WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Shocks That Could Happen

2. Chris Jericho Wins The Royal Rumble

Chris Jericho
WWE.com

It's pretty much a given that Chris Jericho will be taking on Kevin Owens at WrestleMania. Though the pair are best friends, there have been enough incidents where Owens has clearly put his own needs before Jericho's to tear something of a rift in the tandem, and time is ticking down until they're at war.

Having Jericho win the Royal Rumble would be an unexpected way to repay one of WWE's MVPs for years of excellence and a particularly fantastic 2016, and it would also add some intrigue to the Owens-Jericho split. Like in the buildup to WrestleMania 21, this year's road to the show of shows would feature a selfish champion doing his best to convince his friend to challenge for the other title, while the friend ultimately realizes that he's getting played.

This plan would require Owens to retain the title through to WrestleMania, but we've already established that that's not a bad thing. As for Jericho, he's supposed to be leaving the company in 2017, so a face turn and major 'Mania match would be a great way to send him off.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013