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WWE Raw's commissioner, Stephanie McMahon, made a major announcement on this week's Raw where she announced the first ever women's Royal Rumble. The WWE Universe had been asking for this for a very long time and WWE didn't upset the fans this time around.
With a deep and talented women's roster to choose from, we take a look at different types of contenders to win the Inaugural Women's Royal Rumble match.
#1 The (fan) favourite - Asuka
Let's get the most obvious choice out of the way first - Asuka. There's no denying the fact that she has been on a complete roll, and the inaugural women's Royal Rumble will be the perfect platform for her to win her first title opportunity on the main roster.
Asuka winning at the Royal Rumble and then going on to win at WrestleMania, seems like a possibility. Asuka has been unstoppable even on the main roster, and was the lone survivor in the traditional Survivor Series match up as well.
She is the absolute fan favourite to win the Rumble in January. After breaking Goldberg's record, in NXT, could the Empress of Tomorrow cast her spell on the main roster as well?
#2 The Dark Horse - Becky Lynch
Could we see the 'straight fire' become SmackDown Live's women's champion again? Becky could come out on top on January 28th, but she's the dark horse of the women's division.
After becoming the first SmackDown Live women's champion post the brand split, Becky hasn't had too much going her way. She was stuck in a fun but meaningless altercation with James Ellsworth for a long time.
Even though she was SmackDown's team captain for the Survivor Series match, it didn't really help her much. Royal Rumble would be the perfect way to turn the tide for her. With the crowd always behind her, WWE could pull off a surprise and give the WWE Universe something memorable at the very first women's Royal Rumble.
#3 The Crossover/Classic - Sasha Banks (against Charlotte)
Sasha Banks could be one of the most obvious choices to be the winner of the women's Rumble match. WWE has two ways to tell the story - either the story of the crossover (Raw vs Smackdown) or the story of the Classic (Sasha vs Charlotte). Whichever way the story is told, Sasha vs Charlotte at Mania is a mouth-watering match.
Sasha winning the Rumble and then going on to challenge Charlotte for the title will be a story worth following. Even after having watched them wrestle several times together, they never fail to impress.
WWE has been very keen on delivering the 'first ever' women matches with them - the first ever women's falls count anywhere match and the HIAC match. Could they get the 'first ever' women's Road to Wrestlemania storyline?
#4 The Return
Royal Rumble matches are known for a few things, and one of them is for returning Superstars. With Paige already back to WWE programming, there are very few popular woman Superstars to make a big return. AJ Lee coming back seems more of a fantasy booking than reality, although we wouldn't complain if WWE did manage to pull this off.
AJ Lee was absolutely amazing on the mic, and with new talent entering the roster, she would make a perfect candidate for amazing rivalries with each one of them.
That being said, there are several rumours of women like Kaitlyn, Kelly Kelly and even The Undertaker's real-life partner, Michelle McCool, making a comeback. What do you think? Could anyone of them be a potential winner?
#5 The (Logical) Favourite - Paige
Paige seems to be the most logical choice to win the Royal Rumble match. Her return to the main roster with five other women (two on Raw and three on SmackDown) seemed to shout out loud that a Rumble match was coming.
With all the controversy behind her, Paige should be given a much-needed push. She has been booked well since her return, and booking her to win the inaugural Rumble match would give her the perfect platform to shine, like she did on Raw after Mania.
The former Divas champion could be the next Raw Women's champion.
