I do think we’ll see Rhea Ripley show up to eliminate Charlotte Flair, but that doesn’t mean she’ll win it all. Knight: This one feels wide open because the women’s champions likely won’t main event WrestleMania 37 without Ronda Rousey or Becky Lynch in the mix. So let’s bet on wacky instead and assume that Fiend shenanigans take Alexa Bliss to WrestleMania, because that seems about WWE’s speed right now. Looking over the list of declared women, only Bianca Belair really leaps out at me as a great winner, but then it feels like you have to either do a title change or turn one of her or Sasha Banks heel before Mania, which is doable but feels a little. Claire Elizabeth: This one, on the other hand. I think Charlotte Flair is holding the Raw title by WrestleMania and Rhea Ripley goes for her redemption. However, I think I’m going to go with Rhea Ripley. Her winning to face Sasha Banks would be a great way to go. This will get her to a Raw Women’s title shot (probably against Alexa Bliss after she beats Asuka) without a heel turn, too. Sean Rueter: In the absence of the other women they love to send out on pre-WrestleMania press tours, WWE will return to a familiar well. Geno Mrosko: Literally everything they’ve done has pointed to one outcome and I’m actually going to just go ahead and say they don’t swerve us on this one and give us that outcome. Regardless of whatever nonsense Vince and WWE try and pull we are likely going to see another pandemic modified Mania which means they need all the palpable excitement they can muster. Stella Cheeks: There are few wrestlers who still ignite palpable excitement from a (virtual) crowd and Daniel Bryan is one of them. Just cycle through the usual suspects like John Cena, Edge, Undertaker, etc., and pick one. Knight: Vince McMahon wants to go big for the Royal Rumble, and Daniel Bryan isn’t quite big enough for his tastes. Sure, we could have a Raw winner and let the American Dragon earn his title shot through other means, but they’re really pushing the idea of him winning, so let’s do it already! Pick: Daniel BryanĬain A. Claire Elizabeth: Yes! Yes! Yes! With Kevin Owens finishing up his feud with Roman Reigns, there aren’t a lot of top babyfaces on SmackDown for the Big Dog to feud with, and a round of Bryan/Reigns that goes to WrestleMania sounds just swell to me. (I feel the winner of the Rumble is going to face Roman Reigns and not Goldberg/Drew.) It’s the Royal Rumble so it’s wide open, but I feel pretty confident in a D-Bry pick.
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And he’s likely Roman Reigns next big challenger. They’ve planted seeds of that for a couple months now. Kyle Decker: Daniel Bryan feels like the one that makes the most sense. Raw probably needs to pick someone, even if they spend a few weeks cutting promos about choosing which belt to challenge for.
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Sean Rueter: SmackDown has enough moving pieces to create months of compelling television - and fill an Elimination Chamber match - with interesting potential challengers for Roman Reigns.
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Naturally, I think they swerve and go with something silly. Geno Mrosko: There are really only two stories at play here - Edge making clear he wants to win the title he never lost when he was forced to retire the first time, and Daniel Bryan making clear he wants to win a Royal Rumble (and even just a battle royal) for the first time in his career. Royal Rumble predictions Men’s Royal Rumble Luckily for you Cagesiders, our staff of learned wrestling blowhards is here to help figure out just how the event is going to play out with predictions for each match on the card. Petersburg, Florida, with its Royal Rumble event starting at 6:00 pm ET with the Kickoff show leading right on into the main course at 7 pm ET on the WWE Network. 31, 2021) from the ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. WWE returns to pay-per-view (PPV) - if your cable provider is carrying the event, of course - tomorrow night (Sun., Jan.