Royal Rumble, WWE.com
It’s every wrestling fan’s favorite time of year, the Royal Rumble and The Road to WrestleMania.
The Royal Rumble Match is one of the most hectic matches of the entire year in wrestling. The dust usually begins to settle when the final four men are left in the ring, as they all take a breath and acknowledge how close they are to reaching the main event of WrestleMania.
30 men will enter the ring on Sunday night, so there are bound to be a few that don’t have any chance at winning, but the final four participants are a window into who the company has big plans for in the coming year.
Winning the Royal Rumble is the ultimate prize, but still being in at the end is a win in its own right.
We don’t know all 30 participants for the Rumble Match on Sunday, but here are the 22 that we know of so far:
That leaves us with eight surprise entrants. Could they be from NXT? Like Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, or Tye Dillinger? Could they be legends? Maybe an appearance from future Hall of Famer Kurt Angle?
It remains to be seen who will round out the field, but one thing is for sure, it’s going to be a wild night at The Alamodome. One that not only sets up The Road to WrestleMania, but also sets the tone for the rest of 2017.
Before we pick out the final four of the Rumble, we need to take a few guys out of contention.
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It’s always interesting to see who makes the final four, but it’s just as interesting to see who misses the cut
Every year, when the NCAA March Madness bracket is revealed, analysts like to take a look at the teams that just missed the cut. We’re going to follow that trend and look at four big names from the Rumble that will have their shining moment, but will not last into the final four.
Let’s start with Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.
Lesnar and Goldberg have been feuding since Goldberg returned to WWE in the fall of 2016. Goldberg squashed Lesnar at Survivor Series and they appear destined to clash at WrestleMania. Is it crazy to think that one of them could win the Rumble, while the other wins the Universal Championship, and that leads to them fighting for the title in Orlando? Of course not. That being said, it doesn’t appear likely.
After WWE made waves with the first match in November, their next match will not need the added steam of a belt. Goldberg and Lesnar have been a huge part of the build, and they’ll provide a big moment or two in the match, but they’ll factor in each others’ eliminations long before the final moments of the match.
Next, The Undertaker, who is also not in need of a belt. While it has been rumored that he could be in a title match with either AJ Styles or Roman Reigns at The Show of Shows, it seems more likely that he would find himself going one-on-one with a guy like Braun Strowman, who could parlay that into some momentum heading into the summer.
Finally, the debuting Samoa Joe. Look for Joe to enter the Rumble early and make a big impression in the match before getting tangled up with somebody like Baron Corbin, igniting his first main roster feud, but, also, getting him eliminated from the match.
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4. Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose can, and should, win the whole thing, despite the fact that he is the current Intercontinental Champion. Whether he wins or not, Ambrose should find himself in the final four, as he appears poised to have a huge 2017, after being the company workhorse in 2016.
The argument for Ambrose increases when you consider that he’s an established babyface character, who has already accomplished a lot in his career, but has yet to win the Rumble. He’s a great character that the fans love, and if/when they decide to turn him heel, his character could easily jump right to being the top heel in the company.
He also holds an important role in this final four, because he would easily be the most established member of the main roster, as far as main roster experience goes. The other guys all have much less time on the main roster, but Ambrose is a guy that all the fans know and have an opinion on and that could keep more casual fans invested in the final minutes.
I’m going to stick with Ambrose as my pick to win the whole thing, but even if he doesn’t, it could make him look really strong.
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3. Braun Strowman
Like Roman Reigns in 2014, who set the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble, before being the final man eliminated, Strowman is poised to set the pace with most eliminations in this Rumble. He towers over the field and he’s bound to have a big showing.
Strowman has slowly been getting more and more over since he was split from The Wyatt Family at The Draft. His feud with Sami Zayn was more entertaining than most people expected it to be. Plus, his work with Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho has been a lot of fun to watch.
His push to the top really started with his inclusion in the Survivor Series Match for Team Raw, and it’s going to be completed at the Rumble.
He has been really improving while working as a singles star, and he is going to get rewarded with a big role in the Royal Rumble.
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2. Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin is ready to breakout. He has been stuck in neutral ever since his call-up at the last WrestleMania, but his time is coming.
Corbin had a feud with Dolph Ziggler, one that felt like it was never-ending. From there, he was lost in the shuffle.
It wasn’t until the last few weeks of 2016 that Corbin began to rise to the top. He ended the year in SmackDown’s final match of 2016, a Triple Threat with Ziggler for AJ Styles’ WWE World Championship. Corbin was protected in the finish of that match, as it was his introduction to the top of the card.
He should be protected here too, and he should find himself still in it as the match runs down to its final moments. He’s not ready to win, and he’ll have to wait until the summer to continue his ascent to the main event, but there’s no reason he can’t be showcased on Sunday night.
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1. Finn Balor
Finn Balor had the summer of a lifetime in 2016. He started as the star of NXT. He went on to become a very high draft pick to Raw. He then went on to beat Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to become the first WWE Universal Champion.
Then, it all came crashing down.
During the match at SummerSlam, Balor injured his shoulder. The next night on Raw, Balor was forced to relinquish his title. Balor has made some appearances, like at the WWE UK Championship Tournament, but we haven’t seen him on Raw since he forfeited the championship.
There’s still so much unknown with Balor on the main roster, but he was able to build a lot of star-power in a really short time. Those two facts could combine to make his return extremely interesting and exciting. The best way to maximize on that would be to send Balor to the final four.
Just think, in a Rumble that features The Undertaker, Balor could have the most exciting entrance in the Rumble: The Demon entering at No. 30.
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