WWE Must Use 2016 Royal Rumble to Build a New Main Event Star

Having Roman Reigns defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the 2016 Royal Rumble match has given officials a rare opportunity to instantly catapult someone to main event status.

The Rumble has been used to elevate stars in the past, but most of the winners were already world champions before winning the big Battle Royal. It's about time we see a fresh face get the honor.

Reigns had a long journey to the title, but he doesn't need to keep the belt for several months to remain a main-event-level competitor. In fact, he has been a top star for a lot longer than he has been a champion.

If Brock Lesnar enters the match, he will be a favorite to win the whole thing and regain the title, but he doesn't need the victory or the press that would come along with it. He is already looked at as the most dominant competitor on the roster, and he only works a handful of matches every year.

Why waste a perfectly good opportunity to build up someone new by giving the victory to someone who doesn't need it?

The biggest problem facing management right now is the number of injured Superstars who are considered main eventers.

John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan are all expected to miss the pay-per-view. Then you have guys like Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Sin Cara on the shelf adding to the problem.

The good news is WWE has plenty of healthy competitors who are ready to grab the metaphorical brass ring we hear so much about and help fill the void left by everyone who is out with an injury.

Kevin Owens

The best heel in WWE today is Kevin Owens, and he has earned that distinction for a number of reasons.

Not only can he talk trash with the best of them, but he is capable of doing things in the ring that people half his size don't attempt as often as he does.

Guys with big guts aren't supposed to do springboard moonsaults, but that hasn't stopped Owens from using them when the time is right.

He might be chasing the Intercontinental Championship right now, but that doesn't mean he can't enter the Rumble and fight for the biggest prize in the business.

Putting the title on Owens would change the landscape of the main event scene and give the fans a fresh champion who would bring the same intensity to his reign that he brings to everything he has done in the business.

Dean Ambrose

The current IC champion is someone who is more than ready to take that next step and lead the roster as WWE world heavyweight champion.

Dean Ambrose has been an incredible midcard talent, and he should have been pushed harder after The Shield disbanded almost two years ago.

He is better on the mic than Rollins and better in the ring than Reigns, but for one reason or another, he was kept down while his former partners were pushed to the top.

Ambrose could either drop the IC title to Owens before winning the Rumble or he could hold both titles simultaneously.

He is able to put on great matches with just about anyone and his personality would bring an edge to the title picture that has been missing since WWE went PG.

Bray Wyatt

The New Face of Fear has been right on the edge of being a top competitor for a long time, but WWE constantly booking him to lose big matches has stalled his ascent.

The Royal Rumble would be the perfect time to take a chance on Bray Wyatt and turn him from a novelty act into a fully realized main event player.

Wyatt's stable of monsters could help him eliminate everyone else in the match and then sacrifice themselves so Wyatt is crowned the new champion.

He is over with the crowd, a gifted wrestler and one of the best talkers in the entire company. There's no better time to push him to the next level.

Even if he only holds the title until WrestleMania 32, Wyatt's credibility as a competitor would go through the roof. There's no downside.

Someone from NXT

We rarely see someone win a title in their debut match, let alone the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and that is why nobody would see it coming.

Bringing up someone from NXT and having them shock the world by winning the Royal Rumble would generate a lot of buzz and instantly create a new main event star.

Guys like Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn and Finn Balor would be believable as champions, especially if they won the title in a gimmick match where everyone is on equal ground.

All three of them are popular enough to get a huge reaction if they win. It's a long shot, but WWE still surprises us every so often, so it's not impossible for something like this to happen.

Conclusion

The last few Royal Rumbles have had predictable outcomes, and that's why WWE needs to take a risk this time.

Lesnar, if he competes, will be the favorite, but he doesn't need this win. Whatever match he has at WrestleMania will be looked at as one of the main events, so there's no point in wasting this opportunity.

Reigns retaining is another obvious option, but he was better when he was pursuing the title than he is as champion.

With all the injuries to top talents, it's important to make new stars, and the Rumble is the perfect time to turn someone from a midcard competitor into a true main event Superstar.

What do you think should happen at the 2016 Royal Rumble? 

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