Who should win Royal Rumble 2018?

[ShinChan]

So, Royal Rumble is just 2.5 months away and one of the big 4 PPVs after Survivor Series is held on 19 November.

Who should win Royal Rumble 2018?

There are bunch of options. Roman Reigns is obviously the favorite because Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar II at Wrestlemania looks set.

Brock Lesnar's contract is up after Wrestlemania if I'm not wrong. Just like Wrestlemania 31 where he faced none other than Roman Reigns. Brock Lesnar isn't losing the Universal Championship because he isn't scheduled to defend it any time before Royal Rumble. I really can't see him losing the title to anyone other than Roman Reigns.

However, there are bunch of other options. Dean Ambrose. Seth Rollins. Finn Bálor. Samoa Joe. Braun Strowman. AJ Styles. (If he actually loses the title back soon). These are the favorites, I guess. Then there are some IFs like Bobby Roode. Shinsuke Nakamura. Randy Orton. Rusev. John Cena. Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn. And some of the biggest IFs in Kurt Angle. The Undertaker. Triple H. The latter IFs seem totally impossible.

Personally, I would love to see either Finn Bálor or AJ Styles get the big win.

Another would be Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. If they aren't actually problematic, how about both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn dominating the Royal Rumble? And then even winning the Royal Rumble together? And then in the title match at Wrestlemania, Sami Zayn actually turns back to Owens and wins the big one? Seems too unlikely, but dreaming is good. I won't mind a win for either Braun Strowman or Samoa Joe. Would be too soon for Royal Rumble to be Glorious. Can't see another win for either John Cena or Randy Orton. Bray Wyatt? He isn't even in the biggest IFs. We all know why.

Who would you like to win Royal Rumble 2018?

P.S- Royal Rumble 2018 is at the same venue as Royal Rumble 2015. Where Roman Reigns won it. Seems like he's getting it again at the same venue.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

Well, the roster shakeups probably won't happen until after WM, and I highly doubt Lesnar drops the title before WM, so that pretty much stops any Raw guys from winning it. (Assuming Reigns/Lesnar is already pencilled in, because I think he'll just straight up issue the challenge. No need to piss the fans off again with a Rumble win.)

Don't see Orton getting it again. I would think Cena should be off the table too, especially if there's any chance he goes with Undertaker.

If it's someone on SD, AJ Styles seems like a reasonable bet (assuming he loses the title between now and Rumble).

The only other real possibilities I see currently would be Sami or Kevin, but that could change if they screw the SD team at Survivor Series, and somehow end up on Raw.

Otherwise, if it's not one of those 3 it would probably be someone unexpected that doesn't really need a title shot to sell a match (ex: If Lesnar starts something with Angle, and Angle wins the Rumble to face him at WM).

 

[TheBadGuy92]

Seth Rollins. He needs to win and reestablish himself as the top guy. I understand the current situation of Brock being champ and Roman already penciled to challenge him. So the only two scenarios would be for Brock to drop the title to someone else before hand. Or to have Seth jump shows to Smackdown and give them another star to cover the absence of John Cena.

Other than that if AJ drops the strap before the rumble id like to see him win the Rumble and become a 3 time champ.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Hard to say. From a personal perspective, if we are getting Lesnar/AJ at SS then I probably don't need to see it again at Mania. If it is an unfinished story or so amazing that it needs a sequel then building it through a Rumble win could be the right way to go.

From a financial standpoint, giving Cena a Rumble win and match with Lesnar makes the most sense. It will also give us the best Raw/SD build as Heyman and WWE can build Cena as truly an underdog since Cena has a recent history of losses and the squash hanging over his head. Plus who else is going to draw with Lesnar. Reigns isn't there. Braun might be able to get there. No one else feels worthy, while Cena is becoming more and more of a mainstream star. There is also the Flair record that can give certain people the feels if done the right way. How cool would it be of Cena tried to start off the match with a spear in a similar way to how Goldberg managed to defeat Lesnar? What if Cena found a way to block Germans? These are match spots that could play well with diehards while the casuals eat up having the UFC guy battle the star of Blockers.

