Royal Rumble 2019: 3 shocking heel turns that could happen

The match card of this year's Royal Rumble event is stacked up with multiple dream match-ups. Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor, Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles, Ronda Rousey vs Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch vs Asuka are the four world title matches set to take place at the event.

Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles for the WWE Championship is an encounter with a potential to steal any show it is part of. Two of the top Raw women superstars, Ronda Rousey and Sasha Banks, are going to have their first PPV match at the event.

The WWE Universe has been clamoring to see Finn Balor face the Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar with the Universal Championship on the line since Balor lost the title. The WWE creative team has listened to the voices if its fan base and booked the Universal Championship bout. The inaugural and current Universal Champions are going to face each other at the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV.

Coming to the Smackdown Women's championship bout, Becky Lynch is set to challenge Asuka for the title at the PPV. This is the duo's first major singles bout in a WWE ring.

Events unfolding at the Royal Rumble PPV generally have huge implications towards the booking of Wrestlemania. The seeds for numerous marquee Mania matches were planted during the Royal Rumble PPV in the past and the same is expected this year.

A few changes in character dynamics of some superstars are anticipated to happen at the upcoming PPV. In this slideshow, we are going to take a look at the superstars who are most likely to alter their on-screen characters in the near future.

Here are 3 shocking heel turns that could happen at the PPV.

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#3 Shane McMahon

The latest tag team on the blue brand

Shane McMahon is currently paired up with the Miz and is set to challenge for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship at the Royal Rumble. It is widely speculated that Shane McMahon will battle the Miz at Wrestlemania 35.

For this rivalry to come into fruition one of the duo has to betray the other during their tag team match.The Miz successfully transitioned himself from a cocky heel into a semi-face in the recent past after teaming with Shane McMahon.

Analyzing the recent booking trend, Shane McMahon looks like the most likely candidate to turn on his partner. It would certainly freshen up Shane's current stale face character which he has been portraying since 2016. A feud between Miz (as a face) and Shane McMahon (as a heel) would certainly lead to an engaging and intriguing weekly television programming going into Wrestlemania 35.

#2 Sasha Banks

Will Sasha Banks shock the WWE universe at the Royal Rumble and hand Ronda Rousey her first singles defeat in WWE?

Sasha Banks has predominantly been portrayed as a face ever since main roster debut back in 2015, except during her initial run with team BAD. Before that, she was regarded as one of the best heels in the whole WWE during her reign as the NXT Women's Champion.

Several best moments of her WWE career came during her heel run. It was speculated that she would turn heel against Bayley during the build towards Wrestlemania 34, but that did not come into fruition.

Currently, she is scheduled to challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble. Given the animosity between Ronda Rousey and other two members of horsewomen (Charlotte and Becky), it won't be surprising if Sasha Banks follows the same route.

Charlotte viciously attacked Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series last year after a grueling encounter. If WWE wants to set up a match between the Horsewomen (in the near future), then there are high chances of Sasha attacking Ronda Rousey during the closing stages of their bout.

This will also keep Ronda Rousey busy as she can defend her title against a credible Sasha Banks at the PPVs following Royal Rumble before moving onto bigger things at Wrestlemania 35.

#1 Asuka

Will Asuka turn heel at Royal Rumble PPV?

This may not seem highly probable at the moment but will definitely the shock the WWE Universe if it does happen at the upcoming event. This is one of the safest ways in which WWE can make Becky Lynch lose her title match to Asuka. Becky Lynch will then be able to enter the Royal Rumble match and hopefully win it.

As there are two more PPVs in between Wrestlemania 35 and Royal Rumble, Becky Lynch can then continue her feud with a heel Asuka for at least one more PPV (say, Elimination Chamber) before moving onto the flagship show Raw to face Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania 35.

A change in character will be ideal for both Asuka and the Smackdown Live Women's Division. It is heavily being speculated that one or both of Smackdown's top stars - Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair - are set to jump ship to Raw in the near future, which leaves Smackdown Live without a proper main event level heel.

If the triple threat between Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey is the plan for Wrestlemania 35 then turning Asuka heel now would be the right decision going forward.

Heel champion Asuka can then battle the likes of Ember Moon, Naomi, or Carmella at Wrestlemania 35.