WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Predictions, Match Card For Start Of Road To WrestleMania

The road to WrestleMania 34 begins Sunday night in Philadelphia with the first WWE pay-per-view of the year. The 2018 Royal Rumble will determine the challenger for one of the WrestleMania world title matches, as well as an opponent for one of WWE’s two female champions.

Below are predictions for every match on the WWE Royal Rumble card, which features wrestlers from both “Monday Night Raw” and “SmackDown Live.”

30-Man Over-The-Top Royal Rumble Match

When it comes to the “Monday Night Raw” roster, Roman Reigns is the only true option. It’s been known for months that Reigns will face Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 34, and the WWE Universal Championship will almost certainly be on the line. Over on “SmackDown Live,” Shinsuke Nakamura is a contender to win so he can go on to fight for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. There’s speculation that Dolph Ziggler or Daniel Bryan might be dark-horse candidates, though that is probably just wishful thinking.

WWE saw what kind of negative reaction Reigns got the last time he won the Royal Rumble, and the former Shield member can earn a title match without having to go through that again. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is the WWE Championship that fans would likely want to see most, and WWE can make it happen if Nakamura is the last man standing in the battle royal.

Prediction: Shinsuke Nakamura

30-Woman Over-The-Top Royal Rumble Match

There seems to be only a couple of realistic winners when it comes to the first-ever women's Royal Rumble. Asuka will almost certainly get a Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania, and she could officially earn it Sunday. The other option would be Ronda Rousey, who could make a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble. Triple H has acknowledged meeting with the former UFC champion, and it’s believed that WWE will sign her in time for WrestleMania.

Maybe Rousey will show up at Sunday’s pay-per-view, but WWE would probably advertise her first wrestling match. Asuka still hasn’t been pinned or submitted in WWE, and it’s hard to imagine anyone will toss her over the top rope Sunday.

Prediction: Asuka

WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn — 2-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Title

The nature of this match makes it hard to believe that Styles will drop the belt. Is WWE actually going to make Owens and Zayn “co-champions” with a title win in a handicap match? Styles is the most popular wrestler on “SmackDown Live,” and that should allow him to keep the WWE Championship so he can defend it at WWE’s biggest show in a little more than two months.

Prediction: AJ Styles

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane (Triple Threat Match)

Lesnar isn’t dropping the championship with WrestleMania 34 this close. Kane’s days of winning titles are over, and he’s only in the match so Strowman doesn’t have to take the pin. WWE had their chance to take the championship off Lesnar and put it on Strowman at No Mercy in September. They passed, allowing the Universal Champion to win clean with just one F5.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar

Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs. Cesaro & Sheamus

It’s hard to know what’s in store for Rollins and Jordan. WWE had to change course when Dean Ambrose went out with an injury, and it’s unknown when the Shield member will return. Because the team was thrown together relatively quickly, don’t be surprised if Rollins and Jordan drop the belts Sunday.

Prediction: Cesaro & Sheamus

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin (2-out-of-3-Falls Match)

Gable and Benjamin have been gaining some steam, though The Usos continue to have match-of-the-night candidates when they defend their titles at PPVs. That’s reason enough to keep the belts on the babyfaces for the next few months.

Prediction: The Usos