Royal Rumble is one of my favorite pay per views. I’d say it’s a favorite for most: surprise appearances, surprise returns and a 30-man battle royal to determine the No. 1 contender. What more do you need? While last year’s Royal Rumble was a bit of a letdown, there were still some shining matches such as the AJ Styles and John Cena battle.
For this year, Styles is still a headliner and Cena is billed for entry in the rumble.
Bobby Roode def. Dolph Ziggler
With an open challenge to any competitor, it’s my guess that Ziggler accepts the challenge and attempts to regain the title he never lost. Ziggler has been gone from action for a while and it would be a tremendous reappearance.
However, I think the best decision would be for Roode to beat The Showoff with no technicalities and with a clear-cut finish. While Roode hasn’t exactly stood out so much on the main roster, he’s more than capable of putting on a great match with Ziggler.
The Revival def. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
While The Club buried The Revival on Raw’s 25th Anniversary show, The Revival is a product that needs to get a push back into relevancy. With Gallows and Anderson linking up with Finn Balor, they don’t necessarily need the win.
I see The Revival getting a dirty victory but a victory nonetheless.
TJP, Drew Gulak and Jack Gallagher def. Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik
This will more than likely be just another Cruiserweights match that turns into a time-filler but hopefully, I’m wrong. While the 205 Live show isn’t something I consistently watch, from Raw it seems Gulak will be the one to get the pin in this match.
Braun Strowman def. Kane and Brock Lesnar
PLEASE LET IT FINALLY HAPPEN. This has been overdue for months. How WWE hasn’t put the belt on Strowman yet is beyond me. But, with Kane in the mix, it’s the perfect opportunity for Strowman to get a pin and for Lesnar to still look strong (as usual). This would be perfect also because it could set up a Lesnar/Strowman match in the near future.
Cesaro and Sheamus def. Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins
While Cesaro and Sheamus don’t really need the belts, The Bar will be much better champions than the Jordan/Rollins tandem. Plus, with the last couple matches, Rollins and Jordan were in ending with the other costing the team a victory, it makes sense to have the pair get into a feud after Royal Rumble is over.
This would allow Rollins the time to fight as a singles competitor while Dean Ambrose rehabs his injury and would give Jordan a legit feud.
The Usos def. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin
The Uso penitentiary has been locked down for months now and it shouldn’t change Sunday night. The two have fabulously worked themselves from heels to faces by just being themselves — maybe over the top at times but still themselves.
Gable and Benjamin have a forced bad guy gimmick that just doesn’t feel strong to me. I don’t mind if they’re around for title contention for the time being but I don’t think they deserve the belts. The Usos will win the 2-out-of-3 falls match.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn def. AJ Styles
YEP! This has to happen simply due to the fact that Styles isn’t a superhuman and shouldn’t be treated as such. He’s a realistic character and that’s what’s worked for him for so many years. The Yep! Movement is equal parts annoying and spectacular and it deserves a belt.
Kevin Owens gets the pin is my guess and I wouldn’t be surprised if Shane McMahon makes an appearance in this match as well.
Finn Balor wins Men’s Royal Rumble
Balor is over. Simple as that. He dropped the belt due to injury after being the inaugural winner of it, and it would only be fitting that he gets an opportunity to earn it back. A feud between Balor and Strowman would also be a sight to behold, so I’m hoping both those results ring true.
Aside from the main result, I expect Elias to eliminate John Cena and keep that feud alive before Cena ultimately buries him at the new PPV. I also see Wyatt eliminating Matt Hardy and hopefully putting an end to a rivalry that WWE botched. Another conflict I hope gets pushed is Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, so hopefully, WWE runs with that angle. Also, Ricochet making his debut is a prediction.
Asuka wins Women’s Royal Rumble
Asuka is undefeated and that will continue against 29 other women. Her and Alexa Bliss could have an incredible feud and hopefully, it happens. While this is the easy way out for WWE and Asuka being eliminated could be a beautiful twist for fans, I don’t think writers would go that route.
[the_ad id=”11697″]Now that the result is out of the way, here are some extras. Bayley and Sasha Banks have been irrelevant for quite some time now, and it’s time to finally have the two feud. I don’t have any particular idea of how the beef starts, but it needs to happen. What will more than likely happen, though, is the two get into a bigger rivalry with Absolution and end up having some more tag matches against them. The final prediction for the night is the return of Nikki Bella. And I predict that she’s eliminated by a member of the Riott Squad.While the card has plenty going for it, injuries, suspensions, and such have shot the Royal Rumble down a couple of notches. Let’s see what WWE can do. What are your predictions? Let me know.