Alexa Bliss and 5 Dark-Horse Picks to Win the 2023 WWE Royal Rumble

The 2023 incarnations of WWE's men's and women's Royal Rumble matches are drawing near, and as such, speculation runs wild as to which stars will win each match and set up main event matches at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.

There are favorites, naturally, with Cody Rhodes, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch ranking at or near the top of the list, but what about the dark-horse candidates? They are the men and women who are making considerable contributions to the WWE product on a weekly basis and would very easily slide right into a major championship match at the biggest show of the year and make sense in that role given their work and ongoing stories.

Ahead of this year's monumental event and the kickoff of Triple H's first Road to WrestleMania as the Head of WWE Creative, these are five competitors to keep an eye on, starting with Little Miss Bliss herself, Alexa Bliss.

Alexa Bliss

On the surface, Rhea Ripley, Becky Lynch or a returning Charlotte Flair would appear to be the most likely to win the women's Royal Rumble match and set up a match with either Raw women's champion Bianca Belair or SmackDown titleholder Ronda Rousey.

Alexa Bliss, though, is clearly heating up based on her recent creative and should be factored into that group of competitors as a potential Royal Rumble winner.

Haunted by her past with Bray Wyatt, and affected by his weekly interruptions, she has exhibited signs of the demented Bliss that became such an integral part of the former WWE champion's act during his last run with the company.

At the very least, it appears as though Bliss is poised to be a major part of WWE storytelling efforts moving forward. She will likely factor into the second wave of Wyatt programming and may even find her way back by his side.

Do not count her out as far as a potential Rumble winner goes, if for no other reason than the fact that Bliss and Belair appear to be kicking off a rivalry rather than wrapping one up in a brief two-week window.

A scenario in which Bliss rebounds from a loss to Belair to win the Rumble and earn a second title opportunity at WrestleMania is not out of the equation, especially if the new Bliss persona catches steam.

Seth Rollins

The fact that Seth Freakin Rollins would be considered a dark-horse candidate to win the Royal Rumble is almost an indictment of his use over the last year.

He has been prominently featured and wrestled top stars, but he has never been presented as the guy during that time. That could very well change in January at the Royal Rumble. With no clear indication of a deal done with The Rock for a showdown with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and any number of backups available to WWE Creative, why not consider The Visionary for the spot?

Rollins has unfinished business with Reigns dating back to last year's Rumble, when he expertly played mind games with The Tribal Chief, forcing him to snap and get himself disqualified. It remains the last televised loss Reigns has suffered.

The story is already there. We know all about the history with The Shield, and that Rollins affects The Head of the Table in ways no other Superstar does. We also know he has a very valuable win over Reigns.

The minimal creative input that would have to go into the story for it to click with fans and work on a scale as large as WrestleMania has to be appealing. It all starts, though, with Rollins scoring the win on the stage he last clashed with Reigns: the Royal Rumble.

The Visionary last won the Rumble match in 2019, and while some may consider that too soon to go back to Rollins, lest we forget that Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels won back-to-back Rumbles.

Rollins winning makes sense, sets up what would be a hotly anticipated WrestleMania main event and pays back all of the hard work and effort put in by the former Universal champion over the last year.

Asuka

Anyone paying attention to Raw lately has recognized a certain change in the demeanor and appearance of Asuka.

Tired of being the punching bag for the women's division, she has become more aggressive, makes her face up less, and has reverted to spraying her colored mist at opponents more frequently.

If recent social media posts harkening back to her days as Kana in Japan are any indication, it appears as though Asuka is in store for some sizable changes in the coming weeks and months.

What better way to reintroduce her new persona than by having her go on a tear and become the first two-time winner of the women's Rumble match?

Asuka as a heel challenging Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship would not only create an intriguing match, but also play on story elements already in place. We know that Asuka is the one woman who has consistently come to the aid of The EST, so imagine what it would mean for her to undergo a heel turn and strike out at the champion.

It could even play on the idea that Bliss betrayed Belair and now Asuka is too, proving that the title is never safe.

Simply adding some face paint and turning Asuka heel will not help. She needs big, substantive victories, and few are better than the Rumble, especially in this scenario, where she would etch her name in the history books not only as the first women's Rumble winner, but also the first to win a second time.

Ricochet

How realistic is it that Ricochet actually wins the Royal Rumble? Not very, but he remains a dark-horse candidate because of his recent booking.

Triple H clearly recognizes the star he has on his hands in The One and Only, far more than his predecessor ever did, and has worked diligently to reintroduce him as a genuine contender on Friday nights.

Ricochet went toe-to-toe with Gunther and proved he could hang with The Ring General with the Intercontinental Championship on the line. From there, he was awarded the spotlight on this year's Tribute to the Troops special, earning the win for his team via Shooting Star Press despite his partners being former WWE champions Sheamus and Drew McIntyre.

Fast forward to the December 23 episode of SmackDown and, once again, Ricochet was highlighted not only as he scored the pin for him and Braun Strowman, but also in a fun spot where real-life girlfriend and ring announcer Samantha Irvin delivered a kiss that brought him back to life.

Ricochet has benefited from Triple H's rise to creative control in WWE more than anyone, and it is nice to see an uber-talented individual like him finally earning the exposure his work reflects.

He may not win the whole thing, but do not be surprised if Ricochet is one of the final, remaining competitors in this year's match and one of the most buzzed-about by the time the bell rings.

Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn should win the Royal Rumble.

He should head to WrestleMania to challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

He should beat The Tribal Chief and celebrate the culmination of his underdog run.

He probably will not, with WWE officials hellbent on delivering the Rock vs. Reigns match that has been talked about for what feels like an eternity.

That does not mean Zayn should not be considered a dark-horse candidate to do so. Every once in a while, a Superstar gets so hot that the fans will not want anyone else to succeed at their expense. They are beloved and incredibly popular to the point that any attempt to push anyone else is rejected by the audience.

Look no further than 2014, when Batista returned for the first time in four years and was booed out of the building in favor of Daniel Bryan, who would ultimately go on to headline WrestleMania and win the WWE title.

The emotional connection fans have with Zayn right now very well could force WWE's hand and make them go an unexpected route by having The Honorary Uce win the Rumble and set up a showdown with The Tribal Chief.

And it would be glorious, if for no other reason than the fact that Zayn has been manipulated by The Head of the Table and used to his benefit for so long that the moment Sami stands up for himself will result in one of the loudest ovations in recent memory.