Royal Rumble Predictions

The Road to Wrestlemania starts Sunday!

With two ‘Mania main event berths and a slew of titles on the line, Downey Patriot Staff Writer Alex Dominguez and Editor Eric Pierce weigh in on who they think is destined for victory.

Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Towaza vs. Hideo Itami for the Cruiserweight Championship –

AD: I don’t watch 405 Live, nor do I attempt to follow up on it at all. So, with that in mind…
Eeny, meeny, miny, Itami.
Prediction: Hideo Itami

EP: I don’t know much about these guys either, but I do know Buddy Murphy is the boyfriend of Alexa Bliss. The goddess is back!
Prediction: Buddy Murphy

Rusev (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship –

AD: I’m not too terribly invested in this feud, because I tend to zone out whenever Rusev is involved. Still, the WWE Universe seems happy enough with him as champion, so why not keep it on him a little while longer.
It is my firm belief that Nakamura should be in the main event mix anyways. You can’t do that as easily with the US Title weighing you down.
Prediction: Rusev

EP: I’m a big Nakamura fan, but he had his run after winning the 2018 Royal Rumble, and I can’t see him recapturing the title after relinquishing it less than a month ago.
Like Alex said, Nakamura is probably off to bigger things anyway. His job Sunday will be to make Rusev look good.
Prediction: Rusev

Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Championship –

AD: Look, I was right there with much of the WWE Universe last year when I wanted Asuka to take home the gold, but it didn’t happen.

Does Asuka deserve a title run? Yes absolutely. But 2018 was the year of Becky Lynch; she’s the hottest act not only in the women’s division, but in the WWE and practically all of wrestling as a whole. If anyone deserves the belt right now, it’s The Man.

Prediction: Becky Lynch

EP: Poor Asuka is a casualty of Becky Lynch’s exploding rise in popularity. Becky has to head into WrestleMania as champion. HAS TO.

Prediction: Becky Lynch

Shane McMahon and The Miz vs The Bar (c) for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships –

AD: I’ve been clamoring for another Miz run with the WWE Title, so this is going to be less a prediction and more just fantasy booking.
Miz and McMahon win the title. Things are great for them for let’s say, a month. However, somewhere along the line Shane manages to win the WWE title at the expense of the Miz (I know, gross). Shenanigans ensue, a feud follows. Miz wins WWE Championship at Wrestlemania.
Likely? Not really, but it’s the only way I can make sense of this wacky tag team combination.
A guy can dream at least.
Prediction: Miz and McMahon

EP: To be clear, the only time I want to see Shane McMahon in a ring is in a Hell in a Cell match.
Making him a tag team champion is aggravating, especially with so much under-utilized talent toiling as mid-carders. Hey Vince, maybe this is one of the reasons you’re losing talent to the indies and AEW?
Prediction: The Bar

Ronda Rousey (c) vs Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship –

AD: Like the Universal Title match, there’s no way in hell that Rousey is dropping her title. She WILL be the main event of Wrestlemania.
Wishful thinking, but let’s let Bailey cost Banks the title and end the god-awful Hug ‘n’ Boss Connection team.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey

EP: This match feels weird, awkward, and forced. Ronda is obviously going on to bigger things at WrestleMania, and Sasha is probably better suited in the tag-team ranks. (Despite my colleague’s disdain for the Hug ‘n’ Boss Connection, I believe they’re destined to win the inaugural women’s tag titles at Elimination Chamber.)
Prediction: Ronda Rousey

AD: Hey Eric, you misspelled The Riott Squad.

Daniel Bryan (c) vs AJ Styles for the WWE Championship –

AD: While a heel Daniel Bryan is definitely fresher and more entertaining in my book, I still don’t consider myself a fan. That being said, as much as I adore AJ Styles, he already had a pretty lengthy run with the belt that only just recently ended.
It’s time for both men to move on to other feuds, and frankly it’ll be more interesting to see the “new” Daniel Bryan mix it up with a few other contenders.
DB retains, and AJ gets set up for a high-profile match at Mania, whatever that ends up being.
Prediction: Daniel Bryan

EP: I personally don’t buy Daniel Bryan as a heel, maybe because I’ve seen him in too many episodes of Total Divas. (My wife watches the show, and I just happen to catch a scene or two. Whatever.)
AJ Styles is the best wrestler in WWE as far as I’m concerned. Give him the belt. Give him all the belts.
Prediction: AJ Styles

Finn Balor vs Brock Lesnar (c) for the Universal Championship –

AD: Brock is going in to ‘Mania as Champion; that’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler (and it’s barely even that). The only thing else I have to say on this match is that I hope they don’t put Balor in his demon gimmick. I love the Demon, but it needs to be treated like Undertaker’s Wrestlemania Streak: special, protected and damn-near unbeatable. Let Balor go out and give a strong showing so he looks good in defeat.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar

EP: I have a feeling this will be similar to Brock’s match against Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series: total domination by Brock in the first half of the match, followed by a rally by Finn that ultimately falls short. If there’s one thing WWE does well it’s repetition.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar

Women's Royal Rumble –

AD: In all honesty, Becky Lynch should be the winner of this match. However, Lynch is already scheduled to face Asuka on Sunday, so she’s out. That leaves the most logical winner to be Charlotte, in my opinion.
Charlotte wins, then goes on to main event ‘Mania with Ronda Rousey.
Prediction: Charlotte

EP: It’s hard to argue against my colleague’s logic; Charlotte Flair is indeed the most logical person to win the rumble. But with news that Alexa Bliss will make her long-awaited return as a Royal Rumble entrant, I can just as easily see her pulling out a win and getting a huge push to reclaim her title.
It’s the return of the goddess!
Prediction: Alexa Bliss

Men’s Royal Rumble –

AD: This is tricky, because from a storyline perspective there’s nothing really tangible to hang onto yet. There are a few rumors flying around, but one in particular makes the most sense…
It seems as though that the backstage rumblings are that Seth Rollins is the one being positioned to dethrone Lesnar at ‘Mania. My only issue with this proposition is that Rollins is currently tied up in a feud with his former shield brother Dean Ambrose, however there is still plenty of time to tie up those loose ends before April.
If you’re going to aim Rollins at the champ, this is the most logical way to do it.
Also, let’s just pretend that the WWE didn’t waste the number 30 spot on R-Truth…
Prediction: Seth Rollins

EP: Seth Rollins just doesn’t do it for me. Excellent wrestler for sure, and he’s a nice enough dude, but he doesn’t elicit any sort of passion from me.
None of this means anything of course, and Alex is right on with his prediction.
Prediction: Seth Rollins