WWE Royal Rumble 2023 is two months from now, and the WWE has not made any matches official for this “premium live event” yet. Nonetheless, WWE will evidently stick to tradition by hosting the Royal Rumble matches this year. Since there were seven matches on last year’s year’s Royal Rumble card, there will likely be seven matches added to this PPV in the upcoming weeks.
The following will provide some very early match card predictions for what should be one of the most exciting PPVs of the year: WWE Royal Rumble 2023.
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 is scheduled to take place on January 28, 2023, live on Peacock. Here are some very early match card predictions.
Men’s Royal Rumble [Battle Royal]
The Rock will win the Royal Rumble because WrestleMania 39 is in Hollywood of all places this year and he already planted the seeds for his inevitable WrestleMania feud against Roman Reigns by helping him win the Royal Rumble eight years ago at Royal Rumble 2015. It was at that moment when The Bloodline was established, but tribal chief hood is still up for grabs. In order for Reigns to complete his storyline as the “tribal chief,’ he must defeat The Rock at Mania 39 to solidify his character. Once he has officially done that, he can lose the title at Mania 40 next year.
Prediction: The Rock
Women’s Royal Rumble [Battle Royal]
Rhea Ripley will win the Royal Rumble because she is the only top heel on Raw who never got her earned title shot from WWE MITB 2022, and she already planted the seeds for her inevitable WrestleMania feud against Bianca Belair when she and Belair were the final two in the Women’s Rumble in 2021. The recent stare-down between Ripley and Lynch indicated that they will be the final two in the Rumble and Ripley will eliminate a former Rumble winner to win the Rumble. As for the stare-down between Ripley and Belair, that indicated the WrestleMania title match.
Prediction: Rhea Ripley
Austin Theory (c) vs. Seth Rollins [U.S. Title]
Seth Rollins will win back the U.S. Title from Austin Theory because he needs to complete his feud with Cody Rhodes at Mania with that title on the line. The only way fans can remain invested in the fourth match between these two is if they raise the stakes with a title on the line, especially a title that has eluded Rhodes’ career. As for Theory, he has to lose the title before Mania so that he can have that big rumored match against all-timer John Cena. Since Cena can’t really win the U.S. Title due to his Hollywood schedule, it would not make sense for him to battle Theory for the belt.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Gunther (c) vs. Braun Strowman (w/Ricochet) [Intercontinental Title]
Gunther will retain the Intercontinental Title against Braun Strowman after he runs through World Cup Winner Ricochet because Gunther needs to continue his dominance as the champ on the road to Mania and Strowman ruined any chances of becoming champion anytime soon after his recent unprofessional rant on Twitter regarding indie wrestlers. Gunther will likely lose his title to either Sheamus or Drew McIntyre at Mania instead because Sheamus needs his unfinished babyface payoff against Gunther and McIntyre needs his consolation prize from losing to Roman Reigns.
Prediction: Gunther
Ronda Rousey (c) (w/Shayna Baszler) vs. Raquel Rodriguez (w/Shotzi Blackheart) [SmackDown Women’s Title]
Raquel Rodriguez will dethrone Ronda Rousey in a swerve because Rodriguez got the rub from Rousey when they shook hands after her debut match on SmackDown. Rousey is rumored to hold the SmackDown Women’s Title at Mania, and it is very likely she capitalizes on Rodriguez’s injured arm to solidify the storyline angle and retain the title. Despite all of that on the road to Rodriguez’s first main roster PPV title match, she still has the best story to dethrone Rousey and can be a breath of fresh air in this depleted division before Charlotte returns for her rematch clause.
Prediction: Raquel Rodriguez
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss [Raw Women’s Title]
Bianca Belair will retain the title against Alexa Bliss because Belair merely needs a filler feud before she goes to Mania to defend her title and Alexa Bliss is in this spot to kickstart her heel turn against a top babyface. Unlike Bayley and Ripley, Bliss is the only other prospective heel who can afford a loss to Belair. Bliss just needs a strong showing that showcases her heel-like tactics and makes clear to the fans that her character transformation is forthcoming. Bliss will likely battle her tag partner, Asuka, at Mania to redeem herself with a victory that solidifies her heel turn.
Prediction: Bianca Belair
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens [Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Hell in a Cell]
Roman Reigns will retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Kevin Owens inside Hell in a Cell because Reigns will only lose that prestigious title and end his historic reign at the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania, and Kevin Owens has not only lost too many times to Reigns to regain any credibility as the one to dethrone him but he is also already planned to eventually reunite with Sami Zayn to dethrone the Usos at WrestleMania 39. The seeds have been planted for that storyline quite nicely, so it would make no sense to book a title change here.
Since there was a callback to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s Battleground 2016 match at WWE Survivor Series War Games 2022, it will be interesting to see if there is a callback to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s HIAC 2017 spot with Shane McMahon for this Hell in a Cell Match. Maybe Owens will try delivering a Frog Splash from the top of the cell to Roman Reigns, and Sami Zayn will save Reigns at the last minute to screw Owens again. This would lead to Reigns retaining nefariously as a means to planting more seeds in this story.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
If you would like more predictions like these from Mark Justice, stick with Daily DDT and subscribe to his new Youtube Channel by clicking here.