In the WWE, the Royal Rumble is synonymous with the kick-off of WrestleMania season, which is hands down the biggest pay-per-view event for superstars and fans alike. How a wrestler fares at the Royal Rumble is an adequate indicator of where their placements will be for WrestleMania.
For years, the superior match of the Royal Rumble has always been the 30 Man Royal Rumble match because it shows the entire universe which male WWE Superstar would prevail against 29 other competitors to earn an opportunity to be the main event at WrestleMania. With the recent addition of the 30 Women Royal Rumble match, one female wrestler now also gains this same opportunity.
Since the Royal Rumble now includes a 30 Women’s Royal Rumble match, everyone here at Daily DDT thought it’d be a tremendous idea to have an all women’s roundtable discussion on the 30 Women Royal Rumble match.
I played the role of moderator for our roundtable talk, while Daily DDT Contributors Amelia Nash and Dorathy Gass acted as participants.
The first roundtable question asked is as follows:
Who do you think will enter at number one and why? Who do you think will get the lucky number 30 spot and why?
Amelia: I think we’re getting Sasha Banks at number one. I expect the winner to challenge the Raw Women’s Champion, so Sasha will enter at one and put in an Iron Woman performance to keep SmackDown’s division mildly heated up. The number 30 will be someone who will end up fairly inconsequential to the overall match, maybe Natalya or potentially a returning Naomi.
Dorathy: My gut is going with Alexa Bliss to start things off at number one. The number one and two spots for either the Women’s or Men’s Royal Rumble typically goes to superstars that are well ingrained in the main roster – no surprise entrants – and Bliss seems like a great candidate to not only hit the number one spot but also have the staying power to last fairly long within the match. I don’t think she’ll take the Rumble, but she’ll get the match started off with a bang.
In terms of number 30, my guess is that it could be a surprise of sorts. Either a Nia Jax (returning from injury) or potentially Ronda Rousey.
Kyla: Charlotte Flair will enter the Women’s Royal Rumble match in the number one spot. She may not have much luck with her number drawn, but being in the number one spot gives The Queen the chance to show the WWE Universe exactly why she is a 10-time women’s champion by standing her ground for an extended duration of the match. It would be surprising if Flair didn’t make it towards the end of the match, battling it out against the wrestlers who will come in the 20 – 30 spots.
Ronda Rousey will gain the lucky number 30 spot as it would be an unexpected surprise for the
WWE Universe and an astronomical way to introduce her back into the WWE. Rousey has been out of in-ring action since she picked up her first recorded loss in the WWE to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 35 for the RAW Women’s Championship. Prior to this loss, Rousey held on to the title for 231 consecutive days, which is the second-longest RAW Women’s Championship reign after the current champion, Becky Lynch.
While Rousey was able to accomplish numerous milestones during a short time in the WWE, like main eventing WrestleMania for the first time, it is now time for her to come back to make more history. There are still more titles for Rousey to cling on too, like the Women’s Tag Team Titles, and the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which also means that there are more epic storylines in the work for her. Rousey entering the Women’s Royal Rumble match in the number 30 spot will be a prominent way for her to transition back into in-ring competition.
After discussing who we each thought would enter first and last in the Royal Rumble match, I then went on to inquire:
Who do you think is going to win the Women’s Royal Rumble?
Amelia: Shayna Baszler is as close to a lock in to win the match as it’s possible to be. The only seed of doubt is that if Ronda Rousey enters it, she wins it. I don’t expect her to, though, so for me, Shayna Baszler.
Dorathy: This can be a very hard thing to predict. I keep going back and forth on two women: Shayna Baszler or Ronda Rousey. Both superstars could set up a very strong WrestleMania 36 program against Becky Lynch. Baszler, because of the heat brought forth between her and The Man during Survivor Series season; Rousey, because of their WrestleMania 35 past.
Many fans wanted to see Rousey and Lynch go at it one-on-one last year, so if Rousey manages to get into the Rumble and win it, this result would bring the WWE fans a match they’ve wanted for a while now: Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey … minus the Charlotte Flair factor. It’s the match we all wanted to see last year at WrestleMania, so the thought of it finally coming to fruition is a great opportunity for WWE to capitalize on.
Another idea, if the rumors are true about a Bayley vs. Sasha Banks match at WrestleMania, is Banks winning the Royal Rumble, which would really build up a beautiful program between these two ladies; once again, something the WWE didn’t press the button on in the past, but a story fans want to see properly laid out.
At the end of the day, the winner of this bout could go many ways.
Kyla: The wrestler who will win the Women’s Royal Rumble is Sasha Banks. Fueled partly by the rumors that have been stirring about Banks and Bayley facing off at WrestleMania 36, Banks winning the Royal Rumble match is a straight fire way to ensure that these best friends feud for the SmackDown Women’s title at WrestleMania.
