Predicting the last 8 Spots in the 2017 Royal Rumble Match
The Royal Rumble will take place this Sunday, January 29, 2017, and will hail from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Over the past few years, fans have been disappointed with the winners of the Royal Rumble Match and some of the undercard matches, but this year has the potential to be one of the best Rumbles in years.
The undercard matches are likely to have some great wrestling with Neville and Rich Swann fighting for the Cruiserweight Championship and John Cena and AJ Styles fighting for the WWE Championship.
However, the actual Royal Rumble match is the most unpredictable match on the card and has the potential to be a memorable one.
Unlike the last two years where fans knew who would win the match, the WWE has a plethora of superstars they can have win the match this time and go on and challenge for either the WWE Championship or the Universal Championship. And just like the winner is currently unknown, so are some of the last spots in the match.
As of now, 22 out of 30 of the Royal Rumble Entrants have been revealed.
The Raw superstars in the match are Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Sheamus, Big Show, Sami Zayn, Big Cass, and Rusev.
The SmackDown superstars in the match are Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley.
Aside from The Undertaker, who seems to be a brand neutral entrant, the WWE has 8 spots to fill for the 2017 Royal Rumble Match. Some of them will be filled with NXT Superstars and wrestlers coming off of the injury reserve, but there is still a lot of speculation as to who may make an appearance in the Royal Rumble Match.
So, to make a few guesses as to who will come out when the buzzer sounds, this article will predict the last 8 spots in the 2017 Royal Rumble Match.
Honourable Mentions
John Cena – If Cena doesn’t win the WWE Championship for the 16th time, it’s not impossible to expect him to return to the Royal Rumble match for the first time in three years.
Roman Reigns – It’s been reported that Reigns may be facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania. If Reigns doesn’t win the Universal Championship match earlier in the night, the WWE may have Reigns wrestle in the Royal Rumble match and a get another elimination or two to pad his resume.
Plus, the WWE’s Instagram Account claimed that Reigns, Goldberg, and Strowman would clash in the Rumble, so maybe that perceived typo was a bit of foreshadowing.
Shawn Michaels – The Heartbreak Kid has stated numerous times that he doesn’t want to come out of retirement and wrestle a match. However, he could make an exception to a Royal Rumble appearance, since it’s not a traditional match.
It would mark 20 years since HBK beat Sycho Sid and the fans would love to see him get back in the ring, but this isn’t a likely occurrence. In fact, it’s closer to zero than one, so don’t get your hopes up on this possibility; especially since he’s already on the show.
Sycho Sid – Many people tend to focus on the fact that Shawn Michaels won the championship at the 1997 Royal Rumble, but his opponent was The Psychotic One, Sycho Sid. Sid returned briefly for the buildup of Raw 1000, so a quick appearance in the Rumble match could be a possibility.
Shaq – Big Show and Shaq have been promising to cross paths in a singles match for years now and the WWE got close to it by allowing Shaq to compete in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
They’ve been teasing a match for months now on social media and claim that they’ll be wrestling at WrestleMania, well, if they want to build up this match, then an appearance by Shaq wouldn’t be too farfetched for this year’s Rumble.
Mark Henry – Texas is the home state of The World’s Strongest Man so don’t be surprised to see Mark Henry induct someone in the Hall of Pain one last time before he retires; which Henry has said will occur sometime in the near future.
Tye Dillinger – The Perfect 10 has spent a lot of time in the WWE Developmental Sytems and he’s bound to debut at some point. He could easily debut as the Number 10 entrant as the crowd starts to get behind his gimmick.
However, the WWE may put this on hold and save his debut for either next year or another scenario down the line.
Now let’s get to the safe bets.
#8 Finn Bálor
?
Finn Bálor made a very impactful main roster debut in 2016 when he defeated three of the WWE’s top superstars in less than a month and went on to SummerSlam to become the inaugural Universal Champion.
He was forced to relinquish the title due to injury and has only been seen making appearances in non-wrestling capacities. His recovery could be finished around now so there is a chance that The Demon King can make his Rumble debut this Sunday.
Also read: WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Rumours: Last minute rumours you need to know
Bálor’s absence from the WWE and his short tenure on the main roster still makes him a relatively fresh superstar. He can easily have a feud with any of the competitors involved in the Rumble match and it would make sense.
Bálor could have a confrontation with The Undertaker, Sami Zayn, Bray Wyatt, or maybe even some of the imminent NXT debutants.
Unfortunately, his injuries may keep him out of action for a little while longer. However, Bálor has been dropping hints that he may be able to compete in the match by talking about his doctor’s comments on Twitter. The possibility is slim, but it’s a possibility nonetheless.