4 Reasons Kenny Omega Should Win WWE Royal Rumble 2017
The time is right for the brightest star in wrestling to shine on the industry's biggest stage.
Yes it's unlikely, and yes some will note it's almost impossible, but as the talk of the wrestling world, a maiden Royal Rumble victory for Kenny Omega would yet again shake the industry from its very foundations.
With audiences still reeling from Omega's era-defining clash with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11, New Japan's greatest US import finds himself at a career crossroads in electing to either remain a figurehead within the puroresu universe, work the independent scene as the hottest free agent in the world, or return to a WWE system that that has catastrophically failed him once before.
With less than two weeks to go before the most unpredictable Rumble match in years, could Omega be the ultimate coupon-buster amongst the galaxy of existing stars within the Battle Royal? Here are a few reasons he absolutely should be.
4. The Element Of Surprise
WWE has always tried to provide a few surprises in the Rumble, and a blockbuster appearance from Omega would be particularly huge in a year where the match itself is already stacked with potential winners.
With The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho and a host of others genuinely in the running to win the match, it's distracted viewers away from expecting an ace in the hole to steal victory from out of the blue.
Whilst it's believed Omega's NJPW contract runs out on January 31st, and he will be working a Chilean independent show one night before the Rumble itself, these are hurdles that could be leapt over if WWE are keen enough to get their man.
And the possibility of the two sides coming together has hung in the ethers ever since the Okada defeat on January 4th.
Omega famously tweeted how he'd be 'stepping away from Japan to reassess his future', with John Cena stoking the fires posting pictures of him on his Instagram account exactly as he'd done before AJ Styles' debut at last year's Royal Rumble.
An unadvertised appearance and victory in the January classic would transform everything in WWE's upper card at their most crucial time of year.