The road to WrestleMania is upon us and on Saturday, the 2023 Royal Rumble is going down. Here is what I think will happen in the undercard matches and also a match or two that might be added to the card.
Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match- Bray Wyatt vs LA Knight
This one isn’t hard to call, but I think don’t think that this match will be just a match with the lights down. I can see this being some type of cinematic match that Bray has done in the past.
At this point, I would be surprised if WWE themselves actually knew what this match was. My expectations for it isn’t very high and I don’t think that this match will be looked at in eleven months for a match of the year vote.
What I can see this match being is a storyline driven experience that no matter what they outcome is, neither man is hurt by the result. If Bray wins, I think that it would be expected for him to win.
If LA Knight wins, I think that there will be a reason, like Bray getting attacked by some members of his family or something like that.
I am picking Bray Wyatt to win but I don’t think that it is a sure thing that he will. Look for a major development in the Bray Wyatt return storyline like the person behind Uncle Howdy being revealed or another family member making their debut.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Raw Women’s Championship- Bianca Belair vs Alexa Bliss
The winner of this match is obvious. There is no way that Alexa Bliss is beating the MVP of the women’s division from last year, two months before WrestleMania.
That being said, this will be a good match for Bianca to have before her WrestleMania match.
I think that we can look for another development in the Alexa/Bray Wyatt story that they seem to have going on. There isn’t much to talk about here because I think that this feud has been less about the champion and has just been a way to keep Bianca on television week to week while whatever is happening with Alexa, plays out.
What that may be? We will have to wait and see, but I can see a finish like Alexa goes crazy on Bianca which causes the match to be thrown out somehow. This could lead to another match between the two at whatever event they have in February.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship- Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens
This is the match that I think will steal the show. Roman and Owens work well together and this is a match that hasn’t been seen since Roman defeated Owen three or four times in a row, two years ago.
While I think that this match is going to go exactly how we think it will go, I think that there is a small chance that something might happen that will get one of those titles off of Roman.
If I had to put a number on it, I think that there is a 90% chance that Roman wins this match. The 10% is reserved for the small chance that somehow, Sami messes something up and Owens winds up winning.
It is still stupid that Roman has two world titles but I think that Triple H will do something about it soon in order for Monday nights to have a fighting chance at being interesting again.
Logic tells me that Roman is going to WrestleMania with both of those titles, but WWE has a chance to make the path to that main event very interesting.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Other Matches
I have really enjoyed the more compact premium live events that WWE has been doing since Triple H has been in charge. It is very refreshing to know that if a match needs time to tell a story, that it doesn’t have to rush to do it.
That being said, I think that there might be room for one or two more matches. I know that Smackdown is the last show before Royal Rumble, but I think that WWE could announce one or more of these matches before the event.
Something for Charlotte to do. She recently came back and just like Ronda Rousey, she don’t have many challengers on Smackdown. I am a fan of the “if there isn’t a logical match, then don’t force it” mentality but Charlotte could’ve stayed gone for this.
I think that they might give her a quick exhibition match against someone like Sonya Deville or Xia Li could happen.
Rey Mysterio vs Karion Kross– After Royal Rumble, I can see WWE strapping the rocket to the Rey vs Dominik storyline. Kross will need to move on to something else after they have whatever match that they will have.
Unless they are going to put it on hold for a while, which I doubt, they have to face each other soon and it might happen at Royal Rumble. Don’t look for Rey to win if they do have this match but also, don’t hold your breath on this match happening.
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