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Well, WWE Royal Rumble is one of the highly anticipated pay-per-view of the year. It is WWE's one of the 'big four' pay-per-views along with Wrestlemania, Summerslam and Survivor Series.
With an opportunity to main event Wrestlemania, there is always a sense of urgency among superstars when it comes to Royal Rumble.
Quite recently, a lot has been happening(Roman's heartbreaking departure followed by Strowman's injury) in WWE and it would not be wrong to say that WWE is currently reeling and is very thin when it comes to star power. And so it becomes very interesting to see how WWE go on booking one of the biggest events of the year.
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Well, even though we are still two months away from Rumble, social media has been buzzing with rumours and speculations. And, given the recent turn of events, there is always room for some early predictions.
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So, without further ado, I present to my full prediction for Royal Rumble match card with results.
Pre Show matches:
SmackDown tag team title match: The Usos(C) vs The Bar
The Bar with The Big Show are the current SmackDown tag team champions. However, WWE has been laying down the breadcrumbs for a potential heel turn of Big Show quite recently and The Giant turning on his team at TLC may cause the Bar to lose titles to the Usos.
And the Bar could then enforce their rematch clause at Royal Rumble. Given Royal Rumble would feature two long bouts(men and women rumble). This match is best suited for the pre-show.
Probable winners:
The Usos would probably register a win. Given the recent stint of the Bar as tag team champions have been underwhelming.
United States Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura(C) vs Rusev
Nakamura will defend his US championship at TLC against Rusev. However, their feud is not going to be over so soon. Thus, Nakamura may steal a controversial victory at TLC and then go on to face Rusev again at Royal Rumble in a rematch.
Probable winner:
Given Nakamura's stint has been underwhelming, plus, his contract is going to expire anytime next year. Thus, Rusev may become the new United States champion at Rumble.
Main Card:
#1 Raw tag team championship: Aop(C) vs Wyatt family
The Internet has been going crazy over speculations of Bray Wyatt's return and a possible Wyatt family reunion.
With no decorated names on the roster, the red brand is very thin when it comes to tag teams. And so, we might get to witness a potential Wyatt family reunion anytime soon.
Given the stature of the Wyatt family, plus, the lack of high profile teams on the red brand they would most certainly go directly in the title picture. And a match against AoP at Royal Rumble could totally be on the cards.
Probable winners:
Given WWE is building them as an unstoppable force, AoP looks in for a lengthy title run. A loss at Rumble would certainly hinder all their momentum. Also, given the lack of high profile options there feud might last in for a bit longer. Thus, a controversial win could be the best option for Rumble.
#2 Intercontinental Championship Match: Seth Rollins(C) vs Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins is scheduled to defend his Intercontinental Championship at TLC. However, I don't see this feud ending anytime soon.
Though the feud has not lived up to the expectations of the WWE fans, still expect it to feature on WWE television at least till Royal Rumble next year.
Seth's reign has been underwhelming as the Intercontinental Champion while Ambrose has not looked his best with a few bizarre promos on Raw. However, WWE still has time and it has the potential to be a blockbuster feud if booked right.
Probable Winner:
Expect Dean Ambrose to walk out victorious at Royal Rumble next year. Seth is rumored to be launched in the main event fixture after Rumble, and so WWE may crown Ambrose as the new Intercontinental Champion in January next year.
A no contest or a controversial win or a double count-out could be on the cards at TLC.
#3 WWE Championship match: Daniel Bryan(c) vs AJ Styles vs The Miz
Daniel Bryan will defend his WWE Championship against AJ Styles at WWE TLC. However, given Bryan has been very impressive with his recent stint as a heel, titles changing hands is highly unlikely.
And WWE just may stretch their feud at least until Rumble next year, however, with an addition of The Miz.
WWE is teasing us with a face turn of The Miz for quite some time now. And Royal Rumble might be the right time for WWE to launch the host of Miz Tv into this feud. Creative may further lay down the breadcrumbs for a potential The Miz vs Daniel Bryan in a blockbuster matchup for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.
Probable Winner:
Daniel Bryan is most likely to secure a win. In fact, he looks in for a long stint as the WWE Champion on the blue brand, probably till WrestleMania 35.
#4 SmackDown Women Championship match: Asuka(c) vs Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch, the current Women's Champion on the blue brand is scheduled to defend her Championship against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in a triple threat match at TLC.
