WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Predictions: Final four in women's Rumble match

There have only been two Royal Rumble matches featuring women. The first one took place in 2018 and was won by Asuka. That final four consisted of the Empress of Tomorrow, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Sasha Banks. Last year's final participants were Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Bayley. Since both Bayley and Lynch will likely be defending their titles on the 26th, neither woman will make it two in a row.

The rest of the roster will get its shot at stamping their tickets to WrestleMania 36. Outside of the Four Horsewomen of NXT and a few others, there aren't a lot of names that would make sense to win. Either the booking hasn't backed them up lately or the performers don't have the star power yet to be featured in a match at The Show of Shows.

Since the two former winners are facing each other, it means we will get another first-time winner. A win in the match could do wonders for stars waiting to break out like a potentially returning Ruby Riott or someone like Sonya Deville or Sarah Logan.

Those three women have been secondary players on either RAW or SmackDown, so are they logical choices to make it to this year's final four for the women? Here are my predictions for the final four female participants in the 2020 Royal Rumble.

#4 Sasha Banks

One of the few plausible opponents at WrestleMania 36 for Bayley - if she remains SmackDown Women's Champ - is her friend/ally, Sasha Banks. The two are currently aligned and on the same page as the top heels on the blue brand.

But how long will it be until Banks tires of playing second fiddle to the Champ? It's a part of her arrogant "Boss" persona and she'll want the title sooner rather than later. WWE will want the biggest matches possible for the Show of Shows, so if Shayna Baszler or Charlotte Flair doesn't win, it would make sense for the Boss to win and challenge her friend.

SmackDown is in a weird state at the moment of trying to build Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss as top faces of the brand. It is taking time to do that, so the best possible choice for WrestleMania might be to have Bayley face Banks for the title.

It wouldn't be hard to book Banks to win the Rumble because she still has a huge portion of the crowd behind her even as a heel. She's also a good bet to be the Iron Woman of the match again after lasting for nearly an hour in 2018.

#3 Nikki Cross

In addition to the big names that usually make up the final four groups in Royal Rumbles, there always needs to be either a plucky babyface or a younger star. For the men's matches in the last two years, that role has been filled by both Finn Balor and Andrade. Neither man won, but it was still refreshing to see different names make it to the end of the match.

Someone who would be perfect for that role would be Nikki Cross. She's popular among the audience and isn't involved in any title feuds at the moment. Cross has already feuded with Bayley for the SmackDown title throughout 2019 and also had a run as Women's Tag Team Champions alongside Alexa Bliss.

Bliss would also be a decent choice to last until the final four but she has already accomplished so much that it should be someone with lesser accolades. Teasing the potential of Cross winning would also be unexpected since the likes of Flair, Baszler and others are being picked to prosper.

Different women need to be built up in addition to the Four Horsewomen of NXT. There are many talented women waiting for a chance and this could be it for Cross and her future.

#2 Shayna Baszler

The former NXT Women's Champ beat both Lynch and Bayley in November

The Queen of Spades has nothing left to prove in NXT. She's the first-ever two-time NXT Women's Champion and has ruled over the women of the yellow and black brand for almost two years. She finally dropped the title to Rhea Ripley in December 2019 and also failed to win the battle royale to determine Ripley's challenger for TakeOver: Portland.

After such a strong showing at Survivor Series, it was clear that Baszler would be squaring off one on one with either Bayley or Lynch very soon. The Queen of Spades is the favorite to win the 2020 match and finally join the main roster. She's been more than ready for either RAW or SmackDown but has been kept in NXT to continue anchoring its ladies' division.

NXT has had representation in the match over the last four years and in both women's matches. Ripley, Candice LeRae, Xia Li and Io Shirai have all been a part of the match during either 2018 or 2019. We should expect to see Baszler join the aforementioned women but actually stick around on the main roster after the match.

It would be a historic win if she pulls it off as she would be the first winner from NXT to earn a title shot at WrestleMania via the Royal Rumble.

#1 Charlotte Flair

If Charlotte Flair isn't in a title match at the actual PPV, then she's a lock to not only make it to the final four each year but also win the whole thing. The problem with her winning it, however, is two-fold. She's such a big star that she doesn't need to win the match in order to get a title shot at The Show of Shows.

In order to get prior title matches, she simply walked to the ring and said "I'm Charlotte Flair" and then on two occasions (at MITB 2019 and against Asuka prior to 'Mania) she won the title.

The Rumble win should go to someone who truly needs to win that match just in order to receive a title shot. That line of thinking applies to both matches. The other problem with her winning this year's match involves the current Champions.

The two women who hold the titles are people with whom Flair has battled numerous times. She's fought with Bayley all throughout 2019 for the SmackDown Women's title and we know the history she has with Lynch.

Flair and Baszler are likely the two favorites to win the match as long as Ronda Rousey doesn't decide to return and shake the whole thing up once more. Rousey also has unfinished business with Lynch due to both losing her title to The Man and for not having a singles match with Lynch. The Queen may or may not win it, but she's definitely going to be one of the final women left standing in the match.

Conclusion

The Women's Rumbles are a lot different to predict than the men's version. While both rosters are full of talented performers just waiting for a spot to open up, there are so many more men that could potentially win their matches than women who could win their match. Anyone including Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns or Kevin Owens could feasibly win.

For the women, the biggest threats are Baszler, Rousey (if she returns), Flair and Banks. Bliss would also have a chance but she's been in title pictures in 2019 almost as much as Flair. And if Nia Jax also returns from injury, she's a threat to win. ACL injuries are tough to gauge, however, so just because she might be at the WWE PC doesn't necessarily mean she's 100% again and ready to go.

When all is said and done, it would be a shock to me if Flair and Baszler aren't two of the final four. The Queen isn't a Champion at the moment but is still booked as if she is.

Her week long battle with Sarah Logan didn't make me believe that she "has the highest losing record of anyone on the roster" like she claimed recently when interviewed by SK's own Gary Cassidy. We might have a surprise or two regarding two of the final participants but both of the Queens are likely to last until the end.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram