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The beginning of the road to WrestleMania 34, which is the Royal Rumble 2018, is just days away. With the match card already revealed, the excitement is at its zenith, and fans all over the globe are speculating about the possible outcomes of the matches and their important repercussions.
This year, the biggest change to the Royal Rumble is the addition of the women's Rumble match for the first time ever, with the WWE boasting of having one of their largest women's roster of all time.
As the results of this event have a direct effect on the biggest event is WWE, the WrestleMania, here are 5 matches which the creative team must plan out carefully in the build-up to WrestleMania 34:
#5 AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura
After being the better show of WWE for most of 2016 and the first half of 2017, Tuesday night Smackdown Live has been on a downward spiral. The ratings for the show have gone down considerably, with the repetitive nature of the matches and lack of fresh storylines resulting in a predictable and boring show. Putting the top championship on Jinder Mahal for a long time didn't help at all.
But recently, the pairing of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn has infused some interest among the fans. Their antics have consistently garnered top attention. And now, WWE has the opportunity to further elevate the buzz around the show by pitting two of its best performers against each other: AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship.
The reason why this match is so eagerly awaited is the history of these two competitors. They have already chalked out a peach of a match at the New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 10 in 2016. Ever since these two set foot in WWE, fans have been dreaming of a match between these two.
AJ Styles is easily the best wrestler on WWE's roster right now and he consistently gets the best out of his opponents, be it Jinder Mahal or a squash match specialist like Brock Lesnar. He is the current WWE Champion and is scheduled to face Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a handicap match with his championship on the line at the Royal Rumble. However, it is expected (the WWE's creative team hopefully proceeds in this direction) that he retains the titles, and goes to WrestleMania 34, a champion.
Shinsuke Nakamura is competing in the men's Royal Rumble event this year. Although there are various possible outcomes, Shinsuke Nakamura winning the rumble and booking his ticket to WrestleMania 34 seems the safest and the most fan-friendly option going forward.
Hopefully, WWE has learned from its past mistakes of forcing Roman Reigns over, especially at big events like Royal Rumble.
If this happens, surely this years WrestleMania would be heavily hyped and followed, which would be a win-win situation for everyone.
#4 Triple H vs Kurt Angle
This is one of those matches which was widely speculated to take place sometime, either at Summerslam or WrestleMania.
As we saw at TLC and Survivor Series 2017, Kurt Angle has 'still got it', just like the audience was chanting. Also, Triple H, now a part-time wrestler, has been wrestling at the grandest stage of them all for a couple of years now. This seems to be a perfect opportunity to add a vintage match to the match card.
The seeds of dissension between the two were sown in the Survivor Series, when Triple H pedigreed his own Raw team member Angle, just for the sake of scoring the victory for his team. The next night on Raw, Kurt Angle came out and stood face to face with the Game, but Braun Strowman came out and the moment drowned away.
As of now, there seems to be no progress in this direction, even as the biggest pay-per-view of the year approaches. But, there are still many possibilities to build up this match.
One of the most exciting possibilities involves Stephanie McMahon, the wife of the COO of WWE, trying to interfere in the women's rumble match and in the process, being attacked by a certain diva (discussed in a later slide). Triple H would vent his frustration at the general manager of RAW for not intervening in the situation and in the process, setting the wheels in motion for a match between the two.
#3 The Undertaker vs John Cena
He has faced them all: Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Batista, Kane, Randy Orton, Ric Flair and others. But, if any WWE fan, past or present, is told about the possibility of a match against John Cena taking place at WrestleMania 34, they would immediately go and purchase a ticket for the event. Such is the selling power of this match.
Ever since the rise to fame of John Cena, fans have been hoping to see him in action against the Deadman, sooner or later. However, after the conclusion of last year's WrestleMania, where The Undertaker apparently hung up his boots, it seemed to be the end of that possibility.
But, when The Undertaker appeared on RAW last week, the fan's hopes were rejuvenated. Many, including the WWE officials, let the question of 'one more Undertaker match' hang in the air. The excitement surrounding this development is at an all-time high presently. And if WWE is really smart enough, they should cash in on this immediately.