Otherwise, a healthy DB or The Rock makes sense. An HBK return, Stone Cold, not Goldberg again. Roman needs to stick with The Shield. At what point between the illness and suspension can Roman get the injury (i.e. absence) prone label? He has missed a lot of time suddenly over the past few years.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I suppose it depends on the direction that WWE still wants to go in. If Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns has to happen again, I'd much prefer a SmackDown guy to win the Rumble. Say, Shinsuke Nakamura. Then he challenges AJ Styles. That would be fun. Can you imagine if Jinder Mahal wins the Royal Rumble? The crowd would go insane.

Generally though, I really can't put my finger on one guy this year. Nobody but Reigns stands out, but surely they cannot do a repeat again. The same building, the same event, the same match. They've already made that mistake once. A guy like Seth Rollins or Kevin Owens could really benefit from a Rumble win too, to propel them back to former heights.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If Lesnar vs. Reigns is still the ultimate plan for the Universal Championship, then it'd be a massive waste of time for Reigns to win the Rumble because everyone has known that this match has been coming for months, a lot of months, so I'd rather see someone from SmackDown get the win.

As to who it should be, I wouldn't mind seeing Nakamura get the win and face off against AJ Styles for the title at WrestleMania. As for someone other than Nakamura, I think it'd be fun to have either Owens or Sayn win the Rumble, though there's no telling how long they'll be in the doghouse after being sent home from the European tour. As of a few weeks ago, the plan was for Cena to referee Jinder's match against Lesnar next Sunday with Cena accidentally costing Jinder the match, thereby leading up to a match between them for WrestleMania eventually. However, that's all up in the air given that Cena is now part of Team SmackDown due to Styles winning the title from Jinder. There's a strong possibility that Jinder regains the title next month during the India tour, which means Styles will get his rematch at the Clash of Champions ppv; if Jinder regains in India and retains in the Styles rematch at COC, then I think there's a strong chance, unfortunately, for Cena to win the Rumble so he can beat Jinder at WrestleMania and get his 17th World Championship win. IF that ultimately turns out to be the plan then, in my opinion, it's just an uninteresting main event scene all around for WrestleMania next year due in no small part to the outcome of both matches being all but guaranteed already.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Should? Nakamura and going against Styles at Wrestlemania.

Would? Cena by eliminating Reigns last and going against Jinder to get that 17th notch.

 

[LODemolition]

I'd like to see Kevin Owens or Bobby Roode win it and challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WM34.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

The word "should" is very subjective. We've heard dirt sheet rumours for a while now that the plans are for Reigns to challenge Lesnar and Cena to challenge Mahal. This would dictate that either Roman or John are winning the Rumble.

The Royal Rumble is returning to Philadelphia, the same arena and crowd that boo'd Dwayne Johnson and Roman Reigns out of the building three years ago. The Shield reunion is in its infancy, and they're finally doing the right things with Reigns.

He's been short spoken, he hasn't been the centre of attention, and he's dropped those awful brightly coloured vests. Will that be enough to have him cheered two months from now when he's been absent for a month?

Cena has been largely out of the title scene. He just put Roman over and perception of him has altered changed. Is that enough to keep his win exciting? Cena winning would put him alongside Austin as the only triple winners in Rumble history. The triple win could go along nicely with the road to his 17th world title.

Obviously it seems some plans may have changed. AJ is now the WWE champion, and Cena vs Styles in an absolute barn burner screams WrestleMania more than Cena vs Jinder Mahal.

Cena is a five star match guy with the right opponent. AJ Styles is the right opponent. Wouldn't it be better to have a memorable match coincide with the record breaking win than a forgettable average match with an average worker like Jinder?

Mahal as a character is far more interesting than the man playing him is skilled as a wrestler. WWE will have difficulty resisting the temptation of having a good old American boy challenge an evil foreigner at WrestleMania.

If Cena wins, they have to make it hard for him. Maybe he enters at 1 or 2, maybe he's got to earn his way into the match. The only challenge is there isn't anyone around to play a thorn in Cena's side. Bryan and Shane are babyfaces. The heel authority figure is played out. For Cena to win and not be met with indifference, there have to be stakes greater than the match itself.

