Royal Rumble 2023: 3 potential winners from the men’s division
Believe it or not, we are only a couple of months away from the 2023 Royal Rumble. As one of WWE’s oldest supercards, the Rumble’s legacy speaks for itself, and it’s usually the “Big Four” event that fans are the most excited for, regardless of how good or bad the product is.
Much of that anticipation centers around the PPV’s eponymous match: a 30-person battle royal that ensures the winner a world championship match at WrestleMania. That eagerness has doubled with the addition of the women’s version of the match.
Both matches should return to form this coming year after an underwhelming 2022. Even still, the two Rumbles will probably feature only a handful of potential victors. You can find an early forecast of the possible Women’s Rumble winners here, so now it’s time to look at the men’s side.
These three stars could win the 2023 Royal Rumble.
Sheamus
It’s time to start the “put the world title on Sheamus” agenda. “The Celtic Warrior” has enjoyed a career resurgence, reliably producing great matches and earning so much respect from the fans that it forced WWE to turn him babyface. Now, he’s one of the most over wrestlers in the promotion.
Who would’ve thought that letting someone have good matches and project a no-nonsense aura would get someone over more than doing corny fake collect call commercials?
Anyhow, Sheamus recently returned to television on the Nov. 11 episode of SmackDown and it looks like he will take part in the men’s WarGames match opposite The Bloodline at Survivor Series. Seems like the perfect time to test the waters for interest in a Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns match.
After that disastrous WWE Title run in 2015 as the leader of the League of Nations, it seemed as though Sheamus’ days as a main eventer were finished. However, the last couple of years have shown that he has more than a bit of mileage left as a top act, and on a two-night show, you could give one of those spots to him. A Rumble win is the easiest way to do it.
Seth Rollins
Thankfully, it appears that WWE plans to lean into the cheers Seth Rollins receives on a weekly basis and turn him babyface. If it means that “The Visionary” will revert back to something resembling the confident, take-on-all-comers wrestler that became one of the company’s popular stars in 2018, then great!
Since WWE botched that babyface character in 2019 with the notorious Hell in a Cell match against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Rollins has mostly used his brilliant in-ring work to deflect from his terrible gimmicks, but hopefully, his becoming a good guy again will change that.
Rollins as a babyface now re-opens the door for WWE to revisit his feud with Reigns. The two wrestled for the Universal Title (which made little sense) at the 2022 Royal Rumble, and that match ended with a groan-inducing DQ win for Rollins. With that context, Rollins has cause to ask for another shot at Reigns, but getting a shot at WrestleMania by virtue of winning the Rumble would work, too.
Cody Rhodes
The story of Cody Rhodes returning from his torn pectoral muscle to win the Royal Rumble and win the Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania practically writes itself. It’s simply a matter of whether or not Rhodes will be medially able to make it happen.
Prior to his injury, “The American Nightmare” was a breath of fresh air on WWE television, providing fans with a reprieve from a stale, uninspiring product. It’s fair to wonder if some of that new car smell would’ve worn off had he stayed healthy for the entire year, but we’ll never know.
What we do know is that WWE fans will welcome the former Ring of Honor World Champion with ear-ringing cacophony the second they hear “Wrestling has more than one royal family”, and there’s no better place for that to happen than the Rumble.
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If Rhodes shows up there, he’s winning.