WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Things That Must Happen
5. AJ Styles Beats John Cena
Of course, booking two top heel champions to retain on the same pay-per-view (especially one with as few matches as the Royal Rumble) is challenging. WWE have to look at the bigger picture though, as they still have supershows before going live with WrestleMania 33 in April.
AJ Styles had an unbelievable 2016, and it'd be a shame to see him cast aside at the first major hurdle in 2017. John Cena is chasing Ric Flair's record of 16 World Titles, a moment WWE may find hard to ignore at one of their biggest and most historic pay-per-view events.
That's exactly why Styles should beat John Cena once more.
Should the company choose, Cena could win at Fastlane in another match, giving him that massive landmark title win and allowing him to shift focus towards 'Mania. For now though, the preservation of AJ's record over Cena should stand firm.
Nobody would be expecting both Kevin Owens and AJ Styles to retain the Universal and WWE Titles respectively. That's precisely why both results should happen, 'Mania season should be all about shocks.