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With Tables, Ladders, and Chairs in the rear-view mirror and 2018 almost over, the road to WrestleMania 35 officially begins on January 27, 2019, with the Royal Rumble, which will take place at Chase Field, home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks.
As of this writing, we know of three matches that will be taking place at WWE's Winter Classic. First, Brock Lesnar will return to defend his Universal Championship once again against Braun Strowman in a rematch from Crown Jewel. Strowman earned his rematch by "defeating" Baron Corbin this past Sunday at TLC in a Tables, ladders, and Chairs Match.
Also, the annual 30 Men and Women's Royal Rumble match will take place. What we do know about the two matches thus far is that R-Truth and Carmella will enter at #30 in their respective Rumble matches via winning Season 2 of the Mixed Match Challenge. The Royal Rumble matches are the most eagerly anticipated events of the WWE calendar with the possibilities of many surprising returns and debuts that can occur.
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Since the Royal Rumble matches take over an hour a piece to complete and WWE needing to fill 60 spots in total, I don't expect many other matches to take place on the card. My expectations are that WWE will add one or two tag team title matches and possibly a Cruiserweight championship match to round out the remainder of the card.
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With that in mind, here are four early predictions for next month's Royal Rumble Pay Per View. Be sure to stay tuned to Sportskeeda for the latest breaking news and rumors as the event draws closer and closer. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below and leave your predictors for the show and what you believe will happen on the show.
#4 Mustafa Ali will take on Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship
A week ago, it was announced that Mustafa Ali would be having a one on one match with Daniel Bryan on SmackDown. Ali went on to lose the match but looked good in doing so. Earlier this week on SmackDown, Ali shocked the world by pinning Bryan in a tag match that also featured AJ Styles and Andrade "Cien" Almas. I have a feeling that this is leading to a match between the two at the Royal Rumble.
The Royal Rumble is an event that is sold on one thing and one thing only, and that is the Royal Rumble match itself. This gives WWE a chance to try new and random title matches, even if they are predictable or non-realistic since people really only care about the Rumble matches and winners. For example, Hardcore Holly faced Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble one year, so who is to say Ali v. Bryan can't happen?
Another thing that supports this is that most of the babyfaces on SmackDown are currently doing other things. Russev is feuding with Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship. Jeff Hardy is feuding with Samoa Joe. AJ Styles is a possibility, but he lost pretty cleanly to Bryan at TLC and I see him being placed in the Rumble match itself. So that leaves Ali, who is now an official member of the Smackdown roster. He has a pinfall victory over Bryan and seems to be being built up, so don't be surprised if Ali becomes #1 contender and takes on Bryan for the WWE Championship next month.
#3 Brock Lesnar will defeat Braun Strowman once again
At the Royal Rumble, Braun Strowman will have one more shot to finally slay the beast as he takes on Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
I said that Strowman needed to defeat Lesnar at Crown Jewel or he may never win the big one and I still stand behind that, especially after the way he lost. Even though he was attacked before the match, Strowman got absolutely no offense in and took numerous F5's before being pinned.
I feel Strowman has lost quite a bit of steam after that, and although he has still been relevant him winning the title doesn't feel as big of a deal as it would have months ago. I also believe that WWE wants the belt on Lesnar at least until WrestleMania so I don't see him losing it here.
There are two rumored matches being discussed for WrestleMania and the Universal Championship: Triple H has pitched the idea of Braun Strowman defending the Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre. While I wouldn't rule this one out, I see the other option happening, which is Vince McMahon's pitch, which leads to the next prediction.
#2 Seth Rollins will win the 2019 Men's Royal Rumble Match
After dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Dean Ambrose this past Sunday at TLC, I believe WWE is going with Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship and this is the perfect way to set that up.
This year's Royal Rumble feels wider open than in recent years, with no clear-cut favorite. However, I feel the two favorites as of this moment are Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Since Daniel Bryan turned heel to win the WWE Championship, no one seems to have any idea who he will face if he is still champion by then, but I feel that will be determined in the Elimination Chamber. I believe a RAW superstar is winning this year, and Rollins is that man.
The story also writes itself. Rollins is the man who cashed in on Lesnar and won the WWE Championship back at WrestleMania 31 and their match later that year was interrupted by The Undertaker, who was seeking revenge on Lesnar for breaking the streak the year prior. WWE will also go with the story of Rollins wanting to bring the title back to RAW and on television for his brother Roman Reigns, who is battling a real-life illness. It's too good of a story to pass up for WWE and it sounds like a better match than Strowman v. McIntyre.
#1 Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch will win the Women's Royal Rumble Match
It was pretty obvious that we were going to get some form of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania. The only question is in what form? After the events of TLC, I think it is pretty obvious that it will be a Triple Threat between the three come April.
During the Triple Threat Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match between Charlotte, Becky, and Asuka at TLC, Rousey came out and knocked over the ladder that Lynch and Flair were on, costing both of them the match and the title. Last night on SmackDown, Vince McMahon essentially told them both to get to the back of the line in regards to getting a title shot. Thus, I see both of them being in the Women's Royal Rumble match.
I feel like I say this every time when it comes to the women, but there are no other women that have been built up even remotely strong enough to challenge Rousey or Asuka at this point besides Charlotte and Becky. The scenario that I see taking place is that Becky and Charlotte will be the final two and after a few minutes of back and forth action, they will both eliminate each other at the same time which will lead to them BOTH saying they want a piece of Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania for the RAW Women's Championship.
