WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Predictions: Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor 

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The Universal Championship is on the line for the first time since Crown Jewel in October as Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar defends the strap for the first time. His opponent is not Braun Strowman as expected but Finn Balor, a man who has spent the whole of the past year mired in the mid-card, despite being the first man to hold the title that is currently held by Lesnar.

Balor has an excellent opportunity at the Royal Rumble to prove he belongs at the top of the card as a permanent main event level talent. Balor is a late replacement for Strowman who according to who you believe has either been withdrawn from the bout due to backstage heat, injury problems or pure storyline reasons.

Whatever the reason for Strowman's omission, it has presented a great chance for Balor in a match that was first rumoured for last year's Royal Rumble event.

So, does the Irishman have a chance to win? Unlikely. More rumours abound that Lesnar actually chose to face the smaller Balor due to his successful matches versus similarly sized opponents in AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan.

No doubt, the match will be a terrific one but surely there can be only one winner. Lesnar is WWE's go to superstar and despite his part-time status and continual flirtations with UFC, the company repeatedly puts it's World titles on him. Lesnar is a superstar and the perfect man in WWE's eyes to walk into WrestleMania as their Universal Champion.

What Lesnar does after that remains up in the air; however, he is not going to be parted from the gold before then.

As Paul Heyman would say this isn't so much a prediction, it's a spoiler.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar