WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Feuds with Biggest WrestleMania Implications

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will reveal what lies ahead for several champions, challengers and vengeance-seekers at WrestleMania 33.

WrestleMania season officially begins when one warrior emerges from the Royal Rumble match with an eye on the marquee of the year's biggest event. So what will Sunday's pay-per-view tell us about what lies ahead for AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair and other titleholders?

The WWE Championship and Universal Championship bouts at the Rumble will shape WrestleMania. How the likes of Brock Lesnar and The Miz fare in the annual Battle Royal will impact the upcoming extravaganza, too. 

The stakes will be high. The moving parts will be plentiful. The possibilities are abundant.

Read on for a look at the rivalries that will most affect WWE's No. 1 show and what feuds are set to write the prologue for the WrestleMania 33 story.

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar's fury will be directed at Goldberg during the Royal Rumble match.

The last time we saw The Beast Incarnate in official action, Goldberg tore him down in an embarrassingly quick match. That Survivor Series shocker suggested more battles ahead, and the Rumble will host the next one.

WWE is sure to have these two titans' paths cross on Sunday. And most expect it to lead to a WrestleMania rematch.

Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross went even further. He wrote on his blog, "I'd be surprised if Lesnar vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania isn't for a major title to add to the personal issue of their rivalry."

Title or no title, the Royal Rumble match is poised to be a setup of what's to come with Goldberg and Lesnar. A reprisal of WrestleMania XX looks to be a lock. But perhaps WWE has another curveball in store for fans, sending the two powerhouses in different directions en route to The Show of Shows.

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

When AJ Styles and John Cena meet once again, the stakes will be higher than their previous clashes.

The WWE Championship will be up for grabs, for one. And winning that title may slide the victor into WrestleMania's main event.

Should Undertaker win the Royal Rumble match, he will be gunning for either Styles or Cena. If Baron Corbin, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt or another SmackDown Superstar survives the Rumble, their WrestleMania opponent will be the winner of Styles vs. Cena.

Styles could go from headlining WrestleMania with a win at the Rumble to being uncertain of his place on the biggest card of the year. Cena vs. Undertaker, meanwhile, would be on the table—whether the former is champ again or not. 

WWE scripting another PPV win over Cena would be a major statement, announcing that it's fully ready to back The Phenomenal One and offer him a top spot at WrestleMania.

Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz

Thanks to a stellar 2016 for The Miz, many want to see him climb back into the main event picture.

Could he face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania? Or will he remain focused on the Intercontinental Championship he has been so passionate about?

The Royal Rumble will answer those questions. 

If The Miz zeroes in on Dean Ambrose during the 30-man match, that will be a sign of that rivalry continuing. If one of the foes eliminates the other, an IC title rematch will be certain. 

WWE may add an IC title match to the Rumble card as well, even though both Ambrose and The Miz are in the Battle Royal. Whoever wins that bout may find himself at the center of a multiple-wrestler match come WrestleMania.

The Showcase of the Immortals has twice in a row had the Intercontinental Championship defended in a ladder match.

Fans of what The Miz has accomplished in the past year will instead be rooting for The Hollywood A-Lister to be the last man standing in the Rumble match itself. 

Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley

Bayley has a crack at the Raw Women's Championship ahead of her.

If she fails on Sunday against Charlotte Flair, though, the defeat will be an early chapter in a saga that stretches on into WrestleMania. WWE has a chance to tell a relatively slow-burning story of a dreamer and underdog making it to the mountaintop.

WrestleMania can and should be the climax of that tale.

Should Flair win indecisively or by nefarious means, that will point to this rivalry rolling on. If that's the case, we can expect Bayley vs. Flair to culminate at WrestleMania.

This bout appears to be a setup for The Show of Shows, but things will be clearer once the Royal Rumble is over. 

Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns

As with AJ Styles vs. John Cena, the title at the heart of this feud makes this battle a key one for WrestleMania.

Should a member of the Raw roster win the Royal Rumble, they will be on the hunt for the Universal Championship come WrestleMania. But will it be Kevin Owens or Roman Reigns who welcomes that challenge?

Reigns has long been booked as a top star despite a steady backlash from fans. The Big Dog yanking the universal title from Owens won't be surprising. WWE continues to see him as a headline talent.

If Owens retains the gold on Sunday, WWE has two top options for his title defense at WrestleMania.

WWE could pit him against the currently injured Finn Balor. He was the first universal champ, but a shoulder injury forced him to give up the belt. The story of him looking to reclaim what he never technically lost writes itself.

And then there is the possibility of best friends going to war.

Chris Jericho and Owens have teased a split several times of late. If their alliance implodes, they would make tremendous rivals. 

Jericho will be suspended in a shark cage during Reigns vs. Owens. As a result, he's the X-factor in the coming bout. Will he simply provide a visual for the match, or will he somehow get involved, potentially costing his buddy the title?

That's something to keep an eye on as Royal Rumble unfolds and as WWE lays the foundation for WrestleMania.