John Cena’s quest to tie Ric Flair’s record for most world title wins in WWE history has been going on for two years now, and while he could, and probably will finally tie the Nature Boy’s record at some point in 2017, he’ll likely tie another record set by arguably the most popular WWE superstar of all time, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
In 2001, Steve Austin set the record for most Royal Rumble wins in WWE history — surpassing Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan who each had 2 Rumble wins — and he went on to challenge The Rock for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania X7 .
In January of 2013, John Cena won the Royal Rumble for the second time in his career, and, like Austin in 2001, he went on to challenge The Rock for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania .
Cena is scheduled to return to WWE television on December 27, and while we won’t know what WWE has planned for him when he returns, the direction seems clear: a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 .
According to Forbes , The Undertaker will challenge for AJ Styles’ WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble event on January 29. As of this writing, The Deadman isn’t being advertised for any upcoming WWE shows, but he’s expected to return at some point in January.
Most are predicting that John Cena will tie Ric Flair’s record at WrestleMania 33 , which is probably a safe bet.
As of right now, John Cena is listed as the favorite to win the 2017 Royal Rumble , which would put him against the winner of the rumored AJ vs. Undertaker match. So, we could see The Deadman win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship one last time at the beginning of next year, which will begin the build to his match with Cena next spring.
The big question is, if Undertaker beats AJ, and goes on to defend the title against Cena in Orlando, then what do you do with AJ at WrestleMania 33 ? It’s not like WWE is going to put him back in the ring with Dean Ambrose, and a singles match with James Ellsworth at an event like WrestleMania is out of the question. So, who is left for The Phenomenal One to face on WWE’s grandest stage? Well, there’s one obvious answer.
Here’s a scenario that would make a ton of sense — and this is just fantasy booking here — let’s say the odds are right, and John Cena ends up winning the Royal Rumble . Also, let’s assume that the Styles vs. Undertaker rumor is going to end up being true, and that The Undertaker wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on January 29, which will setup the rumored Cena vs. Undertaker match. But, who says that match has to be a one on one match?
Typically when a champion loses his title in WWE, he’s entitled to a rematch at the date of his or her choosing. So, AJ could invoke his rematch clause, and choose the date of April 2, which is the day of WrestleMania . You’d then have a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Undertaker, Styles, and Cena, where Cena — who was beaten by AJ twice over the summer — can pin The Phenomenal One to not only get his revenge, but he’ll also tie Ric Flair’s world title record on WWE’s grandest stage. Also, WWE could avoid beating Undertaker that way, and it would setup a future one on one match between Cena and The Deadman at a future date.
Whether WWE does the triple threat idea or not remains to be seen, but even if they don’t, you should expect John Cena to be the last man standing in the 2017 Royal Rumble match.
There’s really only one scenario where, if it happens, Cena probably won’t win the annual 30-man match, and that’s Finn Balor makes his return on January 29. But, even Balor has said that’s probably not going to happen . So, for now, it looks like John Cena will win the Royal Rumble .
[Featured Image by WWE]
