10 WWE Stars Most Likely To Win The Royal Rumble (And Why)

2. Roman Reigns

If we were to judge by the writing on the wall, Roman Reigns seems like he's being groomed to be the next big face at the top of the WWE mountain. He has the look that Vince McMahon loves, he comes from impressive wrestling stock by being a member of the Anoa'i family (he's cousin to The Rock, Rikishi and Yokozuna) he won Superstar Of The Year at the 2014 Slammys, and he's shown signs of being favoured by people that matter. As part of his recent podcast with Colt Cabana, a retired CM Punk revealed how he was asked to make Reigns look "really, really strong" during Punk's match against The Shield at TLC 2013. Clearly, he's been protected. There have been whispers for months now that Reigns has been earmarked to main event Wrestlemania XXXI. So the question is, is Roman ready to headline the biggest show of the year? As part of The Shield, Reigns was always the weak link. The other two had honed their craft for years in the independent circuit, whereas Reigns came from a football background. Ambrose was the best on the microphone, Rollins was the best in-ring performer, and Reigns.... was also there. That's not to say he didn't contribute, he brought a quiet strength, confidence and his own brand of intensity to the stable. But it's fair to say that as part of The Shield, he was able to hide his shortcomings behind his more talented stablemates. Since The Shield split, he hasn't had that option, and it's shown. His initial feud against Randy Orton, although he came off as the winner, fell short of expectations. Afterwards, he was out for a few months after hernia surgery. During that time, he undertook acting lessons to improve his promo skills, which fans are currently seeing during his budding feud against Big Show. Although he has improved on the microphone, the promos that he's been given to say are just not for him. Quoting Looney Tunes characters, cracking weak jokes and telling fairy stories might well work for John Cena or The Rock, but Roman does not have the same charisma that those two possess. This is not meant to dismiss Reign's accomplishments, far from it. At the Royal Rumble last year, he broke Kane's record for eliminating the most people during a match when he threw 12 other men over the top rope. At the 2013 Survivor Series, he eliminated four out of the five members of the opposite team. Clearly, this is a man with great potential. In the short time that he has been wrestling, his ability in the ring and on the microphone has grown by leaps and bounds. Someday, he will be a main event player, no question about it. But he's just not there yet, and WWE seems to be rushing him to the top and making him into something that he shouldn't be. So in an ideal world, Reigns shouldn't win the Royal Rumble. But those whispers just won't go away....