Tonight begins the Road to WrestleMania with what some wrestling fans consider to be the 2nd most important night of the year for WWE. The Dome in St. Louis hosts WWE’s ‘premium live event’ so let’s get to these last second predictions.
Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz & Maryse
Edge & The Miz have been trading barbs against one another since both returned following Survivor Series. As the personal attacks on the mic intensified, The Miz’s wife Maryse returned to give her husband the upper hand against Edge leading up to Day 1. At Day 1, Maryse attempted to aid The Miz again in his match against Edge… only for Beth Phoenix to return and prevent that from happening. Now these 4 look to settle the score. This match feels like a blow off rather than the continuation of a story.
Who will win: Edge & Beth Phoenix
RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Piper Niven
Piper Nevin won a triple threat match between her, Bianca Belair & Liv Morgan to become the #1 contender to the RAW women’s title after Big Time Becks help engineer the victory for Niven. Now Lynch will try to fend off her latest challenge and enter WrestleMania season with her championship reign still intact. Niven should give Becky a solid test but this feels like a placeholder match rather than a serious threat to Big Time Becks.
Who will win: Becky Lynch retains
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Key participants: SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, Lita, Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James, Lita, Naomi, Rhea Ripley, Shayna Bazsler, Carmella, Zelina Vega
Charlotte Flair announced herself into the Royal Rumble and declared after she wins she will choose an opponent for WrestleMania. If that happens then that will be a first… and another history making event to add to Charlotte’s already bloated resumé. Bianca Belair is looking to become the 1st woman to become a 2-time winner, the first woman to become a back-to-back winner and only the 4th person overall to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches. Only two things are missing on Sasha Banks’ HOF resume. One is a Money in the Bank briefcase win. The other? A Royal Rumble win.
This women’s match should be fun, feature some cool spots and then there’s always the surprise entrants. One surprise entrant that many fans are looking for is a certain former UFC champion who hasn’t been seen since WrestleMania 35.
Who will win: If Ronda Rousey returns, Rousey wins. If not, look for Sasha Banks to win.
WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Bobby Lashley
This is a dream match 20 years in the making featuring the two most fearsome badasses in the last 25 years. Brock Lesnar became WWE champion by pinning Big E at Day 1 and Bobby Lashley became the #1 contender by winning a Fatal 4-way featuring Lashley, Kevin Owens, Big E and Seth Rollins. Lesnar was then joined by long time advocate Paul Heyman after Heyman was fired by Roman Reigns before Day 1. At the Day 1 Fatal 5-Way WWE title match, every interaction between Lesnar & Lashley ended with The Almighty getting the best of The Beast.
This should be a physical brawl. The only question remains is who will win? WWE decided to hotshot Day 1 once Roman Reigns didn’t make Day 1 due to COVID. That meant they had to put a belt on Brock so they sacrificed Big E’s championship reign. Now because of WWE pushing the panic button they will now have to make more rash decisions to get to their ultimate match of Lesnar/Reigns.
Who will win: Bobby Lashley wins the WWE Championship via shenanigans.
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Key participants: Big E, Randy Orton, Matt Riddle, Kofi Kingston, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, The Street Profits, The Alpha Academy, Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura, Damian Priest
When Kofi Kingston makes his entrance tonight at the Royal Rumble he will move into 2nd place all-time in appearances trailing only Kane. If Randy Orton is the last man standing tonight then he will join Stone Cold Steve Austin as the only 3-time Royal Rumble winners. Sheamus is looking to win his 2nd Royal Rumble. Also looking to win their 2nd Royal Rumble match is Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Mysterio. AJ Styles is always a threat to win it all as is Kevin Owens and Big E. Speaking of Kofi Kingston we can also expect his annual “how did he not get eliminated there” trick. This truly feels like anyone can win… but I expect one surprise entrant to win the whole thing.
Who will win: Remember when I said Lesnar vs. Reigns is happening? This is how it happens – Lesnar will win the Royal Rumble and become a 2-time winner.
Universal Championship: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Seth Rollins
The Tribal Chief has literally beaten just about everyone during his nearly 520 day reign as the Universal Champion and top dog in the company. Now The Head of the Table will go against the one person who he has never beaten in a singles match. Seth Rollins has done a masterful job getting in the Tribal Chief’s head. Last week, Rollins & Owens were on their way to beating The Usos and securing a one-on-one match between Reigns & Rollins when the Tribal Chief caused the DQ… that led to his cousins being barred from ringside. Last night The Visionary of Drip cut a soul-scorching promo on Reigns running down The Shield, The Bloodline and the entire Samoan wrestling dynasty. That’s what we call in the business nuclear heat. Even though both men are supposed to be heels Roman Reigns was made to be the face in this match after last night’s go home promo from Rollins.
This should be a barn burner as both men’s work in the ring has been stellar.
Who will win: Roman Reigns retains the Universal Championship
Let me know what you think happens tonight and what WWE does heading into WrestleMania.
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