Predicting the final four for the men’s Royal Rumble match
As we all know, the Royal Rumble pay-per-view is a week away, which means there’s still plenty of time to speculate on which wrestlers will win the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches. You could even argue that those discussions and ponderings are just as fun as watching the actual matches play out.
While this year’s field for the men isn’t as loaded as past years, the amount of talent WWE still has at its disposal should still make for a fun match and ample opportunities to create some new stars.
While figuring out who wins the Rumble can bring plenty of enjoyment (while risking raising one’s expectations too high), predicting the final four (when the match becomes a MATCH) is just as intriguing in terms of determining who the promotion sees big things for.
These are the wrestlers who could be the final four in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble.
Big E: Given how WWE gave him a lackluster maiden reign as WWE Champion and had him lose the title so unceremoniously at Day 1 (not to mention eating a clean loss to Seth Rollins a couple of weeks ago), Big E should win the whole Rumble, let alone end up in the final four.
WWE needs to send a message to the fans that it hasn’t given up on the New Day member as a main event babyface attraction and a Rumble where he at least has a chance to win at the end would assuage any concerns. Another instance of E nonchalantly falling short in a big match would serve as another metaphorical gut punch to the fans.
Damian Priest: Even though WWE has made some recent baffling decisions with Damian Priest’s recent “you don’t want to make me angry” repackaging, the promotion has wisely protected him throughout his reign as United States Champion.
As such, Priest seems like someone who WWE will attempt to spotlight in the Rumble by having him eliminate a bunch of wrestlers, last for over 20 minutes, reach the final four, or all of the above. This is the time to see if Priest is ready to take the next step up the card and an impressive Rumble performance would be a good first step in that process.
Kevin Owens: Given that Kevin Owens recently inked a new deal with WWE, it stands to reason that he may receive a more sustained push, at least early on. That means he might have a memorable Rumble run this year, even if he doesn’t end up winning the whole thing.
Plus, as we all know, anything that has Kevin Owens in it is generally better than anything without him. So, watching him go on a run in this Rumble match would be great.
(sigh) Happy Corbin: You just know WWE is gonna give Corbin that slot in the final four because of all that definitely-not-go-away “heat” he and Madcap Moss generate every week on SmackDown. It’s what WWE does: it always has some “avatar for the company’s booking idiosyncracies” heel eliminate a bunch of crowd favorites for those sweet boos, even if those are “please get them off my TV” boos.
Next. R-Truth’s run deserves the praise sent his way on his birthday. dark
Fortunately, it will be a setup for a babyface to toss him out, but Corbin (and Moss) will no doubt make that eventual payoff feel like more of a chore than it should, and that is no knock to either man. As usual, it is an indictment of the people who script these awful characters.