Royal Rumble 2018 Predictions

This year's Royal Rumble is the first to feature a women's Royal Rumble match. I am looking forward to that match almost as much the men's match. Here are my predictions for every match tonight, with explanations.

Kickoff

1. Bobby Roode (c) vs. TBD (WWE United States Championship Match)

-Bobby Roode retains

Since it is an open challenge, we won't know the opponent until the show. However, I have no doubt that Roode will leave Philadelphia with the U.S. title.

2. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. The Revival (Tag Team Match)

-Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

Gallows & Anderson have been on a roll with Finn Balor lately, and I think that will continue tonight.

3. Kalisto, Lince Dorado, & Gran Metalik vs. TJP, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, & Drew Gulak (Six-Man Tag Team Match)

-Honestly, who cares. I don't even know who a couple of these guys are. I just wish the cruiserweight division would be done already.

Raw Matches

1. Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane (WWE Universal Championship Triple Threat Match)

-Brock Lesnar retains

As much as I would love to see Braun Strowman win, I think Brock will pull it off one more time tonight. Honestly I hope he does because I would love to see Roman vs. Brock at Wrestlemania.

2. Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan (c) vs. The Bar (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Match)

-The Bar new champions

My prediction is that Jason Jordan will cause them to lose the titles. Also, with Seth Rollins bringing back his old finishing move (curb stomp), it seems he is ready to be a singles competitor again.

Smackdown Matches

1. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (WWE Championship Handicap Match)

-AJ Styles retains

There is no way that Styles is losing tonight. My prediction is that Shane and Daniel Bryan will both be at ringside, and end up interfering somehow. A curveball prediction is that Bryan and McMahon go at it and set up a match for Wrestlemania. This whole storyline has revolved around Shane and Daniel not agreeing on things, and I think that will come to a head tonight, with Styles retaining the title.

2. The Usos (c) vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship 2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match)

-Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin new champions

Gable and Benjamin work well together, and I think they will pull it off tonight. Plus, one of the Usos was arrested and fined last week, so their heads probably aren't in the right place heading into tonight.

Royal Rumble Matches

1. Men's Royal Rumble Match

-Safe Prediction: Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura winning would be awesome because if Styles retains tonight (which I think he will) then that would set up Styles vs. Nakamura at Wrestlemania, which is a dream match that everyone has been wanting to see.

-Bold Prediction: Daniel Brian

There have been talks of Bryan returning for awhile now. Bryan has hinted at it multiple times on social media, and has continued to say that most doctors have cleared him to return. WWE wants to look out for his health first, which is professional because neck injuries are no joke. But a Bryan return would start this year off with a bang, and Bryan vs. Styles at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship would be absolutely huge.

Another bold prediction is that Kenny Omega will make his WWE debut tonight. This is unlikely because he just signed another year for NJPW, but you never know, there could be a behind the scenes deal where he can wrestle for both. He is by far the most wanted wrestler outside of WWE, and everyone would love to see him in WWE. I have no doubt he will sign with them eventually, but with him being 34 I wouldn't want to wait much longer. Plus, he just left the bullet club and lost the IWGP United States Championship, and he tweeted today and said "A new Beginning..." This could all be coincidence, but the stars just seem to be aligning.

2. Women's Royal Rumble Match

-Asuka

Asuka is undefeated so far and is absolutely unstoppable. She has beaten Goldberg's undefeated streak, and has beaten the Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss. Bliss vs. Asuka at Wrestlemania would be cool. At the same time, this match is really hard to predict. Nia Jax and Asuka are the only women heading into this match with a lot of steam. Paige would have been my prediction, but with news of her having to retire, that went out the window. I would love to see Sasha Banks win because I love when her and Alexa wrestle.

WWE also recently signed Candice LeRae, and I have no doubt she will debut tonight, but I don't know if she would win the whole thing. Another curveball would be Ember Moon debuting from NXT tonight. This is one of the matches I am looking forward to the most, as it is truely unpredictable.

Overall this event is very exciting as WWE is relying less on it's past stars to promote the event. Last year's Rumble saw Goldberg, Undertaker, Cena, and Lesnar right at the front of the poster, and Randy Orton ended up winning. While Brock is still the champion, Taker and Goldberg are gone and Cena is no longer the top star, so tonight is a night where a lot of guys will look to step up and take the spotlight. WWE has a ton of buzz right now, with Raw just celebrating it's 25th anniversary and Vince McMahon announcing the return of the XFL. They have a lot of momentum going into tonight and I'm excited to see what happens. Lets get ready to rumble!