The Riott Squad Should Be a Dominant Force at WWE Royal Rumble 2018

Among the stories WWE tells in its first women's Royal Rumble should be The Riott Squad establishing itself as an overwhelming faction.

The audience doesn't know Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan all that well yet. SmackDown hasn't presented the group as a force worth fearing to this point. That can all change depending on how the historic 30-woman Battle Royal plays out.

The Riott Squad has only been around since November, but the crew is need of rejuvenation at the pay-per-view on Jan. 28.

Its leader has fallen too many times already. Riott has lost four times on the main roster since debuting on SmackDown less than two full months ago, per CageMatch.net. And overall, WWE has consistently painted this crew as world-beaters.

Andrew Murray of WhatCulture wrote: "The writers have done an excellent job of completely diminishing the trio's threat level. It's tough to treat them like serious heels as a result."

We saw a turn in the opposite direction for The Riott Squad on Tuesday's SmackDown, though.

In six-woman action, Riott, Logan and Morgan took down Becky Lynch, Naomi and Charlotte Flair. Morgan kneed Naomi in the face to nab the three-count. 

With that, they walked away with a victory over two former SmackDown women's champs and the current titleholder.

During the bout, they ganged up on their foes. They struck with cheap shots when the referee wasn't looking. They were bona fide heels.

The Royal Rumble is an ideal place to build on that, to take a significant step forward in establishing The Riott Squad has a top-of-the-food-chain team.

At past Royal Rumbles, factions such as The Wyatt Family and Nexus have ganged up on the competition, ousting wrestlers as a unit.

In a match that is supposed to be of the "everyone-for-themselves" variety, a unified force such as The Riott Squad has a clear advantage.

It's a no-brainer to play that up at the Rumble, to craft some big moments for this trio and get them some momentum moving forward.

And with Absolution not at full strength, focusing on The Riott Squad makes even more sense. WWE revealed on Monday's Raw that Paige had to be pulled from the Jan. 28 match due to injury. This may not be a temporary situation for her, either.

Both Mike Johnson of PWInsider and Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported Paige's in-ring career is over.

That leaves Absolution's future in doubt. It also leaves just one three-Superstar group in either Raw or SmackDown's women's division. The spotlight is likely to grow brighter on The Riott Squad as a result.

WWE can make up for the lackluster start to The Riott Squad's tale by allowing the group to kick heads and take names at the Rumble. Should Riott, Logan and Morgan go deep into the match, eliminating names such as Nia Jax and Lynch, the stable will emerge from the bout with far more electricity than it had going in.

That would better each woman in that group as well as giving SmackDown a set of formidable villains to conquer.