WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Potential Dark Horses
Brock Lesnar? Goldberg? Never heard of them...
2017 has the potential to be WWE's most exciting Royal Rumble in years. The January pay-per-view is always among the company's annual highlights, but the past three incarnations have been crippled by predictability. That's the absolute last thing you want to happen on a night where seemingly "anyone can win," but it looks like WWE are heading in the right direction this year.
Only Brock Lesnar and Goldberg have been announced thus far, and they'll be considered among the favourites regardless of who else joins them. Neither have emerged as a dead-obvious victor in the way Batista, Roman Reigns, and Triple H have done in recent years, however, and the Rumble hasn't been this unpredictable in years.
From Lesnar and Goldberg to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, the match will be crammed with potential winners. The field has never been this open, and assuming things stay this way until the event itself, they might just be able to sell-out the 60,000-seater Alamodome.
With so many main eventers competing for the top spot, there has never been a better chance for a dark horse to rise from the shadows and take it all. These competitors might not be listed among the favourites, but they definitely shouldn't be ruled out, and if WWE want to pull the ultimate swerve on January 29th, they could do a lot worse than send one of the names within to WrestleMania 33.
Here are 10 potential dark horses for the 2017 Royal Rumble.
10. Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode has only started making serious strides towards NXT Title contention recently, but he’s made a huge impact at Full Sail University. It helps that he has the most GLORIOUS entrance music in WWE history, of course, but the viral hype aside, Roode’s run has been characterised by some first-rate old-school heel work. He’s a readymade megastar, and a real credit to the brand.
That being said, Roode was ready for a main roster run from the moment he signed with the company. Roode’s a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and he’s been working on mainstream wrestling television for years. He has his act down to a tee, and at 39 years old, there’s nothing left for him to learn in the business.
Debuting at the Royal Rumble makes perfect sense, particularly if he’s unsuccessful in his attempt at defeating NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura the night before. He’d make a fantastic top-level heel in WWE, and while it’s unlikely that WWE would give him such a huge win on his first night, they could do a lot worse. Roode was born for the spotlight, and it won’t be long before he’s in one.