WWE Royal Rumble 2020 will take place on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT live on the WWE Network with the kickoff show beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. The following will address some early match card predictions almost one month away from a PPV that kickstarts the road to WrestleMania 36.
Who will main event WrestleMania? WWE Royal Rumble 2020 will hopefully give the WWE Universe the answer to that question as we approach that PPV in January. With WWE TLC 2019 out of the way, we are finally on the road to WrestleMania 36.
With that being said, it’s time to plunge into a plenitude of surprises for WWE’s very first PPV of 2020. Let’s now predict the WWE Royal Rumble 2020 card, starting with a Raw Tag Team Championship match between Viking Raiders and Authors of Pain.
Viking Raiders (c) vs. Authors of Pain [Raw Tag Team Championships]
At WWE TLC 2019, Erik and Ivar retained their Raw Tag Team Championships via double count out against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson from The O.C. and later power-slammed them through an advertised KFC table. Due to the inconclusive finish, it is evident that this rivalry will be extended, but hopefully not all the way to the Royal Rumble.
Instead, that rivalry should be terminated at the Christmas or New Years episodes of Raw, with a retain for the Viking Raiders. That way, they can get their revenge from their BITW Tag Team Turmoil loss to the O.C. at Crown Jewel in October and move on to new, more imposing challengers, like Akam and Rezar from the Authors of Pain.
With the momentum they have gained from joining forces with Seth Rollins recently, the Authors of Pain should dethrone the Viking Raiders to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. It’s a good booking decision to make them champions so that they are viewed on a comparable level to Rollins and not merely seen as pointless sidekicks.
Prediction: Authors of Pain
Bayley (c) (w/Sasha Banks) vs. Lacey Evans [SmackDown Women’s Championship]
It was unfortunate and disappointing that Bayley did not defend her championship at WWE TLC 2019. Even our own Kevin Parvizi expressed that Bayley should have been booked for a title defense at the PPV.
Since Bayley did not battle Lacey Evans at WWE TLC 2019, they should go to war at WWE Royal Rumble 2020. It is pretty straightforward that Bayley should retain the championship against Evans and defend her championship against her best friend, Sasha Banks, at WrestleMania 36.
Prediction: Bayley
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Asuka [Raw Women’s Championship]
Royal Rumble 2019 Rematch? Indeed, it is. At WWE TLC 2019, the Kabuki Warriors retained their Women’s Tag Team Championships against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the main event.
The last moment of the match featured Asuka pulling Becky Lynch off the ladder with a tied rope to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships. This should warrant a Raw Women’s Championship opportunity for Asuka against Lynch.
Lynch was evidently upset about the outcome of this match because it was not the first time she had to look up at Asuka capturing a championship on a ladder on a TLC PPV.
Just like how Asuka challenged Lynch and Charlotte to face her and Kairi Sane for the tag titles at TLC, expect Lynch to return the favor and challenge Asuka to face her at the Royal Rumble.
Lynch still has one last debt to collect and she definitely wants to get her win back from Asuka. She has never defeated Asuka conclusively and Royal Rumble 2020 will be her moment to finally accomplish doing so.
Prediction: Becky Lynch
The ‘Fiend’ Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Daniel Bryan [Universal Championship]
At WWE TLC 2019, the WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt defeated The Miz, right before Daniel Bryan returned with his ‘American Dragon’ look after the match to attack Wyatt and potentially set up a match for Royal Rumble 2020.
In retrospect, this return was special because Bryan started the 2010s in the WWE with this look and he is now ending the decade with this look.
This new look returned because Wyatt took away Bryan’s hair under the ring on Friday Night SmackDown a few weeks ago. More than just a simple haircut, this new look not only signifies Bryan’s full fledged babyface return to the Yes Movement, but also a signals pivotal turning point in his storyline with Bray Wyatt.
Now that Bryan has a new look and is now completely back on the crowd’s side, he will be seen as an actual threat to Wyatt’s Universal Championship reign.
However, this seems more like a teaser to make things more unpredictable rather than a sign of an actual future title change, so expect Bray Wyatt to unleash the Fiend out of anger for being interrupted by Bryan at WWE TLC 2019 to retain the Universal Championship.
Prediction: The ‘Fiend’ Bray Wyatt
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens [WWE Championship]
In the past five years, Brock Lesnar never missed the Royal Rumble, so he will most likely be defending his championship against somebody at this PPV. Since Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens are currently in the main event scene of Monday Night Raw, they would be most fitting for a triple threat championship match against Lesnar.
If Authors of Pain become the Raw Tag Team Champions, Seth Rollins needs to become the WWE Champion.
WWE needs to strike while the iron is hot with this new heel faction. Although Rollins may be perceived as over-pushed at the moment, he needs to back up his heel turn with a championship victory on the road to WrestleMania 36.
In the past five years, Lesnar has also never lost a championship match at the Royal Rumble. This could be the first year he loses, but it is more likely he won’t be pinned to lose the championship.
It’s unfortunate that Lesnar can rarely catch a break when he’s in a match with Rollins, but at least it would be consistent booking for Rollins to remain superior to Lesnar at this point.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
After losing a WWE Championship match to Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens would not take it very lightly, especially after everything he has been through with Rollins and Authors of Pain in recent weeks.
He can feasibly retaliate by winning the Royal Rumble match and challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.
It is quite lucid that Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens is the main program on Monday Night Raw at the moment. Henceforth, it should be the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 36. A well-built storyline is what the WWE Universe needs, especially for main card championship rivalries.
A one-on-one match between Rollins and Owens is exactly what the WWE Championship needs and a Rumble win by Owens would set that up rather nicely.
With betting odds to back them up, many naysayers may disagree with a KO win in favor of making the an argument for a Roman Reigns Rumble win and an eventual Universal Championship opportunity against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36.
Although that possibility is plausible when considering that Reigns relinquished the Universal Championship in 2018 and never obtained his rematch, he already won the Rumble in 2015 and does not need to win the Rumble now.
The crowd is starting to like Reigns and the WWE should be careful with how they handle booking his big victories going forward, especially after he already became the sole survivor at WWE Survivor Series 2019.
Meanwhile, Owens has not won a Rumble yet and he is currently the top babyface on Raw. Now that he has the babyface momentum on his side, the WWE should preferably run with him on the road to WrestleMania 36.
Besides, it would be a good addendum to his storyline with Rollins since Rollins won the Rumble last year and Rollins recently accused Owens of always wanting to be him.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Similarly, since Becky Lynch won the Rumble last year, it would be fitting for Ronda Rousey to return and win the Rumble this year. As many WWE fans know, Becky Lynch dethroned Ronda Rousey in a triple threat match with Charlotte Flair to become ‘Becky Two Belts’ in the main event of WrestleMania 35.
If Rousey were to return, her first target would have to be Becky Lynch. Ever since Survivor Series 2018, the WWE fans have been urging for a match between these two, and WrestleMania 36 would be a perfect time and place to feature such a main event caliber match.
With the betting odds in her favor and her return being teased by COO Triple H, don’t be surprised if she shows up to the same PPV she debuted in the WWE and win her very first Rumble. Hopefully, once she’s done doing that, she does not build up a ‘bad reputation.’
Prediction: Ronda Rousey