2019 WWE Royal Rumble Predictions For Every Match

The 2019 Royal Rumble takes place this weekend, and it marks one of WWE's most exciting pay-per-views of the year. Like last year, the event includes two over-the-top battle royale matches where the last person standing will get a title shot at Wrestlemania 35 in April. The titular Rumble matches themselves are always the highlight of the evening, and alongside the men's contest, the women will get their own Rumble match. With more entrants, there's an opportunity for more surprises, although at this point most of the Rumble entrants for each match have been announnced.

The Royal Rumble is coming to the WWE Network and to pay-per-view on Sunday, January 27. Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona will host the event, and it should be a good one, mainly because the two Royal Rumble matches are the driving force of the PPV. If you want to watch it for yourself, tune into the WWE Network this Sunday--the event starts at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT, but keep in mind that a Kickoff Show will begin airing two hours prior, and there are normally a couple matches on that show.

Every non-Rumble match on this card is a title match, and we're bound to see at least a couple of title changes, right? A wild Brock Lesnar appears to defend--and hopefully lose--his Universal Championship. If you've forgotten, the Universal Championship is the red one which shows up on TV four times a year. Additionally, there are two women's title matches that should be a blast to watch, especially the Smackdown bout as it's Becky Lynch vs. Asuka. Check out the match card below.

Royal Rumble 2019 match card:

• Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami (Cruiserweight Championship)
• The Bar (c) vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
• Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch (Smackdown Women's Championship)
• Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship)
• Rusev (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship)
• Women's Royal Rumble
• Men's Royal Rumble
• Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles (WWE Championship)
• Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Finn Balor (Universal Championship)

Obviously, this won't be the final card for the show, and the matches listed above may not appear in the order listed. You can see our predictions for the big event below--including Rumble picks from GameSpot's wrestling fans--and make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, January 27 for live coverage of the show and a review after it's all over.

This is a rivalry I've been lukewarm on, even though I love both of these competitors. Rusev got his recent push a little too late, as he had been over with the crowd forever before getting this title, and Nakamura keeps getting these great main event spots, but then brushed aside and forgotten about. While Smackdown has been pretty fantastic with its booking, heel Nakamura--which is AMAZING--has fallen by the wayside. He's not upper-midcard. He's main event. Get him back to the main event please.

Prediction: Rusev wins

Well, this will be your match of the evening, even though it will probably get overshadowed by something that isn't 205 Live-related. Time and time again, the cruiserweight matches have put on stellar performances during the WWE PPVs, and this one will be no different. If anything, it will be more chaotic, as there will be four competitors in the ring. As for the win, this one is going to Hideo Itami simply because he needs to be champion.

Prediction: Itami wins

It's weird for a WWE PPV and not see either The New Day or The Usos on the card. However, Smackdown's tag team division is in a bit of a transitional period, mainly because it's been The New Day vs. The Usos since the bland split. Considering my pick for the Royal Rumble winner, it's pretty obvious who I'm picking here. The Miz and McMahon are not going to win the tag team championships. It doesn't make sense, as The Bar are a fantastic, well-oiled machine, while Miz and McMahon are two people trapped in a storyline.

Prediction: The Bar wins

I'm about to do something I have NEVER done in one of these predictions pieces. I am predicting Becky Lynch will lose. Stay with me. Becky Lynch is the hottest thing in wrestling right now--sorry The Elite. However, in order to make my Royal Rumble prediction work--which you'll read about later--Lynch needs to lose here, unless WWE has no problem having a Champion vs. Champion match at Wrestlemania, which just doesn't seem likely. So, I'm sad to announce, that Asuka will win, even though I'm a huge fan of hers.

Prediction: Asuka wins

Hey, Sasha Banks is finally back in the spotlight. Sadly, it's in a match I find to be unwinnable for her, as Rousey is being booked as an unstoppable force. As much as I love seeing Banks in the main event picture--where she belongs--I don't see her winning the title at the Rumble. Hopefully, after the Wrestlemania dust has settled, Banks can move back up into the spotlight.

