It\u2019s everyone\u2019s favorite time of year, the WWE Royal Rumble! The road to Wrestlemania starts here and this card is absolutely stacked. For the first time ever, the Rumble takes place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona and will welcome more than 50,000 members of the WWE Universe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we go into the predictions, here\u2019s a reminder of the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the time of writing, the United States and the Cruiserweight title matches will take place on the kick off show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you for\njoining us and we look forward to hearing what you guys think too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cody<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cruiserweight Championship Match:<\/strong> Wynter<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Men\u2019s\nRumble<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nSeth Rollins<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Seth had a red-hot 2018 and though he\u2019s started off 2019 with a lackluster feud with Bobby Lashley, I still think Rollins is in the position to win the Rumble, take on Lesnar at WrestleMania and claim the Universal Title. His momentum was hampered a little bit by the underwhelming Ambrose feud, but his crowd response is still amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 Surprise Entrants: Aleister Black, Ricochet, Shelton Benjamin,\nJohnny Gargano, MVP<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iron Man: Drew McIntyre<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortest Time: R-Truth<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s\nRumble<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nCharlotte Flair<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think the writing is on the wall for Ms. Flair to win the\nrumble, especially since she wasn\u2019t part of the historic first match. I also\nthink they want to keep her in a rivalry with whomever the women\u2019s champion is\nat the end of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 Surprise Entrants: Victoria, Candice Michelle, Mia Yim, Rhea\nRipley, Bianca Belair<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iron Woman: Bayley<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortest Time: Dana Brooke<\/p>\n\n\n\n Universal\nChampionship-Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nFinn Balor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Braun Strowman got pulled from his title match so now it\u2019s going\nto be Finn Balor taking on Brock Lesnar for the title. I\u2019m a huge Balor fan and\nI\u2019ve wanted him to have a good Universal Championship reign since he got back\nfrom injury. This is a great stage to bring back the Demon as well so I\u2019m going\nto be optimistic for a title change here. Also, Braun Strowman is still p****d\noff so he might help here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WWE\nChampionship-Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nDaniel Bryan (via DQ)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cnew\u201d Daniel Bryan vs the \u201creal\u201d AJ Styles. Styles has been\nshowing newfound aggression over the last few weeks. I\u2019m thinking that\naforementioned aggression will actually cost him the match and as we know,\ntitles (usually) can\u2019t change hands on a disqualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw\nWomen\u2019s Championship-Ronda Rousey vs Sasha Banks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nSasha Banks<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m actually very excited for this match. Banks is my favorite female wrestler and Rousey has been pretty entertaining to watch in her rookie year on the roster. I think Banks getting the upset victory and being the first to cleanly defeat Rousey would be perfect for her Boss character. While I\u2019m hoping the Boss and Hug Connection are in the running for the women\u2019s tag titles, I would be ecstatic to see Banks as the Women\u2019s Champion once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown\nWomen\u2019s Championship-Asuka vs Becky Lynch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nAsuka <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m really hoping they didn\u2019t give Asuka the title just to be a\nplaceholder in this Becky Lynch push. Asuka was the champion for well over 500\ndays in NXT; it would be an insult to her legacy there just to have her be\nchampion for a few weeks and also undermine her victory at TLC. I could see\nthis match having a murky finish too, with perhaps some interference by Carmella\nor Charlotte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown\nTag Team Championship-The Bar vs The Miz and Shane McMahon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winners:\nThe Miz and Shane McMahon<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think Miz and McMahon will take the titles here, if only to jump-start their eventual implosion and subsequent feud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n United\nStates Championship-Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nRusev<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve been enjoying this feud so far. I think Rusev will retain\nhere as the higher ups have seemingly noticed just how popular Rusev really is\nwith the fans. Plus, Nakamura\u2019s title reign was mediocre at best, though really\nit was the fault of his booking rather than him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cruiserweight\nChampionship-Buddy Murphy vs Kalisto vs Akira Tozawa vs Hideo Itami<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nBuddy Murphy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I haven\u2019t been keeping up with 205 Live as much as I probably\nshould, but I have watched a lot of Buddy Murphy matches. I like the belt with\nhim and he seems very confident in his role. I just don\u2019t see any of these\nother competitors taking the belt from Murphy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rox<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cruiserweight Championship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nBuddy Murphy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I like the Cruiserweight division and I like the direction it\u2019s\ngoing. If it aint broke, don\u2019t fix it and Buddy Murphy is doing a great job as\nChampion and I see no reason why they would put the brakes on him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n United\nStates Championship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nRusev<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shinsuke Nakamura, although a very talented wrestler, was not the right fit for the United States Championship. His title reign was very underwhelming and at times, baffling. There have been periods where we didn\u2019t see the belt at all on live TV. WWE have been listening to their fans and have recognized the organic growth of Rusev\u2019s popularity by putting the belt on him. My theory is that this match will see the end of Nakamura\u2019s involvement in this title conversation and I\u2019m expecting an emerging story-line as early as next week with regards to Rusev\u2019s new challenger, perhaps Lars Sullivan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown\nLive Tag Team Championship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nThe Bar<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t like this, I don\u2019t like it one bit. I don\u2019t understand\nwhat Shane McMahon is doing right now. They have a roster full of incredibly\ntalented wrestlers and a strong tag team division on Smackdown Live. I don\u2019t\nneed to see Shane McMahon nearly kill himself again. Although I pick The Bar to\nwin, there\u2019s a part of me that thinks Shane and The Miz could win and it will\neventually lead to some sort of feud between them and ultimately Shane\u2019s swansong.