Having Sasha win the Rumble also ensures that the WWE Universe doesn’t have to see yet another standard Sasha Banks backstab moment where she turns on Bayley for her own selfish needs. At least this time Sasha can let Bayley know from the beginning that she’s coming for the gold because she earned a shot at it fair and square.
Now that we have answers to the two most obvious questions pertaining to the Women’s Royal Rumble match, it’s time to look into how we feel about how well of a job the WWE has done in building up to the match. So as the moderator I questioned:
What is your opinion on how well the WWE is doing to build up to the Women’s Royal Rumble match? What do you like/dislike about what they are doing? What could they be doing to improve?
Amelia: There’s little to no build to the rumble this year, and it’s worrying. It isn’t a problem limited to the women’s division, but it’s especially noticeable when less than a quarter of the field is known with less than a week before the event. Unless NXT is given a particularly strong showing to continue on from Survivor Series, in numbers as well as the winner, the entire building up has been almost nonexistent.
Dorathy: Overall, the buildup to the Women’s Royal Rumble this year has been underwhelming, and overall, I feel the WWE has focused more on the men’s match this year than the women’s. With that said, there has been a brilliant story being told around Asuka vs. Becky Lynch for that night, so perhaps that is the reason why there has been less focus on the Women’s Royal Rumble during WWE television.
Or, it could really be that the WWE plans on throwing fans for a loop when it comes to the Women’s Royal Rumble. If they can get Ronda Rousey out of retirement for the road to WrestleMania, then perhaps they are downplaying the bout, to create that shock factor once the Baddest Woman on the Planet’s music hits, and she takes the Royal Rumble like it’s cake.
Kyla: WWE could have done a better job of building up to the Women’s Royal Rumble match. While we have seen several women make their declaration into the match, neither Raw or SmackDown has given this match build up much time in the limelight.
With the Royal Rumble this Sunday, there have only been seven women in total who have declared themselves as a part of the Royal Rumble match. Only seven! Meanwhile, the WWE Universe knows of 27 men who have declared their entrance into the Men’s Royal Rumble match. The only reason why there are three men short is to leave room for the surprise entrances.
To make matters worse, the WWE Universe has found out about some of the female entrances into the Royal Rumble match via Twitter and less watched television platforms like The Bump. Announcements like this prove that the Women’s Royal Rumble match is being perceived as less of an importance to that of the men’s match.
Overall the WWE could have done a better job of making the women’s match up have more priority by at least revealing half of the participants of the match on Raw and SmackDown respectively.
So, after getting the basic questions out of the way, it only seemed right to dive deeper into what we expected to happen during this match. The next question discussed during our conversation was:
What is the number one must happen moment for you in the Women’s Royal Rumble match?
Amelia: Bayley will lose the SmackDown Women’s Championship to Lacey Evans earlier on in the night, so Bayley entering the match at around number 26 and eliminating Sasha Banks would kick start their inevitable feud, finally.
Dorathy: I always enjoy the surprise entrants. Not just NXT superstars, but legends that the WWE Universe hasn’t seen for a while. I’m thinking a Bella Twin will show up; Melina; or a performer that has just signed with the WWE, but has yet to show up on NXT programming (i.e. Scarlett Bordeaux).
Kyla: A moment that needs to happen in the Women’s Royal Rumble match is seeing Natalya win the match. Natalya is a soon to be legend and Hall of Famer, following right in her father, Jim Neidhart, footsteps. With that being said, it’s safe to say that Natalya is an underrated athlete and she generally never receives all the attention that she rightfully deserves.
The Queen of Harts has been wrestling for two decades, with the majority of her time being spent in the WWE, yet she has only held both the Diva’s Championship and the SmackDown Women’s Championship one time each.
Two titles in two decades are better than none, however, it is a little absurd when we compare these two title reigns to an individual like Charlotte Flair who has held a solid ten title reigns. Picking up a win at the Royal Rumble could do wonders for Natalya’s career as she can potentially go on to wrestle for the Raw Women’s Championship (which is the one single’s title that she has yet to capture) at WrestleMania.
While on the subject of Royal Rumble moments, taking a look at past Royal Rumble moments didn’t seem too shabby of an idea, therefore I posed the question:
Recall the best Royal Rumble event/match up in history and explain why it was the best. How can this year‘s match top that moment?
Amelia: The inaugural women’s rumble was superb. The number of nostalgia entries, making up for a sorely depleted women’s roster (at the time) marked a real sense of occasion. I want to see another event with maybe three to five nostalgia pop entrants like Lita, Michelle McCool, and AJ Lee for example.
Dorathy: With only two Women’s Royal Rumbles under our belts, I’d have to say a moment that tugged at me was last year when Becky Lynch took (an injured) Lana’s spot in the match. She had lost her opportunity at the SmackDown Women’s title when Asuka defeated her, and watching her fight her way into the match, only to win it, was an incredible storytelling moment.
Kyla: The most noteworthy Royal Rumble moment in WWE history has to be when Chyna entered the Royal Rumble match in the number 30 spot back in 1999.
