WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Predicting Odds for All 30 Potential Entrants
Credit: WWE.com
24. Rusev
Rusev has been the victim of stop-and-start pushes during his WWE career. He looked set to become a top heel in 2015, but ran into John Cena. The Face That Runs the Place topped the Bulgarian Brute in three of their four title matches, and sent him into a love program with Dolph Ziggler for the rest of the year.
Last spring, Rusev looked to be on the rise with his second United States Championship win. However, he ran into Roman Reigns. These two had four matches, three of which Reigns won (the other never technically happened). Two-plus months since their last bout, Rusev has been stuck in a feud with Enzo Amore, who hit on Lana, got lured to a hotel room, and proceeded to get obliterated by the former Hero of the Russian Federation.
In January 2017, Rusev is not quite a comedy character, but he does not have a good spot, even on the mid-card. If the end to his 2016 had been any indication, he will not get much of a run in the Royal Rumble match. Expect him to have a short stay and get eliminated by Big Cass.