The Royal Rumble is the first of WWE’s annual "Big Four" pay-per-views, and for most, it’s the most exciting, due to the 30-man and 30-woman battle royals that the event is named after. Anything can happen at these events (even though WWE promotes how "anything can happen" all the time), and with so many surprise debuts and returns, the fans get incredibly excited. Who could we expect to see at the coming year's Royal Rumble? Could we see returns as memorable as that of Rey Mysterio, or as surprising as that of The Hurricane?
Sure, not everyone in the WWE Universe wants the same thing, and this may be why WWE are struggling to captivate the audiences, but we decided to put together a list of things that we believe would be good (and bad) for WWE to do at this event. So sit back and read along as we delve into the future and talk about 7 things the fans would love to see at 2019’s Royal Rumble, 7 that we wouldn’t, and 7 big surprises that may happen at WWE’s first PPV of 2019.
21 Want to see: Mustafa Ali as The Royal Rumble’s Ironman
Mustafa Ali has been the most impressive performer on 205 Live since its inception, and he’s recently been moved to SmackDown with a win over Daniel Bryan. It's clear to see he’s got a bright future. He has been putting on great matches all throughout 2018, but now is his time to shine on a bigger stage, and the Royal Rumble would be a great starting point. Each year, someone stands out for lasting 40-60 minutes in the big match, and this year, we’d love it if it was Mustafa Ali, who could be in store for a huge 2019.
20 Don’t want to see: The Cruiserweights On The Pre-Show
From its inception, 205 Live has been struggling, and that’s due to how poorly the Cruiserweights had been shown on RAW, but with new leadership, the show has become great, and has arguably stolen the show at several WWE PPV’s as of late. Buddy Murphy is a fantastic champion, and going forward, the show is must-see. So after a few great PPV matches, we have our fingers crossed that they don’t get pushed back to the pre-show. A lot was made of Austin Aries vs. Neville being on the WrestleMania pre-show a few years back, but they’ve come so far from then, and we shouldn’t be going backward with Murphy as champ.
19 Surprise: Ricochet Challenges Buddy Murphy
The Cruiserweight Division has been on fire for most of 2018, but it seems that Buddy Murphy has run out of challengers from 205 Live leading into WrestleMania, so he may have to search elsewhere for a challenge. We don’t know if he’ll have a match at the Royal Rumble, but either way, it should be Ricochet, the current NXT N.A. Champion to take that spot. This would be a huge surprise after Murphy’s (assumed) title defense, and it would make for an incredible WrestleMania opener if it were to happen.
18 Want to see: The Revival Win Tag Team Championship
The Revival have been one of the best tag teams in the world for a few years now, but their booking on the main roster has been absolutely head-scratching, and 2019 is the time to turn that around. The McMahons have promised big changes in the near future, and the duo of Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson are two that should benefit from that most. The RAW Tag Team Division hasn’t been a focus for the past year, but there’s so much talent, and if given the time, The Revival will bring it back to prominence. We hope that happens at the Royal Rumble.
17 Don’t want to see: A Repeat Winner
The Royal Rumble is the most exciting event on WWE’s calendar, because you don’t know who is going to show up, but most importantly, it is a chance to elevate a talent to new heights with a victory in this iconic match. Sure, there have been several performers to win two or even three Royal Rumble matches (Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, John Cena, Batista just to name a few), but the fans these days are looking for new top stars, so we don’t want a repeat this year. With Asuka as SmackDown Women's Champion and Shinsuke Nakamura not as big as he was a year ago, it’s not going to be a back-to-back winner, but we just hope WWE use this to elevate new talent, rather than give an old winner a second victory.
16 Surprise: The Undertaker Sets Up Next WrestleMania Match
We all assumed that The Undertaker retired following his WrestleMania loss to Roman Reigns, but he has since returned several times, so it makes sense that the Rumble is where he sets up his next opponent. There can’t be many more matches left in The Deadman’s body, so this will likely be a huge name, and while it won’t come as a big surprise to everyone, it would be great if done right. Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles and so many others all loom as ‘Taker’s next challenge, but we’ll all likely have to wait until the new year to find out.
15 Want to see: Ember Moon Prepares for Asuka
Asuka has been one of the best female performers in WWE for a number of years now, and with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch both likely to challenge for the RAW Women’s Championship, The Empress of Tomorrow needs a new challenger. Given that the other two may head to RAW, it makes sense for a RAW performer to head to SmackDown Live in order to make this possible, and there’s no one better than Asuka’s old NXT rival, Ember Moon. Sure, it may be silly to take the title off Asuka already, but Moon would get the spotlight she isn’t getting on RAW and would give her the big matches that she’s ready for.
14 Don’t want to se: The Bellas
The Bellas made a return in 2018’s first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, but for the hardcore WWE fans, they played way too much of a part in that bout. They were two of the final three competitors in the bout and even though they will need bodies for the second ever women’s Rumble match, we don’t want it to be these two again. NXT and NXT UK’s Women’s Divisions are ever expanding, and with so much talent out there, WWE needs to again use this as a platform to elevate talent and show the future, rather than bring back people from the past.
13 Surprise: Kharma Returns
Our favorite part about the Royal Rumble match each year is the potential for surprise returns, and while there aren’t many names out there that could make a return on the women’s side, there is at least one of note, and that's Kharma. The former Awesome Kong is one of the biggest names in U.S. women’s wrestling over the past decade, and after performing in WWE for a while, she left the company on good terms before she could have a proper run. It could be for just one night, but we’d love to see Kharma back in a WWE ring, especially if it set up a hoss confrontation between her and Nia Jax.
