What’s the story?
NoDQ.com has reported five matches that can happen at the Royal Rumble. The first pay per view of the month is scheduled to emanate from the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX on January 29.
The matches are Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Gallows and Anderson for the RAW Tag Team titles, Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship, and Neville vs. Rich Swann for the Cruiserweight title. There is also a speculation that Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax will be added to the card.
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In addition to these specualted bouts, some matches have already been confirmed for the Royal Rumble. These include the Royal Rumble match that will see participation from the likes of Goldberg, Lesnar, The New Day, and Chris Jericho among others. AJ Styles is set to defend the WWE Championship against John Cena. Kevin Owens will defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, and Bayley will look to end Charlotte Flair’s reign as the Queen of pay per views.
The heart of the matter
All the rumored matches have been built up over the past few weeks. Gallows and Anderson haven’t had the same impact in WWE as they had done in Japan, and are looking for to hold tag team gold for the first time in their WWE careers. Neville, on the contrary, has taken the Cruiserweight division by storm since his return and is sure to get a title shot against Rich Swann at the Rumble.
Becky Lynch and The Miz will also look to redeem themselves after losing their respective titles on the blue brand. Becky Lynch became a victim of La Luchadora’s unwanted interference, who cost her a chance to win the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship. Miz, on the other hand, has a simmering rivalry building up with Dean Ambrose that has a personal edge to it due to the involvement of Renee Young and Maryse.
Nia Jax and Sasha Banks will also look to settle the score if the match is booked after Sasha cost Nia Jax a shot at the RAW Women’s title this past week on RAW, allowing Bayley to pick up the win.
What’s next?
Most of these matches will be announced as we inch closer to the big event. This coming week’s Monday Night RAW promises to be an interesting one as it will also feature appearances from the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
Sportskeeda's Take
WWE will need to strengthen the Royal Rumble card to sell out the 60,000 strong arena. While some of these matches are an exciting prospect to watch at the pay per view, bouts like Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss have become repetitive due to the brand split. Adding a stipulation might restore some excitement and passion for the event. Hopefully, WWE is smart enough to do so.
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