The road to WrestleMania 35 is in sight, and by the end of
Sunday's Royal Rumble,
we'll have our first real sense of the direction in which WWE is headed over
the next few months.
That goes for all four top title matches as well as both
Royal Rumbles, but it wouldn't be surprising if one of the other three matches
shook things up enough to send shockwaves all the way through to April, and
beyond.
MEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE
Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre and Braun
Strowman have been the workhorses of Monday Night Raw, showing
up every week and chugging along to carry the show in Brock
Lesnar's absence. Each could argue why they would make for a
compelling winner of the 2019 men's Royal Rumble match. Balor's chances seem
slim after he won the right to face Lesnar for the Universal championship, but
for the other three members of that quartet, the men's Royal Rumble match seems
as close to within reach as they could possibly hope for.
First and foremost, Rollins has a lot of factors weighing in
his favor. He has unfinished business with Lesnar dating back to WrestleMania
31, when Rollins interrupted the main event between Lesnar and Roman Reigns
by cashing in
his Money in the Bank briefcase and leaving the building with
the WWE championship in hand. Since Rollins had to vacate that title in
November 2015, however, he's spent a grand total of a few minutes as a world
champion and has largely existed on the fringes of the world title picture.
McIntyre is simply waiting for his big moment to step up to
the plate and prove he can be the top guy. He had tremendous matches with a
variety of Raw's top stars in 2018, most notably his series with Rollins. If
the desire is to put someone into the ring who can physically go toe-to-toe
with Lesnar, McIntyre meets the requirement. He hadn't had quite enough time on
the microphone to prove himself until very recently, but it would not take a
major leap for him to push past "nearly there" and reach top-tier
status -- and that could happen over the next two-plus months.
Finally, Strowman was unceremoniously bounced from the Royal
Rumble Universal title match due to "bad behavior," and everyone's
first instinct was to point toward his recent injuries to explain the switch.
Monday night's match against Balor seemed to change those perceptions, as he
appeared to be moving perfectly well opposite Balor. If he indeed is in the
men's Royal Rumble match, Strowman could easily push toward the eliminations
record and would be in line to finally get his big win over Lesnar at
WrestleMania. Many wonder whether this moment might be a little too late to
cash in on Strowman's popularity and momentum, but only time can tell.
Finally, a dark horse could also come into play. Despite his
WWE-announced injury concerns, John Cena's record-smashing
17th world title reign could be in order for WrestleMania, and either AJ Styles or Daniel Bryan would
be an intriguing opponent along the way. Most anyone else on the SmackDown side
would have to be considered a major shock, although it would be a tremendous
vehicle for elevating a new star in a hurry.
In my mind, it all seems likely to boil down to Rollins and
Strowman. I lean toward the former, if only because the timing seems right for
Rollins to step into the roles of Lesnar's worthy challenger and, eventually, a
champion of the people.
PREDICTION: SETH ROLLINS
WOMEN'S ROYAL
RUMBLE
On the surface, the women's Royal Rumble match seems to have
a shallow pool of potential winners. Depending on how the night's pair of title
matches play out, the winner would likely challenge Ronda Rousey at
WrestleMania -- making Charlotte
Flair or Becky Lynch the
likeliest candidates, given the context and story already built into those
matchups. There's also an outside chance we see something screwy, like a
dual-winner scenario to set up a triple threat between Flair, Lynch and Rousey,
a la Bret Hart and Lex Luger in 1994 or Batista and Cena in 2005.
By most any measure, these are the likeliest outcomes for
Sunday. On the other hand, WWE often hates to lean toward any scenario that's
too predictable. All of the aforementioned outcomes depend on Rousey and Asuka both
holding onto their titles. If Lynch were to defeat Asuka and regain the
SmackDown women's championship, however, that could throw the result of the
women's Royal Rumble into chaos. Flair could certainly win and set up a rematch
with Rousey at WrestleMania 34, leaving Lynch to face Asuka once again or come
up with a new challenger out of thin air over the next few months.
If Lynch loses her title match and later enters the Royal
Rumble, the overwhelming likelihood is that she would go on to win and face
Rousey. Though the women's Royal Rumble match doesn't have much precedent --
only one such match of data to go off of, in fact -- the odds seem to point in
a different direction. Of the 33 Royal Rumble matches, including the Greatest
Royal Rumble and last year's women's Royal Rumble, only one previous winner had
a match earlier in the night and went on to enter and win the Royal Rumble.
Lesnar's 2003 victory was preceded by a match against the Big Show, which
Lesnar had to win to even enter the 30-man match later in the night.
All the same, sometimes the obvious answer is the right
answer. Lynch and Rousey is the match the world wants to see, and few would bat
an eye if that were the WrestleMania 35 main event. The last time Lynch and
Rousey were in the same building at TLC, Rousey went out of her way to cost
Lynch the title -- and any such action by Rousey on Sunday would only throw gas
on that fire. Flair could certainly get involved in that match as well, but a
rematch from WrestleMania 34 against Asuka seems to be as strong an option as
SmackDown could ask for come April.
PREDICTION: BECKY
LYNCH
Finn Balor has
waited for almost 900 days to return to the spotlight of a pay-per-view world
title match, which he'll get Sunday at the Royal Rumble against Brock
Lesnar. WWE
UNIVERSAL
CHAMPIONSHIP: BROCK LESNAR (C) VS. FINN BALOR
A lot of fans anticipated Balor would don the persona of
"The Demon" for this, one of the highest-profile matches of his
career, but as he told
ESPN earlier this week, his plan is to face Lesnar as Balor, the
man.
