WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Superstars Who Have A Realistic Shot Of Winning
Who might walk out of the Alamodome the 2017 Royal Rumble winner?
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
While that phrase is typically saved for the Christmas and Holiday Season, for many pro-wrestling fans the most wonderful time of the year begins with the Royal Rumble.
Yes, folks, the Royal Rumble is near. We're still about seven weeks away from everyone's favorite yearly match, but the anticipation has already started with WWE already announcing the match's first two participants.
Unlike many past Royal Rumbles, this year's event presents a legitimate opportunity for several different WWE superstars to walk away victorious. Emanating from the 70,000+ seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas for the second time in WWE history, the company will want to avoid the debacles that have occurred at recent Royal Rumbles in which the live crowd left extraordinarily unhappy. In order to do so, WWE will need to present a Royal Rumble winner that is both A) not so glaringly obvious and B) believable.
When John Cena, Batista, and Roman Reigns won the Rumble in 2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively, their victories were foregone conclusions. Triple H was a slight improvement in 2016, but enough fans still expected this outcome, making his "surprise" appearance at #30 a little less than shocking. For 2017, WWE has another chance to break the recent trend of disappointing Royal Rumble winners.
So who's got the best chance this year? Which superstars will throw their hat into the ring? And who's walking out of the Alamodome as the 2017 Royal Rumble winner?
Let's count them down...
10. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe entering the Royal Rumble has been widely speculated since even before he dropped the NXT Championship back to Shinsuke Nakamura in Osaka, Japan. The first ever two-time NXT Champion has spent over a year down at the Performance Center after years of honing his craft elsewhere. To say he's ready for the big-time would be a huge understatement.
Joe has to be chomping at the bit to get on the main roster after watching fellow TNA alum, AJ Styles, debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble and have the year that he's had. Styles' history bodes well for Joe since it appears WWE has finally realized what these great, veteran talents can do regardless of where they used to work. Perhaps this year it'll be Joe that follows the template laid out by The Phenomenal One.
Throwing Joe in the Royal Rumble would serve to please many fans, but having Joe win the Royal Rumble would shock the Alamodome. Considering the need that SmackDown Live has for new top superstars, it has to be considered a possibility. It also wouldn't be that surprising to see Joe debut as a babyface, the yin to AJ's yang.
Regardless of how it shakes out, Joe's main roster debut seems imminent and his chances at winning the Royal Rumble have to be considered better than most.