WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Potential Dark Horses
1. Dolph Ziggler
What a year it’s been for Dolph Ziggler. His career looked as dead as a dodo before the Brand Split came along, but moving to SmackDown has completely rejuvenated the former champion. The Dean Ambrose feud ended with a flat SummerSlam match, but the build was outstanding, and Ziggler’s recently-concluded rivalry with The Miz will go down as one of the year’s finest.
He still hasn’t been able to win the big one, but Ziggler is well and truly back on the scene. He now finds himself with a guaranteed shot at AJ Styles’ WWE Championship in the chamber, and while there’s little chance he unseats the Phenomenal One as champion, Dolph has plenty of steam left at the top of the card.
Ziggler’s one of SmackDown’s top faces, but nobody’s talking about him as a potential Rumble winner. This is understandable, as guys like Ambrose and Miz have continually knocked him out of the spotlight this year, but Ziggler’s in great form at the moment. His popularity has been restored, he looks more enthusiastic than he has in years, and if Vince McMahon’s paying attention, Ziggler has an outside chance of winning this year.
Taking the Royal Rumble and entering a WrestleMania title program would complete Dolph Ziggler’s redemption cycle. It’d be the perfect cap to one of the most epic superstar rebuilds that WWE have ever pulled-off, and a well-deserved reward for a once-beloved wrestler that has toiled for far, far too long.