The Royal Rumble, the beginning of the road to Wrestlemania. This is usually where all the big story plans/plots for Wrestlemania either begin or slowly start to heat up.
Now usually I mention PPV (Pay-Per-View)/Big Wrestling Event predictions on The Burning Truth Broadcast (with my Co-Host - Nathan Gough), the same week of said event is due to happen, however, I have decided to do it a bit different this time and instead put my predictions on the blog, which I think will be far easier when it comes to allowing me to check to see if I was successful or if I had failed.
Now let’s get on with the predictions of WWE Royal Rumble 2018. I will be predicting only the current matches that have been announced so far at the moment in time as sadly I can't see into the future to see what matches will be taking place (but then again that would also make predictions pointless as well if I could do that). The matches will be in Random Order and for the Royal Rumble Matches, I will be making the Predictions of who I think will enter at number entry 1.
The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) Vs Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin
2 Out of 3 Falls Match for the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Winners: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin
I think that The Usos have been very worthy Tag Team Champions for Smackdown for quite some time now, I just feel that it is time to move onto a New & Fresh Heel team that seems to be drawing plenty of heat with the new act that they have recently developed but also freshen up the Smackdown Tag Team division up as well.
Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan (c) Vs The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus)
for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
Winners: The Bar
I will admit that I was very surprised that Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan were able to win the Tag Team Championship from The Bar, especially when it was originally meant to be Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose but Dean ended up being put on the injured list, which meant that Seth had to find a last-minute replacement, which ended up being Jason Jordan (which some could say was mostly provided by Kurt Angle).
Now them winning the Raw Tag Team Championship was a feel-good moment at the time, I just feel as if it may get looked at as a lucky moment and that The Bar will win the Championship back, especially with the fact that it appears that Jason is trying to get himself in as a new member/Dean Ambrose's replacement within The Shield but it doesn't look like either Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns is too thrilled with the idea. So, I think that The Bar will regain the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship but also with the added claim that Seth & Jason were lucky in the previous match also.
AJ Styles (c) Vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
2 on 1 Handicap Match for the WWE Championship
Winner/s: AJ Styles
As much as most would say that the numbers game would go against AJ Styles in this match and yes Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn stated that they would be joint holders of the WWE Championship. I feel that it will be announced that whoever gets the Pin Fall or the Submission victory will become the WWE Champion which will play in the minds of Kevin & Sami, which could slowly result in them both turning on each other and almost turning it into a triple threat match, however, there would be a small catch on Kevin's and Sami's side as they would now have to defeat AJ Styles to become the champion instead of them attempting to defeat each other, which in turn be revealed as Daniel Bryan's master plan against them.
Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) Vs Braun Strowman Vs Kane
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Universal Championship
Winner: Brock Lesnar
This match, I think had my interest the most because I would find it very interesting if Braun Strowman was actually able to get the Win and become the New WWE Universal Championship at the right moment of when he is on the rise, however, I don't think that would be the case as I feel that Brock Lesnar will get the win in this match but at the same time, Braun Strowman needs to still look strong as well, otherwise, all the momentum that WWE has been building for him, will be wasted.
So, I think that Kane will take the Pin Fall or Submission lost because he wouldn't be losing too much momentum as he is a veteran of the business and it would allow both Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman to both look strong regardless which one of them managed to get the victory.
The other reason why I think Brock Lesnar will be successful in defending his championship will be due to the fact that there has been a long rumour that at Wrestlemania that he would be in a WWE Universal Championship Match against Roman Reigns (Who may or may not win the WWE Men's Royal Rumble Match).
2018 Woman's Royal Rumble Match
Entrant Number 1: Bayley
I feel that Bayley is the most likely choice to be the First Entrant for the match, as it would be in a way a history-making moment in the WWE, it would also allow her to stay relevant in the eyes of the fans but it does seem as if higher management don't seem to be set on putting Bayley in the Women's Championship spotlight at the moment but also still want to keep her within reach of the division as well.
Entrant Number 30: Stephanie McMahon
This prediction for the Women's Royal Rumble Match seemed to be the most logically and the easiest one to predict, as she would most likely give herself this spot in the match in a sort of Authority Figure abusing their power to their advantage, which Stephanie has been known to do in the past.
