4 reasons why Royal Rumble 2019 could be the best in recent history

There are less than 12 hours to go before the 2019 edition of Royal Rumble kicks off. The entire WWE Universe has been waiting for the first PPV of 2019 for some time. January is usually a crucial time for a WWE fan, as the Road to WrestleMania kicks off in January and sets things in motion for the coming WrestleMania.

WWE has recently messed up the Royal Rumble PPV slightly. Be it the triple threat Universal Championship match at the 2018 Royal Rumble, or some of the booking decisions, the Royal Rumble has only been average in the past few years.

However, this time the story is different.

Royal Rumble 2019 has all the potential to be the best Royal Rumble in recent history. In this article, we will take a look at a few reasons why the upcoming Royal Rumble could be the best Royal Rumble in recent history.

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#1 The match card

Finn Balor vs Brock Lesnar could be a brilliant match

In the 2017 edition of Royal Rumble, barring Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship and AJ Styles vs John Cena for the WWE Championship, the rest of the PPV was not impressive.

The 2018 edition had lackluster matches like the aforementioned Universal Championship match, and the RAW tag team championship match between the Bar and the team of Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan.

However, the 2019 Royal Rumble card looks impressive, to say the least.

First off, the Universal Championship match looks promising - Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor sounds more interesting than interactions between Lesnar and Strowman. AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan have been producing brilliant matches for the past few months, and the same is expected this Sunday. Even the undercard matches look promising.

#2 Winner of the men's Royal Rumble match

Even though Seth Rollins is leading the bet, the uncertainty of predicting the winner still lingers

By the start of Royal Rumble 2018, most WWE fans were certain that either Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown LIVE) or Roman Reigns (RAW) would win the men's Royal Rumble match.

The reason is simple - WWE had been building up Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship, and AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34.

Since Lesnar was certain to be a no-show at RAW's Elimination Chamber, the fans could narrow the winner to Shinsuke, even before the show even began (had Reigns won the Royal Rumble match, WWE would not have had any selling points for Elimination Chamber).

However, this year the scenario is different. The winner could be from either brand. Even though the odds are high on Seth Rollins, there is no reason why Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, or even a superstar from SmackDown should not win it. The 2019 Royal Rumble match is unpredictable.

#3 Women's matches

Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuka headlined TLC 2018

In the past editions of Royal Rumble, women's matches were mostly bathroom break worthy. In 2018, WWE introduced an exclusive Royal Rumble match for the women. However, at the same time, none of the women had a regular match in order to accommodate time.

This year, women's matches are in the marquee match slot. The RAW women's championship between Sasha Banks and Ronda Rousey looks promising - since Rousey has been impressive with her in-ring work, and Sasha Banks is a brilliant performer.

The SD Live women's championship match is another side of the same coin. Becky Lynch has been killing it on the mic and in the ring. The fact that the SD Live women's championship match headlined a co-branded PPV last year speaks for itself.

#4 Major surprises, debuts, and returns

AJ Styles made his WWE debut at Royal Rumble 2016

Surprises, debuts, and returns are the best part of a Royal Rumble PPV. After all, who can forget AJ Styles' brilliant arrival at the 2016 edition of Royal Rumble? In 2018, WWE made a blunder in this department.

Rey Mysterio and The Hurricane were the only significant returns. Having Dolph Ziggler come in at number 30 enraged many fans. The number 30s have been disappointing for the past few years, especially in 2017. Roman Reigns was booed out of the building when he made a "surprise" appearance as number 30.

Reportedly, WWE has something unique and surprising for this year's Royal Rumble. WWE is focused on not spoiling it. What if Kenny Omega signed for WWE and made an appearance at the 2019 edition of Royal Rumble? The possibilities are limitless, and we are hoping WWE won't mess up this time.