Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Bray Wyatt Is Best Option to Win WWE Royal Rumble 2016

1. Wyatt a Welcome Shake-Up

Bray Wyatt celebrating from his knees after ousting his last remaining rival, grinning up at whatever God he believes in, is just the image WWE Royal Rumble 2016 needs.

After two straight years of crowds rejecting babyface winners and rejecting predictability, WWE needs to opt for the unexpected. It needs to make the Rumble feel chaotic again. It needs to again be the career-catapulting match it has long been.

Crowning Wyatt would be all of that.

Credit: WWE.com

A Roman Reigns victory, on the other hand, would be asking for the audience to turn on him again. For the world champ to retain, he would have to overcome being the No. 1 entrant, The League of Nations being after him, Brock Lesnar and likely Triple H. That's the kind of Superman booking that turned off so many fans to John Cena over the years.

Brock Lesnar is the runaway favorite to win. It would make sense if he won, but it's the expected move.

Plus, it's not as if Lesnar needs the propelling force a Rumble win provides. He can walk into WrestleMania's main event without it. The victory would be just be an added footnote on a career already good enough for the Hall of Fame.

With Wyatt, though, being the last man standing that night would be career-changing.

Triple H doesn't need the rub from the Rumble, either. While there's a clear narrative reason why WWE would have him come out on top (to set up a match with Reigns), a WWE title reign for The Game would be disheartening. It's hard for fans to invest in the up-and-comers and leaders of the new era if they are stuck watching a made man like Triple H take the crown again.

To instead have The Eater of Worlds outlast Triple H, Reigns and Lesnar would be a stunner of a decision.

Wyatt has long looked like he was going to rise to the top tier during feuds with Reigns, Cena and Undertaker. All of the carnage he promised never came to pass, though. He fell to each man. As a result, WWE is deflating the momentum of a potential megastar.

Reversing that trend and letting this dark horse win the Rumble would be the first time the 30-man bout didn't end with the chalk on top in years.

Wyatt in WrestleMania's main event against Lesnar is the kind of electric, bold move WWE should make now that a flurry of injuries ruined its original plans. There is no John Cena at The Show of Shows this time. Randy Orton could still be hurt by then, too.

This is the year to take a chance on a guy brimming with potential like Wyatt. This is the time to commit to building a bridge to whatever era lies ahead.

A Lesnar or Triple H Rumble victory doesn't accomplish that in the least. With Wyatt making it to the match's end, WWE can actually elevate several men at once should The Wyatt Family tear apart the roster as a unit.

Let Wyatt hit his career peak and set up a battle with The Beast Incarnate. Let the Royal Rumble be startling, a shakeup of the expected.

2. The Fate of No. 1

The McMahons pulled Roman Reigns' name on Monday night, and now the WWE champion must battle from the beginning of the Royal Rumble. He's now officially the first entrant in the 30-man match.

History hasn't been especially favorable to the wrestlers who have drawn that number in the past 10 years:

Year	Wrestler	Time in Match	No. of Eliminations	Won the Rumble?
2005	Eddie Guerrero	28:11	3	No
2006	Triple H	1:00:09	5	No
2007	Ric Flair	5:40	0	No
2008	Undertaker	32:33	3	No
2009	Rey Mysterio	49:24	1	No
2010	Dolph Ziggler	2:29	0	No
2011	CM Punk	35:21	7	No
2012	The Miz	49:39	2	No
2013	Dolph Ziggler	49:47	2	No
2014	CM Punk	49:13	3	No
2015	The Miz	4:01	1	No

The last Superstar to win from the first position was Chris Benoit in 2004. Shawn Michaels pulled the feat off in 1995. That's it. No one else has done it.

That spells doom for Reigns.

Chances are, though, that he stays in the match for in an impressive stretch. Seven of the last 10 No. 1 entrants have managed to stay in the Rumble for more than 30 minutes.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: "Iron" Mike Sharpe

One of the most well-known enhancement talents in WWE history is no longer with us. As Mike Johnson reported on PWInsider.com, "Sharpe passed away over the weekend in Hamilton, Ontario."