Who should win the match? Styles vs Nakamura would be a dream match. Braun Strowman is very over. What if all three Shield guys tie ala Lex and Bret?

What about Nakamura jumping brands like Benoit to set up Brock vs Shinsuke?

I'm a huge Nakamura mark, but I don't see him working into a world title scene until late 2018 at the earliest. He's just been used to put over Mahal, he's in a multi-man match at Survivor Series, which is now basically bragging rights. He has one event to pick up a major win before winning the Rumble? I'd love to see it, but his main roster push hasn't compared to his NXT run.

Nakamura should win, it would be nothing if not fresh and the match with Styles would be a MOTY candidate. Cena most likely is scheduled to win and secure that 17th world title. Hopefully they find a way to make it feel like they're not going through the motions. Cena vs Styles would be an emphatically better consolation prize over the blandfest that Cena vs Mahal would be.

Roman can be ready come WrestleMania to at least get a Cena level mixed reaction. He won't earn the mixed reaction if he goes over in the Rumble, he'll still be booed.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

The problem is that if plans haven't change, Then you have to choose between Reigns or Cena right now because the plans for mania are Reigns vs Lesnar for the universal title and Jinder vs Cena for the WWE championship.

But if i had to change one of these too match, i would love to see AJ styles keep the title until mania and have Sami Zayn win the rumble and go to mania. I feel that it's Zayn's time to shine and this could be one of the championship match for the more hardcore wrestling fans while Reigns vs lesnar could be the title match for the more casual fans.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Should? Braun Strowman.

He's the most over guy in the company right now and someone the fans can easily get behind as the actual GUY.

But as for who I think will win?

Roman might win. I have a thing where I look back on the previous Rumble winners 10-20 years before to see if a pattern occurs/could occur. Stone Cold won in 98, Cena won in 08, so I could see Roman getting the win as WWE are trying to put him on their level. Hacksaw won in 88 but that was the first Rumble and the Wrestlemania title shot hadn't been put at stake in the match yet, so it wasn't that important. But would WWE risk getting another Rumble 14-15 reaction, with it possibly getting worse than those two years? I dunno. The last two years have been free of the hostile reactions and it would be best to keep it that way.

The other option I could see is someone who has cooled off recently that way his win would come more as a surprise and the name that comes to mind is Shinsuke Nakamura especially as he would make history, being the first Japanese Rumble winner and WWE love to make new history as of late. If the title goes back to Jinder though then it's not happening. But if it stays on AJ or goes to Cena, I could see Shinsuke facing one of them for the title at Wrestlemania. Plus he will have an epic entrance at Mania and why waste it in a nothing match.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Why are so many of you reasoning "Should?" Yes, should! It's not as "subjective" as you're making it. Who do YOU THINK SHOULD win the Rumble?

"Well, I mean, who I think should win and who I read is main eventing Mania are two different...". SHUT UP!!! Either answer the simple question or move on.

I think Reigns should win because I want all of the people who take this way too seriously to cry themselves to sleep.

 

[Khalifa]

I think it should be done to build someone up like they should've done with Bray this year. I'm not a fan of Finn Balor, he is good in the ring but I don't care to watch him. However, a Rumble win could be make him mega over. I'm thinking someone of that nature. Finn fits the bill real well with being the first ever universal champion and being someone as who was tipped to have a good main roster career, it could definitely send him back on the right path.

Braun could easily win but he is so dominant already I'd much prefer to wait a year or two before we go to the obvious Strowman win.

Miz would be a really cool option. Imagine the build, it's probably very unlikely though.

I can't really think of anyone from SDs roster that could win it. Nakamura maybe? Has he done enough to earn that prize or do we all just hold him to ridiculous expectations. AJ styles is probably unlikely as well, should be around the title picture. Bobby roode hasn't been spectatcular. Sami kind of fits Finns story but just on SD so he could be used to win it but I'd rather Owens win it over Sami even though he doesn't need it. I think they will be in some tag team match at Mania though.

I'm going with Finn.

 

[Kyphael]

Roman and Lesnar seems to be the plan, but it can't be stressed enough how much it'll piss off that crowd if Roman wins again. Roman/Lesnar can still happen from just a challenge.

