(Originally Posted Jan 2018)
The Royal Rumble is by far my favourite wrestling event of the year, sure Wrestlemania is much bigger, but nothing in wrestling is more fun than the Royal Rumble, even in the years when it’s been bad I’ve still enjoyed watching it and look back on it fondly every year. So let’s carry out the annual tradition of trying to predict the Royal Rumble and getting it wildly wrong (last year I picked Samoa Joe to win…what the hell was I thinking?)
However, I am not going to be doing this alone, I have asked a friend of mine, Jacob to give his predictions aswell. (He has his own wrestling blog too!)
1. Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs The Bar (Raw Tag Team Championships)
My Prediction – This one is surprisingly difficult to call, on one hand it seems like there’d be so much more potential for Mania if The Bar were to go into Mania carrying the belts, but WWE seem to be loving this Jason Jordan story they’ve got going right now. I think what makes the most sense to happen here is Jordan makes some sort of mistake to cost him and Rollins the match, leading to some sort of feud, which hopefully ends before Mania. I know Jordan vs Rollins will probably be a great match, but doesn’t it just sound so underwhelming for a Wrestlemania card? So in the end, I’ve gotta go with The Bar on this one.
Jacob’s Prediction – This is an easy one to predict for me. Firstly, it’s a huge shame that Dean Ambrose has got injured as it ruined the Shield reunion. Instead, we have to settle for Jason Jordan, who is struggling as a babyface, as a replacement partner for Rollins. I think it’s pretty obvious that Jordan will turn heel soon; this is because he is not working as a face and he has lots of potential to deliver with the heel turn. The seeds have been planted for this leading up to the Royal Rumble, like the Peep Show segment with Christian on Raw 25 this week where Rollins accidentally hit him with a flying knee after rebounding from the top rope. He won’t be happy about this, so I feel Jordan will attack Rollins and turn heel after the match, following the result of The Bar regaining the tag team titles. The feud has gone very long and it’s hard to identify what they are still feuding over, so I feel the rivalry will end here. This will all lead up to Jordan’s major storyline for Wrestlemania 34, where he finally turns heel, leading up to a match between Rollins and Jordan at Wrestlemania 34.
2. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs The Usos (2 out 3 falls, Smackdown Tag Team Championships)
My Prediction – Again, this one’s kinda tricky to call. The Usos were one of the best things about WWE in 2017, and I really want them to have a big Mania match, instead of getting shafted to the pre-show/Smackdown for a 5th year in a row. But with all the faf that’s happened over the past weeks with Benjamin & Gable getting the titles but then not, it just feels like it’s got to be their time, even if I don’t really know what they’re going to do with the belts after they’ve won them. Either way, I think this is going to be one hell of a match, as long as they give it enough time.
Jacob’s Prediction – This is a match I’m quietly excited for. Both teams are exceptional workers and the feud between them has largely delivered due to their match quality and dramatic storyline. As for my prediction, I think The Usos will retain. They are significantly more over, due to their amazing feud with The New Day, as well as good feuds with Breezango and Rusev day. They now connect with the audience, who recognise their skills and talent, as a result of their outstanding character work and match quality last year. As talented as Gable and Benjamin are, they simply aren’t as popular as The Usos because they haven’t been built up enough for the titles. As WWE is heading into Wrestlemania season, it makes perfect sense for them to leave the titles with their most popular tag team act for their value. So, I’m going to predict The Usos will retain.
3. AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (2-on-1 handicap match, wwe Championship)
My Prediction – Good God… Do I have to talk about this?
This story has been making Smackdown an absolute bore to watch for the past few months, and I have a feeling that it’s still got a couple months left before it ends. It’s just so messy and none of it makes any sense and I just want it to end. As for who’s going to win? Well, if this was any other time of year, I’d say they’d be stupid enough to roll with Owens & Zayn as “Co-champions” but given we’re about to start building to Wrestlemania, I’ve gotta say Styles retains.
Jacob’s Prediction – I’m not actually too sure about this one. I will start by saying Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have been thoroughly enjoyable in their role together since reuniting at the end of October. The two have been gold on the mic and during their matches; also, their commitment to kayfabe in the modern era is very impressive. However, It depends what the WWE planning for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania. As Owens and Zayn have been so incredible lately, I could see them holding the titles as a transition, however, if AJ Styles is going to have a great role at Wrestlemania, then he will certainly retain. He is my favourite guy on the roster, one of the most popular workers in the business today and one of the most sensational workers of all-time, so, he is a very safe option for the WWE title. So, I’m going to take a gamble here and predict AJ Styles to retain and win the match on that basis.
4. Brock lesnar vs Braun Strowman vs kane (Triple Threat, Universal Championship)
My Prediction – While the winner of this match is obvious, I really don’t know how good this match is going to be, Braun is a fantastic wrestler; Brock can pull out a good match when he’s in the mood; and Kane also exists. Triple Threats are traditionally very fast paced, and to a certain extent need to be in order to work, but none of these men really work very fast, so this could end up being quite boring, but I’ll stay optimistic, if for no other reason than my own sanity. As for the result? Lesnar pins Kane after one F-5, obviously.
Jacob’s Prediction – This match is easy to predict. It’s going to be Lesnar. I would expect a short 9-10 minute brawl between the three men as they have all been built as monsters vying to prove how they are the most dominant monster on the WWE roster. Also, there will likely be time constraints in the PPV, so it’s easy for WWE to cut time on this as it just seems like that kind of match. Also, Kane may not be able to go for long due to his age and health, as well as Lesnar due to his part-time status. It will be reminiscent of the Goldberg vs. Lesnar match at Wrestlemania last year. I hope Strowman gets a big push heading into WWE’s biggest PPV of the year because he has totally earned it. His character work has been absolutely exceptional and he remains to be over with the crowd. As for Kane, I feel he is very much the dummy in this match, as I think he is only there to protect the strength of Lesnar and Strowman by eating the pin in the match. Strowman vs. Kane was a decent feud, but it should have just ended. Anyways, I would expect some crazy spots and table breaks. But, when all things settle, I have very little doubt in my mind that Lesnar is going to retain the title.
5. 30 woman royal rumble match
My Prediction – Asuka, duh.
I suppose you want more than that don’t you?….*sigh* fine…
There are really only two viable candidates in this Rumble, one is Asuka and the other is Ronda Rousey, we all know she’s been very buddy-buddy with WWE in recent times, and with Dana White saying she’s not coming back to UFC, a WWE run seems almost inevitable at this stage. But I just don’t see it happening, Asuka has an undefeated streak to protect, and while you can argue that being out of the Rumble technically doesn’t count as a loss, it would take the shine off of her just a little. So I’m going to stick with Asuka, because that’s just what my gut is telling me.
Jacob’s Prediction – I absolutely can’t wait to see this match. The women of WWE have definitely deserved their own Royal Rumble match for a long time. As this is a very big deal, I would expect a lot of surprise entrants during the match. In terms of my prediction, it’s a pretty short analysis, as I think it’s going to be Asuka. Her whole thing is the long undefeated streak which sets her character apart from other women. It’s her act as much as the IC title is with The Miz. It’s the reason why she exists in the WWE universe. So it only makes sense for her to win this. In terms of dark horses for the match, Ronda Rousey has been in negotiations to sign with WWE for ages now and she is being rumoured to appear in this match. I am not expecting this to happen, but it’s a possibility. If this happens, it only makes sense for her to face off against Charlotte at Wrestlemania. I also think Nia Jax could win the match because WWE hasn’t ever given her an extended shot in the main event scene, and her whole thing is she’s dominant, so it would make sense for her to win the match. This is only a small possibility though.
6. 30 man royal rumble match
My Prediction – This is…a weird one, it’s kinda hard to predict, but not for the same reasons as last year. See last year, it was hard to predict because there were so many people who could believably win, but this year it’s kinda the opposite there’s no-one who really seems like a perfect fit to win the match this year. But I’m gonna go through and analyse the main candidates everyone is talking about, bare in mind I haven’t read the betting odds because they spoiled it for me last year, so they won’t factor in to my predictions here.
First up Roman Reigns, he’s shot up in people guesses to win the match since he lost the Intercontinental Championship, but I think it’s just people assuming the worst; don’t get me wrong, Lesnar vs Reigns is totally going to be the Wrestlemania match, but I think Reigns is going to go through the Elimination Chamber to get there, not the Rumble.
Finn Balor is the most interesting pick to win this to me, putting Balor back with The Club was a brilliant idea that should’ve been done forever ago, and I love the idea of him winning this match and then going over to Smackdown to face Styles. However as much as I want that to happen, it’s not going to.
John Cena is one of the best candidates to win, he does need world title number 17 after all. But as good as Styles vs Cena was, it’s been done to death and I don’t really want to see it again, plus The Undertaker’s still lurking about and I really don’t see anyone he could fight other than Cena.
Finally, Shinsuke Nakamura now a few months ago, it seemed like he was the lock to win this match, but now it’s up in the air a bit. Thanks to the whole Owens & Zayn vs Shane thing, he’s been a complete non-factor on Smackdown since Survivor Series. But honestly I still think he’s the most viable candidate to win this match, fans will still go crazy for Styles vs Nakamura, and it’s not like WWE haven’t randomly taken a guy they’ve neglected for months and pushed him to the moon before, or have you forgotten who the WWE Champions was for most of 2017?
But what do I know? It’ll probably be Randy Orton again at this rate…
Jacob’s Prediction – Firstly, I’m going to tell you my realistic prediction for who I think is going to win the match. Then, I’m going to tell you who I want to win the match and what I would like to see in the match.
To start with, I definitely feel John Cena is going to win, because WWE usually pick a very popular and established wrestler to win the match, as shown with Randy Orton last year and Batista in 2014. Despite the rumours of an Undertaker vs. Cena match at Wrestlemania, I doubt it’s going to happen due to Taker’s condition and the ending of last year’s show, where he effectively retired in my eyes. Also, WWE still have the Ric Flair World Title record storyline for Cena, so I think WWE are willing to trigger the angle. Although Cena vs. Styles has been done several times in the last year, every match was amazing, so I don’t think fans will reject the idea of one last match between them.
As for who I want to see win, it’s definitely Nakamura. Although he’s been creatively destroyed since joining the main roster last year, I would still like to see the NJPW rematch of Styles vs. Nakamura on WWE’s grandest stage of them all. I think this might not happen because officials and fans might have soured on the idea now considering the awful use of Nakamura throughout the last year.
If I’m being honest, I would also like Elias to win. He’s been getting very over as he always gets a pop. He is a performer who knows the spot he holds on the roster and he caters specifically towards it. This is one of the most unpredictable Rumble matches in years, but I think WWE are going all in with Cena this year.
And that’s it! That’s our predictions for all of the matches on the card, let us know what you think either in the comments or on Twitter @10ryawoo, and don’t forget to check out Jacob’s blog, The Turnbuckle Corner .
Don’t forget to come back on Monday for my Royal Rumble review/recap, see you soon!
The Strong Style Smark 