WWE 'Royal Rumble' winner 2016: Who will be world heavyweight champion?

WWE logo Twitter courtesy of WWE

The 2016 "Royal Rumble" is just about here, and with it are numerous rumors suggesting who might walk out of the grueling match as the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) world heavyweight champion.

First off, there's always a chance that the man walking into the "Rumble" as the current champion could walk out of it with the golden belt still in tow.

Still, Roman Reigns, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, will have a tall task ahead of him since he will have to be the match's first entrant. Reigns has overcome massive odds in claiming the championship in the first place, so it's at least plausible that WWE could decide that no one else is more deserving of the strap than the one who has it right now.

Reigns is far from a guaranteed victor, however, and there are plenty of other viable candidates that could take the title away from him.

One such candidate is Triple H.

According to What Culture, Triple H is actually the odds-on favorite to win the "Royal Rumble" in what could be the setup for a lengthy feud with Reigns that culminates at this year's "Wrestlemania."

Triple H has also been noticeably absent from WWE television for a while now, so a return at the "Royal Rumble" would be somewhat surprising and also intriguing.

One possible dark horse candidate to win the "Royal Rumble" this Sunday is Bray Wyatt.

Wyatt has been moonlighting in the main event scene for brief bursts during his run with the WWE, but he has yet to actually be the promotion's big headliner.

This Sunday's "Royal Rumble" could afford Wyatt with the big win he needs to truly catapult himself into the main event scene, and that may eventually lead to a feud with Brock Lesnar that finally gets settled at "WrestleMania."

This year's "Royal Rumble" is also expected to feature an array of surprise entrants.

A.J. Styles in particular has often been mentioned as a potential "Rumble" entrant, according to Bleacher Report.

Aside from Styles, several other WWE legends are also expected to show up at this year's "Royal Rumble" and none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson himself has also been mentioned as a potential competitor.

Fans will finally find out who will emerge from the "Royal Rumble" as champion when the match takes place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida this Sunday, Jan. 24, starting at 7:30 p.m. EST.

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