The 10 Most Likely Royal Rumble Winners of 2017

So there has been a lot of stir amongst the wrestling community concerning this year's annual Royal Rumble event, with so many possible winners and so many factors going into this match.  I'm interested to see which way WWE wants to go with the event, but as of right now, here are my top 10 most likely winners of the Royal Rumble Match.

#10 - Goldberg

With the hype surrounding Goldberg these last couple of months, especially by beating Brock Lesnar in the fashion that he did at Survivor Series, it's not unlikely that WWE would have Goldberg win the big one and challenge for the title at Wrestlemania.  He did say that he thought he had one more championship reign left in him, so only time will tell if WWE decides to cash in big on this freight train and give him one more shot at 'mania.

#9 - Brock Lesnar

Staying relatively close to my previous pick, Brock Lesnar is also confirmed for the Royal Rumble match.  It is also confirmed that once he and Goldberg hit the ring together, it will cause a total explosion that will probably eliminate everyone else in the ring at that time.  Knowing WWE's 'fairness booking' Brock will probably win 'against' Goldberg here in the final 2 of the Rumble match and then defeat him again at Elimination Chamber, then going on to Mania to challenge for the title.  That is probably the best way that the booking can go in the eyes and minds of WWE if Lesnar were to win the Rumble.  However, it is pretty fair to say that neither of these guys are going to win the Rumble and just challenge each other at Mania, but you truly never know with the WWE.

#8 - Triple H

This one is fairly out of left field, but here me out.  Triple H started a feud with Seth Rollins months ago by screwing him out of the Universal Championship in favor of Owens, but that feud was really never solidified.  The way this match would work would probably have to have Owens losing the title to Rollins at Rumble or the Pay-Per-View after and having HHH challenge Rollins at Mania.  Another far-fetched booking idea, but Triple H hasn't ever been one to shy away from the limelight of Wrestlemania, and in my opinion, is a long way away from permanently hanging up his boots and leaving the ring for good.

#7 - Roman Reigns

WWE, for reasons I will never understand, is still very high on this guy and I can definitely see him challenging for the Universal title again at Mania and winning it to become a dual champion.  This would probably be the biggest smack in the face to fans, as Roman Reigns doesn't deserve nearly as much of a push as he has been getting.  That is a completely different discussion for a completely other day, but the point that Roman Reigns still has a possibility of winning the Royal Rumble and eventually becoming a dual Champion makes me sick, but I cannot deny the possibility.

#6 - Sami Zayn

This guy.  The guy that was once one of the most promising Superstars of the NXT roster, now reduced to jobbing to Braun Strowman.  This is probably the thing I want to see happen the most, but I know in my heart of hearts is least likely to happen.  The fact that Sami Zayn has been going nowhere fast these past couple of months, paired with the fact that he's been jobbing to Braun Strowman doesn't overshadow the fact that he has had multiple match of the year contenders in 2016.  He is an extremely gifted athlete who is being completely underutilized in today's WWE.  Which is why winning the Royal Rumble and earning a shot at the Universal Championship, against his old rival Kevin Owens no less (whom he got the best of at their last encounter) would definitely up his stock and would certainly be a decision that was best for business.

#5 - Samoa Joe

With his debut on the main roster imminent, you have to believe that Samoa Joe is in line to be the next Brock Lesnar.  The overpowering force is the first 2-time NXT Champion in history and has feuded with the likes of Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura in match of the year calibur matches over the past year.  This guy is definitely high on Triple H's list and is definitely one of the wild cards come the Royal Rumble, but win or lose, once this guy debuts, it will be bad news for the rest of the WWE roster.  

#4 - Chris Jericho

With Jericho leaving for his Fozzy tour sometime in 2017, you have to believe that if Jericho were to get any kind of title reign at this point, it would be shortlived.  However, you cannot deny the fact that it would be possible to pull such a run with Kevin Owens.  With Jericho winning the Rumble and JeriKO already on rocky terms, it could put the boulder over the edge for the rivalry we all have been waiting for for months.  Chris Jericho VS Kevin Owens for the Universal title and Wrestlemania could be less of a dream match than once thought.  

#3 - The Undertaker

It's no secret that plans for the Undertaker's next Wrestlemania match are already in progress, but with if it were a Career VS Title match? With Undertaker getting up there in years, he really doesn't have that many Wrestlemania matches left in him, and this could very well be his last.  Billing this match as a Career vs Title match, especially with champions with such calibur as AJ Styles and John Cena, would be such a hyped match and would be one of the true highlights of Wrestlemania 33.

#2 - John Cena

With the return of John Cena already upon us, you have to wonder just how many talents he is going to bury this time around.  Already having a few matches with AJ Styles under his belt for the championship, it is very possible that he wants to take the title from Styles at Mania.  It worries me having Cena this high up in the card again and having the possibility to tie both the record for most Royal Rumble Wins (Stone Cold Steve Austin - 3 Wins) and the most WWE Championship Reigns (Ric Flair - 16 Reigns) it really seems like Cena is trying to be monopolized in the record books.  Even so, it puts him in prominent contendership to win this year's Rumble match and promises a good matchup to headline Wrestlemania.  

#1 - Finn Balor

Oh he's been trying to decieve us.  He's been trying to lead us to believe that he won't be coming back until Mania.  But I believe in Balor.  It isn't unheard of for Superstars to come back to compete in the Royal Rumble match prior to their initial comeback date from injury, superstars such as John Cena and Edge have done the same thing and have come back to win the whole thing.  The most prominent storyline that could come out of the Royal Rumble this year would be Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania, Balor competing for the title he never lost, and Owens competing that he has something to prove.  It would be a renewed rivalry from NXT and it would be awesome to see two guys that we used to see compete on the NXT stage headlining the Grandaddy of 'em all.  

I could see any of these guys winning the Royal Rumble, but I'd have to say that I'd like to see Balor, Undertaker, and Zayn win over anyone else.

What do you guys think?