Hello everyone! Are you ready to Rumble?! In this edition I am debuting my new piece, my 7-Star Wishlist. What’s that you ask? My 7-Star Wishlist is My 7 Wishes For a particular show, event, wrestler, etc. The 2018 WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, and in just mere days, we will, if you can believe it, be on the Road to WrestleMania! The Royal Rumble once again takes place in Philadelphia, and once again, we could be in-store for one raucous crowd, and could be in-store for another hijacked event. With that in mind, it’s time for my 7 Wishes for the 2018 Royal Rumble!

1-Star Wish: So the thing I least want to happen at the Royal Rumble PPV is Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan to retain the Tag Team titles. This team just kind of screams WTF to me. Rollins and Jordan have zero chemistry together, and make for awkward promos. This was a panic move done by WWE in the wake of Dean Ambrose’s injury, combined with fan reaction to Jason Jordan. These two losing their titles to The Bar would be the ideal move to me, and allows Seth Rollins to move back to a singles role, and maybe sets up a possible heel turn for Jordan.

2-Star Wish: My second wish is that the crowd doesn’t destroy the show. What I mean by this is I want the crowd to be loud, lively, and reactive, but I don’t want the crowd to hijack the show, and make it about themselves. The 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumbles are prime examples. The crowd wanted who they wanted to win, and wouldn’t take no for an answer, and they also voiced their opinions during other matches as well. I love crowds that are vocal, but when they get too carried away, it can make for an annoying event.

3-Star Wish: Thirdly, and breaking away from the Rumble match itself, my wish is the US Title picture becomes relevant again. With Bobby Roode winning the US Title, and the conspicuously absent Dolph Ziggler looming likely between now and the Rumble or right after, WWE has an opportunity to make the US Title important again. Bobby Roode winning the belt, Dolph Ziggler returning to reclaim his title, and a former WWE Champion in Jinder Mahal lurking as a contender, SmackDown Live could strike gold, no pun intended. Not to mention other names such as Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Tye Dillenger, Kofi Kingston (or any of New Day) could compete and the competition for the US Title could help revive the Blue brand to where it was in 2016, and a platform such as the Royal Rumble to crown an Undisputed United States Champion could help catapult the title from obscurity once and for all.

4-Star Wish: This year, I’d love to get some good surprises. I know every year there are shockers, and surprises, but I want a good, thriller of a Rumble match. I want to see good placement of talent, some unexpected surprise entrants, as well as a couple fun placed entrants. Also falling under this umbrella of good surprises is good surprise of match quality. I expect the RAW and SmackDown Tag Title matches to be amazing, especially the latter being 2 out of 3 falls, and Jinder vs Roode could be an awesome match. The World Title matches will not disappoint as Brock and Braun can always put good stories together and it will only be helped by Kane, same for AJ, Sami, and Owens, three veterans who will tear the house down.

5-Star Wish: So for my 5th wish I really hope the Women’s Royal Rumble overwhelms and doesn’t underwhelm us. The women’s roster in WWE today is in my opinion the best it’s ever been. There is star power developing in the women’s division, and there’s depth in the division, and the women, who have no doubt been dying for an opportunity like this, are going to do amazing. I just hope they don’t try too hard, but have some good spots and make their first Rumble one to remember.

6-Star Wish: My 6^th and 7^th wishes are more or less tied, but for my 6^th wish I would love to see Brock Lesnar lose his Universal Championship. Lesnar’s reign as Universal Champion has been anti-climactic to say the least. Most of his matches ended in WWE’s attempt at a pseudo-UFC style finish, 1 finish out of nowhere, ends the match, despite Brock taking finishes. Brock’s reign as champion hasn’t been beneficial to just about anyone, except Lesnar, and to me, it’s time to move on. Having Braun Strowman win the belt, especially with his recent angles on RAW, would be an amazing decision. WWE still has their Elimination Chamber PPV if they chose to take the belt away from Strowman, but given the year Strowman had in 2017, I think he’s more than deserving to end Lesnar’s title reign.

7-Star Wish: So my ultimate wish for the 2018 Royal Rumble is that WWE goes back to what made the Royal Rumble special: New Stars Being Created. The Royal Rumble helped catapult the likes of Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Batista, John Cena (2005 & 08) and more into the main event scene in WWE, and in this decade, WWE has been using the Rumble as a vehicle for established names to WrestleMania, and has wasted star-making opportunities with winners such as Edge, Sheamus, John Cena (2013), Batista, Triple H, and most recently Randy Orton. WWE needs to use the Rumble to catapult new talent like Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Finn Bálor, as examples. Time will tell ultimately which route they go.

Bonus Wish: If I could ask for a bonus wish, it would be that Kofi Kingston outdoes himself.

Every year Kofi Kingston has some kind of amazing feat avoiding elimination, from using a chair as a pogo stick, jumping from the barricade, and using Big E to stop him falling. I don’t know how he does it every year, but for me, and numerous fans around the world, it’s definitely a highlight of the match for me.