Who should it be? Shinsuke to challenge A.J Styles, it's the biggest possible match from SmackDown.

They seem to be pushing Balor well enough that he could win it and then challenge Styles at Wrestlemania. The same could be said for Joe. The Rumble winner gets to decide the champion he faces regardless of brands. Joe vs. Styles and Roman vs. Lesnar sounds like two decent title main events for Mania.

Who will it likely be? Some bullshit choice like Cena to face Jinder. I don't think we'll get Cena/A.J part 4.

Dark horses? The newly pushed Sami, but with all the aforementioned names, I doubt WWE will go with Sami due to alleged backstage heat, and Owens as Universal Champion is still fresh enough on everyone's minds that he doesn't need a world title because of how good his reign was.

So yeah, choices are Shinsuke, Balor, Joe, or Cena in my mind, and it could be any one of them between now and the Rumble, and it's impossible to predict who due to how often the winds change from injuries, backstage politics, and other factors. Come January it may be easier to predict. then again, no one saw Orton winning last year, so...

 

[ShinChan]

I think Reigns should win because I want all of the people who take this way too seriously to cry themselves to sleep.

So let me know if I'm getting you right.

You think that Reigns should win. Not due to his talent. Not due to any other quality of his. But just because you want people to cry? What's bad in taking wrestling seriously? You're taking wrestling seriously as well because you want some specific wrestling fans to cry. To enjoy yourself? Lame.

Moving on, I don't think that anyone from Smackdown will win Royal Rumble. Last year, the winner was from Smackdown. And I think that this year, it will be from Raw.

 

[itbewilly]

Apparently Bryan is getting in shape for a return to the ring and i dont see WWE letting him walk out and wrestle for NJPW or RoH so what if he makes his return at RR and gets the win.

Everyone is saying its Lesnar and Reigns and its Cena and Jinder but unless they give the belt back to Jinder it seems like some of the planned matches may have already been scrapped.

If Bryan returns that will be the pop of the night most likely.

I wouldn't seeing someone like Bray win it either but i doubt hes going to win it. hes barely being used as is.

 

[roipdh123]

I hope that Reigns does not win the rumble - as he clearly doesn't need it in order to earn a title match against Lesnar.
Hopefully either Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens or Bobby Roode win the rumble match to go against AJ Styles for the WWE Title at Mania. Also if the WWE would like to have an interesting main event instead of Lesnar vs Reigns they can always have AJ Styles (C) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (rumble winner) vs John Cena (who is john cena..) in a triple threat for the WWE title main event the show.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

So let me know if I'm getting you right.

You think that Reigns should win. Not due to his talent. Not due to any other quality of his. But just because you want people to cry? What's bad in taking wrestling seriously? You're taking wrestling seriously as well because you want some specific wrestling fans to cry. To enjoy yourself? Lame.

Moving on, I don't think that anyone from Smackdown will win Royal Rumble. Last year, the winner was from Smackdown. And I think that this year, it will be from Raw.

Really? You didn't sense sarcasm in that? Not at all?

Just like if I were to agree that the winner should come from Raw because last year's winner was from Smackdown, my agreement with such a foolish reasoning would also be sarcasm.

My point--which has since been done by another responder--is that the OP's question is who SHOULD win. Many replies, for some reason, clarify "should" and "will". "Should?? This guy. But THIS guy likely will." So many smarks cannot answer hypotheticals because they feel the need to show their understanding of what is scheduled to eventually happen. It's ridiculous. ...much like your comprehension of the point I was making.

 

[ShinChan]

Really? You didn't sense sarcasm in that? Not at all?

Just like if I were to agree that the winner should come from Raw because last year's winner was from Smackdown, my agreement with such a foolish reasoning would also be sarcasm.

My point--which has since been done by another responder--is that the OP's question is who SHOULD win. Many replies, for some reason, clarify "should" and "will". "Should?? This guy. But THIS guy likely will." So many smarks cannot answer hypotheticals because they feel the need to show their understanding of what is scheduled to eventually happen. It's ridiculous. ...much like your comprehension of the point I was making.

