Abe Odeh brings you his Top 5 choices for what he wants to see in the Men’x WWE Royal rumble!

Everyone’s favorite night of the year is Sunday and the Rumble entrants may be as unpredictable as ever. With the ongoing rise of NXT and their talent, the WWE is relying less on legends to make surprise appearances and instead are using those free slots to invest in their future. As I was listing the names of 30 potential men’s entrants, I realized this year may be the most fresh faces we’ve seen in a single Royal Rumble.

Also check out my Writing The Book, focused on the Women’s Royal Rumble match!

5. A Member of Sanity

The heads of WWE promised us that they would start listening to us more. We saw that when Gallows & Anderson and Sanity made an impact soon after the declaration. Since then, it’s been more of the same. They’ve been absent from our television screens.

If they’re struggling with using them as a tag team, then try building one of them up as a singles star. Eric Young is a totally underutilized asset that could be contending for the United States Championship. He’s done it all in the industry, including winning gold everywhere he’s been.

Killian Dain is as athletic of a big man as Keith Lee. The difference is that he didn’t get the same spotlight due to being in a faction since his debut. Even with his limited opportunities, he’s created the highlights of a 5-star ladder match, a War Games match, and had a great showing in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal.

4. A Champion from Every Network Show

This means Pete Dunne, Buddy Murphy (or whoever wins in the kick-off show), and the winner of Aleister Black vs Tomasso Ciampa. If you’re the main champion of an entire brand, you deserve an automatic bid in the Rumble. Mustafa Ali earned a jump to the main roster by being a 205 Live standout and he never even won the Cruiserweight Championship.

The respective champions should be able to compete for a chance to make that same jump. Andrade got a Rumble slot as NXT Champion last year but the other champions were nowhere to be found. Pete Dunne is currently in the middle of one of the longest title reigns in WWE history. In May, he’ll have held the United Kingdom Championship for two years. The only time he’s ever appeared on the main roster is when he was pinned by Enzo Amore. The Rumble is a chance for a fresh start. Also, if they make an impact, you’ve now marketed each brand as well as the upcoming Worlds Collide event.

3. Face-offs: Velveteen – Cena / Rollins – Ricochet

Every time I get on Twitter, another person is entertaining the idea of a dream match between Seth Rollins and Ricochet. That possibility is drawing closer, especially if Ricochet is unsuccessful in his title defense the night before. Ricochet has one of the highest ceilings of any NXT superstar and is the closest thing we have to a superhero. He can be the Spiderman to John Cena’s Superman in the eyes of younger fans. Let’s see that first-time interaction with Seth Rollins.

Many of us are familiar with John Cena’s high praise of Velveteen Dream. Last year, John Cena stated that Dream could be “the one”. Cena is currently in the Royal Rumble match but has been tagged as questionable with an ankle injury. If he’s unable to compete for a lengthy duration, The Velveteen Dream is the perfect person to serve him with a quick elimination. Velveteen doesn’t even have a match at Takeover. I hope this means they’re saving him to take over the company the next night.

2. Kofi Almost Does It

Kofi Kingston’s near eliminations have become synonymous with the Rumble. Every Rumble season we relive his saves and wonder what he’s going to do this year. However, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Kofi making it all the way til the end. Not winning, but as close as the final four or even three.

Kofi is one of those stars that fans have been rooting for to finally get his world title opportunity. He’s done literally everything except compete in a main event feud. He even cut a brief promo on Smackdown recently voicing his displeasure of never getting that big shot. That means either the writers are listening, or Kofi knows he has the support in order to start lobbying for that opportunity. WWE allowing Kingston to last until the final stretch would be a great way to tell the fans they are listening. Now that Daniel Bryan is a detestable WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston would be the ideal man to take the title off him later this year.

1. The Winner Dethrones Brock

Two of the most popular names I’ve heard as predictions to win on Sunday are Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Those are actually the guys I want to be the last two standing. Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar is the biggest money match you can book. The only time they ever met in a singles match was interrupted by The Undertaker and a winner was never decided. This is the first big chance to make Seth the future of the company. Rather than being champion, I’d like to see Brock transition to more of a Triple H or Undertaker role where he saves his appearances for new marquee match-ups.

Drew McIntyre is one of the lone men on the roster that could realistically match up with Lesnar from a kayfabe standpoint. If McIntyre wins, he’d be best served with an immediate babyface turn. Just imagine the impassioned promos from Drew headed into Mania if he gives the audience a reason to support him. That all sounds incredible, but Brock needs to get past Finn Balor first.