A full WWE Royal Rumble preview and predictions for all matchups.
WWE Royal Rumble Match Card Preview
By Adrian Reyes
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 26, 2019
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
TV: WWE Network and Pay Per View
Match Card
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Universal Title – Strap Match – The Fiend© vs Daniel Bryan
Raw Women’s Title Match – Becky Lynch© vs Asuka
Smackdown’s Women Title Match– Bayley© vs Lacey Evans
United States Title Match – Andrade© vs Humberto Carrillo
Falls Count Anywhere Match – Roman Reigns vs King Corbin
Single’s Match – Sheamus vs Shorty G
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Men’s Royal Rumble Match
It’s one of the two main matches viewers tune in for every year and the most exciting 60 minutes in wrestling all year. It’s the over the top rope 30 man battle royal to determine who will challenge one of the 3 brands main champion on the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania, on April 4th in Tampa, FL. Men from Raw, Smackdown, and NXT will be in the Rumble this year and for a match known for its surprises, there is no surprise on who will be entering number one this year.
The WWE Champion from Raw, Brock Lesnar, has done something that is very rare and entered the Royal Rumble this year. And he demanded he enter at number one. He’s looking for the competition he says he hasn’t been getting and he believes he will outlast 29 other men to win the Rumble from the one spot. Coming in at number one in most cases does not make you a favorite but this is Brock Lesnar. He has done things no other superstars in WWE history have done so he’s still a big favorite in this match.
Drew McIntyre
Although 29 other men will be in the match with Lesnar, only 3 have really stood out in recent weeks. And ironically each of the 3 wrestle on different brands. From Raw, Drew McIntyre has been on a role lately. After not being prominently featured last year after his call-up from NXT, McIntyre has been in the spotlight the last few months and looks like he could finally step into the main event scene on Raw.
Keith Lee
But no one has been hotter since November than Keith Lee of NXT. He was the final survivor of the NXT team at Survivor Series and also a winner of the Men’s WarGames match that same weekend. And just this week, he defeated Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship. He is not an official entrant yet but still enters Rumble weekend with most momentum of anyone in the company.
Roman Reigns
And then there’s the face of the WWE, Smackdown’s Roman Reigns. He is arguably the biggest star in the company for the last 5-6 years and always finds himself prominently featured at Wrestlemania. He is the golden child of the WWE and everyone knows it. Reigns has not been in the title picture since returning from battling Leukemia early last year and it now seems like the time to for WWE to put him back on in the title hunt. Many believe one of these three men will be the one to eliminate Brock Lesnar from the Rumble match.
There are always a ton of surprises in the Rumble matches and I’m sure this year will be no exception. There are rumblings that the Rumble match will feature the return of the Rated R Superstar, Edge, who retired in 2011 due to neck issues. The Rumble match is always fun treat and for the first time in years, this year is very unpredictable.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
The themes this year for both the Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumbles are almost identical. Just like the Men’s Rumble, there are four favorites for the Women’s as well. And they also consist of a Raw, Smackdown, and NXT superstar as well as a former MMA mega star.
Charlotte
From Raw, there has been only one standout the last month not named Becky Lynch or Asuka and that is the Queen herself, Charlotte. Charlotte is arguably the greatest women’s superstar of all time and she is still in the beginning of her prime. Charlotte was the runner-up in last year’s Rumble and this year seems like it will be her year.
Sasha Banks
The Women’s division has been a little stale lately on Smackdown. The only two Superstars to actually matter seem to be Bayley and Sasha Banks. Bayley is the champ so its doubtful she will be in the Rumble, leaving her best friend Sasha Banks. Winning the Rumble could set up a dream match fans have wanted to occur at Wrestlemania which would be Bayley versus Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s Title. I think one way or another this match happens at ‘Mania. Which makes Banks winning the Rumble the easiest way to make that match.
