It is quite difficult to conceive the fact that we are already on the road to WrestleMania once again. In the age of the coronavirus, it still feels as though the 2020 Royal Rumble happened last year. Does anyone else feel that way? Regardless of such, there has been plenty of change since the landscape of not only WWE, but sports entertainment at large, was flipped on its head. But now, we are back to where we begin, which is the first pit stop on the Road to WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble.
Now, if there was any Rumble in recent memory that is truly up in the air, it has to be this one. The unpredictability of this year’s Rumble became apparent after the events of WWE Day 1. Roman Reigns was scheduled to defend the Unviersal Championship against Brock Lesnar, while WWE Champion Big E was scheduled to defend his WWE Championship in a fatal four way against Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley. However, Roman Reigns tested positive for the coronavirus, and this caused a last minute shift that saw Lesnar be inserted into the WWE Title match and subsequently winning the championship. Initial plans reportedly had Seth Rollins winning the WWE Championship at Day 1.
Now, Rollins is challenging Reigns for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. Current plans reportedly have Roman Reigns facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38. So what exactly will their journey there look like? We may get more answers at the Rumble. Is Roman or Brock going to lose their world title? Will either man enter themselves into the Rumble? Will there be a unification match at WrestleMania? Honestly, who knows? However, it is the unpredictability that makes the Road to WrestleMania that more intriguing.
Of course, this unpredictability applies to the women as well. Not only are past legends set to make appearances, but the door is open for potential faces that we have not seen in a while to shake things up a bit. With Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair currently representing both women’s championships, that must mean that a worthy challenger will step forward for either woman. With that being said, here are some of my favorites to win each Rumble match, starting with the women.
Ronda Rousey
My personal favorite. Reports have been surfacing that WWE has been in contact about Ronda for a return and she has been apparently training for just such an occasion. Naturally, with Becky Lynch as RAW Women’s Champion, it would make sense to have a returning Ronda win and build towards the long-awaited one on one bout between the two that stems from their confrontation in the fall of 2018. She is most certainly a polarizing figure, but she main evented WrestleMania in her first reign as champion which was ended by Lynch. The story essentially works itself.
Bianca Belair
This is a vote of no confidence, considering Bianca won last year’s Rumble. Since this will only be the 5th women’s Rumble match, WWE will likely want to shake things up, so it is not likely Bianca will win two years in a row. However, she should still be considered a favorite since she has been one of WWE’s unsung heroes within the past two years. I personally would be down to see a Bianca/Flair program, as combining Bianca’s athleticism with Flair’s ring presence can make for an interesting mix. Bianca certainly doesn’t need a Rumble victory to have a marquee spot at WrestleMania, but a surprising 2nd straight Rumble win would make a path there much more viable.
Bayley
What was supposed to be a routine training session ended up being a torn ACL for the former SmackDown Women’s Champion. She’s been out of action since last spring, but she has made leaps in her road to recovery and has recently teased that she may be back in time for a comeback this Saturday. The Royal Rumble always presents a great platform for injured superstars to make their triumphant return. Considering Bayley’s long reign with the SmackDown Women’s Championship 1.5 years ago, it would seem unlikely that WWE would immediately thrust her back into the main event scene. But considering her history with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, it can be a path they might consider going down. She was a heel at the time she got hurt, so navigating a program may be more challenging unless she returns as a tweener.
Paige
This one is probably more wishful thinking if anything, but after seeing the returns of Daniel Bryan and Edge in recent years, I simply can’t completely rule this one out, no matter how unlikely it appears. Back in September, she tweeted out “January” and that “she’s not done yet”. A month later, the former two-time Divas Champion let the speculations run wild by posting a picture of her wrestling boots with the Divas Championship and a poster of the film Fighting With My Family in the background. This was a hint that she could have been back in training sessions already and that WWE is doing its absolute best to keep this in-house. Now, tweets such as that can be ambiguous in nature, so there could be a whole litany of things going on in the background. We’ll see tomorrow if there’s fire to all that smoke, and I’m keeping my expectations tempered. But do not be completely shocked if we see her make a triumphant return.
As it pertains to the men’s side, the field appears to be significantly more wide open. Usually, there is a clear standout among the rest as to who will journey onto WrestleMania. This year? I have no clue, but here are my educated guesses.
Brock Lesnar
As previously stated, the plan is for Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns to headline WrestleMania 38. Lesnar does not have to win the Rumble match to get that match, but it probably makes the path there the easiest. Lesnar entering the Royal Rumble as WWE Champion is not unheard of since he literally did it in his last Rumble appearance two years ago. However, he was simply trying to showcase his dominance. This year, he would have a reason to win the Rumble, and that’s to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Of course, this may mean that Bobby Lashley may defeat Lesnar at the Rumble.
Big E
Coming off the heels of WWE Day 1, it initially appeared as though Big E would be forgotten in the world title picture. However, being the fact that he was just recently champion, he should still be at the top of the favorite list just by default. Big E’s WWE title reign was filled with some promising performances, but ultimately kind of fell flat, simply because he still felt like the big, jolly-filled muscle of the New Day. Establishing an individual identity and other intangibles are very important when it comes to being world champion, and Big E still has room to grow in this area. The journey from Big E winning Money In The Bank to becoming WWE Champion was an intriguing one in 2021, so him being in pursuit of the same title the 2nd go around won’t have as much anticipation since his first reign was largely forgettable, but the Royal Rumble does present a platform for fresh starts.
Austin Theory
I wouldn’t bet the farm on this one, but I do think Theory has a dark horse chance here. At the very least, he has my vote to be this year’s Iron Man for the rumble. Theory has put on some rather impressive performances against the likes of Finn Balor and AJ Styles on RAW, and his semi-mentorship under Vince McMahon makes him another default favorite to make an impact at the Rumble. While I don’t suspect WWE will undergo such a drastic move at the Rumble on someone so young, I’ve seen crazier things happen. Do not discount this pick.
