10 Early Favourites To Win WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Match

8. Dean Ambrose

Roman Reigns
WWE.com

This being wrestling, either Dean Ambrose or Seth Rollins is probably going to turn heel on the other prior to New Orleans.

This sort of arc invariably ends in separation, and often culminates at WrestleMania. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens first buddied together in the build towards SummerSlam 2016, and their partnership was forged purely to create a match. It's easy to suspect WWE of fetching water from the same well a year later. The beauty here, transcending the repetition, is that there is money in either scenario. Imagine Seth Rollins breaking Ambrose's heart for a second time. There is potential for nuclear level heat there.

Dean Ambrose meanwhile has unlimited and, insofar as the mainstream goes, untapped potential as a heel. As great as he was as the lunatic fringe of The Shield, his Indy promo highlight reel went viral in the wrestling world for good reason. His Jon Moxley character was an authentic, unhinged, dark agent of chaos. Transposing that to the the WWE environment, with a few modifications, would be blinding - especially since the Shield backstory allows him to tap into the crucial vulnerability that made it soar.

The inevitable prospect of Brock Lesnar Vs. Roman Reigns II renders any outsider chancers on the RAW side remote, mind.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!