King Corbin
The fans aren’t supposed to like the villain. That is what makes him a villain. King Corbin is the best villain in WWE because everyone hates him. He has taken the King of the Ring victory and used it to propel his character. In order for Corbin to continue that character growth, he has to have a dastardly showing at the Royal Rumble.
He needs to be the wrestler that eliminates the biggest hero characters. There is even an argument for Corbin winning the Royal Rumble. The drawback is that there is no suitable hero for him to wrestle at WrestleMania. But because everyone hates him, his elimination will draw a huge reaction. This is what a villain should evoke from fans.
Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns, the character, is the biggest casualty of Brock Lesnar’s run as WWE Champion. Roman has bounced back from that feud and is in the best role of his career. There is a story to tell with him winning the Royal Rumble, and having the ability face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.
However, WWE has to be aware that Reigns vs Brock at WrestleMania has been done too many times. When Reigns gets eliminated, fans will either applaud the work Reigns did in the ring or that they won’t get Reigns and Lesnar again at WrestleMania. Maybe both.
Randy Orton
Defeating Randy Orton still matters in 2019. For Orton to still have that equity with the fans over a decade after his debut is an accomplishment. Orton’s character is strong enough that he doesn’t need to win the Royal Rumble. When he comes into the ring at number 30, he can tell the story of a final villain for the hero to defeat. When Orton is motivated to work, he can make anyone in WWE look like a million bucks. Losing the Royal Rumble is an opportunity to make the winner, who will head to WrestleMania, looking strong by eliminating Orton last.
WINNER: Kofi Kingston
Sometimes, WWE does things creatively that upsets fans. When they can see the error in their ways, they can interject what the fans want. They can then frame this with the WWE narrative of “sometimes you just have to let things unfold. WWE listens to the fans.”
This will be the case when Kofi Kingston wins the Royal Rumble, and goes to WrestleMania 36 to face Brock Lesnar.
Fans were furious when Kofi Kingston lost to Brock Lesnar on the premiere of SmackDown of FOX. It wasn’t that fans were upset that Kofi lost, fans understand that each championship reign eventually ends. The frustration was HOW Kingston lost the championship.
The idea that Kingston has never received a rematch can be woven into him winning the Royal Rumble. He can mention the week before the Royal Rumble that he is aware he never received a rematch for the WWE Championship. He can look Paul Heyman in the eye and state “since you didn’t give me my rematch, I will take my rematch by winning the 2020 Royal Rumble.”
Kingston will show up on SmackDown the next night and cut the promo that defines his career. He can talk about how he wasn’t given anything in his career in WWE, and he has earned everything and will do so again by winning the Royal Rumble.