10 Most Likely WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Winners

9. Dolph Ziggler

Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

With WWE being a company prone to disappointing climaxes, not many of us have a great deal of faith that the ending of Dolph Ziggler's "retirement" storyline will leave the former US Champion in any stronger a position than he was in one month ago.

They're probably right. We've seen false dawns before when it comes to Ziggler - not least of all his abbreviated Intercontinental Title reign at the back-end of 2016 - and there are few signs that Vince McMahon has suddenly woken up to the talent the rest of us have been screaming about for years.

Despite this, there is still a palpable sense of intrigue surrounding the whole angle. The 37-year-old doesn't appear to be yet ready to hang up his boots for good, which means there are presumably plans in place for him to make a triumphant return at some point over the next couple of months.

And nothing says "triumphant" quite like a surprise win at the Royal Rumble.

We wouldn't advise putting any money on it, but in a Rumble with just a handful of stand-out candidates, a left-field choice is a distinct possibility. AJ versus Dolph at WrestleMania has a nice ring to it as well - provided we're talking about the Dolph of a few years ago.

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