WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Results, predictions and full match card analysis

Akash C
The first pay per view of the year is almost here!
The first pay per view of the year is almost here!

The first WWE pay per view of the year, the WWE Royal Rumble 2018 comes to us this Sunday and fans can't wait! Vince McMahon and co will be looking to get 2018 off to a hot start with one of the most exciting pay per views of the year and we're here to predict what's going to happen.

Here is the full match card for WWE Royal Rumble 2018:


#1) The Usos vs Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin (c) (2 out of 3 Falls Tag Team match for the WWE Smackdown Live Tag Team Championships)

#2) Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) vs Cesaro and Sheamus (Tag Team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships)

#3) AJ Styles (c) vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (Handicap match for the WWE Championship)

#4) Brock Lesnar (c) vs Kane vs Braun Strowman (Triple Threat match for the WWE Universal Championship)

#5) Women's Royal Rumble match

#6) Men's Royal Rumble match


That's one stacked card. So, without any further ado, here are our official predictions for the WWE Royal Rumble 2018:


#1 The Usos vs Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin (c) (2 out of 3 Falls Tag Team match for the WWE Smackdown Live Tag Team Championships)

Enter ca
The Usos deserve to retain here

The Usos have been far and away the best tag team on the WWE roster over the past few months while Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin have found some momentum following their heel turn on Smackdown Live.

This promises to be a high-octane encounter between the four men but I see Jimmy and Jey keeping their belts in a hard-fought encounter. This might very well be a match of the night contender so you don't want to miss it.

Prediction: The Usos win to retain

#2 Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) vs Cesaro and Sheamus (Tag Team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships)

Ent
Jordan heel turn incoming?

This is a very very strange situation we find ourselves in. Jason Jordan got drafted in to fill in for Dean Ambrose after The Lunatic Fringe's injury and he subsequently won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Seth Rollins. Cesaro and Sheamus were the unfortunate victims of this new direction.

What the WWE has done right with this storyline is how they've handled the relationship between Jordan and Rollins as well the slow descent of Kurt Angle's son to the dark side. I expect JJ to pull off a dirty win at WWE Royal Rumble 2018 for his team.

Further, the newly formed Balor Club would be the perfect contenders to take the titles away from Rollins and Jordan in the coming months.

Prediction: Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan win to retain

#3 AJ Styles (c) vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (Handicap match for the WWE Championship)

Ent
Can "Kami" win the WWE Championship?

I still can't quite believe that the WWE Championship is being defended in a Handicap match of all things. Sure, the WWE United States Championship suffered a similar fate, but this is the biggest title in sports entertainment we're talking about here.

Anyway, we get to see AJ Styles defend against the duo of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and while I fully expect the reunited best friends to dominate this encounter, there is no doubt that The Phenomenal One will be walking out of the WWE Royal Rumble 2018 as the champion.

With all that Styles has done for the WWE over the past year, he deserves to enter WWE Wrestlemania 34 as the WWE Champion.

Prediction: AJ Styles wins to retain

#4 Brock Lesnar (c) vs Kane vs Braun Strowman (Triple Threat match for the WWE Universal Championship)

E
Kane should be the one pinned here

It's 2018 and Kane is a WWE Universal Championship match. Who would've thought it? While it seems strange on the surface, dig a little deeper and the answer becomes quite obvious.

Brock Lesnar is definitely going to hold on to the WWE Universal Title going into WWE Wrestlemania 34 and Braun Strowman's Monster Among Men image needs protecting. So, why not throw in The Big Red Machine here to wreak some havoc and eventually eat the pinfall from Lesnar?

Good business all around.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar pins Kane to retain

#5 Women's Royal Rumble match

En
Will Asuka emerge victorious?

While it's certainly exciting to have the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match this year at WWE Royal Rumble 2018, there is a lot of pessimism amongst fans about how the WWE will be handling the booking of the historic match. After all, look at how the first-ever Women's Money in the Bank match turned out last year.

Asuka comes in as the hot favourite on the current WWE roster but there are rumours abound that Ronda Rousey will be making her WWE debut in this match. I personally believe this is happening and the former MMA star will be winning the whole damn thing.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey debuts and wins the WWE Women's Royal Rumble 2018

#6 Men's Royal Rumble match

Do it, WWE!
Do it, WWE!

The WWE Royal Rumble 2018 sees one of the most unpredictable Men's Royal Rumble matches in recent history with the odds seemingly changing on a daily basis. First, it was Shinsuke Nakamura, then it was John Cena, and now it seems like Roman Reigns is poised to win the encounter.

This would be a terrible decision as The Big Dog has actually been cheered by the WWE Universe in recent months and a Rumble victory will completely turn fans against him. My prediction for this one comes from my heart rather than my head.

I think we will be seeing The Balor Club turn heel with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson helping Finn Balor win the main event of the evening.

Prediction: Finn Balor wins the WWE Men's Royal Rumble match 2018

Quick Links