Today marks the 31st Royal Rumble--one of the biggest nights of the year in the pro-wrestling world. We have our first ever Women's Royal Rumble match, as well as the classic 30-man Royal Rumble match. Here's our predictions for the night.
Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
The Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable (2 out of 3 falls match)
Prediction: Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable
Gable and Benjamin have been hot over the past couple weeks, and their quick rise to prominence has made them even more hated by the fans. The Usos are over enough without the championships, and if they win, Benjamin and Gable would likely fade back into obscurity. WWE should capitalize on this opportunity to put two of the best wrestlers on the Smackdown roster at the top of the tag division.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs. The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro)
Prediction: The Bar
For weeks, Seth Rollins has been visibly fed up with Jason Jordan losing matches, volunteering him to compete, and causing lots of problems. Tonight, we could finally see these two turn on each other, which could put them in a feud for Wrestlemania. Putting the titles on the Bar isn’t insanely exciting, but keeping them on Jordan and Rollins for much longer could start to get boring.
Bobby Roode’s open challenge for the US Title
Prediction: Bobby Roode
It’s clear that Roode won’t lose in his first title defense, but this match could be an opening for a new rivalry or return—possibly Dolph Ziggler, who vacated the title in the first place.
WWE Championship Match
AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (handicap match)
Prediction: AJ Styles
While Owens and Zayn as co-champions sounds nothing short of awesome, it doesn’t make much sense going into Wrestlemania. If a member of the Raw roster wins the Royal Rumble, this rivalry could continue and we could see Owens and Zayn pull off a victory at the grandest stage of them all.
The growing dissension between general manager Daniel Bryan and commissioner Shane McMahon will likely continue at this pay per view, and maybe even reach a boiling point as these two set up for what seems to be a match at Wrestlemania.
Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane
Prediction: Braun Strowman
Although messy, the build up to this match has been fantastic. We’ve never seen Lesnar in such a vulnerable position before, and Braun Strowman has never looked more dominant. Unfortunately, Kane seems to have become an afterthought in this match—he only seems to be there as an excuse for why Lesnar could lose down the line. If Strowman gets the pin in this match, Paul Heyman can claim that Lesnar didn’t lose the title in a one-on-one bout, while the Monster Among Men can claim the title.
Women’s Royal Rumble
Match participants: Asuka, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Bayley, Naomi, Natalya, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Tamina Snuka, Lana, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox (only 18/30 announced)
Possible surprise entrants: Candice LeRae, Kaitlyn, Lita, Ronda Rousey, Nikki and Brie Bella, pretty much any former Women’s/Divas Champion
Prediction: Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch is hot off of her return to Smackdown weeks ago, and seems to always have the upper hand each week. However, Lynch is seemingly overshadowed by the clearly dominant Asuka and intimidating Nia Jax on Raw. However, Asuka won’t win only because she is undefeated—WWE needs to have her lose as much as she can without putting an actual loss on her record, and it doesn’t make as much sense for her to win as it does Becky. Nia is being billed like the Big Show in the Rumble, too large to be eliminated. Has Big Show ever won a Rumble?
Men’s Royal Rumble
Match participants: John Cena, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Elias, Tye Dillinger, Baron Corbin, Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt, Aiden English, Rusev, Titus O'Neil, Apollo Crews (only 13/30 announced)
Possible surprise entrants: EC3, Kenny Omega, Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy, Pete Dunne
Prediction: Finn Balor or Shinsuke Nakamura
It was difficult to choose a winner for this match because there are so many possibilities. No one is a clear standout for this year’s Rumble, but if I had to choose, I would use this opportunity to launch the WWE Bullet Club into main event status. At Raw’s 25th anniversary, Triple H and DX gave their seal of approval to Balor’s faction, and with the possibility of other BC members entering WWE in the next year or so as well as other former members in the WWE like Adam Cole and AJ Styles who haven’t quite revealed their membership in WWE, the Balor Club could take over the company.
As far as Smackdown goes, fans are just waiting for Shinsuke Nakamura to come face-to-face with AJ Styles. He’s been on the down low the past few months as he tagged with Orton and AJ almost weekly, which means this could be a surprise. Without a doubt, AJ vs. Shin could main event a Wrestlemania, and WWE could pull the trigger on that at any moment.
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