Nah, I didn't sense sarcasm in that. Apparently, I'm bad at getting sarcasm.

So it's foolish reasoning? May be for you. You can think it as foolish. May be there can't be difference in opinions. For me, It's difference in opinions.

There's nothing ridiculous in telling what you will like to happen and what will likely happen. What's ridiculous in this?

I took it as you gave it. I'm not smart enough to get sarcasm. Can you please leave some hints of sarcasm next time? I will be grateful.

I saw someone say a united victory for The Shield. That could be alright and could set up heel turn for Dean Ambrose well at Wrestlemania. Plus, the odds are immediately against Brock Lesnar.

 

[Dagger Dias]

As Bray Wyatt once said.... "Anyone but you, Roman!".

Depending on what decision the WWE makes here they have the potential to make this crowd extremely happy, or so angry that the 2015 Rumble's response would pale in comparison. It's the same event at the same venue. One can only hope that they learned from their mistake last time. Roman VS Brock can (and should) happen as a non-title match. I'm ok with Cena getting a third win if it happens, it would go well with his rumored history making 17th World Championship at Wrestlemania. Shinsuke would also be cool. In all honesty I am fine with most anyone winning except for the part-timer's or Roman. The winner needs to NOT be Roman. That is who should win it. ANY other full-time member of the roster.

 

[Starkist]

I think the Miz should win. He can use his gimmick to get back to the title hunt by having his boys help him win the Rumble. He can chase afer the Smackdown title which would move him to being the number one heel since Mahal sucks. He can feud with Aj Styles and Aj can for sure pull a Wrestlemania match out of the Miz. He is over and a move back to Smackdown with a move of Zayn and Owen would work.

So i think the Miz should win. He is over, needed on Smackdown and a match against Aj Styles would he worth seeing.

 

[Starkist]

I think the Miz should win. He can use his gimmick to get back to the title hunt by having his boys help him win the Rumble. He can chase afer the Smackdown title which would move him to being the number one heel since Mahal sucks. He can feud with Aj Styles and Aj can for sure pull a Wrestlemania match out of the Miz. He is over and a move back to Smackdown with a move of Zayn and Owen would work.

So i think the Miz should win. He is over, needed on Smackdown and a match against Aj Styles would he worth seeing.

I meant to say a move of Owens and Zayn to RAW would work of Miz and co go to Smackdown.

Screen broke on my phone which makes posting harder than needed.

 

[ISkye]

I really just want to see a heel Orton versus face Styles story line somewhere next year, but he won the last time so.. Nah..

Other than that Shinsuke or Samoa Joe would be my go to pick.. I don't even really care anymore after it not even mattering on last years Wrestlemania Card. Then the 4 or whatever prior to that were extremely predictable to the point where you knew the winner a month in advance. I already know NJPW is going to destroy any hope I had for this PPV as well being better than average. WWE is going to have a full 365 days and an entire PPV still can't rival a single match in that whole time. If anyone that isn't Roman Reigns wins I'll be happy. I can't do Lesnar vs Roman. WWE is like the only promotion that has matches on the pre-show of their biggest event bigger than the Main event.

 

[Navi]

Like a lot of others have said, Roman winning would be a waste of time considering he's been penciled in to meet Lesnar at Mania since last year. But then you have to think that since Orton won last year, it should be RAW's turn this year.

I hope they don't go either route. Roman winning will send the crowd into an uproar. Although if it does happen that way, here's hoping instead of booing him out of the joint, they will just do nothing. The silence would be deafening and maybe then the message will be sent loud and clear to the higher ups.

If someone from RAW did win, then SD would have to win next year and that makes the event predictable going forward. I would like to see Nakamura or Styles win it. I'm sure that Styles will drop the belt to Mahal before or on the India tour. Mahal is already being billed as a two time champion for that tour, so it's a forgone conclusion he's getting the title back. Maybe he'll get it on a rematch clause match or something like that.

Anyway the options are limited now that the Universal title match is out of the equation.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

I used to love the Royal Rumble, always hated the "winner goes to Wrestlemania" thing."

Only because it ruled out 99% of the wrestlers involved. You didn't know 100% who was gonna win, but you certainly knew who wasn't.