WWE must keep away from Predictable Royal Rumble Win For John Cena Or Roman Reigns

Credit: WWE.com

The early having a bet odds (h/t Paddy power) have positioned John Cena because the betting preferred at nine/4 at the same time as Roman Reigns is no. 2 at five/2, which indicates it is noticeably probable that we get an unsurprising winner for the 5th instantly 12 months. In 2011 and 2012, WWE went the unpredictable route with Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus, respectively, giving wish to enthusiasts that we might see a new fashion in which rising stars emerged from the 30-guy Royal Rumble in shape with a shocking and career-defining victory.

due to the fact that then, however, WWE has reverted to its age antique philosophy of predictability with its Rumble winners: Cena in 2013, Batista in 2014, Reigns in 2015, Triple H in 2016 and Randy Orton in 2017. aside from Reigns, each of those stars had formerly won the Royal Rumble, and again aside from Reigns, every of these stars had multiple global title reigns, with Triple H, Cena and Orton all within the double digits.

yet, WWE is poised to copy that mistake another time.

With reviews long indicating that Reigns will tackle Brock Lesnar for the normal Championship at WrestleMania 34, "The huge canine" is, together with Cena, an obvious preference to win the Royal Rumble just 3 years after he ultimate did so. you could bear in mind the overwhelmingly negative response Reigns obtained for his first Royal Rumble win in 2015, which took place in the Wells Fargo center in Philadelphia, the precise identical location in which the 2018 Royal Rumble will take vicinity and one in which lovers hated Reigns so much that they sincerely booed The Rock (who helped him win the match) out of the building.

nevertheless, WWE could thoroughly reflect records with every other Reigns win, which might erase all the hard paintings the creative team has put in to quelling a number of the boo birds for Reigns. Make no mistake about it, one of the fundamental motives WWE placed The shield back together a few months ago turned into to get Reigns cheered, and it worked splendidly, with the boos truely quieting for Reigns even as The guard seemingly became the No. 2 merchandise dealers on WWEShop.com.

Erasing that for a Royal Rumble victory for Reigns seems like a terrible concept, particularly for the reason that uncooked has elimination Chamber in February, that could without difficulty function the degree to get to Lesnar vs. Reigns if Reigns wins an elimination Chamber suit as an alternative. Likewise, a Cena Royal Rumble is a catastrophe ready to take place, given all the symptoms that "The Champ" is probably on his manner out sooner instead of later.

WWE enthusiasts are infamous for ruining matches after they realize one or both competitors is on their manner out, and though a Cena win would not result in extreme ranges of fan backlash a los angeles Goldberg/Lesnar at WrestleMania 20, it in all likelihood would not take a seat nicely with a massive portion of enthusiasts who know that Cena goes to be long past just as tons (if no longer greater) as he is round till he hangs up his boots for correct. during the last few years, Cena has taken several lengthy hiatuses, consisting of a three-month hiatus in 2017 that noticed him disappear after WrestleMania 33 in April and not show up again till July 4th.

The sudden boom in the number and frequency of Cena's absences may be attributed to his budding film career, which incorporates the filming of the Transformers spinoff Bumbleebee and a main voice position in Ferdinand, which had an traditionally horrible beginning weekend however remains presently in theaters. The massive perception is that Cena will comply with inside the Rock's footsteps for a complete-fledged Hollywood profession sooner or later within the next couple of years, and Cena himself has said that his days in WWE "are numbered."

accordingly, wouldn't WWE be higher off going a specific course with its Royal Rumble winner?

there's no shortage of superstars on the principle roster who deserve a global name possibility at the grand level of WrestleMania 34. SmackDown stars who come to mind consist of Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura while stars from the purple logo consist of Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman. Likewise, latest evidence indicates that pinnacle stars like Cena, Lesnar and Reigns aren't growing the WWE network subscriber rely, which in layman's phrases manner that WWE does not need to rely upon pinnacle stars to sell its pay-consistent with-perspectives.

In fact, fan engagement will top at WrestleMania regardless of who's wrestling for the organisation's respective international titles at the PPV, that is exactly why WWE have to forego counting on validated veterans like Cena to win the Royal Rumble while a rising celebrity might advantage an awful lot extra from it than Cena ever might. If Cena or Reigns maintains the trend of predictable Royal Rumble winners, that both hurts the attraction of the PPV itself and the up-and-coming stars who fall victim to the frenzy of "The massive dog" or "The Champ."

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Blake Oestriecher is an standard school trainer by means of day and a sports writer by night time. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he mostly covers WWE. you can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.