Final 4 Combatants:
Paige (Raw)
Ruby Riott (Smackdown)
Asuka (Raw)
Becky Lynch (Smackdown)
This will happen because I feel that these 4 have been used the most lately in the current events of the Women's Division, with Absolution (with Paige as the leader) being against the Women's Division of Raw and The Riott Squad (which Ruby Riott is the leader of this group) against the Women's Division of Smackdown. Then on the other end of these groups, I would say that Asuka would be a good combatant to go against Paige in defence of the Women's Division of Raw, especially with the extra fact that Asuka has never been Pinned or Submitted in a match, and then have Becky Lynch against Ruby Riott, especially with the fact that when the Riott Squad arrived on Smackdown, the first one they attacked to make a name for themselves was Becky Lynch, which I am sure that she would be eager to get a bit of payback against the leader of the Riott Squad.
Winner: Asuka
This prediction may come across as predictable but I feel that it would be the most logical choice for the WWE, especially with the fact that Asuka hasn't been defeated in a match that involves getting either getting pinned, submitted or Disqualified (because we all know that Asuka has lost a match while she was in NXT, as she was eliminated in a Battle Royal/Rumble Match on NXT, that Carmella won).
Also, the other reason why it could be interesting for Asuka to win the match is that then the WWE would have a choice for who Asuka could go against be it against the Raw Women's Champion (Most likely be Alexa Bliss) or She could use a loop-hole to jump to Smackdown and go against the Smackdown Women's Champion (Most likely be Charlotte Flair), either way, that would be a very interesting Wrestlemania match up regardless of who Asuka decided to go against.
2018 Men's Royal Rumble Match
Entrant Number 1: Elias
This one I felt was one of the most difficult to predict, as it could be given to anyone on the roster but I feel that Elias will come out as Entrant Number 1 but will also have a very good showing as well, as it seems that manage to seem high on him, so expect to see good things heading his way
Entrant Number 30: The Undertaker
I feel that this would be a big surprise to everyone and maybe catch some of us off guard completely as well. I think he would be a great addition to the rumble and this could also be used to either start a feud or continue one (depending on if you believe the rumours are true and that The Undertaker will be going against John Cena at Wrestlemania).
Final 4 Combatants:
Roman Reigns (Raw)
John Cena (Free-Agent)
Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown)
Randy Orton (Smackdown)
I will explain the reasons why I have picked these as the final 4, starting off with Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns is a very good choice to be in the Final 4 and also has a good shot to also Win the match as well as there has been a big rumour for multiple months that he will be going against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania for the WWE Universal Championship, it's also one of the rumoured reasons why whenever Roman or Brock hit their finisher it usually ends the match there and then instead of multiple finishers.
John Cena is a good choice because if he does win the match then his Championship match at Wrestlemania could be the one that Breaks Ric Flairs Record of Most World Championship reigns (within the WWE Records of course and not including the Indy Records)
Shinsuke Nakamura because if he wins the Royal Rumble then at Wrestlemania, it would most likely be Shinsuke Nakamura Vs AJ Styles for the WWE Championship which would pretty much be a match where most fans turn into a version of Phillip J Fry and just state the following "Here take my money".
Randy Orton, I think would be the least likely to win the match, out of the final 4 I have picked but then again he has been known to catch us by surprise from outta nowhere (sorry for the bad pun). He would still be a good safe choice to win the match as he has still been in the Main Event picture for quite some time and been known for producing some big matches at Wrestlemania.
Interesting side note to add here is that if either John Cena or Randy Orton do win the match they would be tied up on the Record of most Royal Rumble Match Victories with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at 3 Times.
Winner: Roman Reigns
I know that this might not be the most popular choice to be the winner but he has been getting a lot more cheers lately and fewer boos because he has been showing that he is able to produce some top-quality matches (Just look at the matches he has had against Cesaro on Raw). He has been slowly turning the audience around in his favour slowly but surely.
Also, another reason why that I think that this will be the result because the rumour of him going against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania for the WWE Universal Championship has been around for months and as I stated in the Final 4 comment for Roman, both Brock and himself only have to hit their finish once for the match to be over, which I think won't be the case at Wrestlemania to sort of try and "surprise" everyone then their finisher doesn't end the match.
So with all that being said, these are my predictions for WWE Royal Rumble 2018. Let me know in the comments section if you agree, disagree and what your predictions are for WWE Royal Rumble 2018.
