Braun Strowman Could Win The 2017 ‘Royal Rumble’ And Face Roman Reigns For The Universal Championship At ‘WrestleMania 33’

There are already a few things that we know about the 2017 Royal Rumble event. Charlotte will defend her Women’s Championship against Bayley, and Roman Reigns will get a Universal Championship rematch with the champ, Kevin Owens. But, the one thing we don’t know is who the winner of the Royal Rumble match will be. But, on Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer named Braun Strowman as one of the favorites going into WWE’s annual 30-man match.

During the Q&A segment on Monday’s Observer Radio, Meltzer was asked if Braun Strowman will win the Royal Rumble match, and Meltzer responded by saying if Roman Reigns wins the Universal Championship on the show, then Strowman will probably win the Rumble.

“If Roman Reigns wins the Universal Championship, it’s possible that [Braun Strowman] will win [the Royal Rumble]. Yeah, it is possible.”

A few weeks ago, Meltzer reported that Reigns vs. Strowman could happen at WrestleMania 33. But, at the time, it didn’t look like the match would be for the Universal Championship.

“Braun Strowman is gonna face Big Show next. They’re gonna do the ‘body slam challenges’ at the house shows starting in December. So, they’re gonna do that, and obviously Big Show is a setup, then it’s Roman Reigns. It could possibly happen at WrestleMania 33.”

If you look at the potential match card for WrestleMania 33, it’s hard to see Reigns facing anyone other than Strowman, as other top Raw stars like Seth Rollins, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Triple H will likely be working with each other in Orlando next year. So, that leaves Strowman as the only realistic opponent for the current United States Champion.

Over the last month or so, the storyline with Strowman is that he’s been craving some “real competition.” At this past Sunday’s Roadblock: End of the Line show, he got some real competition, as he was booked against Sami Zayn, and all Zayn had to do is last 10 minutes with the ex-Wyatt Family member, and he’d win. Long story short, Zayn lasted 10 minutes, and Strowman was so furious about it, that he destroyed almost everyone — including Roman Reigns — on Raw the following night.

Reigns vs. Strowman is a classic Vince McMahon move, where he puts a top babyface against an unstoppable heel giant. If the match does happen, it’ll undoubtedly be an attempt to get the fans behind Reigns. Will it work? Probably not, because WWE has seemingly tried everything with Reigns, and nothing has gotten the fans behind him. So, booking him against Strowman probably won’t work either.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a possible big match involving Strowman. Last year, we heard several times that he would face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, and at SummerSlam, he’d go one on one with Brock Lesnar, but neither match happened.

Since the brand extension back in July, Strowman hasn’t suffered one loss by pinfall or submission. Of course, he has lost a couple of matches by count out or disqualification, but those are never viewed as real losses in the world of professional wrestling.

If Strowman is booked against Reigns at WrestleMania 33, it’s likely that he’ll suffer his firstpin fall loss since the brand extension. But, the real question is, will that match be the main event of the show? Typically, the Royal Rumble winner vs. whoever the champion is at the time ends up being the main event of WWE’s biggest match of the year. But, if the match happens, WWE will probably make an exception to that rule because Strowman clearly isn’t ready to be in the main event of their biggest show of the year.

[Featured Image by WWE]