WWE has typically stuck with the status quo when it comes to the Royal Rumble.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Since 2007, all but two men's Royal Rumble winners (Alberto Del Rio in 2011 and Shinsuke Nakamura in 2018) had previously held a world title while the lone women's Royal Rumble winner, Asuka, has never been Raw or SmackDown Women's Champion. Over the past decade or so, WWE hasn't usually used the Royal Rumble match as a tool to elevate a rising star, instead utilizing it as a means to give an already established star some momentum in route to WrestleMania.
That's why names like Randy Orton, John Cena and Triple H, all of which have held the world title at least a dozen times, have won multiple Royal Rumbles, and it's also why WWE has often struggled in its attempts to create new stars. In 2019, however, that may be a different story. WWE is rapidly approaching Survivor Series, which means the Royal Rumble isn't far away either, and it stands to reason that many upper midcard and main event stars who are currently being pushed strongly are emerging as leading candidates to win one of WWE's most important matches of the year.
With a slew of legends and budding superstars in prime position to win the 30-man Royal Rumble match and go on to a potential main event match at WrestleMania 35, these five stars are quickly establishing themselves as front-runners to leave Phoenix, Arizona with a guaranteed title shot come January 27th.
Daniel Bryan
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Now that Daniel Bryan has re-signed with WWE, the company will be much more likely to keep him at or near the top of the card as a consistent WWE Championship contender on SmackDown.
In fact, Bryan vs. The Miz was listed as one of the early betting favorites for WrestleMania 35 next year, and if that bout were to headline WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the year, it almost assuredly would involve the blue brand's WWE title. Regardless of whether or not WWE plans to have the Miz/Bryan feud last that long, Bryan had the second best odds at 6/1 to win the 2019 Royal Rumble when the odds were released last month, suggesting he will be in the thick of the race to win the historically important over-the-top-rope battle royal.
It seems WWE has been taking a gradual approach with Bryan's rise back to the WWE Championship, likely due to recent uncertainty regarding his contract status, but now that that's no longer an issue and Bryan is back in the thick of the title picture (but isn't expected to win it yet), he could potentially win the Royal Rumble as a way of setting up a WrestleMania 35 dream match against a star like The Miz or even John Cena. The Miz vs. Bryan for the WWE title on the grand stage of WrestleMania would be a fantastic culmination of a storyline that has lasted nearly a decade, while something like Joe vs. Bryan would be a fresh dream feud between two of WWE's best overall performers.
WWE has often lacked riveting storytelling for its biggest WrestleMania rivalries in recent years, but having Bryan return to WWE Championship glory when it seemed almost impossible is a simple-yet-amazing story for WWE to tell and one that would truly begin with a Royal Rumble win for WWE's ultimate underdog, likely after The Miz costs Bryan his title match against AJ Styles at Crown Jewel.
Drew McIntyre
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Drew McIntyre reportedly has the backing of both Vince McMahon and Triple H and is set for a massive push in the near future, one that could potentially result in him stepping up as the next challenger for Roman Reigns' Universal Championship.
A better story and one that would establish McIntyre as WWE's most dominant heel, however, would be for "The Scottish Terminator" to win the 2019 Royal Rumble in impressive fashion and go on to face Reigns for the title on the grand stage of WrestleMania. McIntyre has already established himself as a fantastic villain, is aesthetically anything and everything McMahon could want out of a top superstar and has both the promo ability and in-ring skills to back up his great character work.
McIntyre is as close to a sure thing that you can find in WWE, and all the creative team has to do is ensure that it doesn't blunder the career path of a superstar who should be a future world champion. Del Rio and Nakamura are two names who quickly found themselves winning Royal Rumbles not long after their main roster debuts, and though the handling of Nakamura hasn't been great since then, Del Rio almost instantly became a top star in WWE in part because of the credibility he earned with a career-defining Royal Rumble victory.
Although it looks like WWE may rush McIntyre into a feud with Reigns because of a lack of top heels on Raw, the company would be better off holding off on McIntyre's ascension until it means more, and it would never mean more than it would at WrestleMania.
