Royal Rumble: Shocking Twists or Routine Roads to WrestleMania?

The Royal Rumble is nearly here and WWE fans are busy making their predictions. Will AJ Styles regain the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan? Will Ronda Rousey lose her title to The Boss, Sasha Banks? How many German Suplexes will Finn Bálor have to endure before he’s either pinned or he somehow manages to come away with a win over Brock Lesnar?

However, much of the speculation right now centers on the Royal Rumble Matches themselves. This is par for the course, as everyone seems to have their favorites in mind when it comes to who should get the main event shot at WrestleMania. But what if WWE pulls off some shockers?

Fans are almost always up for a surprise. That’s especially true for big events like the Rumble. The company can’t please everyone all the time obviously. But utilizing rising talents and giving them a shot is usually met with favor, even among the most jaded fans. 

WWE fans typically settle into a rhythm and that’s to be expected. After all, Vince McMahon’s company tends to feature the same rotation of stars week in and week out. It’s how they do business and it’s how other pro wrestling companies do business as well. It’s not always about forcing talents onto the audience. But when plans are set in place and rivalries are made, then those rivalries have to play out.

That takes time and it takes effort from everyone involved to move the narrative forward. Superstars in WWE pair up and work each other for weeks and oftentimes, months on end. That’s just how it goes and yes, fans become accustomed to the rhythm of it all.

But when storyline fatigue settles in, the audience gets restless. They want to see new faces, new blood and fresh angles unfold. Those moments typically come the night after WrestleMania, when Monday Night Raw becomes ground zero for debuting talent and new beginnings.

WrestleMania has historically always been reserved as the night for the payoff. Superstars work all year to get to the grand finale, which means there’s often very little room for any real twists. The story is wrapping up and new chapters must be written. So is it wise to expect the company will do business any differently in 2019?

The problem with the usual routine is that it’s a bit too routine. Many fans believe that the main event of WrestleMania 35 will feature either Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, or perhaps all three. If that’s true, then this will indeed be a groundbreaking Mania. 

All three women put in maximum effort last year to reach the top of the company. There’s no doubt that they deserve the main event spotlight that only The Showcase of the Immortals will provide. So unless someone else does happen to step up and shock the world in the months leading to WrestleMania, the women’s division is set and good to go. The main event awaits them and they have most definitely earned it.

But while The Women’s Royal Rumble may or may not impact Mania, things are a bit cloudier on the men’s side. Monday Night Raw’s Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Championship against Finn Bálor on January 27 and there’s really no way to know who will walk away with the title.

History has shown that Brock rarely ever does the honors for anyone. So that means that Finn will likely be no different. The company may have suddenly thrown the spotlight on Bálor, but his fans have always supported him. They “believed” he could do it long before WWE told them to believe in him. Maybe the effort to persuade the audience to buy into Finn as the man to overthrow Lesnar is indeed nothing more than an effort. 

So if Finn’s fate is “suplex, repeat,” then he will likely lose at The Royal Rumble. If that happens, then who will win the Men’s Royal Rumble Match and conceivably give Brock a true test at WrestleMania? Even if the last man standing in the Rumble has all the momentum in the world on his side, what makes anyone believe that Brock will fall on The Grandest Stage of Them All?

But there’s a bit more to work with on SmackDown Live. Daniel Bryan may or may not, lose the WWE Championship to AJ Styles. There’s a future for both men either way. The man that wins the Rumble could challenge the WWE champion and there’s plenty of reason to believe that the match could go any number of ways. There just seems to be more options with the blue brand. 

So what happens if Andrade wins The Royal Rumble and then sets his sights on the WWE Championship? For that matter, what if he goes on to WrestleMania and actually wins the title? Some fans would argue that it’s too soon for him and that he needs more time. But considering how long the company waited with Braun Strowman, there’s really no way to know if keeping Andrade at his current level is the right thing to do. 

Strowman’s main event prowess hasn’t exactly become the stuff of legend. Would the same be true for Andrade whether WWE moved now or later? Is it more likely that Randy Orton could come from out of nowhere, win the Rumble, then go on to face Daniel at WrestleMania?

The fact is that opening up the field to more prospective main event talent would create a more exciting product. There are risks involved of course but the potential reward may warrant that risk. Are fans living in a world in which Drew McIntyre could win The Royal Rumble, then face Finn Bálor for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35? Or is that just not a realistic angle? Is Seth Rollins versus Finn Bálor a more bankable match or is it more likely that Batista could stun the world and show up at the 29th spot, win the Rumble, then face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania?

It’s not that fans aren’t excited for what’s to come because they certainly are. This is WWE and in Vince McMahon’s world, anything is indeed possible. But that also means that the same old routine is possible as well. Maybe The Royal Rumble is nothing more than a pitstop on the road to WrestleMania. Perhaps that’s what it’s designed to be and nothing more. The same fans that want something different will probably stick around regardless of who wins. Or maybe they won’t. Either way, WWE will continue doing what it does. Whether or not that’s a good thing will always be open to debate.