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw Women\u2019s\nChampionship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nRonda Rousey<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I make no secret of the fact I don\u2019t like Ronda Rousey\u2019s character,\nbut I have been hugely impressed by her in-ring ability since her arrival in\nthe WWE. I don\u2019t think she\u2019ll drop the title to Sasha Banks, I don\u2019t think she\u2019ll\ndrop the title to anyone. I see her walking out of this event and into Wrestlemania\nas champion and I see the title being contested in a Triple Threat Match at \u2018Mania,\nwhere she will lose the belt but not have to take the pin. Sasha Banks, I\nbelieve, is destined for a part in the crowning of the first ever WWE Women\u2019s Tag\nTeam Championships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown\nLive Women\u2019s Championship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nAsuka<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Asuka will win this match, there is no way they\u2019re going to have\nher be a transitional champion. Becky Lynch doesn\u2019t need the title to be in the\nmain event of Wrestlemania. One of my thoughts is that Becky Lynch will win the\nwomen\u2019s Royal Rumble match, with Charlotte in a close second. Becky will go on\nto face Ronda and Charlotte will go on to face Asuka. There\u2019s also a part of me\nthinking Becky, Charlotte and Ronda will be in the previously predicted Wrestlemania\nmatch for the Raw Women\u2019s Title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n WWE\nChampionship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nDaniel Bryan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The story-line between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan has been really interesting and I really like the \u2018tweener characters they\u2019re both showing. They are both fan favorites but at the same time are pulling out some intense heel behavior towards each other. It\u2019s shows great charisma and depth on both their parts. I\u2019m expecting this match to be the best of the night and expect nothing short of an absolute masterclass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Universal\nChampionship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nFinn Balor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard to remain impartial when talking about this match\nbecause, as everyone knows, I absolutely adore Finn Balor. Speculation has been\ngrowing as to whether he is there to placate the fans and he\u2019ll end up getting\nabsolutely annihilated by Brock. On the other hand, Lesnar\u2019s best matches in\nthe last few years have been against guys like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan,\nwhere he\u2019s come out victorious but given his opponent a strong showing. Can\nFinn do this? I believe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Men\u2019s\nRoyal Rumble Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nSeth Rollins<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Longest\ntime in the match: Elias<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortest\ntime in the match: Baron Corbin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Surprise\nentrants: A returning Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Fandango. EC3\u2019s debut and a one-off\nappearance from RVD <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no-one on the roster more deserving of a Royal Rumble win\nthan Seth Rollins, it\u2019s as simple as that. On a side note, how incredibly clever\nof WWE to put all the heat and responsibility of the last year on Corbin. You\ncan\u2019t buy that type of heat, everybody legitimately hates him and he takes it\nlike an absolute pro. I\u2019d love to see each brand represented in the match, a\ncouple of NXT and NXT UK guys, perhaps Adam Cole (BAYBAY) and Pete Dunne. How\nwill Kofi stay in this year? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s\nRoyal Rumble Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner:\nBecky Lynch or Ruby Riott<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Longest\nTime in the match: Bayley<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortest\nTime in the match: Billie Kay<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Surprise\nEntrants: Trish Stratus, Lita, Nikki Bella, Michelle McCool & (total long\nshot) AJ Lee<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruby Riott appeared to be on a bit of a roll and for some reason (perhaps a minor injury) it stopped. A Rumble win could perhaps see her moved to Smackdown Live and I feel she\u2019d be a great contender for Asuka. In all reality, Becky Lynch winning writes itself. The Man wins the women\u2019s Royal Rumble match. If the hopes of Becky v Ronda meeting at Wrestlemania are to be realized, this is where that journey starts. That and Becky Lynch is a total badass!<\/p>\n\n\n\n CB<\/u> <\/strong>(Better late than never)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Men’s Rumble Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winner: <\/em><\/strong>Seth Rollins Winner: <\/em><\/strong>Ember Moon or Ruby Riott (although I feel she\u2019s be better with the Money in the Bank) WWE title match:<\/strong> Daniel Bryan<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw Women\u2019s Title:<\/strong> Ronda Rousey <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown Women\u2019s Title:<\/strong> Asuka<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smackdown Tag match:<\/strong> The Bar<\/p>\n\n\n\n United States Championship match:<\/strong> Rusev<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cruiserweight Championship match:<\/strong> Hideo Itami<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s everyone\u2019s favorite time of year, the WWE Royal Rumble! The road to Wrestlemania starts here and this card is absolutely stacked. For the first time ever, the Rumble takes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":10999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,185],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-wwe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-2S4","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/28251-15435399189207-800.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11040"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11062,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11040\/revisions\/11062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I think this fatal four way will be superb, and I hope that the four men in this match will get enough time to showcase their talents. As this match is on the pre-show, I don\u2019t think it will disappoint. Anyways, I think that Buddy Murphy will retain his championship, I just can\u2019t see anyone taking it away from him yet. Hideo Itami might well defeat Murphy at a later stage, WrestleMania match-up maybe?
