4 reasons why Asuka will defeat Becky Lynch at the 2019 Royal Rumble

The WWE's annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view takes place this Sunday. Traditionally, the Royal Rumble has been the start of the 'Road to WrestleMania'. Everything goes into higher gear, as the company prepares for its biggest event of the year.

The 2019 Royal Rumble will set the stage for what happens at WrestleMania 35. The ramifications of the SmackDown Women's Championship match are especially important.

The challenger, Becky Lynch, is a two-time SmackDown Live Women's Champion. She was the first ever SmackDown Live Women's Champion, as well as the first female draft pick for SmackDown Live.

She won the first ever WWE main roster Last Woman Standing match, and main evented WWE TLC in the first ever women's Tables Ladders and Chairs match. She is arguably the hottest babyface in the entire company.

The champion, Asuka, is in her first reign as SmackDown Live Women's Champion. Indeed, she failed to capture the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 34. That match marked her first WWE singles loss, and ended her more than 500 day undefeated streak.

Asuka won the first ever woman's Royal Rumble match, was sole survivor in her Survivor Series elimination match debut, and won the first ever women's Tables Ladder and Chairs match. She is extremely popular with the fans as well.

The question is, which of these two women will leave the Royal Rumble as SmackDown Women's Champion?

The answer is - the Empress of Tomorrow, Asuka.

Lets find out why.

#1 Asuka just won the championship

Asuka is in her first reign as SmackDown Women's Champion. She just won the championship, and will have held it for only 42 days at the time of the Royal Rumble.

She may have defeated both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to win the championship, but the win was in a TLC match; she did not pin or submit either one of them. Moreover, she won after Ronda Rousey interfered, and attacked both Flair and Lynch.

It was an impressive performance until that point, and the crowd reacted well to her victory, but it was absolutely not a convincing championship victory.

Asuka failed to defeat Charlotte Flair for the championship under the bright lights of WrestleMania 34, and she failed to win the championship multiple times against Carmella.

Admittedly, Flair is the most dominant woman in recent WWE history, and Carmella won due to outside interference. However, she still failed in crunch moments, something a WWE babyface cannot keep doing.

Defeating Becky Lynch will legitimize her as a champion.

However, losing will make her look like a choker.

The WWE clearly sees Asuka as a star, and stars win.

#2 A Loss doesn't harm Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch is the hottest babyface in the entire company. It may be argued that she is one of the hottest babyfaces in the entire wrestling industry.

She was always beloved by the fans, but ever since she adopted the persona of 'The Man', she has been on a whole other level. The badass, take no prisoners, straight talking, brash character has been a revelation.

She has captured lightning in a bottle.

She has been consistently getting the loudest reactions of the night. Her fans chant for her when she is not even in the ring, and scheduled to appear later.

She is so over that she is currently bullet-proof. She could lose to Asuka, and still retain all of her popularity. Win or lose, Becky Lynch will remain as popular as she is. She gains nothing from winning, and loses nothing in a loss.

Asuka needs this win more than her, and that is why Asuka will prevail this Sunday.

#3 World champions do not compete in the Royal Rumble match

The Royal Rumble event is named after the Royal Rumble match; the 30 superstar over-the-top-rope battle royal, the winner of which faces a world champion of their choosing at WrestleMania.

World champions do not actually compete in the match. Whilst Becky has not been announced as participating in this match, she is one of the favorites to win it.

Moreover, her fans will expect her to participate in it, even though she has not been announced. Indeed, history has demonstrated this.

In 2014, Daniel Bryan was the hottest babyface in the entire company, just like Becky Lynch is today. His rise was organic, and fueled by the perception that the WWE was holding him down, just as Becky Lynch's. And when he didn't appear in the Royal Rumble match despite not being an advertised part of it, his fans completely turned on the match, just as Becky Lynch's fans will.

Becky Lynch will lose to Asuka so she can enter the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble match to win it.

#4 The Ronda Rousey match we've all been waiting for

Asuka is a star, there is no doubt about that. However, with all due respect to Asuka, there is a much bigger star in Becky Lynch's future.

That woman is a former UFC Champion, a pay-per-view phenomenon, a movie star, the current RAW Women's Champion, and one of the most recognizable and popular female athletes in the world.

That woman is 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey, and somehow, some way, she is going to face Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 35. As Ronda Rousey is not going to lose before WrestleMania 35, that match will be for the RAW Women's Championship.

It is a match that was to have taken place at Survivor Series last year. There was an excellent build it to it, with Becky Lynch memorably invading Monday Night RAW and beating up Ronda Rousey twice; once in the locker-room, and once in the ring. However, Becky Lynch was injured, and so unable to compete.

The anticipation has only made this match-up feel bigger.

There is no doubt that it is going to happen. They have both been sniping at each other on social media, & they have mentioned each other in promos. Ronda Rousey even cost Becky Lynch the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Ronda Rousey versus Becky Lynch is the biggest women's match WWE can make for WrestleMania 35, and so they will make it.

But first, Becky Lynch needs to end her programme with Asuka, and exit the SmackDown Women's Championship picture.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments.