The kickoff to the road to Wrestlemania begins at the Royal Rumble this Sunday. What will be the match order for the blockbuster show?
This Royal Rumble match is being built as one of the biggest, if not the biggest Royal Rumble in WWE history with the amount of big name superstars and legends that are scheduled to compete. It was announced after the Survivor Series pay-per-view that Goldberg would be the first entrant into the match. Brock Lesnar wasted little time placing his name into the mix as well. To make the match even bigger, The Undertaker is returning to participate in his first Royal Rumble since 2009.
The rest of the card will feature both the Universal and WWE Championship matches, as well as the Raw Women’s Championship. The Cruiserweight Championship will be making a return to the Royal Rumble for the first time in years, rounding up all of the title matches on the main card. All of these feuds have been brewing for over a month in some instances and they will come to a head this Sunday at the rumble.
On the Kick-Off Show for the pay-per-view, two matches will get things underway. Both matches are for the Raw brand and will feature Sasha Banks versus her recent foe, Nia Jax. Jax has been a thorn in Banks’ side for the past few weeks. Jax has targeted Banks’ knee. The Raw Tag Team Championship too will be on the line during the kick-off special. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have had the number of the tag champs, Cesaro and Sheamus recently. Will they be able to retain this Sunday night? Let’s get into the match order predictions starting with the opener.
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WWE Universal ChampionshipKevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns
The show will need to start off with a bang to get the crowd going and what better way than for it to involve the Kevin and Chris Show? The Universal Championship will be on the line Sunday night as Kevin Owens will look to defend against Roman Reigns. Perhaps the most significant part of this match is that Owens’ best friend, Chris Jericho will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Jericho has managed to get involved in every championship decision since Owens has been champion. That will change here at the rumble.
Owens will be all on his own this time around. It will be refreshing to see Owens actually attempt to defend his title. The WWE Universe deserves a pure finish to this match-up. Can Owens defeat Reigns without the help of his best friend, Jericho? Having this match open the show will also allow for the main title matches to be slightly more dispersed throughout the card and will keep the crowd intrigued throughout the show.
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WWE Cruiserweight ChampionshipRich Swann (c) vs. Neville
We will, at last, see a championship match between both Neville and the Cruiserweight Champion, Rich Swann. Since returning to WWE after a multi-month hiatus, Neville has been a man on a mission and has dubbed himself as the so-called “King of the Cruiserweight’s” in that time. He will have to take out the current “king” in the cruiserweight division, Swann, who has held the title since the debut of 205 Live over a month ago. Swann has been able to develop his character during this time, however, perhaps it is time for a new champion.
Neville is the definition of what a cruiserweight champion should look like and has finally been given that push he needed to elevate his career in WWE. The division at the current time needs a top heel as champion to further put the division on the map. It also needs a true top champion to hold the title for a lengthy period of time in order to build upon its prestige. WWE has done a great job over the past month or so incorporating a story within the cruiserweight division as opposed to just high-flying match-ups. However, this will surely be a match-up to watch with the talent that both men possess. You won’t want to a miss any of the action.
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Raw Women’s ChampionshipCharlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley
The third match on the main card should be the Raw Women’s Championship match between Charlotte Flair and Bayley. It is well-known as to what Flair has accomplished in 2016. She has an undefeated record at pay-per-view events and has won the Raw Women’s Championship a total of three times in 2016. However, the one superstar which has seemingly had the Queen’s number in recent months is her opponent this Sunday, Bayley. Bayley has produced two victories over the champ and that is not the including the one that was wiped off the record books a few weeks ago.
Will Charlotte continue her dominance and further cement herself as arguably the greatest women’s competitor in WWE History? Or will it be the underdog with a dream, Bayley capture her first title on the main roster Sunday night? Bayley is known for her never say die attitude, which has captured the eyes and hearts f the WWE Universe since her arrival a couple of months ago. Fans should expect one the best performances of the night in this match.
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WWE ChampionshipAJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena
This is perhaps the biggest and highest profiled match on the card, aside from the Royal Rumble. Fans will get a chance to see a one-on-one rematch between the Phenomenal One, AJ Styles and the man looking to make history, John Cena. These two last met one-on-one at SummerSlam this past August. It has been well documented that it was Styles that came away with the victory that night in perhaps, match of the year fashion. Fans should expect nothing less here this weekend when these two do battle once more.
Will Cena be able to claim his record-tying and unprecedented 16th world championship in WWE?Or will Styles prove that he has the great one’s number once more? The loser of this match-up will likely be entered into the Royal Rumble match later on in the night, making it even bigger. Both men will have to give it everything they have to come away with the title. As we all know, Cena will not give in easy, especially when a world title is on the line. This match may steel the show Sunday night in San Antonio, Texas. Don’t blink.
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Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, Natalya
This match will likely be the one that preludes the Royal Rumble match on Sunday evening. This is the match-up that will allow for the crowd to die down somewhat before the main event begins. WWE often does this in matches very similar to this. There are plenty of rivalries within this match. Mickie James has begun feuding with Becky Lynch after costing her a shot at regaining her Women’s Championship multiple times over the past few weeks.
One of the most compelling rivalries within the women’s division right now is that of Nikki Bella versus Natalya. This six woman tag match should still be an entertaining one with the large talent pool that is the SmackDown women’s division. This match, however, has little meaning from an overall stand point. It will simply further the story line between one of these rivalries we have on SmackDown Live. My guess is either Mickie James or Becky Lynch will score a pin fall victory over one another.
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Royal Rumble Match
Last, but certainly not least, we have the Royal Rumble match. As previously stated, this is perhaps the biggest Royal Rumble of all time. The field will consist of names such as Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker. All three superstars were seen in the ring at the conclusion of Raw this past Monday evening. A scene which the WWE Universe has never seen before. This match will be huge, with the various match-ups we can see. We could see Big Show and Big Cass face to face; a match-up with two seven footers. We could see Brawn Strowman and Lesnar perhaps face off.
The possibilities are seemingly endless. We will also hopefully see debuts from NXT stars such as Samoa Joe and Tye Dillinger. If Shinsuke Nakamura loses his NXT title at Takeover Saturday night, we could perhaps see him make a surprise entry as well. Fantasy warfare has gotten real once more in WWE. The fans are buzzing as they gear up for the biggest Royal Rumble match in recent memory. Who do you think will win and go on to headline Wrestlemania this year?
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