US Championship Match:<\/strong>
This match doesn\u2019t deserve to be on the pre-show in my opinion. None the less, as this match is made to seem pretty insignificant, I think that Rusev should be able to hold onto his title.
Smackdown Live Tag Titles:<\/strong>
I don\u2019t really have much to say about this match. The Bar should retain but my prediction, The Bar retain. Gotcha there didn\u2019t I? I could see Shane picking up the win here but I\u2019m really just hoping that doesn\u2019t happen as it would significantly weaken the Smackdown Live tag division.
Raw Women\u2019s Championship Match:<\/strong>
This match has the potential to be a show-stealer but ultimately, I don\u2019t think Ronda\u2019s losing her title to a Sasha Banks with a weak two weeks of momentum behind her. My prediction, Ronda Rousey to retain.
SD Live Women\u2019s Championship Match:<\/strong>
Another person retaining\u2026 oh no! Asuka will retain here, the big WrestleMania match will be for Ronda\u2019s title and I simply don\u2019t see how a quick title change will be beneficial to either party here. My prediction, Asuka to retain.
WWE Championship Match:<\/strong>
Styles isn\u2019t winning the title back, not here, not at WrestleMania, I honestly don\u2019t think Styles will get close to winning back his title until Daniel Bryan loses his title to\u2026 someone. Bryan vs Andrade for the title sometime soon please? Thank you. My prediction, Daniel Bryan retains.
Universal Championship Match:<\/strong>
And it\u2019s a clean-sweep of nobody losing their titles! Brock Lesnar to retain.
Men\u2019s Royal Rumble Match:
<\/em><\/strong>First up, the surprise entrants. I think that Batista will enter around the middle of the match to varied reactions, but I think that will be the only retro return of the night. I also think that there will be several NXT entrants. I\u2019m going to go for Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream and Adam Cole (making his second appearance at the Rumble) for this year\u2019s match. I also hope we can see an entrance from a new call up in Lars Sullivan.
Next, the shortest and longest appearances. I\u2019m not even sure if R-Truth will actually turn up in the Rumble but if he does, I doubt he\u2019ll be in the match for any longer than a couple of minutes. I believe Seth Rollins will be the iron man in this match and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he goes onto win the match.
Finally, the winner of the match. I\u2019m pretty confident in somebody from Monday night picking up the victory but I\u2019m stuck between two men, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. This is a really tough call but I\u2019m going to go for McIntyre\u2026 I\u2019m sceptical on this pick though.
Women\u2019s Royal Rumble Match:<\/strong>
I\u2019m slightly more comfortable on this one. I think we\u2019re going to see \u2018surprise\u2019 returns by Lita, Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix and Jacqueline.
Now, I think that Charlotte will be the iron woman in this match. Controversial, maybe. A good set up for the end of the match, definitely. I\u2019m going to guess that uh\u2026 Sonya Deville eliminates Mandy Rose in record time because, why not?
The winner\u2026 drum-roll please. Yeah, I\u2019m going to go for the obvious pick here and choose Becky Lynch although I\u2019m not going to be surprised if Charlotte manages to pick up the win here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5 surprise entrants:<\/em><\/strong> Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, EC3, Aleister Black and Hulk Hogan.
Who will be in for the longest:<\/em><\/strong> Seth Rollins
Shortest time in the match:<\/em><\/strong> Baron Corbin.
Women’s Rumble Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
5 surprise entrants:<\/em><\/strong> Jazz, Victoria, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm and Kairi Sane
Universal Championship match:<\/strong> Finn Balor <\/p>\n\n\n\n