Predicting the Final 4 of the Men's Royal Rumble Match

The 2019 Royal Rumble is a month away. While WWE often likes to make it seem like almost anyone has a chance to win the 30-superstar Battle Royal, only five or six wrestlers each year have a realistic chance to stamp their ticket to Wrestlemania.

This year, R-Truth earned the right to enter the match at #30 thanks to his win with Carmella in the Mixed Match Challenge. While he may likely try to enter both rumbles, Truth winning isn't likely to occur.

Last year's match saw John Cena, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura comprise the final four. Nakamura last eliminated Reigns in order to win the rumble.

But the way things have been booked over the last few months, several men have the chance to not only make the final four of the match but win the whole thing. Of course, a lot depends on who is holding each respective title heading into April.

Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman will face off for the Universal Title at the event. If Lesnar retains, a babyface from Raw could likely be favoured. Should Strowman take the title, a heel from Raw could win.

Regarding Smackdown and Daniel Bryan holding the WWE Championship, it seems likely that he will hold the belt until Wrestlemania 35. That would mean a face from Smackdown would be potentially in the running.

Skybet.com released its latest odds on December 22, 2018, as to the favourites to win the match. Who was the favourite and who will potentially join him in the final four? Here are my predictions.

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#4 Finn Balor

Finn Balor will always be looking to win back the Universal Championship he never lost.

Rumours last week suggested that Finn Balor was in for a huge push in the near future. He's over with the crowd and is one of the best in-ring performers in the WWE.

He was also one of the final four in last year's Rumble match. It's easy to envision a scenario where Balor is one of the early entrants in the match and has the yearly 'iron-man' performance.

I don't think he's going to win this year's rumble but he's more than capable of lasting until the end of the match. That 'iron-man' spot might be his consolation prize for not being pegged to win the whole thing.

His alleged push might not start until after the Royal Rumble, but if the McMahons were genuine about giving some stars more opportunities, they should start with Balor.

#3 AJ Styles

AJ will continue to pursue winning back the WWE Championship.

Since AJ Styles isn't the WWE champion heading into the Royal Rumble, he has to be considered a favourite as an entrant. He's entered one rumble match in his tenure and has defended the WWE title at the other two events.

It's still up in the air as to how his encounter with Mr. McMahon will play out, but he's one of the top superstars in the WWE and on Smackdown. He's also one of the few remaining faces on Smackdown who would have a legitimate shot at winning.

A Smackdown superstar won last year in Shinsuke Nakamura, so someone from Raw is probably slated to win the 2019 Royal Rumble.

But if there is a Smackdown superstar who would be both a serious threat to win and a logical opponent for Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania, it would be Styles. He would likely need to work his way back into title contention after holding the title or challenging for it for the better part of the last 14 months.

Styles winning would also be met with a positive reaction since he is one of the few superstars in the WWE to be cheered regardless of whether he is booked as a face or a heel.

Rumours swirled at the end of November that Styles might be pencilled in for a Wrestlemania match with Randy Orton, so that might cut down his chances of winning unless he or Orton are holding gold come April.

#2 Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre has been pegged as one of the top heels on Raw.

Should Braun Strowman win the Universal title from Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, the odds of McIntyre winning the Rumble match increase exponentially. He's the top heel on Raw with Lesnar barely on the show and has the support of those in charge.

McIntyre has also been great in his role as a destructive and brutal heel since his return to the main roster. There's a reason why he's been booked so strongly since his return, and a showing in at least the final four of the Rumble match is close to a sure thing.

I'm expecting McIntyre to have a huge showing in the match, eliminating several superstars along the way. He might not break Roman Reigns' record of eliminations, but he's going to be one of the featured superstars in the match.

When the dust is cleared, though, don't be surprised if the 'Scottish Psychopath' wins the Royal Rumble. He was one of the early betting favourites when the odds were first released, so he's still a threat to win it.

#1 Seth Rollins

Losing the IC Belt opened up Rollins to chase the Universal Championship.

Several factors as of late have pointed to Seth Rollins walking out of Arizona as the winner of the 2019 Royal Rumble Match. First of all, he recently dropped the Intercontinental Title he worked so hard to defend all year to his rival Dean Ambrose.

Secondly, he has been one of the stars on Raw who has been allowed to be vocal about Brock Lesnar's lack of visibility in WWE as Universal Champion. Don't discount how important that fact is. Promos are heavily scripted in today's WWE, so him being allowed to insult Lesnar was a calculated move by creative.

A third factor to support Rollins' potential victory in Phoenix is that the betting odds that came out last week revealed Rollins as the wrestler with the best odds to win. The betting odds are usually accurate when it comes to prognosticating a winner.

And if those three reasons aren't reason enough to believe that Rollins will be victorious, Rollins has history with Lesnar and is one of the few plausible full-timers that would make sense as a winner.

It would be easy to revisit the match where Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank on Lesnar and Roman Reigns.

He's the top face on Raw and has been vocal about the show's direction. He's also an iron man literally and figuratively. He could win from any spot, but if they really want to posit him as a hero, he might be one of the first entrants and last the entirety of the match.

It's obvious he has the trust of the powers backstage and this year's match may not have the luxury of Chris Jericho in the match. A year ago, Jericho had a long run in the Royal Rumble because he helped call the match and its spots throughout his match tenure.

While Rollins isn't the veteran that Jericho is, he is more than capable of helping sell all of the match's important spots as well as call the match on the fly for the roster.

Next Page: Others with a chance of making the final 4

Others with a chance of making the final 4

The Miz has a chance to wrestle for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35.

While the final four will likely contain at least a couple of the four wrestlers I've predicted, it's just as likely that either a surprise or a part-timer comprises the final four participants in the match.

Bobby Lashley has been booked like a top heel despite the constant posing of his rear end. He was one of the main antagonists during Baron Corbin's reign of terror as interim GM. He could very easily find himself in the final four. Lio Rush might even help him get there.

Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble two years ago in order to challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship Wrestlemania 33. It was only met with a positive reaction because the fans were still against the never-ending push of Roman Reigns.

If things are to really change, Orton winning another rumble would only set those thoughts back. He's always a threat to win rumble matches because of his standing in the company, but it's now time to let some of the newer talent get chances at the title.

Like Orton winning, having either John Cena or the Rock win the 2019 Royal Rumble would be yet another example of WWE favouring part-timers/past stars over the everyday superstars.

Cena will get his 17th title win at some point, but he doesn't need to win another Rumble in order to do so. WWE might still try to have the Rock face off with Brock Lesnar in April. It's a big-money match and would easily help sell the show.

The Rock actually opened as the favourite once the odds were released back in the early fall. While he's always a threat to win any rumble he chooses to partake in, he's busy making and promoting movies. Let the full-timers win it.

And speaking of one of the longest-tenured full-timers, the Miz also has a chance to win his first-ever Royal Rumble. He's done nearly everything else in the WWE save for win the annual battle royal.

He's currently in the middle of a program with Shane McMahon, so that might hinder his chance of winning. But with the prospect of Daniel Bryan remaining WWE Champion until April, the Miz makes sense as a believable winner of the match and a believable challenger to Bryan.

Who do you think will make the final four in next month's Royal Rumble match?