Shayna Baszler
But the most dominant female in WWE for almost the past two years comes from NXT and that woman is Shayna Baszler. She’s done everything there is to do on the black and yellow brand. All signs point to her entering the Rumble and winning it all. Shayna versus Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania has been building for a while now. It just makes sense at this point. Arguably the most popular woman vs the most dominant. It’s a match made for the biggest event of the year.
One hiccup in those plans could be the impending return of the former Raw Women’s champion, Ronda Rousey. She has not been seen since losing at Wrestlemania last year. With the Rumble always full of surprises, Rousey returning looks like it might happen. One of the biggest matches WWE has in its pocket is Lynch versus Rousey one on one and that would only happen at a Wrestlemania event. Lynch will either face Baszler or Rousey at Mania this year and I believe that’s a sure fire bet.
Universal Title – Strap Match – The Fiend© vs Daniel Bryan
It’s the two most popular men’s superstars for Universal Title and in a match where there will be nowhere to run from each other. The feud between “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Bryan has been one of the best WWE has done recently and it possibly culminates in a Strap Match. A strap match is a match in which the competitors are placed on the opposite ends of a restraint to keep them in close physical proximity. The most common rule for victory is for one wrestler to have to go around the ring, touching all four corners in order and without stopping. Although sometimes the match can also end in pinfall.
The match type is a curious decision. The Fiend is so popular that he does not need the Universal Title to keep his popularity. In a match like this, Bryan can win without actually having to pin or submit Wyatt. It does seem like the biggest match Smackdown can produce at ‘Mania this year is The Fiend versus Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. This also could be one of the big shockers of the night as Daniel Bryan holding the title does make sense as well.
Raw Women’s Title Match – Becky Lynch © vs Asuka
A rematch from 2019 Royal Rumble, Becky Lynch is looking for redemption as Asuka is the one woman she has been unable to defeat. Becky has made it known that she has to beat Asuka to keep her “Man” status. Asuka is looking to add another title as she is already one half of the Women’s tag team champions. This is a match of the night contender and would be a great match to start to the show off with.
Smackdown Women’s Title Match – Bayley© vs Lacey Evans
Bayley versus Lacey Evans seems like a placeholder feud for the Smackdown’s Women Title. Lacey Evans has not seemed like credible challenger for the title. It just seems like the build to this match has been lackluster. The only bright spot of this feud is the fact that it looks to be leading to Bayley versus Sasha Banks in near future. This is something many fans have been clamoring for. Expect this match to go on after one of the Rumble matches to give the crowd a breather from the rest of the madness of Rumble night.
United States Title Match – Andrade© vs Humberto Carrillo
Another match of the night contender, Andrade defends his newly won United States championship against Humberto Carrillo. This feud started this past Monday night as Carrillo saved Rey Mysterio from an additional beat-down after his loss to Andrade. This match will be high energy all throughout. Since it being a new feud, don’t expect a new champion. However that does not mean Carrillo will lose since Zelina Vega will be at ringside and Andrade has had many matches end with a DQ due to her interference.
Falls Count Anywhere Match – Roman Reigns vs King Corbin
Roman Reigns and King Baron Corbin have been feuding for months now. Which is why the fans are dying for this feud to end. Neither superstar seems to be gaining anything from this feud and the crowd does not seem to care at all about Corbin. Sure he gets booed, but not because people don’t like him. They just don’t care about him. With the falls count anywhere stipulation, expect run ins from Robert Roode, Dolph Ziggler, and the Usos.
Single’s Match – Sheamus vs Shorty G
Sheamus just returned. He’s facing a guy Vince McMahon had renamed Shorty G. Sheamus wins. Just how fast does he do it?
Royal Rumble Picks
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10 PT Pick = Men’s Royal Rumble MAIN EVENTS SHOW
9 PT Pick = Title Changes UNDER 1.5 (Does not include 24/7 Title)
8 PT Pick = Falls Count Anywhere Match – Roman Reigns WINS
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