Royal Rumble: Four dark horse winners for the men’s and women’s rumbles

The Royal Rumble is right around the corner. Thirty men and thirty women are set to take part in the annual event to kick off the Road to WrestleMania. This year is oddly different than most as there aren’t many clear favorites for victors on either side. Thanks to shotty WWE booking, the list of names with momentum is shorter than in other years. With that in mind, here’s a look at dark horses that can win both the Men’s and Women’s rumbles.

AJ Styles

Since his surprise appearance as entrant number three at the Royal Rumble, AJ Styles has done everything there is to do in the WWE. In six years, he’s been on one of the best runs the company has seen in that time. Not only does he consistently put on some of the best matches, but he stays involved in the top storylines in the promotion. Styles remains one of the best wrestlers in the industry and at 44-years of age, a Royal Rumble victory is one of the few accolades to escape him.

Giving AJ Styles the victory at Royal Rumble automatically injects excitement into what many fear may be a lackluster WrestleMania season without any real direction. Styles delivers in all aspects of professional wrestling and can easily excel as the focal point heading into the biggest moment of the year.

Naomi

Naomi is one of the few women outside the title picture to be involved in a consistent storyline. Unfortunately, that angle with Sonya Deville has long lived out its welcome and is slowly presenting itself to be one that falls into the typical non-sensical booking. That would change if Naomi pulled out a victory at the Royal Rumble.

Deville would have another reason to be angry and jealous at her success, creating some sort of “story” behind the angle. But here’s the kicker, Naomi would have to win clean over Deville before focusing on the title at WrestleMania. It’s time to end that feud while building Naomi to the moment that many wrestling fans want to see.

Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns

This one-two submission comes with a caveat. Both Reigns and Lesnar have big title matches at the event on Saturday. Reigns is defending against Seth Rollins, while Lesnar must deal with Bobby Lashley. The idea of either of these men losing their titles, then stepping into the Rumble to win it isn’t a far-fetched idea. Becky Lynch did the same thing a few years ago, losing to Asuka before winning the women’s rumble later that evening.

Reigns and Lesnar are hinting at the idea of a title unification match at WrestleMania. Instead of that option, imagine one of them losing only to win the Rumble and challenge the other for their title. This option allows WWE to keep their coveted Lesnar versus Reigns matchup, while not tying up the other title in a unification bout. This time of the year is meant to build new stars, so hopefully, WWE takes this route instead of building around two men only.

Bianca Belair

There are very few women that are consistently booked as Bianca Belair. Even after the questionable decision to have her lose in 26 seconds to Becky Lynch at SummerSlam, the WWE has kept her “strong” as far as this show’s booking is concerned. Like Naomi, fans want to see Belair consistently placed at the top of the card, and seeing her have another WrestleMania moment against Lynch would be a clear decision. There are very few women outside of the Four Horsewomen who could have a Mania moment with Lynch, and Belair fits that position.

With rumors growing that Ronda Rousey is heading back to the WWE, Belair is again one of the only women that can be booked against her. Giving her a big moment at the rumble helps continue her elevation which will hopefully end in another major WrestleMania moment.