Dear WWE Creative,
With the Royal Rumble only days away, fans can’t help but speculate on what your team has up their sleeves to usher in the Road to Wrestlemania season. Who will win the coveted Royal Rumble bout within the men and women’s matches, and head on to a guaranteed title shot at WM 35?
Most years, things seem pretty cut and dry, and thanks to Internet spoilers, where a lot of fans have a clear indication on who could be winning. This year? Not so much. Sure, Seth Rollins seems like he may be in the lead, thanks to buzz on the web indicating that the higher ups believe he should battle Universal Champion Brock Lesnar come the Grandest Stage of Them All; however, if a surprise entrant in Roman Reigns comes to fruition, the game could very well get changed in a very huge way. Then there’s Braun Strowman waiting in the wings. Surely, with his size, strength, and star power, WWE Officials could see the value in having him be a part of the headline when it comes to the flagship event. His match with Lesnar was scrapped for the Royal Rumble, whether that be due to injury or other issues, but Strowman and Lesnar could easily build up a high-caliber ‘mania match (with the help of Paul Heyman, of course).
Then, we could see a wildcard emerge from the shadows. Bray Wyatt has been MIA on Monday Night RAW for a very long while now, and a splashing return at the Royal Rumble, by a comeback and taking the entire bout, would be explosive. What could also add an interesting twist is Wyatt remaining face and jumping ship to face Daniel Bryan for the WWE title; Wyatt turning heel and facing good guy AJ Styles could work well too. Then there’s always that floating Free Birds Rule stipulation that has yet to be used in any storyline. Having one of the New Day members win the Royal Rumble, only to have a mystery linger around which member would get a title shot at WM 35 could be an intriguing SmackDown storyline headed along the Road to Wrestlemania. Samoa Joe would be a nice surprise as well, and there’s no telling just how hard Joe could sell his WM match on promos alone.
On to the women of the WWE, and this too remains such a large mystery when it comes to the Royal Rumble. Becky Lynch is set to battle Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship come Sunday. But, what if she fails before the Royal Rumble match, and then enters herself in by ridding another opponent when the buzzer rings? The Man winning the Royal Rumble match is a perfect way for Becks to be placed in the closing Wrestlemania bout, if she were to decide to challenge RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey; “Stone Cold” Steve Austin would approve.
Other potential front-runners for the Women’s Royal Rumble: an obvious choice in The Queen. Charlotte Flair will undeniably have a Wrestlemania moment this year, and scoring the RR match could insert her into a bout with Ronda Rousey, or a title match in general. But, what about other contenders? With the guarantee of having spot 30, Carmella is a front runner to win, not to mention a returning Alexa Bliss, who is more than ready to reclaim her top spot on RAW; however, it would also be cool to see someone not-so-expected to gain the win (I’m looking at you, Ruby Riott, Nikki Cross, and Sonya DeVille).
What will be, come Sunday night? Only time will tell. Regardless, here’s hoping the 2019 Royal Rumble is one that fans won’t soon forget (in a good way).
Good luck, WWE Creative!
Signed,
Me.
