10 Ways WWE Can Guarantee Royal Rumble 2017 Sell-Out

7. Streamline The Field

AJ Styles Shawn Michaels
WWE.com

Assuming WWE stick with 30 participants, they’re going to have to stop more than half their talent roster from competing. Assuming there’ll be a couple of surprise entrants, a cameo or two, and maybe an NXT entrant, there won’t be a lot of room left for Raw and SmackDown, and those slots should be reserved for exciting singles workers only.

Tag wrestlers should be excluded completely. As fun as Kofi Kingston’s yearly escape acts are, a tag wrestler is never going to win the Rumble in the New Era, which makes their inclusion pointless. Similarly, WWE should stay away from dead singles acts like Kane and Big Show: Braun Strowman can fill their giant role without an issue, and nobody wants to see them wrestling on the big stage anymore.

There’s no need to fill the Rumble with lower-midcard fluff this year. Cram the match with main eventers and exciting outliers like Cesaro, and WWE can create one of the most stacked Rumbles of all time. Besides, why would anyone want to see Curt Hawkins or a Shining Star bumbling around for 5 minutes when Sami Zayn could be in there instead?

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.