On Sunday, January 28th, WWE will hold one of its three biggest annual pay-per-views – the Royal Rumble. For the second time in four years, the event is being held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, one of the rowdiest venues on the WWE schedule.
Every year, the main event on the card is the 30-man Royal Rumble match where the winner gets a shot at the WWE title of their choice at Wrestlemania in the spring. If you’re unfamiliar with professional wrestling and didn’t happen to read my post on the Royal Rumble a couple weeks ago, I’ll explain how the Royal Rumble match works:
Two wrestlers begin the match in the ring, and one additional wrestler enters the match every 90 seconds. There is no limit to the number of competitors that can be in the ring at the same time. So, in theory, there could be 30 people all fighting each other 45 minutes into the match. Competitors are eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and touching the floor with both feet. In other words, the second you hit on the ground, you’re basically done. The winner is the last person legally left in the ring after all others have been eliminated.
A match with such unique rules and high stakes is enough to sell a three-hour show on its own, but there are typically a few other big matches on the card and this year is no different. In addition to the men’s Royal Rumble, the WWE will be holding the first ever women’s Royal Rumble, presumably to begin the show. Between the two Royal Rumble matches (or possibly on the hour-long kickoff show), the card also includes tag team title matches for both the Raw and SmackDown brands, a WWE Championship match, and a WWE Universal Title match.
This is shaping up to be a huge card without much filler. For casual wrestling fans, or even brand new ones, I’d recommend this show above all other pay-per-views. And if you’re not a wrestling fan at all and wouldn’t consider watching after this increasingly long sales pitch, I understand…
…But you should give it a chance anyway!
With all that being said, I’d like to break down each of the matches. At times, the WWE can tell great stories that shock you in amazing ways, and other times it can be horribly predictable and make you vow never to watch again. It’s usually the latter, but you keep tuning in so you don’t miss the good stuff. Here are some of the things that I’m hoping will happen, followed by what I’m expecting to happen this Sunday.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
This match has a lot of intrigue, but much of it revolves around the WWE’s very small women’s roster and how it will possibly come up with 30 female wrestlers to compete. The expectation is that there will be many one-off appearances by former WWE competitors in order to fill all of the spots. Regardless, I think the wide majority of fans are excited to see how this match plays out and who comes away with a title opportunity at Wrestlemania.
What I Hope Will Happen:
I hope Asuka wins. She has to be the favorite and there’s no reason for her to lose. Since signing with the WWE, appearing weekly on the NXT developmental show, and getting called up to RAW, Asuka has not lost a singles match. It’s been two and a half years. She should definitely earn a title match at Wrestlemania, win it, and hold the RAW Women’s Championship forever. I would also accept a dominant Nia Jax performance and victory if they have other plans for Asuka.
What Will Actually Happen:
WWE will mess this up by having a number of women gang up and throw Asuka cheaply over the top rope because nobody can eliminate her on their own. For months, we will be reminded that she still hasn’t been pinned or submitted, but we will all know her undefeated record is tainted because she technically didn’t win the Royal Rumble.
Asuka has lost a battle royal match in her WWE career, but it was two years ago and pretty much everyone has forgotten. It would probably take another two years to erase this loss from memory. If she does lose, somebody else like Becky Lynch or Sasha Banks will win in predictable fashion after Asuka and Nia Jax have been eliminated. The other very small, yet exciting, possibility is that another woman making a surprise debut on the WWE roster wins the match and earns the title shot.
