2017 Royal Rumble: 5 Superstars who should win & 5 who shouldn't
2016 is quickly coming to an end, and boy has it been an interesting and exciting year for the WWE Universe! Just think about all of the huge names signed by the WWE and the list of title holders as of right now. Who would have ever imagined that we would possibly end the year with Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura all holding top titles for the same company?
It's been a monumental year for Vince and crew, and for once, maybe they should be commended for delivering us, the common fans, a quality year of some of the best sports entertainment we've been privy to in quite some time.
Looking ahead, into the new year, the 2017 Royal Rumble will officially kick-off Wrestlemania Season and the stakes are at an all-time high. On January 29, 2017, WWE rolls into San Antonio and unloads at the historic Alamodome for the 30th edition of The Royal Rumble.
Roughly 70,000 WWE fans will be in attendance for what will likely be one of the most pivotal nights in recent memory, for the future of the WWE. As we know, the winner of the Royal Rumble match goes on to main event Wrestlemania.
With that in mind, the winner of the Rumble match needs to be someone who is capable of running with the torch throughout the entire new year. This needs to be someone who is either over with the fanbase or can get over...quickly.
There are way too many quality candidates under WWE contract, to waste this huge night on a lame duck Royal Rumble winner.
So, who's it gonna be? Who is capable of handling the weight of not only winning the Rumble but going on to main event Mania and potentially carrying the weight of the company on their shoulders, for the whole year? I've narrowed the list down to five superstars who should win the Royal Rumble match and five who absolutely should not win the match.
SHOULD: Cesaro
Ever since arriving at the WWE, Cesaro has had to kick, scratch and claw for any sort of respect he's gotten. This guy had a fantastic resume before ever considering life with the WWE. He's disgustingly strong, technically skilled and has developed a great in-ring presence that has captivated the entire WWE Universe.
Cesaro may not be the most attractive option in some people's book, but he's a quality option, one who can carry the load and have, what would be a refreshingly new type of title reign. Fans have been begging for Cesaro to get the push he so rightfully deserves.
Now is a better time than ever to look at the Swiss Superstar as a very legitimate possibility to win at the 2017 Royal Rumble.
SHOULD NOT: John Cena
I have always, and will always defend John Cena as the greatest superstar of this generation. Period. The guy is the perfect mix of ‘ company man’ and someone who is readily accessible to his fans. He's a pure sports entertainer in every sense of the term, and I will not say anything negative about him.
However, this is no longer the place for Cena to take these type of stepping-stone victories. He has nothing left to prove, and I bet he'd also agree that the Royal Rumble match is an opportunity for a fresh face to shine, and for fans to see what tomorrow looks like.
John Cena is a two-time Rumble winner, with wins coming in 2008, and 2013. His legacy is very much intact, and this platform cannot make, or break the 15-time world champ.