Seth Rollins (Or Dean Ambrose)
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
When SkyBet (h/t SEScoops) released its initial betting odds for the 2019 Royal Rumble, Seth Rollins came in at No. 3 with odds of 8/1.
Although the fact that Rollins is currently holding the Intercontinental Championship has caused some to believe that he may not be in the Universal title picture come WrestleMania season, the popularity of "The Architect" has skyrocketed so much in 2018 that he's undoubtedly on the short list of candidates to win the prestigious Royal Rumble match. In route to generating some of the loudest crowd reactions (maybe the loudest?) in WWE, Rollins has also entrenched himself as the company's No. 5 merchandise mover and arguably its best overall performer.
Rollins was, at one point during the summer, in line to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, and now that we have a full-fledged reunion of The Shield with Reigns holding the top title on Raw, the stage is undoubtedly set for Rollins (or perhaps even Dean Ambrose) to win the Royal Rumble in order to set up the highly anticipated second Shield triple threat match. That match is also one of the early betting favorites to main event WrestleMania 35, which would certainly make sense given that the trio is currently reunited but already has some friction.
The widespread train of thought is that the group will soon implode, likely due to a telegraphed Ambrose heel turn, and with Reigns expected to have a long title reign, a Rollins or Ambrose Royal Rumble win could be what sets the wheels in motion for the second-ever Shield triple threat match.
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
According to a report from Fightful.com, Vince McMahon has been very impressed with Andrade "Cien" Almas since calling him up to SmackDown and is a big supporter of the former NXT Champion, so much so that one report even says McMahon is considering having Almas win the 2019 Royal Rumble.
Indeed, Almas recently found himself with odds of 25/1 to win the 30-man Royal Rumble, tying him with AJ Styles for the ninth best odds to emerge from that bout with the biggest victory of his career. Admittedly, it would be quite the shocker if McMahon chose to move full steam ahead with a massive push for Almas that culminates with a Royal Rumble win both because Almas is so new to the main roster and because he doesn't fit the traditional mold of what McMahon looks for in a superstar.
However, reports indicate that WWE has long been looking for its next top Hispanic superstar, and Almas certainly fits the bill as a world class in-ring performer who generates great heel heat and has all the tools to solidify himself as a main eventer. Given that Almas also apparently has the backing of McMahon, which is essentially the most important factor in determining whether or not a superstar will be pushed, he's in prime position to shock the world with an upset Royal Rumble win.
After all, a Royal Rumble victory for Almas could set the stage for a WrestleMania dream match with someone like Styles, Bryan or Samoa Joe that would likely tear the house down, and with WrestleMania 35 likely to feature a number of massive matches, WWE can afford to take a risk by putting Almas in the WWE title match because it doesn't need that bout to sell the show.
The Rock
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Virtually everything indicates that The Rock will return in time for a major feud and match at WrestleMania 35.
The Rock himself recently said he "can't wait" to be back in a WWE ring, reportedly wants to wrestle at WrestleMania 35 and is apparently penciled in to face Roman Reigns in the show's main event. With The Rock widely expected to be back soon, likely for a family feud with "The Big Dog," he has been positioned as the initial 2019 Royal Rumble betting favorite at odds of 2/1 amidst reports that he could be returning to WWE in the very near future.
If and when The Rock does return, he's likely to insert himself into the biggest storylines on Raw and/or SmackDown, and unless WWE throws a curveball and has him face someone like Brock Lesnar, then it's a safe bet that he will go on to face Reigns. With Reigns figuring to hold the Universal Championship for a very lengthy title reign, that means that the obvious outcome here is The Rock winning the Royal Rumble match to set up that dream match at WrestleMania 35.
Of course, WWE will be running the risk of fans turning on its WrestleMania main event yet again if a part-time Rock wins the Royal Rumble match to face Reigns in Reigns' fifth consecutive WrestleMania main event, but does it really care? Probably not. The logic behind bringing back The Rock for such a high-profile match is that he will increase interest in the WWE product in a way that no one else can, potentially leading to improved TV ratings and more WWE Network subscribers.
That will be WWE's goal, and a Royal Rumble victory for The Rock could accomplish it.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to @ForbesSports, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
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