Power Ranking Likely WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Winners After Final Raw, SmackDown
WWE Royal Rumble 2017 is on Sunday, and one thing is for certain: This year's Rumble match features one of the most stacked lineups in recent years.
Unlike previous years in which Rumble winners seemed preordained—much to the dismay of fans—there are a number of Superstars with legitimate shots at winning this year's edition, thereby headlining WrestleMania 33.
From longtime main eventers such as The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Goldberg to up-and-coming Superstars like Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin and Big Cass, the 2017 Royal Rumble match is sure to excite.
There are a number of angles and storylines that will play out over the course of the night and likely continue on WWE's Road to WrestleMania.
Are Lesnar and Goldberg destined to have one last match? Can guys like Chris Jericho and Randy Orton once again make it back to the main event spotlight? Will one of WWE's new generation make a mark against 29 other Superstars?
It's time to power rank the five WWE Superstars who are most likely to win the Rumble match and move on to WrestleMania 33 to challenge for a world title.
WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Betting Odds: Recapping the Latest Favorites
1 of 7For reference, here are the favorites, according to OddsShark, to win Sunday's Royal Rumble match (as of Jan. 26):
| Goldberg | 5-2 |
| Randy Orton, Braun Strowman | 7-2 |
| The Undertaker | 4-1 |
| Finn Balor, Samoa Joe | 11-2 |
| Chris Jericho | 9-1 |
| Brock Lesnar | 14-1 |
| The Miz, John Cena, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn | 20-1 |
| Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt | 25-1 |
| Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Roman Reigns | 33-1 |
There has been a lot of movement over the last few days, as Braun Strowman, once the strong favorite to win the Rumble match, has now fallen behind Goldberg, who now reigns supreme as the latest odds-on favorite. Randy Orton and Undertaker remain steady favorites, as they have for much of this month.
Superstars to Note (Who Won't Win the Royal Rumble)
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Let's look at some WWE Superstars who will play big parts in Sunday's Royal Rumble match but who aren't plausible options for winning the chance to main-event WrestleMania 33.
Brock Lesnar (14-1) and Goldberg (5-2)
Frankly, these two seem headed for a collision at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida, so no one should buy the hype that either could win Sunday's Rumble match.
As OddShark's Justin Hartling wrote, "Two aging part-timers battling for a belt would not speak very highly of the current full-time roster, and Lesnar vs. Golberg is money without involving the golf."
Randy Orton (7-2)
Orton sits in the middle of a family feud with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper, and it's likely WWE will stretch that storyline a few more weeks, quite possibly through WrestleMania season. SmackDown has benefited from the new Wyatt Family alliance, and it would be smart for WWE Creative to play this story out to its conclusion.
Baron Corbin (20-1)
The Lone Wolf is going to be battling for WWE gold for years to come. Unlike Superstars like AJ Styles and Finn Balor, who came into WWE and immediately made a main event impact, Corbin will just have to wait a little longer for his turn.
With Styles, John Cena, Dean Ambrose and The Miz all hovering around the main event picture, it's a safe bet that Corbin will have to bide his time, maybe until 2018. Fans will see him in the hunt, but WWE might be keeping him at arm's length to protect him a little longer than he needs. As Forbes' Blake Oestriecher wrote, "It's a good call for creative to push Corbin, who has the look, size and, most importantly, the in-ring ability to be a main eventer for years to come."
Big Show (66-1)
It was good to see Big Show in a WWE ring again, especially looking better than he has in a number of years. In addition, the staredown with Braun Strowman signals bigger things on the horizon for these two competitors.
However, let's not forget that Big Show has the same odds of winning as Shawn Michaels. Big Show is sure to make an impact on Sunday, but it might be to put over the monster that is Strowman.
Anyone in a title match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view
While Styles (33-1), Cena (20-1), Kevin Owens (40-1) or Roman Reigns (33-1) could appear in the Rumble match following their title bouts on Sunday, it wouldn't be a wise decision for any of them to walk out of the Rumble match as the winner.
WWE needs to cultivate new feuds through WrestleMania season, and having a participant who just lost the opportunity to claim the belt outlast 29 other Superstars to have a rematch would turn fans against the winner.
5. Finn Balor (11-2)
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Finn Balor has been a trendy pick to not only participate in the Royal Rumble, but also win the whole thing. His odds have steadily increased, and he now sits at 11-2, the fifth-best odds of all Superstars.
One reason for the latest jump is a speculative tweet by Balor, which many suggested could mean The Demon King has been cleared by doctors. He subsequently tweeted that the odds were "30-1" that he would even appear at the Rumble on Sunday.
While Balor is having fun with fans on Twitter, as he is prone to do, it wouldn't be all that crazy to suggest the Irishman could participate and win. As Hartling wrote, "There are so many reports regarding Balor's health ahead of the event that you can't be sure if he'll be at the Alamodome, but if he does appear, he could be the favorite."
Protecting Balor among 29 other Superstars, as well as placing him in a soft entry position at the end of the match, could put him in the main event at WrestleMania.
It's not inconceivable. Only weeks after debuting on the main roster, Balor was headlining SummerSlam for the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. By winning the Rumble, Balor could remain on TV without even wrestling a match, giving him additional time to heal and building a story similar to Rollins' recovery from knee surgery.
It's a long shot. However, Balor could be the jolt that WWE needs heading into WrestleMania season to energize a Raw product that's been lagging behind its SmackDown counterpart.
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4. Chris Jericho (9-1)
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With Chris Jericho announcing on his Talk is Jericho podcast that he has signed a new contract with WWE (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc), it appears that a program with current WWE universal champion Kevin Owens is imminent.
