5 Royal Rumble 2019 Rumors 

WWE ushered in a new era on Monday Night Raw recently and while the move has been nothing but lip service so far, the company has a chance to back up their words at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay per view. Beyond that, it is a chance for WWE to kick off the road to WrestleMania correctly, which should be of utmost importance to the company.

With that being said and WWE's lack of quality booking lately, one has to wonder exactly what they have planned for the big four pay per view.

Furthermore, one also has to wonder what kind of obstacles are in the company's way, which could result in the show not turning out how everyone would hope.

Either way, here are six Royal Rumble rumours that The WWE Universe needs to know about. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to tell us if you have heard any other rumours concerning the upcoming royal rumble pay per view!

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#5 Change to Universal title plans

Should Seth Rollins win The Royal Rumble?

With Roman Reigns on the shelf for the foreseeable future and Seth Rollins on a white-hot babyface run, a Universal title match would seemingly be in Rollins's future. Unfortunately for The IC champion, Vince McMahon was reportedly so upset with the fans reaction to Ambrose versus Rollins at TLC that it has the company rethinking their WrestleMania plans.

According to a recent edition of cagesideseats.com, Rumor roundup, "That’s led to speculation WWE will decide to focus even more on the women’s division, and that Rollins’ previously rumoured spot as Brock Lesnar’s challenger for WrestleMania 35 could be up for re-evaluation."

Whether that will actually lead anywhere remains to be seen, but it looks like WWE's sudden focus on The Women's division is due to them not knowing exactly what to do yet with The Universal title. As for Rollins, hopefully, WWE will realise that the reaction to Ambrose versus Rollins was a fluke and that Rollins versus Lesnar would have a much more positive reaction.

#4 NXT call-ups expected before The Royal Rumble

Nikki Cross is one of the many NXT superstars heading to the main roster in the near future!

WWE is hyped for a fresh start after coming out and apologizing to fans last week on Raw, but the company still hasn't been straightforward about what exactly this fresh start means and when it will be taking place. What they did announce, however, is that several NXT stars will be getting called up to the main roster very soon.

According to Cagesideseats.com's rumour roundup, "The first of the NXT call-ups are expected before Royal Rumble" While that is a little vague of an explanation, it does tell The WWE Universe two things up front. The first is that The NXT arrivals aren't going to show up all at once and that some will be appearing after January's Royal Rumble pay per view.

If nothing else, this is probably the best idea for WWE, especially since they can put some of the NXT call-ups as surprise entrants in The Royal Rumble and allows the company to slowly incorporate them into the main roster. In the end, it will be interesting to see what WWE does with all the NXT call-ups and what role each superstar will take once they are on Raw or Smackdown Live.

#3 The Rock originally scheduled to win

Was The Rock supposed to win The 2019 Royal Rumble?

Believe it or not, according to Wrestlevotes.com, there was supposedly some talk within WWE about having The Rock win at The Royal Rumble and go on to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 35. Of course, that plan is now dead in the water due to Reigns's leukaemia coming back, but it would have been one hell of a moment to see those two go head to head over the title.

In fact, it probably would have been the crowning moment that WWE had been trying to give to Roman Reigns for some time now and would have definitely set the stage for Reigns to be the top guy for years to come. Beyond that, it would have also been great to see The Rock back in the ring for an actual match and not just some throwaway segment.

With that being said, one has to wonder what the plan will be now that Reigns is on the shelf for the foreseeable future and The Rock most likely not coming back to face someone else. Furthermore, one also has to wonder if any other possible WrestleMania 35 matchup could live up the hype that a Rock versus Roman Reigns rivalry would.

#2 Charlotte Flair versus Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey versus Charlotte Flair part two. Who wins?

The WWE Universe lost its collective minds when Ronda Rousey interfered in the triple threat TLC match for The Smackdown Women's title and it now looks like some of the company's biggest stars are on a collision course with each other. Interesting enough, however, WWE has a strange way of going about it.

In fact, according to an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Charlotte Flair versus Ronda Rousey will be happening at the upcoming pay per view, which is strange considering that the storyline is supposed to involved Becky Lynch. Another interesting thing about this rumour is that it will seemingly remove Charlotte from The Royal Rumble match and might even move her to Raw.

Think about it! If WWE ends up turning this into a title match, it could mean that Charlotte Flair is on her way to being Raw exclusive. Furthermore, if Rousey loses the title at The Royal Rumble, it could mean that she is set to join the blue brand after Wrestlemania 35. As for Lynch, who knows where she fits into this or if she will become an afterthought.

#1 Bruan Strowman's status

Will Bruan Strowman be ready to go at The Royal Rumble?

Bruan Strowman made his return at The TLC PPV but needed some help in order to defeat Baron Corbin and put him out of power. Unfortunately for The WWE Universe and Strowman, it is being reported by Wrestlevotes.com that Strowman isn't cleared to compete yet and likely won't be until the pay per view

With that in mind, it looks like the Universal title match between Brock Lesnar and Bruan Strowman isn't going to get the kind of build up it deserves and the feud will mostly be relegated to talking segments. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing with Paul Heyman on the microphone, but there needs to be more than just talk to build up this feud.

In the end, maybe WWE can find a way to make things interesting, but they are going to be seriously hindered if Strowman can't compete at any capacity yet.