Asuka won the battle royal a few weeks ago on SmackDown to qualify for the championship match at TLC. However, her late inclusion might just be for the sole purpose of WWE crowning her as the new Champion. Given Becky Lynch has been the find of the year, one should not confuse this(her losing the title)with something else as this is only because The Man is the hot favourite to win the Royal Rumble.
And so, Becky Lynch could then meet her at Royal Rumble next year, invoking her rematch clause.
Probable Winner:
Given Becky Lynch is rumoured to win the Women's Royal Rumble. Expect Asuka to emerge victorious not only at TLC but also at Royal Rumble.
#5 Raw's Women Championship match: Ronda Rousey (c) vs Nia Jax
Ronda Rousey will defend her Women's championship against Nia Jax at TLC on December 16. However, given WWE is pushing Nia Jax as an unstoppable heel on the red brand don't expect this feud to end anytime soon.
Also, given TLC would only be their first matchup, there's no way WWE is not stretching this feud till January next year. Going forward with this feud, WWE could also add Natalya's injury angle to stretch it until Royal Rumble.
Since Royal Rumble is the first landmark in the road to WrestleMania and it marks the beginning of new feuds and storylines for Mania, expect the feud to conclude in January next year.
Probable winner:
Ronda Rousey is in for a long stint as the WWE Women's champion of the red brand, and so expect her to defeat Nia at Rumble to conclude the feud.
#6 Universal Championship match: Brock Lesnar(c) vs Braun Strowman
Brock Lesnar is the current Universal Champion, however, given he is a part-timer, plus, the limited number of outings according to his contract, he is not showing up at TLC to defend his Universal title.
However, according to the recent turn of events, expect Lesnar to clash with The Monster among Men, Braun Strowman at Royal Rumble.
Strowman is currently nursing his elbow injury and may skip TLC, however, reportedly he should be ready to go by January next year. And so his rumoured match against Lesnar seems to be on.
Probable winner:
We all know who's going to win this one. However, how weird it may sound, I personally don't want Strowman to become Universal Champion at Royal Rumble, given he has lost all his momentum. WWE needs to build him again, he needs to get crazy over among fans once again before getting hold of the title.
And so, I would like to see Strowman beating the hell out of Lesnar at Royal Rumble. He should just go bonkers on The Beast, handing him a win via disqualification and leaving the doors open for endless possibilities.
#7 Women's Royal Rumble match
Well, amidst the names which are making rounds all over the Internet as the probable winner of Women's Royal Rumble, Becky Lynch seems to be the hot favourite.
And rightfully so, Becky Lynch lost the opportunity to face Ronda Rousey in an epic matchup at Survivor Series due to an injury. Also, rumour has it that she may lose her championship at the hands of Asuka on December 16 at TLC.
This could only mean that WWE is planning 'The Man' to feature in a Championship match against Rousey at WrestleMania via winning the Rumble.
On another note, Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair, another two favourites to win the rumble next year look behind Becky in the race as of now, given Ronda will most probably carry her title till WrestleMania, next year and another match with Nia or Flair would seem repetitive.
However, WWE would also have an option to add Flair to make it a triple threat match at WrestleMania, given Ronda and Flair are far from done with each other.
Probable winner:
Becky Lynch.
#8 Men's Royal Rumble Match
Well, the picture is not as clear as it was for the Women's Royal Rumble match.
Let's start one by one. The Rock was the hot favourite to win the Royal Rumble, in order to main event against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, however, he looks out of the race since Roman's departure. However, don't count him out as yet, as The Rock vs Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania for the Universal Championship, nothing could get bigger than this.
Then comes Aj Styles and The Miz. While Aj has already faced both Daniel Bryan and Lesnar and a match at WrestleMania would not look that big, on another hand, The Miz vs Daniel Bryan at Mania could still happen without Miz winning the rumble.
Well, personally my two hot favorites to win the Rumble are Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins.
While Seth is rumoured to face Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania via winning the Rumble, McIntyre has been pushed as 'The Guy' on the roster.
However, when comes to just one name, I am going ahead with Drew McIntyre, just because of the fact that WWE is building him as the next poster boy of WWE and may turn him face anytime before Mania.
Probable winner:
Drew McIntyre.
