6 decisions WWE must make at the Royal Rumble

Royal Rumble 2018 poster
Rumble time is always exciting and nerve-wracking.

The 2018 Royal Rumble is now only three days away. No other event on the WWE calendar is as contradictory as this one. It offers the most fun in the entire year, but it's also an event that the company has executed poorly in recent years, leaving fans unsatisfied.

The build to this year's event doesn't inspire much confidence that they'll change direction, either. That Stephanie McMahon is set to announce the women's Royal Rumble is just another blow to the hype, making me question whether I want to watch the PPV at all.

Mistakes during the build can be remedied with the right booking, though. Making WrestleMania as exciting as possible should be paramount, and that means elevating all performers leading into its likely matches. That can be done with the following decisions.


#1. Asuka must win the women's Royal Rumble match

Asuka NXT TakeOver Brooklyn III entrance
No more beating around the bush. It's time for the Empress to punch-in her claim to RAW's throne.

There's simply no other performer on the roster better positioned to do so. Asuka comes into the Royal Rumble riding a wave of momentum. She's quickly established herself as the most exciting and over performer in the RAW women's division and she's the natural choice to be its leading player going forward.

The story tells itself, too. Alexa Bliss has been avoiding Asuka at all costs over the last few weeks. A Rumble win means the undefeated empress can be avoided no longer.

"Undefeated" is also the key word here. Sure, technically a battle royal loss doesn't count in WWE record books, but it would be hard for the company to promote Asuka as an undefeated juggernaut should she lose such a high profile match. Perceptions matter, and aside from her opening matches with Emma, WWE has done a fantastic job of fostering that perception of Asuka so far.

Her dominance on the go-home show is a bad sign given WWE's formula, and (still only speculative) rumours of Ronda Rousey abound, but having a wrestling outsider debut and win this historic match would be a terrible call, given the ex-UFC fighter hardly needs it to be elevated in stature.

A win here would solidify Asuka's main roster career and make her legendary. It's the right call to make, so here's hoping WWE bucks its formulaic trends and does the right thing.

#2. The Usos must retain the SmackDown tag team championship

The Usos SmackDown tag team champions
The champs must walk out with those blue straps.

This seems almost certain, but it's the right call. The Usos are still the premier tag team in the entire company. At some point, they will have to drop their titles, but Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin aren't yet ready to take over their mantle, talented as they are as a team.

The Usos should look as strong as possible heading into WrestleMania, where the Bludgeon Brothers likely await them. A win here does that.

#3. Jason Jordan must turn heel

Jason Jordan heel turn
Descent into darkness.

No more hints. No more subtlety. No more beating around the bush. WWE has done a fantastic job with Jason Jordan since Survivor Series, hinting at his turn to the dark side. Sunday is the time for him to make the plunge. Failure to do so will mean the company dropped the ball.

Cesaro and Sheamus are almost certain to regain the RAW tag team titles. The way they do so is what will matter the most. Jason Jordan needs to turn on his partner and accelerate into New Orleans as a mega heel, where a clash with Kurt Angle would be the right match.

#4. AJ Styles must retain the WWE Championship

AJ Styles Royal Rumble
The champ must run the camp into WrestleMania

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn remain among the company's most entertaining acts, and the prospect of them freebirding the WWE Championship is interesting. It would be something new, at least.

But the timing is off. AJ Styles is SmackDown's franchise player and absolutely should be the one leading the blue brand into WrestleMania, where a plethora of exciting matches potentially awaits him.

After the year in the mud it had, it's what the WWE Championship needs, too. There's no better champion to ensure an exciting title match to make up for the terrible one we saw in Orlando last year.

#5. Braun Strowman must look like a monster

Braun Strowman Royal Rumble
Let's see this one more time!

The outcome here is academic. Everyone and their mother knows that Brock Lesnar is going to retain the Universal Championship so that he can drop it to Roman Reigns in New Orleans. Therefore, the way the match plays out will be more important than the result.

Braun Strowman is RAW's most popular performer and he absolutely needs to play that part on Sunday. The model to use here is the sublime SummerSlam fatal 4 way that he and Brock Lesnar took part in at the Barclays Center. Braun Strowman should wreck havoc and cause destruction. Brock Lesnar will eventually find his way back and hit the F5 on Kane for the win.

That's how it should go. It will make Braun look like the monster we love as he heads into a big WrestleMania match, likely with Triple H.

#6. Someone new must win the Royal Rumble

Dolph Ziggler Royal Rumble return.
Could this be possible?

It could be Shinsuke Nakamura. It could be Rusev (maybe when hell freezes over). It could be a debuting Aleister Black (that would be awesome). It could be a returning Dolph Ziggler (that would be interesting).

I don't care who it is, as long as it's someone new.

The past five Royal Rumble winners have been John Cena, Batista, Roman Reigns, Triple H, and Randy Orton. Is this the 2010s or the 2000s? Meanwhile, Roman's win was so horribly botched that no one cared that he was a new winner. The company should be smart enough to avoid another Roman win in Philly too, given that RAW has the elimination chamber next month.

The prospect of a third John Cena victory is simply nauseating.

It's time to end the tropes of "rematch-mania" and "part-time-mania." The company must pick a new winner and give fans a fresh WWE Championship match heading into New Orleans, unless they like the increasing trend of WrestleMania being a spectacle without substance, that is.