Early Favorites for the Royal Rumble 2015

Big, Hungry Outsider – Ryback

WWE.com

Ryback has been on fire since returning, and now the babyface that the company viewed him from the start, he has the strength and presence to become a Royal Rumble winner. He was a runner-up in 2013 at the peak of his main event run, and since then his feud with the Shield and Mark Henry saw him fall down the pecking order. Yet, he has recovered back to his previous stature with a string of dominant victories, outside of his poor showing in the Survivor Series elimination tag. Although he has seemingly been directed towards the United States Champion Rusev, it wouldn’t be the most surprising result in history if he pulled out a Rumble victory.

As a powerhouse, there are few superstars that could match up to Brock Lesnar. The Beast has been presented as a dominant and destructive force, decimating most that he stands opposite. Ryback has simply performed that on a weekly basis rather than on special occasions. I think even he would admit that he is still learning the ropes and honing his skills, but isn’t the dangerous buffoon that CM Punk claims he is. And even if he were, Lesnar is someone that can withstand any physical assault that Ryback would dish out.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons why Ryback is not the optimum choice. His in-ring skills are not the greatest, and although that is fine when contained in a shorter match, the WrestleMania main event is an entirely different prospect. It is likely too big of a burden for him to bear at this point in his career. Ryback has competed in a number of main events, but none of them have resulted in a significant amount of praise, so would be more rightly suited in the midcard. And, the final reason is that Ryback’s previous babyface run burnt out as quickly as it began, as comparisons to Goldberg and his limited ring skills means that he is not somebody that can realistically conquer the Beast and be a sustainable champion.