Who's the front runner for the Royal Rumble at this point?

[Everlong]

If you had to guess, who's going to take the Rumble this year? Will it be someone the fans actually want to see win? Will it be a part timer?

I suppose it depends in part on if AJ Styles keeps his title belt, because I could see him winning the thing if he lost before/at RR. But what do you think?

[The Legend]

John Cena? Seriously I could see Cena winning the Rumble especially if Taker does in fact take the belt off of Styles.

[Hanley!]

I don't know. Honestly, I don't think it's going to be anybody that we'll be happy with. Roman Reigns or John Cena would be the front runners in my mind. Giant meh.

They haven't really created any great options to win as faces, and they almost never give the win to a heel. Plus both champions are likely to be heel by the Royal Rumble (even if they could both lose at that event).

Zayn and Cesaro have not been built up as anything close to title contenders. Seth Rollins could be a viable option (actually it's probably the best one), but they don't seem to be going all out with him as face and he's rumoured to be facing Triple H. Goldberg is a possibility, but he'll probably get eliminated by Brock to set up their rematch for Wrestlemania. Jericho turning face and winning could happen, to set up Jericho vs Owens for the title. There are worse options.

Dean Ambrose isn't an option on Smackdown. Orton is heel and a Wyatt, so he's not an option either. Undertaker is, sadly, a possibility. So is John Cena. Because Undertaker vs Cena sadly looks like the most likely Smackdown title match in 2017, fuck this company.

There's also the very slim possibility that Balor comes back and wins. But even if he's ready by the Rumble, that's a bit of a long shot.

Cena, Undertaker, Reigns, Jericho and Balor are the only people I really see having a shot at this. Not the most exciting options frankly. But unless they go with Reigns it probably won't get quite as negative a reaction as some recent Rumbles. It's pretty clear it's not going to be one for the ages though.

At least it's not super obvious at this point. So that's one positive the match has going for it.

[ShaneOfan]

My money is on Bray. I think it may finally be his time.

[KaiserGlider]

My pick at this point is Jericho, which sounds a lot less ridiculous than it would have a few months ago. Dude is over as fuck, hasn't won a Rumble before, and Owens/Jericho is the kind of good long-term story that should be blown off at Wrestlemania. It may not be the typical career-defining moment for a young guy that most people expect out of the Rumble, but I think the fans would be into it and it would work for the story.

I also feel like a shock win is very possible this year, so I'm not counting out Nakamura getting called up and winning it to solidify my fantasy Styles/Nakamura Wrestlemania match.

[prophet]

I'm gonna go with Jericho as well. Admittedly my knowledge of today's shows is limited to watching YouTube clips and reading the odd dirt sheet but I was having a chat at work about Wrestlemania with some friends and decided to book my card. It looks something like the below (I'm happy to elaborate on anything in the unlikely event that anyone is interested) and that would mean that either Cena, Taker or Y2J win it.

Jericho or Balor, maybe have Balor win it if he's cleared to return.

AJ Styles (c) vs John Cena vs The Undertaker
Kevin Owens (c) vs Chris Jericho
Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg
Seth Rollins vs Triple H
Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton (c) vs American Alpha
The Miz (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose
Charlotte (c) vs Bayley vs Sasha
Sheamus and Cesaro (c) vs The New Day vs Enzo and Cass vs Gallows and Anderson
Andre The Giant Battle Royale (Winner: Sami Zayn)

[Headlesspete]

Right now, Goldburg has to be the front runner! I hate to say it because it really would be a massive waste, and he in no way needs it to move forward with whatever plans they have for him, but its WWE! I full expect Brock to win the WWE title somehow and thus Brock vs Goldburg for the WWE title at WrestleMania...

I really hope Jericho wins! Admittedly he doesn't need it either, but atleast with him the story is ready made, with him and Owens building for so long now, it would seem like the obvious route for Jericho to win and turn face, and finally having him and Owens at Mania.

Its nice to have so many other options to be fair. Although i don't know if thats the case of WWE not building anyone up to win the match and so, no one seems like they will!