12 Want to see: Face Sami Zayn Returns
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have been out injured for quite some time now, but we were reminded they are coming back soon this past week on RAW, and the Rumble makes sense for Sami. With RAW lacking quality babyfaces, Zayn returning in some capacity would be great, especially if he ended up opposite Dean Ambrose, one of RAW’s biggest heels. Sure, the challenge won’t come at Royal Rumble, and it may not happen until WrestleMania, but Zayn deserves much more than what he’s got so far in his WWE run, so this would be a great way to kick-start his career.
11 Don’t want to see: The McMahons Running The Show
WWE has been struggling for inspired writing, fun stories and ratings as of late, and Vince McMahon’s best idea to combat this was revealed with the return of all the McMahons plus Triple H.. This may fix the problem in the short term, but in the long term, WWE is still struggling to utilize all of their performers effectively and tell engaging stories, and that won’t change with more McMahons. Hopefully, by the Royal Rumble, things are back to normal, but if these four authority figures start taking over big PPVs, fans won’t be happy at all.
10 Surprise: Batista Returns To Set Up Match with Triple H
When Evolution returned for SmackDown 1000, WWE seemed to set up a future bout between The Animal and The Game, but they’ve made little mention of it since, meaning they will have to do something soon. We aren’t quite sure how this would happen, but Batista and Triple H are destined to go at it one more time in the near future, so why not set it up as a marquee bout at WrestleMania 35? We all expect the big names to turn up at the Rumble event, but this year, WWE will likely deliver with Batista and other big names.
9 Want to see: Lars Sullivan Proves Worthy Challenger to Braun Strowman
Lars Sullivan has been looming large over the main roster ever since Survivor Series, and at the Royal Rumble, he is truly going to make his presence known. A dominant performance in the 30-man battle royal would be the perfect way to kickstart Sullivan’s run of dominance, and if Braun Strowman is going to be defeated by Brock Lesnar the way we all expect, he’s going to need a WrestleMania opponent. A big hoss battle at WrestleMania between two of WWE’s most dominant performers isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but with the athleticism that both men posses, it would be a fun battle.
8 Don’t want to see: Brock Lesnar Retaining Title
To be fair, there are plenty of people in the WWE Universe who don’t want to see Braun Strowman win the Universal Championship, but the majority no longer want to see The Beast on top. The part-time thing is something that WWE definitely needs to move past, and Lesnar is the final one who is sticking around. Whether it’s here or WrestleMania, we need to see him drop the title. It’s unlikely that he will drop the Championship here, but it’s safe to say that if he does retain, it will not be a popular decision among WWE Universe.
7 Surprise: The Miz Turns
Daniel Bryan shockingly turned heel a few months ago, and his run has been fantastic so far, but we all know he will run into The Miz sooner, rather than later, so that means he has to turn face, right? He hasn’t shown any flashes of it yet, but this rivalry still has some legs, and with no obvious challenger for WrestleMania, this is what has to happen. Sure, after Bryan’s heel turn, many people will be expecting this, but depending on how it’s done, it could be a big shocker to everyone, and it would reinvigorate The Miz character.
6 Want to see: Drew McIntyre Winning It All
With Roman Reigns out, WWE is clearly looking for someone new to take the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar, and while Braun Strowman should be the choice, the clear one is Drew McIntyre. The Scottish Psychopath has everything you could look for in a main event talent in WWE, and he’s clearly one of the hardest working performers in the company, so a Rumble win would be well deserved. It’s hard to predict what route WWE is going with the Universal Championship heading into WrestleMania, but this one makes the most sense, and the fans would erupt if Drew won the 30-man battle royal.
5 Don’t want to see: Charlotte Defeating Ronda Rousey
For months now, the WWE Universe have wanted to see Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch at WrestleMania, but many people have worried WWE will shoehorn Charlotte Flair into that spot, and it may happen at the Rumble. This is the rumored bout for the RAW Women’s Championship, and after Survivor Series, that’s a match we’d all love to see again, but we don’t want Charlotte to win. It’s clear WWE continues to push Flair time and time again, but Rousey and The Man both deserve this singles bout in the main event of WrestleMania, so we just don’t hope they force it into a Triple Threat by way of a Charlotte victory.
4 Surprise: Nikki Cross Helps SAnitY Win Tag Team Championship
SAnitY has been quite disappointing since their debut on the main roster, and part of that is that they were promoted without Nikki Cross, but now that she is main roster bound, this reunion needs to happen. They made a surprise return on SmackDown Live, and it’s clear they are after the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship, and the best way to put those belts on them is to reunite them with NXT’s Twisted Sister. SmackDown has been featuring the same tag teams for too long now, and a run with Sanity would be a refreshing change, but this is the only way for that to truly happen, so we hope WWE does the right thing here.
3 Want to see: The Man Stands Tall
With Charlotte rumored to challenge Ronda Rousey as a result of the TLC finish, Becky Lynch winning the Women’s Royal Rumble makes the most sense, and it almost has to happen. Lynch vs. Rousey has been the fans' WrestleMania main event ever since the build to Survivor Series, and this is the best way to make it happen while making The Man look as good as ever. This may mean a bit of roster turnover for WWE, as someone other than Charlotte or Becky would challenge Asuka for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. However, it’s just too big a match not to happen, and this is how we want WWE to set it up.
2 Don’t want to see: The Rock Winning The Rumble
If Roman Reigns was still an active competitor in WWE, The Rock was penciled in to win the Rumble match, but now that that match is no longer on the table, we hopeWWE has changed their mind. The Rock is still hugely popular among WWE Universe, so a return would generate a huge pop for the event, but they need to focus on the future, and that isn’t The Rock. With the current champions and challengers heading into WrestleMania, we doubt this is going to happen, but we just want to reiterate how poor this would be for the future of WWE.