Most of the time, he didn't have much opportunity to do more than make a bigger star look good. During this Piper's Pit segment with Roddy Piper from 1984, though, it allowed him plenty of space to play the indignant, ornery heel:

Perennially underrated, Canada's Greatest Athlete will be remembered as a memorable character under minimal spotlight for much of his career. And of course, for that famous forearm brace.

Rest in peace, "Iron" Mike.

4. Brock Lesnar's Tattoo Comes to Life

The massive knife tattooed on Lesnar's chest is now a real-life weapon. Artist Jimmy DiResta crafted an impressively accurate version of the blade.

Talk about improving on the original. 

5. Sami Zayn as the "Iron Man"

This year's Royal Rumble is a wise way to introduce Zayn. 

It's been Rusev and Bo Dallas who both charged onto the main roster by way of the Battle Royal recently. This year's 30-man match should be when Zayn arrives.

Credit: WWE.com

The former NXT champion has flourished as the gutsy, resilient babyface. Having him enter early and survive for longer than any of the other Rumble competitors would highlight that, showing off guts and creating some pathos for him right away.

It's not as if he has anything left to prove at Full Sail. Zayn has been putting on main roster-level performances since the first NXT live special.

6. John Cena Teasing a New Arrival?

Add one more element to the recent rumblings about AJ Styles possibly entering the Royal Rumble. Cena posted a photo of the former TNA star on his Instagram account:

No telling whether this is foreshadowing or simply world-class trolling.

7. Tyler Breeze Fading

The Prince of Pretty hasn't reached jobber status, but he sure doesn't look like a star on the rise.

Breeze's record on the main roster, per CageMatch.net, thus far speaks to him falling into midcard limbo just months after arriving from NXT. He began 3-1, complete with a pay-per-view win over Dolph Ziggler. 

More recently, things haven't been as favorable. Breeze has suffered three straight losses on TV, including a loss on Superstars to Jack Swagger. Nothing says WWE has given up on you than defeats on that little-watched show.

Overall, Breeze is 9-10-1 on the main roster. Keep an eye on those numbers as the year unfolds. He may be heading away from .500 and more toward Fandango territory.

8. Last Man Standing at its Finest 

Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens are set to beat each other senseless in a match that promises big-time violence. Their Intercontinental Championship match at the Royal Rumble will be a Last Man Standing bout.

If champion and challenger are looking for inspiration on how to maximize the stipulation, they should load up these five contests and take notes:

• Triple H vs. Chris Jericho: Fully Loaded 2000
• Chris Benoit vs. Edge: Backlash 2005
• Undertaker vs. Batista: Backlash 2007
• John Cena vs. Umaga: Royal Rumble 2007
• John Cena vs. Edge: Backlash 2009

This list is a reminder of how good Backlash was before it became defunct. It was where the excess bad blood from WrestleMania overflowed. Extreme Rules has taken over that role in recent years.

9. Total Divas Creeping In Again

WWE's insistence on blending Total Divas with the women's division is misguided. The company can't try to infuse narratives from the reality show into what unfolds in the ring.

For one, Total Divas is taped months in advance. Trying to sync that up with what's happening this moment in the WWE world is a fool's errand.

Secondly, it leads WWE to lean on threadbare stories within the women's division. When Natalya returned to action on Monday's Raw, the announcers tried to play up her issues with Brie Bella from the reality show.

There wasn't nearly enough on which to base a wrestling angle.

Meanwhile, Natalya teamed up with Paige, ignoring the fact the Brit was implied to be the one to attack her backstage months ago. Paige got shoved into a babyface role with no explanation. The Brie-Natalya tension was non-existent.

WWE did get its share of plugs for its show, though. When Byron Saxton brought up how hard it's been for Natalya to aid Tyson Kidd in his recovery from injury, Michael Cole chimed in with an unsubtle mid-match advertisement.

"That's covered in the new season of Total Divas," he said excitedly.

10. Foley on Lynch

Becky Lynch has been on fire during her pursuit of Charlotte. She's emerged as a star babyface and as Mick Foley pointed out on Twitter, one hell of a talker:

Lynch continues to find her voice on the microphone. She's been a key part to the Divas title feud being the highlight of WWE for the past few weeks.

Win or lose on Sunday, Lynch needs to remain in the spotlight. She needs more chances to keep compelling us.