Jericho and Owens' partnership is the best thing going on Raw. Eventually turning the best friends against each other seems natural, and WWE has hinted at it for weeks. Every time Jericho mentions winning the Rumble match, Owens' expression is that of disgust.
But will WWE decide to make that feud part of the Universal Championship picture or have the duo battle for Jericho's United States Championship?
It's easy to see WWE coming up with a scenario where Owens loses his title to Reigns this Sunday and then involves himself in Jericho's elimination during the Rumble match.
If WWE keeps Raw's main title on Owens at the Royal Rumble, a program with Jericho could be in the works. Whether the company deems Owens vs. Jericho a WrestleMania main event-level bout is the question.
3. The Undertaker (4-1)
5 of 7The Undertaker has been among the favorites since the first odds were released on OddsShark, and there's no reason to believe he won't be once the Rumble match begins.
It's easy to understand why. He is a free-agent Superstar floating between both shows, so WWE has the ability to slowly reveal who Undertaker will face at WrestleMania 33. It could allow the dust to settle after the Royal Rumble and decide on any number of storyline directions, knowing it has one of its preeminent Superstars already penciled into the main event.
Not everyone is sold on Undertaker being the winner, however. B/R's own Donald Wood sees the Undertaker being one of the final Superstars eliminated but wrote that The Deadman would be better used "working against a younger talent than pulling off a massive victory in the Royal Rumble."
Oestriecher agrees, writing that "there are other feuds and superstars that are defined by a title (think Owens vs. Jericho and Styles vs. Cena), whereas The Undertaker is largely defined by his impressive WrestleMania record and the lure of beating him at a show where he's nearly unbeatable."
Nevertheless, it's tough betting against WWE CEO Vince McMahon deciding against pitting The Undertaker against one of the biggest names in WWE—likely either AJ Styles, John Cena, Kevin Owens or Roman Reigns—on the company's grandest stage.
The allure of doing so seems too great to count against it.
2. Samoa Joe (11-2)
6 of 7Samoa Joe hasn't been heard from since losing a series of matches to current NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura during the developmental brand's Far East roadshow.
At this point, it would be a surprise should Joe not appear in the Rumble match, given the amount of speculation surrounding a potential appearance.
When OddsShark first came out with its Royal Rumble rankings, Samoa Joe was a dark-horse pick—a 33-1 guy who was truly intriguing. Now? Joe has skyrocketed up the ranks and is the fifth-most likely winner.
It's not as if Joe is some rookie grappler; he's one of the most accomplished Superstars on the planet. He's a known commodity who didn't need an extended stay in NXT but had one because he was one of the biggest draws the promotion had in its stable.
But can Joe hold his own and, more importantly, make a seismic impact in a Rumble debut with so much star power already in the match? B/R's Aaron Bower noted that WWE "might be better served" delaying his debut until a later date, possibly either the SmackDown-branded Elimination Chamber or Raw-branded Fastlane.
Oestriecher disagrees, writing Joe is not only a perfect foil for the WWE rosters, but he should also be one of the few Superstars the company decides to main-event WrestleMania 33: "What way is there for him to make a bigger impact upon his debut than by winning the historic Royal Rumble match? This would instantly establish Joe as a threat on the main roster, giving Raw or SmackDown the top heel that it desperately needs in the process."
1. Braun Strowman (7-2)
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Last week, Braun Strowman was the favorite on OddsShark's big board to win the Rumble match and headline WrestleMania 33.
While he might not be OddSharks' leader anymore, any power ranking of potential winners has to include Strowman near the top.
In compiling his five best choices to win the Rumble match, Oestriecher noted that "Strowman has the marketable look WWE loves and is making major strides in the ring. He will never be a Shawn Michaels or an AJ Styles, but there's money to be made with an unstoppable behemoth working at the top of the card."
B/R's own Alfred Konuwa, writing for Forbes, believes Strowman should become the new record holder for most eliminations at Sunday's event:
"The theme for this year's Royal Rumble is size and mass, with many monster types looking to punch their tickets to WrestleMania. Strowman is among the biggest of these monsters, and if WWE is serious about establishing him as the premier big man in sports entertainment, he should eliminate most, if not all.
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The caveat is that WWE would need to install a face champion ahead of WrestleMania for Strowman to work properly, which means a result on Sunday night that would be far from a fan's dream: Roman Reigns defeating Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship.
And that would also mean a two-month build for Reigns and Strowman—not the strongest promos in the company. Konuwa did warn that a Strowman-Reigns main event at WrestleMania 33 may be one of the most disastrous booking decisions in recent WWE memory: "A Roman Reigns-Braun Strowman matchup is the type of WWE-endorsed fanfare that is liable to be ruined by pushback and pretentious chants of 'Nakamura.'"
If WWE is smart, it would have its cake and eat it, too. Strowman vs. Reigns can happen at WrestleMania 33—just not as the main event of the company's biggest pay-per-view of the year. Instead, if this is the planned title match for Raw at WrestleMania, the company should let the two central figures build toward their showdown, allowing a much more fan-friendly and palatable main event to come out of the Royal Rumble.
Otherwise, WWE risks backlash from trying to build a force-fed WrestleMania main event two months out, as Konuwa noted: "If WWE begins teasing a potential matchup between Strowman and Reigns too early, those familiar, entitled complaints very well could drown out an otherwise promising rivalry."
Still, Strowman is being built to be unbreakable, which usually means someone has to be able to vanquish the monster. WWE continues to build Reigns as the new face of WWE, which means these two are more than likely headed for a showdown on the biggest stage.
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