5 surprises that could happen at the Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble pay-per-view is just a week away, and it will take place on January 27, 2019 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Next week, the go-home shows for both Raw and SmackDown will be taking place.

Nine matches have been announced for this year's event, as Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Title against a new challenger named Finn Bálor, "The New" Daniel Bryan will collide with "The Real" AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, Ronda Rousey will face Sasha Banks for the Raw Women's Title, Asuka will face Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Title.

Meanwhile, The Bar will defend their SmackDown Tag Team Titles against the new team of Shane McMahon and The Miz, the New United States Champion Rusev will face Shinsuke Nakamura in a rematch, Buddy Murphy defends his Cruiserweight Championship in a Fatal 4-Way match against Akira Tozawa, Kalisto and Hideo Itami. There are also the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble Matches.

The card is already loaded up and more matches could be added, but there will also be many surprising elements in these matches that fans could never expect. So here are some of the surprises that WWE could do at the Royal Rumble...

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#5 Shane McMahon and The Miz become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions

Shane McMahon agrees to team up with The Miz on SmackDown

The ongoing drama between Shane McMahon and The Miz about becoming "The Best Tag Team of the World" has kind of been an odd move from WWE's side. Ever since Shane McMahon won the "World Cup" in Saudi Arabia by replacing an injured Miz, the latter has been constantly begging McMahon to team with him.

The Miz who was one of the hottest stars of 2017, with everyone believing he would re-enter the main event picture in 2018, is now teaming with Shane McMahon of all people. Just a reminder, Shane McMahon is the commissioner of SmackDown and is one of the authority members of WWE.

WWE could have easily gave an opportunity to any other full-time WWE Superstar who is talented enough but haven't been doing anything on SmackDown. Getting an unearned chance to compete for SmackDown Tag Team Titles also didn't make any sense.

But since this match is taking place at Royal Rumble pay-per-view, that means WWE could be planning a feud between the duo at WrestleMania 35. In case, they become SmackDown Tag Team Champions, it would definitely be really surprising.

#4 Kenny Omega Debuts in WWE

Kenny Omega could debut in the Royal Rumble Match!

Ever since Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12, it has been speculated that Omega will indeed leave NJPW to pursue a career in WWE.

There were rumors that he had a meeting with Vince McMahon and Triple H in WWE Headquarters to discuss a "fantastic offer" which was put up by the company to hire him. But it was reported later that he might have rejected the deal for another new promotion.

AEW (All Elite Wrestling), a new promotion which is owned by fellow Elite members Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, is the new talk of the town. They had a rally scheduled for Jan. 8 at the Jaguars' TIAA Bank Field for AEW's first official pay-per-view, "Double or Nothing," which will take place on Saturday, May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It is the sequel to the All In pay-per-view which was held last year in September.

Chris Jericho, one of the former WWE Superstars who has been lately working with other promotions such as Impact and NJPW, signed a contract with AEW recently. There have been many rumors that Omega will also do the same thing and support his friends in making the new promotion successful.

But again this is WWE, strange things have always happened in this company, so don't be surprised if he ends up being one of the entrants in the Royal Rumble Match!

#3 Finn Bálor conquers Brock Lesnar

Finn Bálor after winning Universal Title at Summerslam 2016

It was a really a big surprise to see this match happen, as until last week Braun Strowman was expected to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. But last Monday on Raw, Bálor won a Fatal 4-Way match by defeating John Cena, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin to become the new #1 contender for Universal Title.

Strowman was removed from the main event for destroying Vince McMahon’s limousine on RAW. Later on the show, Mr. McMahon came out to announce their will be a new challenger for Universal Title which will be determined in Raw's main event.

Bálor defeated Jinder Mahal to earn a place in the Fatal 4-Way Match, and later on he pinned the 16-time World Champion John Cena to get an opportunity for the title he never lost. The match between Bálor and Lesnar for the Universal Championship was expected to happen at last year's Royal Rumble, but the plan was scrapped.

While Lesnar is the clear favorite to win this match, it would be really surprising if Bálor picked up a win. If we recall Lesnar's match against Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out 2004, the latter defeated Lesnar with the help of Goldberg.

Something similar can happen in this match too, as Braun Strowman is still frustrated about the fact that he lost his opportunity to face Lesnar. Perhaps, he could cost Lesnar the title and later on we can have a feud between The Monster and The Beast at WrestleMania 35.

#4 Alexa Bliss or Mandy Rose wins the Women's Royal Rumble Match

The storylines involving Alexa Bliss and Mandy Rose on Raw and SmackDown respectively have taken us back to the Attitude Era where women superstars were used just for attracting men superstars with their beauty and looks.

Fast forward to 2019. Women like Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch etc. have completely paved the way for the women's evolution about being more of an in-ring performer then an attractive woman, so this move from WWE seems awkward.

But these changes could just be to compete with the new promotion AEW, which has been lately making headlines. It is of course to generate more views on both the shows, while they received heavy positive reviews on social media for last week's episodes.

As of now it is rumored that Flair or Lynch will win the Royal Rumble match and go on to face Ronda Rousey for Raw Women's Title at WrestleMania 35, but with rumors floating that Vince McMahon is really high on Mandy Rose and wants to push her into Women's Title picture. There is a chance a push might ignite at the Royal Rumble itself.

Even Alexa Bliss has been in the eyes of WWE management, but she is yet to be cleared by doctors for a return. If she gets ready for Royal Rumble match she could perhaps win it. Any of the two women can win the Royal Rumble match and can choose SmackDown Women's Champion Asuka at WrestleMania 35. It would be a complete swerve of what the fans have been expecting.

#5 Braun Strowman wins the Men's Royal Rumble Match

Braun Strowman could face Brock Lesnar for Universal Title at WrestleMania 35

In a shocking turn of events, Braun Strowman was removed from his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble for just breaking the door of Vince McMahon's limousine on Raw and not only that, he even received a fine of $100,000.

We have been building up to this match since TLC last year when Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match with the help of other WWE Superstars due to Strowman being injured at the event. But he was cleared two weeks ago for his match at the Royal Rumble.

Now, there are various rumors stating that Strowman still isn't cleared to compete and might take some more time off. Other sources are reporting that Finn Balor was always the planned opponent for Lesnar and WWE has been trying to give a huge push to the Irishman.

Maybe, WWE is planning for Strowman to win the Royal Rumble match and conquer Lesnar to become Universal Champion at WrestleMania 35. This could be a reason for a sudden change in the Universal Title match. If this happens, then not only it would be a surprising moment but also a feel good moment for the fans after seeing one of their beloved stars struggle for months.