10 Wild Outside Bets To Win WWE Royal Rumble 2023

3. Candice LeRae

Alexa Bliss
WWE.com

This certainly counts as a wild outside bet, since Candice LeRae practically feels like she doesn't exist within WWE.

She's performed well enough in her sporadic appearances on Raw, but Triple H hasn't done anywhere near enough in providing the platform on which she can get over. It's another example of a heavily ironic and damning trend: AEW audiences are into the surprise debut because they care more for NJPW, ROH and the indies than WWE fans care for WWE NXT, but it's Tony Khan who is somehow reliant on his base to use Google.

Triple H somehow hasn't grasped that nobody watched the punishingly intense "black and gold" brand and is insistent on debuting his favoured talents in front of bemused crowds. Former WWE CFO George Barrios, when talking up the company's old "super-serve" content policy, once claimed that WWE fans would consume "just about anything" chucked in the direction of their slackened maws.

This is patently untrue, given the lack of reaction generated by nine tenths of the 'Papa H' returnees, and this is a problem.

It's especially glaring in the case of Candice LeRae, because Triple H is sitting on one of the very best women's wrestlers in North America. Does he even know how good she is?

Since she never embarked on the same journey as Sami Zayn, American Alpha or Bayley, probably not - but if you were a competent booker, you'd at least entertain the possibility.

Babyface Candice Vs. heel Charlotte Flair is an awesome prospect of a dynamic.

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!