Nothing would make a significant portion of the WWE Universe
happier than to see Balor come through and pull off what would have to be
deemed one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. But if the last few
WrestleManias and their results are any indication, WWE prefers to have as much
mainstream star power and name recognition near the top of the card as
possible.
The closest parallel to this match would be Bryan's showdown
with Lesnar at Survivor Series, and though it seems unlikely Balor walks away
from this match as a two-time Universal champion, he could well spark a
tremendous 2019 to come with a strong performance in Phoenix.
PREDICTION: BROCK LESNAR
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP:
DANIEL BRYAN (C) VS. AJ STYLES
Daniel Bryan's rivalry with AJ Styles has helped drive Bryan
toward some of
the most inspired work of his WWE career. Some fans have been
shocked to see how naturally Bryan has taken to the role of the villain, but
the evidence speaks for itself.
If Bryan wins decisively on Sunday, even if that victory
comes via cheating, it's hard to map out a scenario in which Styles has any
real claim on the title moving forward. This rivalry has been a major boost to
both men, and if last year's WrestleMania can be used as a guide, WWE's
greatest showcase is far more effective as an endpoint to a major rivalry than
as a starting point. Styles doesn't have to win the title in order to be
victorious and remain in the hunt for the WWE championship.
There might have to be a few twists and turns along the way
to carry this feud all the way to WrestleMania (and they could do worse than
involving someone like Samoa Joe in
the equation). If we're talking about potential WWE championship rivalries
worthy of WrestleMania, it's hard to find any that projects to be as strong and
as well-told as Styles-Bryan.
PREDICTION: AJ STYLES VIA DQ
SMACKDOWN WOMEN'S
CHAMPIONSHIP: ASUKA (C) VS. BECKY LYNCH
Since winning the SmackDown women's championship in
mid-December, Asuka seemed fairly listless until she started getting directly
involved with Lynch. The last two weeks of tension and scrapping have offered a
reminder of just how excited fans should be at the prospect of this match.
Lynch is one of the most popular WWE superstars in recent memory, and Asuka is
one of the most skilled in-ring performers the WWE can boast.
Asuka hasn't been able to fully regain her swagger since
losing her undefeated streak to Flair at WrestleMania 34, but a win over Lynch
could certainly propel Asuka back to the top in the hurry. It would be doubly
effective if Asuka established herself as the uncaring destroyer of anyone who
steps in front of her, an approach that propelled Asuka into historic, rarefied
air during her time in NXT. Bonus points if she bends the rules along the way.
Lynch seems to have a date with destiny when it comes to
Rousey, and it would be a significant disappointment if that's not the path
that WWE chooses. A loss here would be quickly forgotten should Lynch go on to
win the women's Royal Rumble later in the night.
PREDICTION: ASUKA
(WITH THE POTENTIAL OF RONDA ROUSEY GETTING INVOLVED)
RAW WOMEN'S
CHAMPIONSHIP: RONDA ROUSEY (C) VS. SASHA BANKS
Rousey has faced a variety of opponents over the course of
her first year, and she's typically exceeded expectations every time she's
stepped into the ring. Sasha Banks isn't quite like anything Rousey's seen to
this point, though, and the result could be as strong a performance as Rousey's
been involved with to date.
Banks has the ability to make any move look borderline
lethal, and both women are capable of giving as well as they get. Few could
imagine Rousey losing her Raw women's championship at the Rumble, but we have
every right to expect a tremendous match along the way. It would also be
foolish to dismiss Rousey stepping into the ring with another of the NXT 4
Horsewomen in this match. No matter the result, this could easily be the next
piece of the puzzle in a larger ongoing storyline that could grow to include
all of Lynch and Rousey's compatriots before all is said and done.
PREDICTION: RONDA ROUSEY
SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE BAR (C) VS. THE MIZ & SHANE MCMAHON
There are two potential outcomes to this match. The Miz
could show that he's been setting up Shane McMahon all along and feed him to
the wolves by the end of this title shot, which could lead to a potential
WrestleMania match. The other possibility is that Miz and Shane actually
beat Sheamus & Cesaro and
wins the SmackDown tag team titles. That win wouldn't preclude a future rivalry
-- in fact, in would likely strengthen it -- but as the SmackDown tag team
division struggles to grow beyond matches between The Usos,
Bar and New Day every
week, this may not be the long-term salve that could start pushing things in
the right direction.
PREDICTION: SHANE AND MIZ WIN THE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM
TITLES AND MAKE THEIR DADS VERY PROUD.
KICKOFF SHOW
UNITED STATES
CHAMPIONSHIP: RUSEV (C) VS. SHINSUKE
NAKAMURA
Nakamura has made Rusev's life miserable, and he even
contributed to Lana getting injured amidst the chaos. The United States
championship was not doing a lot for Nakamura in the time he held it, and
unless there's some grand new plan, separating Nakamura from this situation
seems to be the smart idea here. Give Rusev a decisive win, bring this rivalry
to a close and let the United States championship mean something again.
PREDICTION: RUSEV DAY
CRUISERWEIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP: BUDDY MURPHY
(C) VS. AKIRA TOZAWAVS. HIDEO ITAMI VS. KALISTO
The performances that Murphy has put together since joining
the cruiserweight division, and especially since he won the cruiserweight
championship at Super Show-Down, have been astounding. Although 205 Live does
not receive the type of spotlight that the performances to which it has played
host might warrant, it's all but guaranteed that this Fatal 4-Way title match
will turn heads. Here's hoping it'll close out the kickoff show rather than
open it, so that the spectacle they put on doesn't happen in front of a sea of
empty seats at Chase Field.
PREDICTION: BUDDY MURPHY
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