How could the WWE Royal Rumble match card look by the end of January?
On Sunday, January 29, the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view will take place from the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. This is the annual show that usually sets WWE up for the WrestleMania event, which has the biggest feuds and matches of the year. The 2017 show should be no different, especially with how this is currently building.
As always, there will be the Royal Rumble match. 30 Superstars will compete for a chance at main eventing WrestleMania 33 whether it’s for the WWE or Universal Championship. The company hasn’t noted yet whether the winner of this over-the-top rope bout will get the chance to choose which belt he goes for.
The only Superstars set for the Rumble are Brock Lesnar and Goldberg. This came just days after their Survivor Series match, which saw the former WCW star win in 86 seconds. Who else will join these two along the way?
We also have one title match set with Kevin Owens defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. Given Chris Jericho’s interference in past title matches, he will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Will he still make an impact on the only set championship matchup?
The Royal Rumble card is only beginning to be developed, though, and should get more matches added to the show as the weeks go on. What else do we think should join the annual match and Owens vs. Reigns? Here are our full match predictions.
WWE.com
WWE Universal Championship MatchKevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns
This is starting off with the only confirmed match outside of the Royal Rumble to close the show. We got the announcement of Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns on Monday’s episode of Raw after the disqualification finish at WWE Roadblock. Given Chris Jericho’s role in the match, he’s going to be suspended above the ring in a shark cage at the Rumble. So, he won’t be able to impact the finish.
Owens defending the Universal Championship more than likely takes him out of the Royal Rumble match, unless he loses the belt to Reigns. WWE don’t often make Superstars do double-duty if they’re in a world title match earlier in the night, but that could always change since KO wanting to win the over-the-top-rope match after losing his belt would make sense. Why wouldn’t he want another opportunity?
As for Reigns, this potentially takes him out of the Royal Rumble match for the first time since 2013. It would come as an interesting change since he has been a focal point of each of the past three of these bouts for the WrestleMania main event spot. 2014 was about him and Batista, 2015 saw Reigns win, and in 2016, he defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against 29 other Superstars.
WWE.com
Royal Rumble Match
This is the annual over-the-top-rope match, the Royal Rumble. In most years, this has been for a spot in the WrestleMania main event, which wasn’t the case in 2016. However, the 2017 version of this match should see this go back to normal, except with an interesting twist since there’s a brand split.
Whoever wins the Royal Rumble match may be able to choose whichever brand’s top title he wants to go for. While WWE hasn’t gone out and said that yet, this would make the most sense and at least set up some intrigue over the next month. We could get teases of Dean Ambrose wanting to win, crossover to Raw, and take Kevin Owens’ WWE Universal Championship. Seth Rollins may even mention how he wants AJ Styles’ WWE Championship on SmackDown. That would then open up the floodgates for inter-promotional matches at WrestleMania 33, something that seems to be a given.
Besides this, the Royal Rumble match is always one of the most intriguing spectacles WWE puts on every year. There’s drama, surprise returns, and plenty of stakes on the line to set up the biggest show of the company’s calendar. It should resonate well in front of 60,000 fans, making the one shining moment for whoever wins feel even bigger as we near the beginning of April.
WWE.com
SmackDown Women’s Championship MatchAlexa Bliss (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Alexa Bliss won the SmackDown Women’s Championship in somewhat of a clunky tables match at WWE TLC. It didn’t represent what she had done through her first four months on the main roster, though, including effective character work with her convincing facial expressions, villainous presence, and improvement on the microphone. That’s not to take away from Becky Lynch either, who did well in her title reign. She didn’t have a memorable moment, though.
On next Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown, Bliss and Lynch will go head-to-head for the women’s title. Given that it’s a TV championship match, there’s a decent chance we’re going to see this feud extended with a conjoined finish. That may lead to one more bout between these two women, which could be at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
How this match goes down would be interesting. Is SmackDown ready to take Lynch, their best face, out of the title mix heading into WrestleMania season? That would open the door up for Nikki Bella, who has battled Carmella and Natalya since her return in August. Maybe a multi-women match is eventually in store with Bella, Lynch, and Bliss all involved as well. Before we get there, though, Bliss and Lynch should get one more chance on PPV.
WWE.com
Raw Women’s Championship MatchCharlotte (c) vs. Bayley
Charlotte and Bayley are seemingly headed toward a match at WrestleMania 33 for the Raw Women’s Championship. They are feuding now, though, and with this latest rumor on them potentially wrestling at Royal Rumble, that would seemingly mean we’re getting them on January 29.
So far, Bayley has gotten the upper hand on Charlotte with three wins, including on Monday’s episode of Raw. It means we’re going to get these two in another bout soon if the Sasha Banks program meant anything. If WWE decides to do the Hugger and the Queen in multiple matches along the way, then there’s the threat of wearing out the popularity of the former, which has already decreased since her main roster debut in August.
A full-length Bayley vs. Charlotte match on PPV shouldn’t be bad whatsoever, though. These two had a fun match at NXT TakeOver: Fatal Four-Way in 2014, and haven’t really had the chance to go head-to-head on a big stage since. Over two years later, we’ll get to see how these two matured in the ring and make more history in 2017.
WWE.com
WWE Intercontinental Championship MatchThe Miz (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
The Miz is likely heading into WWE Royal Rumble with a title defense. He and Dean Ambrose have teased tension for the past few weeks after Maryse got involved in their Intercontinental Championship match. Then, after Miz beat Apollo Crews, Renee Young interviewed the A-lister, who called her out on “sleeping” with Dean Ambrose (they have recently gone more public than ever with their relationship). This led to the WWE interviewer slapping the champion and storming off.
Later on, Ambrose defeated Luke Harper with a rollup. However, the Wyatt Family would beat down the Lunatic Fringe after the match, potentially throwing Harper into the title hunt. So, putting all the pieces together may mean we’re getting a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship at Royal Rumble. The other option is a No. 1 Contender’s match with Harper and Ambrose to get to Miz at the PPV, but we’ll go with all three men involved since every match on this card is singles.
Given that WWE seemingly has no interest in taking the United States Championship away from Roman Reigns, this will be the only mid-card title match at the Rumble. It should provide plenty of entertainment as one of WWE’s top heels (Miz) looks to potentially have his most important title defense yet. This would also mark the second straight year that Ambrose was in an Intercontinental Title match at this event.
WWE.com
WWE Championship MatchAJ Styles (c) vs. The Undertaker
AJ Styles isn’t out of the clear for defending the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, as he still has to face Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler in a title defense on the December 27 episode of SmackDown. By presuming that he will walk out as champion, especially since he’s probably not going to lose on TV, we can look at who he should face in January.
Why the Undertaker, though?
On the final episode of SmackDown before Survivor Series, the Dead Man warned the Blue Brand team to not lose their 5-on-5 match. They didn’t so his words meant nothing. However, he did say he’s back “taking souls and digging holes.” That has to lead to something important, right? If it’s only heading toward a WrestleMania 33 match, then his early return would render pointless.
By bringing in Undertaker to face Styles, they could contend for the WWE Championship in the biggest non-Royal Rumble match of the evening. The 60,000-seat Alamodome needs to sell some tickets and has some drawing power. The over-the-top-rope bout does that on its own, but other attractions need to be there for the fans to take in. Undertaker remains a big draw, even after crossing 50-years-old, that the WWE Universe wants to see. So, if the company can get him for the show, then they’re likely on their way to selling a few extra tickets.
As for the championship match, this could be the way of leading to an Undertaker vs. John Cena match at WrestleMania 33 with a career and title on the line. It would be the main event and potentially the most important one we’ve seen in a handful of years.
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