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The women of WWE continue to make history, almost on a weekly basis. After a women's Iron Man, Hell in A Cell and Money in The Bank match, WWE are taking it one step further with the first ever women's Royal Rumble match.
The men's Royal Rumble match is still going to be the biggest draw of the show but that doesn't mean anyone is less excited about the women. Things get more exciting when you consider that there are only 19 main roster performers eligible to compete in the match, leaving 11 spots open for surprise entrants from NXT and maybe even a legendary cameo appearance or two.
Let us look at the 5 women with the most potential to win the inaugural history making match.
#5 Sasha Banks
'The Boss' has been riding a huge momentum of popularity since arriving at the main roster, even though she debuted as a heel. Sasha has had the privilege of competing in WWE's first women's Iron Man and Hell in A Cell matches, and although she came out on the losing end, that only makes the stakes for her winning the Royal Rumble even higher.
Sasha is already a 4 time WWE RAW Women's Champion but each of her reigns has been quite poor as she lost the Championship each time on only her first defence and only after hold it for a week or two on each occasion. Is it possible that these short meagre reigns could be building up to a really big well-earned payoff?
If so, I can't imagine a better payoff than to come out on top of the Royal Rumble match and defeat Alexa Bliss, or whomever the Champion may be at WrestleMania.
#4 Becky Lynch
It pretty much seems so far that all eyes are on the RAW roster to have the winner of the women's Royal Rumble, but you shouldn't count out the ladies of Smackdown just yet, particularly the Irish Lass Kicker. Becky Lynch is the first WWE Smackdown's Women's Champion in history. She lost the title to Alexa Bliss after a 3-month reign at TLC 2016 and hasn't been close to retaining the strap since.
Becky is more than capable of being the face of the Smackdown women's division and has proved she can go toe to toe in some great matches with the current Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. It doesn't always have to be the traditional face vs heel showdown at the grandest stage of them all. A face vs face Charlotte vs Becky match would be every bit as compelling.
#3 Paige
Former WWE Diva's Champion Paige made her return to WWE TV last month after over a year and a half away. She returned with NXT/Tough Enough call-ups Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville and has since established a dominant showing as the heel trio Absolution.
Can you imagine a better way for Paige too really take off as a dominant heel than to win the Royal Rumble and challenge and potentially defeat the RAW Women's Champion at WrestleMania? I certainly can't.
#2 A Surprise Entrant
As mentioned earlier, there are currently 11 spots to be filled, once all of the main roster women officially enter the match. No doubt that we will see more than a handful NXT superstars appear, some making cameo appearances, like Rusev, Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger over the years, and others potentially making their main roster debuts. No doubt a Rumble win would bring an NXT lady very far and make her a huge star overnight. We may even see some legendary stars from the past enter for that nostalgic feel.
That is not all though, we may even go a step further and perhaps see the on again/off again rumoured debut of former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey. Almost immediately after Stephanie McMahon announced the historic match, rumours began circulating of a debut for Ronda, especially after photos were revealed of the Rowdy one training with WWE's Natalya. While Ronda is currently filming a move that will not be completed until February, it is still possible she may be able to make an appearance and maybe even go that one step further and win.
#1 Asuka
The only undefeated superstar in all of WWE, former NXT Women's Champion Asuka is the heavy favourite to win the inaugural match throughout the internet. Asuka has already established dominance over have the RAW women's roster and has her eyes set on the WWE RAW Women's Championship.
Asuka has proven time and time again that she is the most bad-ass women's wrestler in the entire industry and I can't imagine a better way to solidify this forevermore than an early Rumble entry and considerable dominance the entire way through until she is the last woman standing.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
