The following are my predictions for the 2019 WWE Royal Rumble PPV. Check back for Royal Rumble 2019 results and review coverage here when the time comes and take part in the WWE Royal Rumble Drinking Game while watching this event, too!
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30-Man Royal Rumble 2019 Match
Roman Reigns vacating the Universal Championship changed all of my perceptions. Then, Daniel Bryan turning heel and winning the WWE Championship changed even more. I had thought maybe Daniel Bryan would win to challenge The Miz, or we'd get an Ambrose/Rollins double win to set up a Shield Triple Threat at Mania.
With Brock Lesnar holding the championship, Roman Reigns being out, Triple H being injured which costs them the HHH/Batista match, Bryan turning heel, and so on, these are the only things I can see happening:
a) Seth Rollins wins the Royal Rumble and in their attempt to capitalize off the Roman Reigns sympathy and Seth's popularity, they go with him against Lesnar, who probably beats him anyway because it's Lesnar, but hell, maybe Rollins wins and drops the belt to Drew McIntyre.
b) Shawn Michaels or John Cena wins the Royal Rumble and challenges Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship
c) Batista or The Rock wins the Royal Rumble to set up a "superfight" with Lesnar at WrestleMania and Lesnar retains
d) If by some maaaaaaaaaaaaaaajor fluke, Balor beats Lesnar, then either Drew McIntyre or Lars Sullivan wins to challenge Balor
Confirmed participants (20) = Andrade, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Big E, Bobby Lashley, Dean Ambrose, Drew McIntyre, Elias, Jeff Hardy, Jinder Mahal, John Cena, Kofi Kingston, Mustafa Ali, R-Truth (#30), Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Titus O'Neil, Xavier Woods
PREDICTION: Seth Rollins wins. Maybe Mysterio, Cena or HBK, if they want to set up an opponent for Bryan, but I'm going with Rollins.
30-Woman Royal Rumble 2019 Match
My immediate gut reaction the moment after the 2018 Royal Rumble was to guess Ronda Rousey or Charlotte Flair. All these months have gone by and I still think Flair is the top choice in WWE's mind, with Becky Lynch being the second, and I honestly think both are going to win, even though Lynch has a title match earlier. Three people (Ziggler, Orton and Reigns) have all been in the Royal Rumble after having a title shot earlier in the night, so I think Lynch will do the same and we'll have co-winners to set up a Triple Threat at WrestleMania.
Confirmed participants (23) = Alexa Bliss, Alicia Fox, Bayley, Billie Kay, Carmella (#30), Charlotte Flair, Dana Brooke, Ember Moon, Lacey Evans, Lana, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Naomi, Natalya, Nia Jax, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Sonya Deville, Tamina, Zelina Vega
People I'd expect, but aren't announced yet (9/11): Becky Lynch, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro, Lita, Maria Kanellis, Toni Storm, Trish Stratus...or The Bella Twins might be involved
PREDICTION: Charlotte Flair AND Becky Lynch win the Royal Rumble to challenge Ronda Rousey in a Triple Threat match.
Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Finn Balor
Should I just copy and paste my "Lesnar is Lesnar. He'll win in 5 minutes with a few German suplexes and an F-5 and then fuck off until a few weeks before WrestleMania" response? Same old shit.
Yes, at least Balor is finally getting the title shot he should have gotten before, but it ultimately doesn't mean anything, because there is absolutely no chance he wins the belt. Here's hoping this is more like the Styles and Bryan fights from Survivor Series, rather than what we normally get from Lesnar.
PREDICTION: Brock Lesnar retains the title and WWE tries to tell you that it was worth waiting for his appearance and how great it'll be when he pops up again in March to set up his quick WrestleMania match.
WWE Championship Match: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles
Jimmy Jacobs says writing for WWE is hard. Really, dude? They've just copied and pasted this match and so many other matches over and over and over for months. This isn't hard. CTRL+C and CTRL+V. It takes more time for me to write this criticism out than it does for them to "write" these feuds.
PREDICTION: Daniel Bryan retains the title.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Weird that they're doing this here and that they announced it, backtracked, and then did the match anyway. My guess is Asuka retains because of some kind of shenanigans with Charlotte Flair and/or Ronda Rousey. Then, Lynch enters the Royal Rumble and co-wins that with Flair, per my other prediction.
PREDICTION: Asuka retains the title.
Cruiserweight Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami
Definitely thinking Buddy Murphy comes out of this with the title still in hand. Those babyfaces aren't strong enough to take the title from him. It'll have to be someone new like Ricochet. That's one of the reasons why this is a Fatal 4-Way, cause no one challenger would be interesting enough. At least, that's my theory.
PREDICTION: Buddy Murphy retains.
Raw Women's Championship Match: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Curious why they didn't just keep the women's titles out of the mix like last year to have all hands on deck for the Royal Rumble, and I'm curious why Banks gets the title shot instead of them just waiting and doing the Natalya match at Royal Rumble instead of at the end of 2018. Anyway, it ultimately doesn't matter, as Banks isn't winning the title.
PREDICTION: Ronda Rousey retains the title.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Bar (c) vs. The Miz and Shane McMahon
This is tough. I can definitely see the titles changing hands, but it wouldn't shock me at all if they come up short and this all leads to a match between The Miz and Shane against each other at WrestleMania. Gut reaction, they're winning the belts.
PREDICTION: Miz and Shane win the titles.
United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE has put no real effort into this. They didn't even announce it on SmackDown. They just put it up on the site like "oh and this thing" which is a shame, but isn't surprising, given the way they've booked Nakamura and the US title this past year.
PREDICTION: Rusev retains the title, unless this was entirely just to give Nakamura a win to refresh his title reign, but I'm leaning towards Rusev.
PREDICTED MATCHES (as of 1/22/2019)
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
It wouldn't shock me if the titles aren't on the line at all. If they are, my guess is The Revival get another shot at Bobby Roode and Chad Gable.
PREDICTION: The Revival win the titles. If they aren't in the match, there is no match.
Intercontinental Championship Match
I don't think this will be on the card and if it does, no matter who fights Lashley, he keeps the title.
PREDICTION: Bobby Lashley retains if it happens, but it won't.
This page will be altered to reflect newer opinions whenever new information about this and surrounding events takes place.
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TELL US YOUR IDEAS IN THE COMMENTS!
TELL US YOUR IDEAS IN THE COMMENTS!
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