This was back when WWE operated under the name WWF and also during a time when most female wrestlers were considered divas (not to mention way before the Women’s Royal Rumble match even existed).
This moment is the most unsurpassed in WWE because it was the first time ever in Royal Rumble history that a woman entered the match and in the coveted number thirty spot at that! If this huge, history-making moment wasn’t enough, Chyna also held her own in the ring and even managed to eliminate The World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry, before she was eliminated by the current Hall of Famer, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
After taking a look into past Royal Rumble moments, it only seemed right to look towards the future at potential history-making moments. So I asked, what will happen in the Women’s Royal Rumble match that will shock you?
Amelia: This year will see the return of either AJ Lee or Paige. AJ is much more plausible now that WWE has begun to build bridges with CM Punk, and the rumors around Paige’s potential medical clearance refuse to go away. If either returns the crowd will erupt.
Dorathy: Despite the fact that I’ve already written about this already, so in some ways I’m expecting it, a Rousey return at the Rumble would still surprise me. Another thing I would find shocking is if an up-and-comer ended up winning (i.e. Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Sonya DeVille). I’d be (pleasantly) surprised, but shocked out of my mind.
Kyla: Seeing Charlotte Flair get eliminated early on in the Royal Rumble would definitely be a jaw-dropping moment. Flair is an extremely talented wrestler and is also the daughter to the 16 times World Champion Ric Flair.
Not only does Charlotte have to carry on her own father’s massive legacy, but she is also working obdurately to create her own, as she tries to stray away from just being Ric Flair’s daughter. While it seems as though The Queen is doing a great job of building a legacy of her own, being one of the first wrestlers eliminated in the Royal Rumble match would not add much to her list of career accolades, and it would also be a very shocking moment in the match.
The Women’s Royal Rumble match was introduced in 2017, which was only three short years ago. This leads to thoughts on women’s placement at the Royal Rumble prior to the introduction of their matchup. So the next question that was discussed in the roundtable is as follows:
Prior to the introduction of the Women’s Royal Rumble match, we have seen instances of women competing in the men’s match. Explain why this should or should not happen again?
Amelia: Women entering the Men’s Royal Rumble happens once every few years, and personally I like it. Past competitors in the Men’s event such as Chyna, Kharma, and Nia Jax are all believable in their ability to match the larger men for strength, but more to the point, we see men smaller than women like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair being taken seriously in the Royal Rumble all the time, so there’s no reason for it to be only restricted to the “larger” women.
Dorathy: Honestly, I’m not completely against a woman entering the Men’s Royal Rumble (or vice versa), if it was signaled by a compelling storyline. Prior to the Women’s Royal Rumble, female superstars entering the match kind of made sense as they didn’t have a Royal Rumble of their own to compete in to get to that WrestleMania main event; plus, the women chosen to go into the match were able to hold their own in the bout, which not only made the move shocking and unexpected but entertaining, as well as history-making.
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Kyla: While there have been women who have entered the Men’s Royal Rumble in the past, there doesn’t seem to be a need for this anymore. Women have entered the Men’s Royal Rumble match in the past to make a statement that the women can do everything that the men wrestlers can do if not better.
The addition of the Women’s Royal Rumble match shows that this statement was finally heard loud and clear as women now have their own Royal Rumble match to compete in to show that they are worthy enough to be on top in their own division. It may have taken 29 years, and 29 Royal Rumbles to get the message across, however, the WWE is finally on the right track when it comes to the women’s division.
This is why there is no need to see more women enter the men’s match as it would do nothing for the match or the female wrestler’s career. It would be a stronger benefit for these wrestlers to enter the women’s Royal Rumble match to have a chance to better their careers, by potentially earning a Women’s Championship opportunity at WrestleMania.
Finally to round out this table discussion I proposed:
Name a surprise entrance/Hall of Famer/Legend for the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
Amelia: My heart says Paige, as mentioned before. My head says Molly Holly, for reasons I have no explanation for.
Dorathy: There’s two really, although I have a feeling that we won’t get to see them both. First and foremost, I’d love to see Trish Stratus in the match, although she’s already competed in a Royal Rumble, and since SummerSlam was her farewell match, I don’t think it would happen. Why? Well, she’s hands-down one of my favorite superstars of all time, and it is always so entertaining to watch her perform. I’d also love to see Beth Phoenix because she’s a favorite and has such a presence in the ring.
Kyla: A surprise entrance, who also deserves to make it into the WWE Hall of Fame, is Victoria. Victoria has always played the role of a kick-butt female wrestler not afraid to show her crazy side when needed. The WWE Universe has not seen anything from Victoria since January 2009. This hardcore, two-time Women’s Champion has battled the likes of WWE Hall of Famers Lita, Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, and Trish Stratus.
Seeing a return from Victoria would be a surprise entrance for the entire WWE Universe, not to mention a great way to bring this soon to be a Hall of Famer back into the WWE storyline.