The Royal Rumble is now technically less than a week away. There are many big names already confirmed for the Rumble match itself, from Brock Lesnar and Goldberg to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. There seems to also be as many rumors about potential returns or debuts as there are superstars employed by WWE.
With the ramifications of the Rumble being that they lay the groundwork for the WrestleMania match card, there is no shortage of pressure on the team at WWE to get the match right.
Of the confirmed participants so far, here are the five I would most like to see win (since returns or debuts such as Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Tye Dillinger and Kenny Omega are only rumors, those names are exempt from this list):
5) Cesaro
The Swiss Superman is one of the best in-ring performers in all of professional wrestling. If given the opportunity, he can have a great match with anyone. The WWE Universe loves him, too. Though his mic work isn’t quite what the WWE wants, he’s less awkward on the mic than Roman Reigns, and feels less scripted. It’s unlikely he’ll be given a shot here, though. Smart money would bet on WWE breaking up the current Raw Tag Team Champions and giving them a singles bout at WrestleMania.
4) Braun Strowman
I don’t know that I could be called a Braun Strowman fan. In fact, I’d prefer to see Sami Zayn get Strowman-like push. However, Strowman is a monster in the making, and that’s why he ranks here. Undertaker is the preeminent phenom is WWE history and Kane was a contender from the start. However, it’s been hard for WWE to turn big men into legit monsters. They have done well with Strowman to this point and a win in the Royal Rumble would go a long way to solidify him as the next true monster.
3) Bray Wyatt
Okay, so this is that on-again, off-again relationship that all of your friends roll their eyes at when you tell them you’re together and then ponder why you’ve broken up as you work better together. Bray Wyatt has more charisma than most of the roster put together. Somehow, despite awful booking, he has still managed to make himself a character of lore and intrigue. While Strowman is poised to finalize a months-long push, Wyatt is still riding one of his better stretches in WWE. For the last several months, Randy Orton has fallen under Wyatt’s spell. If WWE is ever going to salvage this, a Royal Rumble win here, paired with a dominant showing in the match, will finally give Bray the legitimacy his character has long since lacked. Much like Cesaro, however, the safe money is on a spilt-up with him facing Randy Orton instead.
2) The Miz
I am not necessarily a fan of The Miz. His WWE title run featured zero clean wins. However, only one man had a better 2016 in WWE than The Miz, and that is AJ Styles. The Miz actually deserves this win. What he has done with Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, and the Intercontinental Championship are nothing short of amazing. His on-air passion is unrivaled in the company. Imagine the year Seth Rollins could have had if he’d been even half as upset with the way he lost out on the Universal Championship as Miz was when he lost the IC Title despite interference. If Styles retains, he could turn face to accept the Miz’s challenge. The two matches the men have had on Smackdown have shown that the two could have a show-stealer in Orlando. If Cena wins, it would be a WrestleMania rematch, but with a much better Miz. If Cena channeled the in-ring ability he displayed in matches against Styles and Owens, than this could be a much better match than one would initially think. It would also be an interesting storyline in which to attempt a double-turn: playing on Miz’s passion and Cena’s outside obligations. Of course, seeing The Miz as a face would be weird and the Cena heel-turn is less likely to happen than Big Foot catching Loch Ness and turning it in.
1) Chris Jericho
Alright, let’s be honest: this is a probably my fandom talking. If Miz had the second best 2016 in WWE, than Chris Jericho may have had the third best. He got scarves, a list, and the word “it” over in 2016. He’s finally captured the United States Championship, a title he should have captured at some point in his original WCW run, had WCW known how to book its young talent. His friendship with Kevin Owens has provided the most watchable segments on Raw week in and week out since Summer Slam, all while slowly building to the inevitable collapse of the team. Unlike with Cesaro or Bray Wyatt, however, a collapse for these two would make for a very interesting Universal Championship match at WrestleMania. Owens could finally get a clean heel win and to do it over Jericho would only add to his title run. It would also allow Jericho a storyline for a likely departure from TV to finish the new Fozzy album and tour in support of it. With the likely call ups of Samoa Joe, Tye Dillinger, and Shinsuke Nakamura all on the horizon in 2017, plus the return of Finn Balor, Jericho may not be as needed to fill time. What better way to send him off, for now, than to give him his first Royal Rumble win to cement his Hall of Fame resume (though he’s already a first ballot Hall of Famer)? Plus, he helps build a younger star on the way out. It’s a no-brainer, which means, it’s not going to happen.
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