There is no surprise that the front runner for the coveted Royal Rumble win is Mr. Roman Reigns. While Reigns is a fresh new face, there
are many that believe he is not ready for the Wrestlemania main event spot. The
vocal wrestling community has made this clear to the WWE, so it will be
interesting to see how they respond. Daniel Bryan eluded the entire match last
year, so we will see what happens in a few weeks’ time. Until then, let’s view
and analyze some of the potential alternatives for winning the Rumble. I have
scoured the internet to find some of the more popular
credible picks of the Internet Wrestling Community:
1.
Dolph Ziggler – No surprise here, Ziggler has
been a fan favorite for a while now. His athleticism and general ability to
wrestle are above many of the main roster superstars. He emphasizes even the
most simple moves, and his overselling of taking bumps works well (very similar
to HBK). Ziggler is getting his out of nowhere push, so him winning is a
possibility. Ziggler vs. Lesnar would be a great match, as long as it’s not a
cookie cutter “Lesnar dominates for 20min and Ziggler hits him at the last
moment and wins,” match.
2.
Dean Ambrose – Another fan favorite with an
organic rise. Ambrose has been on somewhat of a roll since the shield split.
While Reigns was sidelined, he shot to the top with some fantastic matches with
Seth Rollins, Cesaro & Bray Wyatt. A final two at the Rumble consisting of
Ambrose & Reigns would create a special moment. Ambrose taking out his
former Shield mate would not only shock the crowd, but create unpredictable
direction for the WWE in 2015. Ambrose may suffer the same “he is not ready” fate as
Reigns, but he does have a long history of great matches, in and out of the
WWE. It also sets up a second Ambrose vs. Rollins feud, provided Ambrose would
beat Lesnar and he cashes in MITB. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending
on the timing of the feud. Rock vs. Austin was so successful because even
though they faced each other multiple times, it was spaced out.
3.
Randy Orton – It does look like Rollins vs.
Orton at Wrestlemania, but with WWE, you never know what they will do. Orton
winning is the most lazy and least creative way to go. This would be a slap in
the face to the fans (I also think Orton, being how he is in the back, would
completely oppose this as well). Regardless, Orton will likely be in the final
four, and have something to do with eliminating or being eliminated by Rollins.
Orton vs. Lesnar would have been a fun match at the Rumble (had he won the
match at HIAC), but this is not a match for the main event of Wrestlemania.
4.
Undertaker – Like Orton, this one is a bit of a
stretch. On paper, it makes sense to give Undertaker his rematch in the main
event, for the title. This could also provide him with closure of his only
loss, and a great way to send him off into the sunset. I personally still want
Sting vs. Undertaker, but that seems less and less likely as time goes on. Taker
has become slightly sluggish in his age, but he can still put on a
Wrestlemania-worthy match. His presence alone can outweigh the negatives. I
think the Royal Rumble should be used exclusively to elevate stars into top
level main event status, so this would also be short-sided booking. That being said, Lesnar vs.
Taker II match would sell to the casual fans. It also opens up for a vacated title tournament post-Wrestlemania.
5. Daniel Bryan – As of the December 29th edition of Raw, D-Bry is officially entering the Rumble. This is fantastic news, considering there were estimates of him being out until Wrestlemania and beyond. Bryan brings a new level of intrigue to the Rumble, because he has a very legitimate shot of winning. Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar is an appealing David vs. Goliath Wrestlemania match. The only few notes here are that a) Does creative want to re-create Bryan winning in the main event of Wrestlemania, or build a new star in Reigns? and b) Should Bryan be eliminated mid-Rumble to avoid the crowd from turning on Reigns? Creative has to be careful with this, as they may have Reigns’ push backfire into a Batista-like reaction.
Other names that were mentioned, which are
even less likely: Sheamus, Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Cesaro. These range from unlikely, to laughable.
In the end, Reigns will still likely be the
last man standing in the Rumble, whether the fans like it or not. There is a
silver lining, with Rollins holding the briefcase and dethroning a
newly-crowned champion on the grandest stage of them all.
Agree? Disagree? Post below 🙂
*I would also like to see user picks on the following –
Final Four:
Most Eliminations:
Energizer Bunny award (Longest to last):
Minute man award (Quickest eliminated):
Royal Rumble Winner:
Picks will be tallied and included in my upcoming prediction article.
