WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Who Will Start the Women's Royal Rumble Match?

When talking about Royal Rumble matches, much is made of who will be the last superstar standing. But at WWE Royal Rumble 2018, the first entrants of one match may be just as noteworthy.

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 is right around the corner. As a Big Four pay per view event, it’s a four hour show – plus a two hour kickoff – with the biggest highlights being the namesake matches.

As has been well documented, 2018 is the first year there will be a Women’s Royal Rumble Match. It’s the logical next step of the “Women’s Revolution” that WWE has been touting for the past several years. First the women became “Superstars” instead of “Divas,” putting them on more equal footing with the men and getting rid of a mostly reviled label. Then came regularly main eventing Raw, SmackDown, and pay per views. Steel cage matches, Hell in a Cell matches, Money in the Bank Ladder Matches – nothing is off limits.

Now, the women superstars are getting one of the most exciting matches in all of WWE for themselves. 30 of the best women wrestlers of the past and present – and the future, if NXT superstars enter the Rumble – will enter the ring at regular intervals, and throw each other over the top rope until one remains. That superstar gets a championship match at WrestleMania. So it’s a pretty big deal.

Obviously, much of the focus will be on who wins this match. After James Ellsworth basically won the inaugural Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, fans were furious. For such a historic occasion, this one needs to be done right.

But I’m leaving speculation on the winners to everyone else. There’s plenty of good cases both for and against certain superstars. I’m not going to add to that pile. But what I will do is take my best guess at who’s going to start the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.

Back in 1988, the first ever Royal Rumble took place, and the number one entrant was Bret Hart. Number two? Tito Santana. For the life of me, I probably couldn’t remember any other pairs of opening superstars – except for 1995, when Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith were the first two and last two men in the ring.

The odds of number one and two in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match being throwaways are slim to none. Hart and Santana are both Hall of Famers. Even if WWE had no idea how popular the Royal Rumble would eventually become, for a first ever match like that you need two competitors who can connect with the crowd and keep them intrigued while waiting for other superstars.

WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Who Will Start the Women’s Royal Rumble Match?

By Bryan Heaton | Jan 20, 2018

When talking about Royal Rumble matches, much is made of who will be the last superstar standing. But at WWE Royal Rumble 2018, the first entrants of one match may be just as noteworthy.