Prediction: Rousey wins

Vince McMahon used his evil powers to unlock the "new" AJ Styles, who will kick you in the family jewels. He'll be facing a man who did that very thing to him, the "new" Daniel Bryan. While the new era of WWE stated there wouldn't be title rematches, there are a couple on the card here--including this one. There will be quite a bit of low blows during this match when the ref's back is turned, without a doubt. However, at the end of the match, Bryan's carbon footprint will knock out Styles. I'm calling Bryan's "Yes Kicks" the "Carbon Footprint" from now on.

Prediction: Bryan wins

Why is Brock Lesnar still champion? Why didn't WWE give the title to someone else when Roman Reigns vacated it? Well, Balor gets his shot at the title, finally, and I am DYING to see a fighting champ again. Someone who shows up every week. Someone who defends the title at PPVs. Lesnar's reign as champ has stained the Universal Championship. It's a meaningless title. If WWE cares about it, they'll give it to Balor and say "bye bye" to Lesnar for good.

Prediction: Balor wins--even though we all know WWE will book Lesnar to win because Creative hates us.

The Miz

Understandably, The Miz is already involved in a storyline with Shane McMahon trying to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championships, but he's destined for bigger and better things. And yes, that means headlining Wrestlemania again, but this time around, the people (smarks) will actually want to see it. Sure, the door to their rivalry is seemingly closed, but since Daniel Bryan has gone heel and the Miz has essentially turned face, it could bring something new to this battle between the two. More importantly, the Miz needs to be in the main event picture. He's more than earned it. Sure, he's not confirmed to even be in the match, but if I didn't pick him, I'd probably do something completely improbable and pick Kenny Omega, Joey Ryan, or someone else that has no chance of even showing up, let alone winning.

--Mat Elfring

Seth Rollins

I hate to be the boring one here. I would love nothing more than for The Miz to win the Rumble as he certainly deserves it. As many people as WWE tries to push to the top, it's hard to think of a more entertaining male star of the last several years than Miz and seeing him and Daniel Bryan main event WrestleMania would be a delight. That said, I'm going with Seth Rollins. We all want Finn Balor to beat Brock Lesnar and send the beast away once and for all at the Rumble, but that's not going to happen. Instead, Seth will win the Rumble and the Kingslayer will become the Beastslayer, win the title, and probably feud with Dean Ambrose some more. While Rollins is deserving and will certainly work his heart out in the eventual match against Lesnar, there's something about it that's just not exciting. That's not Seth's fault, though. That falls on the shoulders of Lesnar. Every time he comes back and dominates the entire roster, Raw gets more dismal and less interesting. One of these times, maybe he'll go away, and it'll stick.

--Chris E. Hayner

Becky Lynch

Get ready for some leaps in logic because--as always--I'm picking Becky Lynch to win. Even without Lynch, Smackdown's women's division is fine. There are enough top stars there to keep moving fine. However, Raw needs something--anything--to make it less of "the Ronda Rousey show." We're all still dying to see Rousey vs. Lynch, and the easiest way to get there is to have Lynch win the Rumble, and chose to fight Rousey at Wrestlemania. If WWE is going to start listening to fans, this is the way to go, as long as you completely forget that Lynch is fighting Asuka for the Smackdown Women's Championship. The time to cash in on Lynch's popularity is right now, WWE. Let's aim for the fences.

--Mat Elfring

Becky Lynch

If this hasn't all been building to Becky and Ronda in the main event of WrestleMania, then the last few months are a waste of everyone's time. Becky is, hands down, the most over star WWE has. Ronda is the unstoppable force who, truthfully, still needs to be carried to a great match. That's not a knock against her, as she's still green as grass. It's been less than a year since Rousey had her first professional wrestling match, and in that time most of her bouts have been short and dominating victories. If WWE wants Ronda to main event WrestleMania, there's nobody better suited to be that opponent than The Man, herself. And this year, the Rumble winner needs to leave Mania with the belt.

--Chris E. Hayner