10 Most Likely WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Winners

There seems to be an innate conviction among wrestling fans that giving the Royal Rumble winner's spot to Shinsuke Nakamura, a beloved "indie-darling" who has been a full-time member of the main roster less than a year, is exactly the sort of thing WWE would never do.

Mainly, this is because most of those who have claimed victory in the January show-piece have, historically, been big, homegrown stars like Roman Reigns, John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista. You have to go back to 2011 and former AAA star Alberto Del Rio for the last winner who didn't fit that profile, and before that, Ric Flair in 1992.

Moreover, there's the fact that the King of Strong Style's main event push has already, in a sense, come and passed. It may not have set too many pulses racing, but the series he shared with Jinder Mahal in the summer was, at least nominally, the top-billed feud on SmackDown.

Having said that, a big reason to backing Nakamura is that his winning would likely mean a WrestleMania 34 showdown with AJ Styles, a match that fans have been clamouring to see since they both signed for the company in 2016. Perhaps Vince will let the purists have this one, if they promise to behave for Roman's date with Lesnar.