WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 3 Inter-Promotional Battles We Would Love to See

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1. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler

Heading into Survivor Series, fans were thrilled by the announcement that Sami Zayn would be getting a chance to bring SmackDown’s Intercontinental Championship home to Monday Night Raw – as part of the brand warfare that dominated the night.

What made this even sweeter was the fact that Dolph Ziggler had recently captured the title from The Miz at No Mercy, in a phenomenal match that seemingly served to turn the man’s career around and put him right back under the limelight.

The thought of seeing these two extraordinary in-ring competitors square off with the championship on the line was a mouth-watering prospect for most, given the fact that they’d never locked up in singles action prior to that point.

Unfortunately, Ziggler would lose the title just days before Survivor Series, leading to new champion The Miz to face off with – and eventually defeat – Sami Zayn instead. For many, it felt like we’d been cheated out of a historic first-time-ever match that would have easily stolen the show given the right amount of time.

Things have changed quite a bit for “The Show-Off” since then, most notably Dolph Ziggler’s outlook on how to make an impact within WWE. He’s done away with his morals over the last few weeks as a result of his inability to “win the big one”, which hits close to home for “The Underdog from the Underground” in a big way.

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It seems that Zayn has been overlooked ever since being drafted to Monday Night Raw, which is a bit of an insult given his big wins over the previous half-year in WWE.

Still, Zayn had to earn his spot in the Survivor Series match, had to practically beg for Mick Foley to allow him to face Braun Strowman at Roadblock: End of the Line, and even had to fight for his entry into the Royal Rumble match this past Monday night. His immense talent is just not met with the appropriate opportunities.

Now, Dolph Ziggler and Sami Zayn are going into the Royal Rumble with a huge opportunity up for grabs in a main event championship match at WrestleMania, and it’ll be interesting to see if these stars will finally cross paths.

With Dolph’s recent heel turn, this encounter will be vastly different from what we would’ve expected at Survivor Series, but the story remains the same.

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Two spectacular athletes, desperate to capitalize on the biggest chance of their careers at one of the biggest wrestling events of the calendar year.