It’s my favorite time of the year: WrestleMania season. And yes, the season, or The Road to WrestleMania starts tonight with the Royal Rumble!

As a kid growing up, the Royal Rumble as always been my favorite pay-per-view to watch. No doubt it is for so many others, and to this day, it’s the one event where I can honestly say, “anything can happen”.

Let’s get right into it, with my 10 interesting things you should look for during tonight’s event:

Over/Under 100 combined times Michael Cole and Vic Joseph say “The Road to WrestleMania”.

If there’s one thing I hate with wrestling commentators, it’s the repeated phrases every 30 seconds. However, I do say, hearing Vince McMahon saying “What a maneuver” growing up never got old.

However, I can’t imagine there isn’t a 4-hour PPV show without Michael Cole and Vic Joseph both saying it’s “The Road to WrestleMania” at least a combined 100 times.

Who’s gonna do the counting? Not me. But I’m sure someone will and will post it in the comments. Will it be you?

The inconsistencies of the timer. Is it 90 seconds, 2 minutes, 67 seconds, 138 seconds? Who knows?

Ahh, the timer. The best kept secret for 30+ years. The issue isn’t the timer being inconsistent, it’s that no one in WWE dares to mention it. I bet that the timer will be extra quick for the first few entrants for Brock Lesnar, and be a little slower towards the end.

Brock is going to dominate the first few (my prediction is he eliminates the first 10 with ease), and having each competitor enter the ring in quick succession will be a great way to keep things moving and show the sheer power and strength of The Beast Incarnate.

Matt Riddle vs. Brock Lesnar or Goldberg (or both), in the ring at the same time.

This is fantasy booking, and fantasy booking makes perfect sense to do during the Royal Rumble when, well, anything can happen during The Road to WrestleMania.

Riddle’s trash talking on both beasts behind the camera makes this a must-see. With 3 spots left for the Rumble that haven’t been announced, using two of those surprise entrants for a gimmick showdown may or may not happen.

But bro, put in Riddle with Lesnar (around the middle 10-15) and that has me glued to the TV. Put all three by themselves (Goldberg right after Riddle), let’s call it the Rumble Miracle.

John Morrison and Kofi Kingston’s big save.

We all know Kofi Kingston has some great moves during the Royal Rumble, but John Morrison could steal the show with a big save outside the ring of his own.

Morrison doesn’t have a feud yet outside of The New Day, so give him the spotlight to show off his talents and moveset during the Rumble is almost a necessity. Watch John be a highlight reel during his time in the ring.

Kofi on the other hand? I see him making a cool save as well, but in my opinion, I have a Big E “mistakingly” knocking Kofi off, setting up an interesting matchup on the Road to WrestleMania. Have you got tired of that phrase yet?

A surprise entrant within the first 5 of the Women’s Rumble match.

With less than 10 women named for the Rumble match, there’s no doubt to be more surprise entrants than the Men’s match. Plenty of legends to show off, and I can’t imagine not seeing the NXT women’s talent to not make a big presence.

I predict a legend within the first 5, and NXT women to follow closely after. Time to shine for the women, I see this being huge for the event setting up The Road to WrestleMania.

Becky Lynch in the Men’s Royal Rumble.

Woah, what? Becky could enter the Men’s Royal Rumble match? If Nia Jax can, sure can The Man!

With all the hype recently with Lynch predicting men and women championships to be gender neutral in the future, I can definitely see her making her presence known against the big men. This will certainly excite the fan base who’s already making noise with the recent Tess Blanchard Impact Championship controversy.

No controversy here, though. Becky could run in, maybe even eliminate someone (probably Elias), and then be quickly eliminated by King Corbin. That’s real heat boys.

Ronda Rousey wins the Women’s Royal Rumble.

If Ronda enters the Rumble, I expect her to win. 100%.

Now, unless she’s first, which I doubt, she will be last 5 to enter. This will be a big surprise return, and set up her next feud. Why? Because it’s the Road to WrestleMania!

The Women’s Royal Rumble will close the show.

Speaking of the Women’s Royal Rumble, I can’t see this match going on first or in the middle of the card. I also don’t think WWE would book two rumble matches back to back.

It’s pretty simple: The focus is on the women, and the women have a great story to tell on the Road to WrestleMania.

It happened in 2018, it will happen in 2020. Watch for this match to go on last and steal the show.

Brock Lesnar lasts over 60 minutes in the Men’s Royal Rumble

Brock will have a lot on his hands being the number 1 entrant this year. There’s no chance Lesnar is eliminated early, thus giving him plenty of Rumble time.

I predict he is a final 4 competitor. If he’ll win is another question. I like the chances of seeing Cain Velasquez as number 30 to take on Lesnar, and if that is the case, Brock will be taking it easy during the middle section of entrants before his big showdown with Cain.

It wouldn’t be a record-breaking time, but having Brock in a match for that long at this stage of his career is a highlight I’d love to see. Bring on the sweat! (I hope you got that reference)

The Universal Championship kicks off the Royal Rumble

With my prediction that the Women’s Rumble to go on last, and the Men’s Rumble surely can’t go on first, there’s only a few matches that could possibly kick off this event.

Corbin/Reigns? What a way to bore the crowd quick.
Shorty G/Sheamus? Too slow. Then again, didn’t DB and Sheamus go like 18 seconds to open WrestleMania 28? Similar matchup, so it is possible, but I doubt it.
Andrade/Humberto Carrillo? The best possible idea of an opening matchup, but you’ll need a fast-paced match in the mid-card to separate the two rumbles. That’s where I see this one going.
Bayley/Evans? Just wouldn’t make sense to open with them, unless you have either of them winning the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
Lynch/Asuka? Again, unless either of them are winning the Rumble, wouldn’t make sense to have them open the PPV.

Either way, this might be a better Royal Rumble in a few years, and one I’ve been looking forward to since the announcement of Lesnar as number 1. It opens plenty of opportunities and situations that could happen. The women’s rumble can’t be predicted and can be won by almost anyone (let’s just hope it’s not Charlotte Flair).

I hope you enjoy the Royal Rumble tonight, it’ll be a big way to kick off The Road to WrestleMania!