The Royal Rumble is here and looks to be quite a night featuring a tonne of shocks and surprises in store! There is a grudge match, a championship bout, and the fifth edition of the women’s Royal Rumble match.
This year’s Rumble hosts several welcome returns such as Summer Rae, Lita, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, The Bella Twins, and Mickie James but leaves room for several shocking surprises.
The show also hosts Becky Lynch defending her title against Doudrop while the Grit couple of Edge and Beth Pheonix take on the It couple of Miz and Maryse.
Beth Phoenix & Edge vs Miz & Maryse
The GrIT couple vs the IT couple feud although very predictable has been fun. It all started with The Miz returning from his stint on Dancing with the Stars and he brought with him Maryse to start the feud with Edge. Beth Phoenix returned well into the feud. The Glamazon returned to WWE after a successful stint on the commentary table on NXT. At Day 1, Phoenix made her comeback to put a halt to Maryse’s constant interference during Edge’s on-on-one match against the Miz.
The star of Miz & Mrs got one over on Phoenix with a loaded purse before the Hall of Famers ruined her birthday party. All of this has led to the Rumble and a match that features Edge and Phoenix teaming up for the first time in their careers and what makes it even more special is that both retired from action over a decade ago.
Predictions:
John: As much as it is great seeing Maryse back in WWE she is just being lined up to take a severe beating from Phoenix at the Rumble. It’ll be fun to see the two couples go at it and there will be a few unsavoury tactics employed by the stars of Miz & Mrs, but the result will see the Hall of Famers standing tall.
Nick: This hopefully will be a fun match but with the booking keeping Maryse away from pulling any moves has me concerned that it will be predictable. With that being said, I can still see it going either way as it only takes a distracted referee for Maryse or The Miz to steal a win. If this feud continues after this match then I can see the IT couple stealing one.
However, sometimes the obvious winner is clear and I am going to go with Beth and Edge winning.
Becky Lynch vs Doudrop RAW Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch meets her biggest challenge since becoming the RAW Women’s Championship last year. After successfully defending the title twice against Liv Morgan, Lynch’s next challenger came in the intimidating form of Doupdrop. The former Piper Niven defeated both Bianca Belair and Morgan in a triple threat match on RAW to challenge Big Time Becks at the Premier Live Event.
Since then the two celts teamed in an obligatory “can they co-exist” tag team match against Belair and Morgan in which they won, but of course
On the go-home episode of RAW, they took part in a highly-entertaining split-screen interview, which ended in a backstage brawl.
Predictions:
John: Being a celt myself this match holds a special place and I am fully expecting both to go all out and show what they can do. Lynch will do her best to show Doudrop as a credible and formidable opponent but there is no doubt who leaves this match with the title, and that is Becky Lynch.
Post-match Ronda Rousey comes out and confronts Lynch setting up the highly-anticipated one-on-one match between the two rivals.
Nick: Based on the predictable booking, I am going with Becky to retain here, which is probable. Having Becky drop the title before Mania doesn’t seem likely.
Women’s Royal Rumble
Big names have already declared themselves for the match and Sasha Banks made her return to SmackDown stating she was ready for action.
This year’s Rumble match saw several surprises announced/spoiled when WWE revealed multiple huge entrants. The but that leans toward WWE saving some big surprises for the night.
The confirmed names for the Royal Rumble Match are –
Sasha Banks, Sonya Deville, Naomi, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler, Nikki A.S.H., Shotzi, Natalya, Aliyah, Tamina, Lita, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Summer Rae, The Bella Twins, 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke, IMPACT Knockouts World Champion Mickie James, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Carmella, and Queen Zelina, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, and 7 more TBD.
Who will the seven be? There is rumours and reports running wild on who will appear, which makes the Royal Rumble so much fun.
Predictions:
John: The participants in this year’s Rumble match look to make this a very special one. For example current IMPACT! Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James coming back is quite simply amazing and cannot wait to see what more mega surprises throughout the match.
The winner is Sasha Banks, and the big surprise will be Bayley.
Nick: There are so many that could win this and I am so excited for this match. Let’s hope the production of it matches up to the hype and the various stories that this match can tell.
I really want Naomi to take this win, but with Sasha officially back and in it I will have to agree she is the likely winner. I see the big surprise in the rumble being either Ronda or Paige. I much rather it be Paige and if Ronda is returning she just confronts Becky after her match. Asuka will most likely return also and probably will be in the final four of the Rumble.
Who do you see returning and who leaves Royal Rumble heading to the WrestleMania main event? Let us know in the comments below.