How could they make it happen? Well, the tried-and-tested formula of The Undertaker appearing on RAW sometime in March and directly challenging an opponent, or vice versa seems banal. It wouldn't exactly be the most exciting way to promote this match.
Currently, John Cena is in a feud with Elias, with the rivalry expected to be carried over to the Men's Rumble match. The more interesting possibility of ending the rivalry on a positive note for Elias and at the same time, kick-starting the one with the Phenom, would involve The Undertaker interfering in the Rumble Match, but not physically:
Elias would have a go at Cena and dominate him for some time, then the leader of Cenation would make a comeback and just at it seems that he would eliminate Elias, the lights would go off, with the customary 3 gongs ringing. As soon as the lights come on, Elias would take advantage of the situation and eliminate Cena.
This would not only hype up the dream match but also give Cena a reason to go after Taker.
#2 Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman
(WWE Universal Championship Match)
Currently, Roman Reigns is the bookmakers favorite to win the Rumble match and headline the WrestleMania once again, by going one-on-one with the beast. The simple domain of this match would be to determine, which of the two men, who defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania, is better. However, as explained before, WWE would be grossly wrong pursuing this path. It would only lead to an encore of negative reactions from the fans towards the Big Dog, and thus defy the standard narrative of 'babyface vs heel' at WrestleMania, thus leading to an awkward match between the two.
Currently, even though Lesnar is pitted against the 'Monster among Men' and Kane at Royal Rumble, he is expected to retain, with Kane clearly being the man to take the pin and thus, in the process, protect Braun Strowman's credibility. But, it is widely speculated that Brock Lesnar will drop his championship belt, which he won by defeating Goldberg, at this year's WrestleMania 34, with Roman Reigns being crowned the champion. However, the future of Braun Strowman remains unclear after Sunday's event.
Strowman is the current highlight of WWE Raw. His sheer power and the destruction and carnage left in his wake has seen him become a popular babyface among the fans. If he is not involved in the championship match at the Show of the Shows, there seems to be no other feasible opponent for Strowman as of yet. Going after the Miz for the Intercontinental title would make no sense, given the momentum he has. Thus, a match with the likes of Reigns and Lesnar seems to be the only feasible option.
An interesting way for WWE to build up this match would be at Elimination Chamber, rather than Royal Rumble, by letting Nakamura win the Rumble. By involving both Reigns and Strowman in the Chamber match for determining the number one contender for the championship, WWE can let these two powerhouses dismantle their opponents and then let them tear the house down together. They can conclude the match without a clear winner, either by a double pin or with both of them being unable to compete further. This would result in both of them being added to the Championship match at WrestleMania.
#1 Stephanie McMahon vs ........ Ronda Rousey
This match was teased at WrestleMania 31, in a segment involving The Rock and Triple H. Ronda Rousey came out on top at the end of the segment, to close a chapter that was never opened again, leaving the fans to wonder about Ronda Rousey's possible future with WWE.
At that time, Rousey was undefeated in UFC, and on top of her game. However, two crushing losses later, Rousey's MMA career seems to be done and dusted, with speculations surrounding her apparent retirement from the business. This, coupled with her being spotted with Triple H at a restaurant some time back, fueled hopes of the fans of seeing her shift from the octagon to the ring.
Also, recently, Stephanie McMahon revealed that she would be on the commentary team of the Women's Rumble match. Thus, chances of her involvement in the match seem to be high.
Now, it's not hard to imagine a scenario in which a rampaging Ronda Rousey is on the verge of winning the Rumble, only for Stephanie McMahon to distract her and have her eliminated, thus getting even with her for their previous meeting. This would result in Rousey attacking the commissioner of Raw, and setting up a match between the two in the process.
Even though it would technically be a squash match, fans all over the world would love to watch the hated McMahon getting pummeled over, again and again, and it could definitely be a WrestleMania moment that they planned to create, 3 years ago.
