WWE Royal Rumble 2022 is around the corner. This PPV is going to be important considering it’s going to pave the path for WrestleMania 38.
Even though WWE is yet to announce the entire card, most of the championship matches have been announced. The company will probably announce more matches as the event comes closer to the scheduled date.
WWE Royal Rumble 2022 match card and predictions
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Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) vs Seth Rollins
The Drip God arrived on SmackDown to challenge The Tribal Chief. It’s unknown exactly why WWE created this storyline, but it’s possible WWE wanted to avoid a Reigns vs Lesnar at Royal Rumble.
There’s a higher chance of Reigns walking away from the match as the winner. It doesn’t seem likely that a Superstar working under Raw will walk away with the WWE Universal Championship.
Brock Lesnar (WWE Champion) vs Bobby Lashley
The Beast defeated Big E in a Fatal 5-Way to become the new WWE Champion. Following that, Lashley defeated Kevin Owens, Big E, and Seth Rollins to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.
Lesnar vs Lashley has been a dream match for a significant portion of the WWE Universe. Therefore, when WWE finally booked this, the fans went berserk.
At this point, it seems Brock Lesnar will remain the WWE Champion following the match at Royal Rumble 2022. One of the reasons being WWE is planning a huge Lesnar vs Reigns (champion vs champion) for WrestleMania 38.
Becky Lynch (Raw Women’s Champion) vs Doudrop
Doudrop defeated Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair in a triple threat match to become the #1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship.
Essentially, Doudrop could become the new champion following the event since she has the strength and power to defeat Becky Lynch.
Moreover, the women’s division could possibly do with a new champion since there are several talents on the roster who are capable of being champions.
Edge & Beth Phoenix vs The Miz & Maryse
The GRIT Couple will take on The IT Couple at Royal Rumble. Miz and Edge returned on the same night and started a feud. Maryse returned with The Miz while Phoenix returned a few shows later during a match between Miz and Edge.
There’s a higher chance that Phoenix and Edge will walk away from the match as the winners. One of the reasons being that Phoenix returned to the company after a long time. Therefore, the fans have responded rather well to her return and her being on the winning team could build the storyline further.
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Not all the participants for the 30-man match have been announced. So far the participants announced are Kevin Owens, Big E, AJ Styles, Damian Priest, Johnny Knoxville, Sami Zayn, Kofi Kingston, Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, Sheamus, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, and Austin Theory.
It’s hard to predict who will win the match. It could be Kevin Owens, Big E, or Austin Theory. Whoever wins will get the chance to challenge any champion of choice at WrestleMania 38. There’s a better chance of Big E winning it and then challenging for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
The company has announced quite a few names for the 30-woman Royal Rumble match. Some of them are former WWE Divas Champions and their return is going to be extremely legendary.
Read More: WWE Legend Lita Embarrasses Charlotte Flair, Calls Her Tonya Harding on SmackDown
The names announced so far are the following:
Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Carmella, Queen Zelina, Lita, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Mickie James, Tamina, Shayna Baszler, Summer Rae, Aliyah, and Shotzi.
It’s possible that Charlotte Flair stays in the match for quite a while. She may not win, but if she does, she’ll get to choose her own opponent for WrestleMania 38.
Royal Rumble rumours
There is no WWE PPV without the actual element of surprise. While WWE has announced some of the legends who will be a part of the event, there could be other names that will return as a surprise for the fans.
Read More: Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins Net Worth 2022: Which WWE Superstar is Richer?
Apart from surprise returns, PPVs have surprise matches or segments as well.
Alpha Academy (WWE Raw Tag Team Champions) vs RK-Bro
Alpha Academy defeated RK-Bro on WWE Raw to become the new WWE Raw Tag Team Champions. However, Orton and Riddle came around the next show seeking their revenge. So far, the match hasn’t been made official. If all works out, Alpha Academy and RK-Bro could have a match.
Now, it doesn’t seem like Orton and Riddle will be able to redeem themselves. One of the reasons being that it’s possible after the success of RK-Bro, WWE is looking to break up the team and send them on a singles’ journey.
Therefore, the only way to make that happen is to ensure that the team does not become champions again.
Paul Heyman will cost Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship
After Roman Reigns fired Heyman as his Special Counsel, he aligned with Brock Lesnar. Following that on WWE SmackDown, Lesnar revealed that Heyman was always loyal to Reigns and The Beast was just playing mind games with The Tribal Chief.
In fact, Heyman also said he had never been disloyal to Reignd since the time they started working together.
Now, if the segment is watched carefully, it seems Heyman is still on Reigns’ side. Why?
Here’s what happened. Heyman provided a distraction which allowed Reigns to Superman Punch Lesnar.
It’s possible that Heyman and Reigns realized the mind games Lesnar is playing. Therefore, they planned to show Lesnar they’ve fallen apart and The Wise Man is on Lesnar’s side. They worked out this plan to ensure Lesnar is out of the picture and Reigns doesn’t have to face him at all.
Read More: Paul Heyman is Fooling Brock Lesnar, Here’s Why He’s Still Roman Reigns’ Special Counsel
At Royal Rumble 2022, Heyman will cost Lesnar the title. As a result, Lesnar will not be able to compete in the champion vs champion match at WWE WrestleMania 38.
Where to watch Royal Rumble 2022?
Fans in the United States of America can watch the show on Peacock. It’s WWE’s official streaming partner for all shows and PPVs. The platform offers two tiers (Premium and Premium Plus Peacock) for the event. Even though there is a free tier, Royal Rumble will not be available on that tier.
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The show begins at 8pm ET. The following are the times for other zones.
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- 5 PM PT
- 7 PM CT
- 1 AM GMT (January 30)
- 12 PM AEDT (January 30)
The show is scheduled for 29th January, 2022.
