10 Snap Judgements Following WWE Royal Rumble 2017

2. Big Plans For Corbin?

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WWE.com

As one of the only Smackdown midcarder's given anything of purpose the entire Rumble match, there could be huge plans afoot for the rapidly-improving Baron Corbin on the blue brand.

As well as his involvement in this year's Kofi Kingston survival spot, he was given the huge prize of the Braun Strowman scalp, and made it to the end of the field from his #13 entrance before being dumped by The Undertaker.

Protected the entire match (including surviving the wrath of Goldberg and Brock Lesnar), Corbin looked a polished and dangerous all-rounder, and continues to wear his gradual Smackdown Live ascent well.

The Strowman elimination cannot be understated either, with WWE dedicating the whole first third of the Rumble match to their newest giant.

'The New Face of Destruction' dumped out seven superstars including perennial monsters The Big Show and Mark Henry before a Corbin clothesline ended his night.

With an impressive thirty-two minute stint in the Royal Rumble now under his belt, Corbin will hopefully be included in Smackdown's WWE Title Elimination Chamber clash in a fortnight.

And while it's unlikely the 'Lone Wolf' will come out on top there, it's not impossible to see his momentum build to a meaningful programme in time for WrestleMania.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett