wrestling masterpiece on Sunday, and there are no two men better for the job than the 15-time World Champion and The Phenomenal One.
Now onto something that is almost so obvious, they may just swerve us for the sake of it.
#2 Goldberg and Lesnar will set up the rematch
Goldberg and Brock Lesnar have been on a rematch collision course ever since the former WCW Champion squashed the Beast Incarnate within 90 seconds.
The bout was so unbelievably startling that people were convinced another chapter was set to be written, and as we approach the Royal Rumble it seems increasingly obvious that they will indeed go down the route of a third and final match between the two warriors.
It would be easy to book considering they're both set to appear in the Rumble match, and logic suggests that they will appear together towards the end of the contest. Then again, perhaps WWE will throw a spanner in the works and put them in early on.
Either way, whatever happens, you can expect the two former world champions to eliminate one another and set up their next clash in Orlando.
Moving on to a prediction that we’re slightly less confident about.
#3 Kurt Angle will make his return
Whether or not you think it's the right time or place to happen is irrelevant, because it seems more and more likely with every passing hour that Kurt Angle will be making his long-awaited return to WWE in the 2017 Royal Rumble match.
After having an appearance in Scotland at the weekend cancelled within the last 24 hours, we would imagine that it's just a matter of which number will the Olympic hero draw as opposed to whether he'll definitely appear or not.
There are a lot of fun possibilities for Kurt in the Rumble match, especially given some of the names that are set to take part, but WWE need to be careful that he doesn't sustain any injuries before an extremely likely match of some sorts at WrestleMania 33.
We have no doubt that the crowd will pop when Angle's music hits, but what kind of impact will the former WWE Champion have in San Antonio?
Onto yet another given every time the Rumble rolls around.
#4 The crowd will try and steal the spotlight
If you had your ears open during 2014, 2015 and 2016 editions of the Royal Rumble, you'll know that the crowds in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Orlando weren't shy about voicing their opinions.
It seems to have become a tradition of sorts over the last few years for people attending the Rumble to try and sabotage the event in one way or another, and given the expected size of the audience at the Alamodome, it seems likely to happen once again.
You can remain as hopeful as you like in the lead up to the event on Sunday, but that probably won't change the fact that if something happens the crowd don't like - they're going to let the WWE know about it.
In some ways, it's the most effective night of the year for reactions because the entire Road to WrestleMania is hinging on what happens at the Rumble.
For our final entry, crowd reactions are actually pretty important once again.
#5 Roman's Rumble woes will continue
Poor old Roman Reigns hasn't had the best of luck in the Royal Rumble. Starting back in 2014 when he broke Kane's record for most eliminations in a single Rumble, the fans were only really getting behind him because they didn't want Batista to win the match.
If you actually go back and listen to their reaction upon his entrance, you can't really hear them make much of a sound.
Fast forward twelve months and we all know what happened upon his triumph in the 2015 Rumble match, with fans booing The Big Dog out of the building.
Then in 2016, a combination of poor booking and fan influence led to an equally poor reaction for Reigns as he went about trying to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
This time around, with his position in the company still not being great, you can expect a fairly hostile atmosphere if he walks away with the Universal Championship.
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