WWE Women’s Royal Rumble 2019 Should Be For WrestleMania Main Event
At WWE Evolution, a battle royal will take place to determine the next challenger for either the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championships. This is similar to the stakes at the Royal Rumble, which is why the winner of the WWE Women’s Royal Rumble in 2019 should be one of the first women in the WrestleMania main event.
WWE fans have been waiting for women to main event WrestleMania for years, and in an era of “firsts” for women in WWE, this remains the most glaring unchecked box. On Oct. 28, WWE Evolution will take place, making it the first all-women’s PPV in the promotion’s history. It’s the latest “first” in a year that included the first WWE Women’s Royal Rumble, the first Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal, and the first Women’s Elimination Chamber match.
Evolution will include the first main roster “Last Women Standing” match between Becky Lynch, the SmackDown Women’s Champion, and Charlotte Flair. That match will be sensational, and the same can be said for the NXT Women’s Championship match between Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler.
In addition to multiple title matches and a tag match pitting Trish Stratus and Lita against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James, a “Battle Royal” has been announced for Evolution. The likes of Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox, Carmella, Torrie Wilson, Ember Moon, and Lana will compete for a title opportunity, likely for the championship of their brand.
That means the Evolution Battle Royal has more stakes than just a trophy (the Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal), but what separates it from the Royal Rumble in January, other than the fact that this title match wouldn’t occur at WrestleMania?
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A simple way of making the Women’s Royal Rumble feel like the biggest deal possible is to give the winner of the match the most prestigious award possible. And that’s a title match in the main event of WrestleMania. It’d be just as much of a “draw” as anything they’d put in the main event, and it would easily be more entertaining than some of the main events WWE has trotted out at WrestleMania in recent years.
WWE fans have been led to believe that a women’s title match could main event WrestleMania soon. Ronda Rousey is the current Raw Women’s Champion and its biggest mainstream star among full-timers. There’s been speculation that she and Charlotte Flair could square off in the main event of WrestleMania 35, and these rumors started as early as the week after WrestleMania 34.
Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and other women in WWE have spoken about how their goal is to have women main eventing WrestleMania as soon as possible. It would be a huge step for WWE’s Women’s Division, especially as WWE continues to try and market how it has revolutionized women’s wrestling. Most fans aren’t really buying the narrative, but if WWE wants to keep pushing that they are trying to change the game, the least they could do is have a women’s match main event WrestleMania 35.
With the Women’s Royal Rumble in its second year, it’s easy enough to set up. Just have the winner of the second Women’s Rumble main event WrestleMania. The first edition of the Women’s Rumble was fantastic, with stars of the past like Molly Holly and Michelle McCool shining without taking the spotlight away from current stars like Sasha Banks and eventual winner Asuka. Meanwhile, “stars of the future” like Kairi Sane managed to look fantastic, with Sane notably leaving a lasting impression on Hall of Famer Lita.
Asuka, Sasha, the Bella Twins, Trish, and so many others gave the fans lasting memories at the first Women’s Rumble, and the women of WWE will surely do the same in 2019. So it’d be nice for WWE to reward this division by showcasing them in its main event, perhaps as a way of building off of the Evolution Battle Royal at the first all-women’s PPV.
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Even if the match is a predictable one like Rousey vs. Charlotte, it should be a great match and would send a message that is more powerful than the match itself. Again, it isn’t difficult for WWE to make it happen. Just announce the stipulation for the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble and make it so.
The fans have been waiting for this long enough, and the women’s division has often been the best part of dry, three-hour Raws in 2018. People check social media, turn on Raw, and click YouTube videos to watch their favorite women, whether it’s the IIconics or Naomi or someone else. They move the needle, and it’s time WWE recognize that with a strong gesture of faith.