WWE Royal Rumble 2023 is two weeks from now, and the WWE has made four matches official for this “premium live event”. Obviously, WWE will stick to tradition by hosting men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches this year. They also made official the following matchups: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title and Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Since there were seven matches on last year’s Royal Rumble card, there will likely be seven matches added to this PPV in the upcoming weeks.
The following will provide some 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]
Seth Rollins will win the Royal Rumble because he never got his WrestleMania main event world title match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 32 due to his MCL knee injury that year. He conveniently teased that same MCL knee injury after losing to Theory in their U.S. Title match on Raw last week. Rollins has never lost to Reigns in world title PPV matches, and he still never got his rematch after defeating him via disqualification at last year’s Royal Rumble PPV. There’s no way Reigns can end his reign without Rollins getting that well-deserved rematch.
Now that Rollins is on this massive babyface run, he can capitalize on his turn with a second Royal Rumble victory that leads him to crushing Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania dreams and redesigning, rebuilding, and reclaiming his first WrestleMania main event in his career.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Women’s Royal Rumble [Battle Royal]
Bayley will win the Royal Rumble because she is the only Horsewoman who has not yet main evented WrestleMania and she needs this win to redeem her shortcomings in 2022 as the leader of Damage CTRL. Many naysayers may say that Bayley already squandered two title shots and does not need to battle Belair again. However, Belair has never pinned Bayley since she returned, and she herself said that she wants to beat all the Horsewomen at ‘Mania. She has already pinned Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch at the past two ‘Manias but she has not yet pinned Bayley.
Belair won a Ladder Match at Extreme Rules and a Last Women’s Standing Match at Crown Jewel. Meanwhile, Bayley has pinned Belair on two separate occasions: Clash at the Castle 2022 in their six-women tag match and one-on-one on the episode of October 24, 2022 episode of WWE Raw in the main event. Despite squandering two title shots, she and Belair are technically at two matches a piece and can still settle the score for their feud at ‘Mania. There’s no way Belair can end her reign without Bayley getting that well-deserved rematch.
Now that Bayley is leading a faction as Raw’s top heel, she can settle her unfinished business with Belair at ‘Mania in a third and final title match by crushing Becky Lynch’s WrestleMania dreams and winning her first Royal Rumble in her career.
Prediction: Bayley
Karrion Kross vs. Rey Mysterio [Grudge Match]
Karrion Kross will defeat Rey Mysterio because he needs to avenge Mysterio for taking away his spot in the number one contender’s match for the Intercontinental Title on the October 14, 2022, episode of WWE SmackDown. Kross was taken out of that number one contender’s match due to Drew McIntyre’s attack in the parking lot. Kross needs to get past Mysterio in order to establish his spot as the number one contender for the IC Title and hopefully get his rubber match against McIntyre for the belt at ‘Mania once McIntyre dethrones GUNTHER.
Prediction: Karrion Kross
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley [Rubber Match]
Brock Lesnar will defeat Bobby Lashley definitively in what seems to be the end of a trilogy because he did not defeat Lashley cleanly at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia and he needs redemption from last year’s Royal Rumble, where he lost the WWE Championship to Lashley due to nefarious interference from Roman Reigns. Lesnar also needs this victory to continue his momentum toward his rumored match with GUNTHER at ‘Mania. It seems that Lashley is having trouble with Adam Pearce at the moment, so that may play a factor here and lead to a Hurt Business reunion.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight [Pitch Black Match]
Bray Wyatt will defeat LA Knight in this special Pitch Black Match because it is his first PPV match since returning to the WWE and he needs the momentum to solidify his new gimmick. Uncle Howdy may be fully introduced in this match. It has been rumored to be Bo Dallas, which would make a lot of sense since he is Wyatt’s real-life brother. LA Knight was clearly put in this spot as a utility guy who can put over the storyline with his mic abilities, but this feud has still been underwhelming as a whole. Hopefully, the storyline picks up on the road to WrestleMania.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt
Edge vs. Demon Finn Balor [Hell in a Cell Match]
Demon Finn Balor will defeat Edge in this rumored Hell in a Cell Match because he is unleashing the demon and the demon should not lose anymore, especially after that fiasco at Extreme Rules 2021 against Roman Reigns. It is understandable that Edge should get a win back from losing to Balor in their “I Quit Match” at Extreme Rules 2022 and avenge Judgment Day for what they did to Beth Phoenix. However, if the rumors about Balor’s big push are true, he needs to end this feud inside the cell with a definitive win over the Hall of Famer. There’s no question about it.
Prediction: Demon Finn Balor
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss [Raw Women’s Championship: House of Horrors Match]
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: Special Guest Referee Sami Zayn]
Roman Reigns will retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Kevin Owens with Sami Zayn as the special guest referee because Reigns will want to see where Zayn’s loyalty lies and somehow manipulate Zayn into ruining Owens’ chances of winning the title match here. Reigns will only lose that prestigious title at WrestleMania, not here. 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 rumored to eventually reunite with Sami Zayn to dethrone the Usos at WrestleMania 39.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
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