Not everybody can win the WWE 2016 Royal Rumble. In fact, out of the 30 entrants, just about all of them will lose.
With the road to WrestleMania 32 taking so many detours due to injury, several top stars can now be ruled out of scoring an elusive Royal Rumble victory. Former winners Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and even Triple H all seem like viable candidates, but will any of them actually become a two-time winner?
There are so many unknowns. Which Triple H shows up to the Royal Rumble? Will it be The Authority, looking to distract Roman Reigns? Or will The Cerebral Assassin make a surprise entry for his first Rumble since 2010?
Top stars on this list have been ruled out simply due to the growing clarity of WrestleMania 32's main event and how their victory in the January classic would derail these plans.
Why Chris Jericho Won't Win the Royal Rumble
Chris Jericho's announcement that he was entering the Royal Rumble had all the fanfare of somebody who might win. Thus far, however, his return has been filled with awkwardly forced nostalgia.
He is being slotted in the middle of the card as a variety act, and his only saving grace is turning heel. Unfortunately for his chances, I think Jericho will only turn heel once he is eliminated to set up a WrestleMania program with Dean Ambrose.
Jericho's days of wrestling in main events of WrestleMania are over, and with each return, he has graciously put over a midcard WWE Superstar on the rise. This time around, expect more of the same.
Why Sheamus Won't Win the Royal Rumble
Sheamus has to be considered as the trolling choice to win the Royal Rumble. The last time Sheamus won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, it had the desired effect of fans rallying around Reigns. Maybe WWE doubles down on this theory.
But, then again, maybe not.
Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns is simply not a desireable WrestleMania match, let alone a WrestleMania 32 program that could fill up AT&T Stadium. Sheamus' WrestleMania feud will likely be against one of his current allies. He'll benefit from having the League of Nations on his side throughout the match, but that group is filled with alpha males who will want to win the Royal Rumble for themselves.
The lingering possibility of a League of Nations split mid-Rumble—not to mention nerd rage III[1]—severely damages Sheamus' chances.
Why Kevin Owens Won't Win the Royal Rumble
Kevin Owens is a darkhorse to win the Royal Rumble. Of the past 28 winners of Royal Rumble matches, nine WWE Superstars won the event in their Royal Rumble debuts.
Vince McMahon himself appointed Owens to face off against Roman Reigns during that weird "One vs. All" match on Raw. Owens is trending in the right direction. He could do it. But he won't do it.
If Owens were to win the Royal Rumble, he'd likely do so as a heavy favorite of The Authority. But that's simply too underwhelming of a storyline and potential main event for a record-breaking WrestleMania 32. Instead, Owens will likely have his Royal Rumble moment as the man who eliminates Brock Lesnar.
Such an elimination would get Owens more heat than even winning the event outright and could set up the most important feud of his young, yet aging, career.
Why He Won't Win the Royal Rumble
Brock Lesnar is being positioned as the odds-on-favorite, but he couldn't be any more obvious as a red herring. WWE is simply trotting Lesnar out to the Royal Rumble in hopes that fans forget about Triple H, who is almost a shoo-in as a "surprise" entrant.
Three months ago, when the roster was healthier, I envisioned Brock Lesnar winning the Royal Rumble. It was glorious. It was Lesnar hitting the ring at No. 30 and tossing everything that moves over the top ropes, except Heath Slater who would have fearfully jumped over the top by himself.
It was going to be like the final scene in Kill Bill—straight up brutality from a beast who knows nothing else.
But due to key injuries, Lesnar's would-be victory doesn't seem as likely. It doesn't seem like The Rock will wrestle, and with Seth Rollins out of action, Triple H needs an opponent. Suddenly, a Roman Reigns-Brock Lesnar rematch has turned into a possible Triple H-Roman Reigns showdown.
Why Roman Reigns Won't Win the Royal Rumble
Some seem certain that Roman Reigns will live up to his "One vs. All" credo and win the Royal Rumble against all odds.
But with the decks being stacked against him, there would be no legs to a WrestleMania program with Reigns as a world champion.
WrestleMania is built around the chase. Reigns has to lose this Royal Rumble, just like Austin did in 1999. It's probably only a matter of time before The Authority announces that Reigns is the first entrant. Similar to Austin, Reigns has a bounty on his head, but this time it's a WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Losing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble will give Reigns a chance to become a No. 1 contender at WWE Fastlane, thus setting up a WrestleMania main event against the one man who will win the Royal Rumble. Triple H.
Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and an on-air host for Bleacher Report. Like[4] him on Facebook, and listen to a special PodNasty WWE Awards Spectacular[5].
References
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