We’re just over a month removed from WrestleMania 33, which may lead many fans to shake their heads at the title of this piece. Whilst we completely understand your reservations, it’s never too early to start talking about the road to next year’s Mania – especially if you’ve experienced what it’s like to be in the stadium in person.
The Royal Rumble is one of the most popular events on WWE’s calendar and there’s a good reason for that. The unpredictability of the Rumble itself combined with the intriguing World Title bouts usually makes for a few hours of really strong wrestling, especially when there are a few old school legends thrown in here and there.
Of course, a lot of things can and probably will change between now and January, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate. After all, fantasy booking seems to be a fond past time for many members of the WWE Universe, so why not get in on all the fun? We do have to warn you: the reaction of the crowd that night could make or break some of these potential match ups.
So with that being said, here are our early Royal Rumble 2018 match predictions.
#1 Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Nikki Bella – SmackDown Women’s Championship
Charlotte Flair and Nikki Bella have done this dance one or two times before, with the two superstars clashing a while back in a Divas Championship match-up. With The Queen coming out on top in that contest, it’d be great to see the feud re-visited here – and initially, we’d like to see both of these women go into the match as babyfaces.
Obviously, that seems odd on the face of it given how good they both are as heels, but that’s where the ending of the match comes into play. We’d love to see Nikki, with the help of one or two cronies, defeat Charlotte and capture the SmackDown Women’s Title.
It would cement her as the top female heel on the blue brand, whilst also giving us a pretty good story heading into WrestleMania 34.
We’re sticking with the women for the next entry.
#2 Sasha Banks [c] vs. Bayley – Raw Women’s Championship
Many fans will want, and expect for this match to be saved until a bigger occasion like WrestleMania, but do you really think that WWE will wait that long? Just look at the Shield Triple Threat or Charlotte vs Bayley – both took place way before anyone would’ve preferred to see them happen.
We can picture a scenario where Banks somehow turns heel a few months prior and captures the belt, eventually leading to a one-on-one match between the two at the Rumble.
We’d like to see The Boss capitalise on a mistake by Bayley to retain the belt, which would keep the story building before a big blow off at Mania, perhaps including Alexa Bliss.
Bow down to the king.
#3 Neville [c] vs. Cedric Alexander – Cruiserweight Championship
By the time Royal Rumble 2018 rolls around, Neville’s title reign would’ve lasted for nearly a year, which would create a great deal of intrigue for this bout by default.
Also, Cedric is one of the most promising young talents in the Cruiserweight division right now and building towards a big showdown against The King of the Cruiserweights, which would make for a great rivalry.
We'd prefer to see Neville retain and take the belt into his second consecutive Mania, but we wouldn’t be entirely opposed to seeing Alexander pull off what many would consider to be a shock win.
Either way, we know that we’re going to get a match people will be talking about for many years to come.
Here comes the pain.
#4 Brock Lesnar [c] vs. Seth Rollins – Universal Championship
Back in 2015 when Brock Lesnar challenged Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship, the story was great. Seth was the whiny heel who wanted to avoid Brock at all costs, meanwhile, in the actual match, Lesnar dismantled Rollins before The Undertaker interfered and cost The Beast Incarnate another run with the belt.
This time round, however, we’d quite like to see the roles being reversed. In the build up, Rollins can talk about how he’s a different man this time around, with Lesnar having already dispatched of Balor and potentially Joe by this point.
In the bout, Rollins takes Lesnar to the limit like we’ve never seen before, only for Brock to hit a desperate F5 to retain the belt. Brock stays strong, and Seth gets a great rub.
#5 AJ Styles [c] vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena – WWE Championship
It seems like only a matter of time until AJ Styles once again becomes WWE Champion, especially when you consider how many title changes there have been over the last twelve months. The Phenomenal One winning the title back and holding it as a babyface this time is certainly best for business, especially if you give him a shot at redemption here.
After losing to Cena twelve months prior, Styles can solidify himself as a top guy within the company by not only beating Big Match John – but by also seeing off the challenge of The Viper.
Styles would carry the biggest title in the company into the Showcase of the Immortals in New Orleans, instantly validating him as the face that does indeed run the place.
The one we’ve all been waiting for...
#6 2018 Royal Rumble Match
The Royal Rumble Match is something that fans around the world look forward to year in, year out. Whilst some may still wish we were back in 2014 in an era of ‘bigger stars’ competing, there is an unbelievable amount of depth on both Raw and SmackDown Live right now that would make next year’s edition truly special.
In terms of the winner, we’d go with Shinsuke Nakamura who comes in at around number 13 before lasting the remainder of the match and going on to face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34.
It’s the match we all want to see, and this would be the perfect way to kickstart the build.
#7 Potential Returns/Debuts
Will Benjamin come back?
As we all know by now the Royal Rumble is the home of dramatic returns and debuts. Regardless of whether they last for one night or a year upwards, they’re always memorable and more often than not we're left talking about them for many years to come. So with just eight months to go until the Rumble’s next instalment, why not get the rumour mill going?
We’ve got a feeling that Shelton Benjamin will still come back to WWE, but they could hold off on it until the Rumble in order to get a big pop out of the Philadelphia crowd. Jake Roberts is also someone who should always be considered a strong possibility, and in terms of debuts – how about Kenny Omega? It would be the perfect time, and certainly the perfect place.
What if the 5-time Tag Team Champion John Morrison shows up at the Rumble after nearly 6 years? He's mentioned about wanting to have his own WrestleMania moment and with Lucha Underground's future currently up in the air, a switch to his former company sounds like the best career option.
