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WWE will present the 2023 Royal Rumble this Saturday 1/28 from San Antonio, Texas at The Alamodome.
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman vs. Kevin Owens.
Dave: This feud has been a lot of fun but I don't see any way that Roman loses the Title before WrestleMania. The match will be really good but the big draw to me is what they do storyline wise. What will happen with Sami and company? Stay tuned.
Mike: My belief is that Sami goes to help Roman but clobbers him, leading to a LOT of Owens near falls, but in the end, Roman still takes him out, possibly because Owens is distracted by helping Sami against Solo Sikoa, who's out for blood after the mishap earlier. I don't see a title change here, because that would kill a lot of steam Roman has going into Wrestlemania - which is the proper forum and place to switch things up, if they want to go THAT route. They have something special in Roman and I'd advise against doing a title change anytime soon.
Richard: The farther this match goes from the Roman Reigns title defense formula, the more I will like this match. Owens has gotten the upper hand recently and I am giving my thoughts before Kevin's match against Solo on Smackdown. Does Sami get involved in this match? Does Sami's potential involvement satisfy Roman? Do they start the fault line between Sami and the Bloodline to tease a reunion with Kevin and Sami? Roman wins, hopefully without too much outside interference. My only wish for this match is that Kevin brings out his "Wise Man" . . . Bruce Boudreau. BRUCE . . . THERE IT IS
30 competitor Men's Royal Rumble - Kofi Kingston, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Austin Theory, Ricochet, Santos Escobar, Cody Rhodes, Omos, Rey Mysterio, GUNTHER, Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Karrion Kross confirmed. 15 Spots remain.
Dave: The obvious pick here is Cody Rhodes but as I said with Mike on Wednesday, I think it's too obvious.....and too soon to do it. If Cody gets the match this quickly, there is no real drama. I think a better way to go is have the Bloodline screw him in the match so that he can start having to deal with the struggle that is The Bloodline. Clearly, it could also be Sami Zayn getting the win and then forcing his exit from The Bloodline when he refuses to lay down for Roman. Is it time to pull that trigger? Maybe so. They would have a few months to really tell the story. If it's not those two, Seth Rollins could win and as the Bloodline drama with Sami continues, when Sami finally says enough to Roman Seth is there to be by his side and back him. But that is just total spitballing by me. As I have said many times, I would love to see the guy who beats Roman get a big rub. Would they have the guts to do that with Theory? Whoever wins, do they only get a shot at one belt, not both? Interesting stuff.
Mike: If the glass breaks, Steve Austin is winning! We have about half the match filled with mystery slots, so we don't know what sort of last minute thing WWE is going to throw at us. They've all but told us Cody is going to win, but what happens if Brock Lesnar is added to the match? If Sami Zayn is in it and doesn't win, are they going to chance the crowd turning on the winner the way they have in the past when Daniel Bryan didn't appear or win Rumbles? Does Logan Paul show up? Goldberg lives in San Antonio - do they sneak him in and he starts spearing people galore? We are obviously getting the Kofi saves himself spot and a Rey vs. Dominik angle out of this to set up Wrestlemania, but what else gets teased for Seth, Drew, Theory, Lashley, etc. for the biggest show of the year? To me, that is as fascinating as who wins, because Paul Levesque needs a major angle and a major moment to get people primed for Wrestlemania in the face of a lot of uncertainty. I am going with the Cody Rhodes winning for his father, because who doesn't love a good story like that, but there's so many elements at play here, including the overwhelming popularity of Sami Zayn....
Richard: When Andrew and I were discussing this on the preview audio (available on the site now), I think we came up with at least 25 other people who could be in this match. This might be the first time where there are more than five people who you can justify as the winner. This list doesn't include THE Judgment Day, Lesnar, Miz, the Street Profits, or the Bloodline. I think Cody has to win this because of the video packages that have aired. Is Sami's 'Final Act' a victory in the Rumble? What if he does not win? Is that going to be the end of the Sami/Bloodline? This should be the next step in the road to Lucha De Los Mysterios at Mania. Will we see the build to Lashley/Lesnar at Mania? Does Edge return? Do we start the build to an IC title feud between Gunther and Solo? If it isn't going to be Cody, I would love to see Gunther or Sheamus win.
30 competitor Women's Royal Rumble - Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Candice LaRae, Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega, Emma confirmed. 23 spots remain.
Dave: This is so wide open since we only know 7 women. Ripley and Rodriguez seem like favorites here. Raquel vs. Charlotte is intriguing to me.
Mike: It's a hard one to put a prediction on given 90% of the competitors are unknown. Is Rousey in this? Becky? Bayley? Carmella? The Bellas? Jacqueline? Candice Michelle, who lives locally? We don't know, so it's impossible to even wager what sort of storyline they will run through this thing. The good news is that TJ Wilson is back as one of the prodcers this year and Paul Levesque remains, as of this writing, head of creative, so those are two big, important pieces of the machine that were missing last year. Rhea Ripley looks to be the favorite and would be my personal pick, but I also wouldn't be shocked to see Ripley in the Men's Rumble given Dominik is involved and it's not like she hasn't slammed Luke Gallows in the past! Liv Morgan is an interesting idea to try and ascend her yet again, but I'm looking at Rhea, with Becky as the secondary choice. My money is on Rhea.
Richard: With the way the women's division is booked, there are only a handful of people who you can justify in a title match at Mania. The good news is that outside of Bianca and Charlotte, they will be in this match. I think Rhea is the obvious pick to face Bianca at Mania while they can do a #1 contender match for Charlotte at Elimination Chamber. I would love to have seen WWE care about booking Shayna so she could excel in this match. If it isn't Rhea, the other logical choice is Texas's own Raquel Rodriguez. Do they use anyone from NXT to get some publicity behind next weekend's Vengeance Day? Which member of the Bayley Bunch has the best performance?
WWE Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss.
Dave: I like the harder edged heel Alexa, as opposed to the silly version Vince booked with Bray. As much as I love Alexa, I don't see her winning the belt here.
Mike: This has been the brightest spotlight they have given Bliss in some time and I expect this could be a really fun match. I don't see a title change here, since the money is in Bianca vs. Rhea or Becky for Wrestlemania. I am guessing the loss will be the final straw for Alexa Bliss to be dragged down into Uncle Howdy hell.
Richard: I hope they keep Alexa away from Bray and his band of merry hat tippers and puppets and let her be a nut job by herself. I don't see Bianca losing because I think her big money match is for Mania against Rhea. It is good to see Bianca not wrestling Bayley on a PPV.
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight - Pitch Black Match. Anything Goes until Pinfall or Submission.
Dave: Bray always does these weird matches it seems. In any event, he doesn't get a rub from The Undertaker and then lose on the PPV. Bray wins.
Mike: Other than a revenue stream for some sponsorship money, we really don't even know what this is. Is it a Prince of Darkness match? Is it a pre-taped vignette? Is it a straight up fight in front of the fans with weird lighting and shadows? Beats me! What I do know is this. LA Knight is only winning if Uncle Bo Howdy shows up, since the obvious Wrestlemania deal, to me, is Bray vs. Howdy with Alexa as the referee.
Richard: I thought this match had started on Wednesday night during Dynamite when the lights went out, but it didn't and we get to experience this on Saturday. This is a 'Bray Special Attraction Match' so he shouldn't lose. I wonder how the next two months to build to Bray's match at Mania will incorporate The Howdyverse.
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