10 Wrestlers Who Deserve Big Push After WWE Royal Rumble 2017

9. Luke Harper

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WWE.com

Luke Harper’s run with the Wyatt Family is over. He has paid the ultimate price for trying to warn Bray Wyatt of his misplaced trust in Randy Orton, and the former Intercontinental Champion has been cast away. It started in the wake of his loss to Orton on last week’s SmackDown, and it continued in the Royal Rumble, when Harper experienced an explosive face-off with his former brothers.

It looked like Harper was about to plant Wyatt with Sister Abigail, but Orton recovered to save his apparent master. The duo ganged-up on Harper, and he was eventually eliminated by Goldberg, but his almost destruction of Bray felt like a big moment nonetheless. Harper was entirely justified in his suspicions of Orton, and has done nothing wrong through all of this. The Rumble should be the beginning of a significant babyface run for him, and he’ll play an important part in one of SmackDown’s biggest stories over the coming weeks.

Luke’s first singles run didn’t get work out, but he did enjoy a reasonable spell as IC Champ. SD is woefully lacking in upper-midcard challengers for Dean Ambrose’s belt at the moment, and Harper could be an ideal choice to become a major player in that division. He’s one of the best big men in wrestling, and a performer for whom success is long overdue.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.