One of the most exciting WWE events of the year is the annual Royal Rumble that takes place this Sunday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston. This event kicks off the road to WrestleMania with the winner of both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumbles getting the opportunity to challenge for a belt on the sport’s biggest stage in April.
Three of the four major championships will be on the line. Will there be new champions or will the champs remain so after the PPV? I have a breakdown and a pick for each of the title fights as well as the two Royal Rumbles.
‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt (C) vs Daniel Bryan
After winning the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel, Wyatt defended his title once already against Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series. The two will play back this bout at the Royal Rumble in a strap match where the wrestlers will be tethered to each other and will need to touch all four ring posts to win.
The Fiend is much bigger than Bryan and should have a significant advantage in a strap match. His dual characters with “The Fiend” and “Firefly Fun House” are getting a lot of push from the WWE brass and I can’t see them killing the momentum, so I like Bray Wyatt to remain champion.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt (-600)
Universal Championship - 2020 WWE Royal RumbleBray Wyatt -600
Daniel Bryan +350
Odds as of Jan. 22 at Bovada
Becky Lynch (C) vs Asuka
Asuka, the former SmackDown women’s champion, has a chance to claim the Raw women’s championship against “The Man” Becky Lynch. The Japanese wrestler has already scored a few victories over Lynch and appears to have the mental edge.
Although Lynch has never secured a win over the Empress of Tomorrow, I think she will overcome that mountain at Royal Rumble. Asuka is already a tag-team titleholder and I find it hard to see her having a world championship as well.
Prediction: Becky Lynch (-290)
Raw Women’s Championship - 2020 WWE Royal Rumble
Becky Lynch -290
Asuka +190
Odds as of Jan. 22 at Bovada
Bayley (C) vs Lacey Evans
All the momentum is behind the former U.S. marine, Evans, heading into her SmackDown women’s championship match with Bayley. The champion and Sasha Banks have really played up the heel role by attacking Evans and her daughter, leaving fans begging for Evans to become the champion.
Evans burst onto the scene in 2019, getting into a feud with Becky Lynch shortly after WrestleMania. She and Natalya also became the first female wrestlers to wrestle in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel in October. Her stock couldn’t be any higher and having already earned a couple of wins over Bayley, I think the best bet is on the underdog Lacey Evans for this match.
Prediction: Lacey Evans (+150)
SmackDown Women’s Championship - 2020 WWE Royal Rumble
Bayley -200
Lacey Evans +150
Odds as of Jan. 22 at Bovada
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
It is a little surprising to see Brock Lesnar second on the oddsboard at +200 as he is the first entrant into the Rumble and he isn’t exactly well-known for extended matches. There has been a recent push on Drew McIntyre since he returned to action in late October. Seeing the Scottish Psychopath third on the oddsboard suggests there’s a good chance he punches his ticket to WrestleMania.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre (+450)
2020 WWE Men’s Royal Rumble
Roman Reigns -200
Brock Lesnar +200
Drew McIntyre +450
Cain Velasquez +550
CM Punk +600
Edge +750
Kevin Owens +900
Bray Wyatt +1500
Daniel Bryan +1800
Finn Balor +1800
Keith Lee +1800
Aleister Black +2300
Braun Strowman+2500
John Cena +2500
Tyson Fury +2500
AJ Styles +3300
Ricochet +3500
Tommaso Ciampa +3500
Randy Orton +4000
Samoa Joe +4000
Seth Rollins +4000
Andrade +4500
Big E +4500
The Rock +4500
Kofi Kingston +5000
Lars Sullivan +5000
Matt Riddle +5000
Adam Cole +5000
Rey Mysterio +5000
Rusev +5000
The Miz +5000
Baron Corbin +7000
Buddy Murphy +7000
Conor McGregor+7000
Elias +7000
Erick Rowan +7000
Humberto Carrillo+7000
Johnny Gargano+7000
Mustafa Ali +7000
The Undertaker +7000
Triple H +7000
Velveteen Dream+7000
Walter +7000
Akam +10000
Bobby Lashley +10000
Cedric Alexander+10000
Cesaro +10000
Dolph Ziggler +10000
Jeff Hardy +10000
Pete Dunne +10000
Odds as of Jan. 22 at Bovada
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
I think there are two good betting options for the women’s Royal Rumble match. In what has flown under the radar a little bit with other matches getting more eyes, the rumble could have a surprising return of Ronda Rousey, who hasn’t been in action since WrestleMania last year. Rousey had the longest reign as the Raw women’s champion, her name has been appearing in the public more often recently and what a perfect time to return to the place where she made her debut two years ago. At +1000 she is providing tremendous value.
The second person I like to win the women’s rumble is Charlotte Flair at +200. Daughter of Hall of Famer Ric Flair, The Queen has accomplished almost everything there is to do in the wrestling world, except win the Royal Rumble. If she was able to win this year, she would earn a shot at her 11th world championship – just five shy of her old man.
Prediction: Charlotte Flair (+200) or Ronda Rousey (+1000)
2020 WWE Women’s Royal Rumble
Shayna Baszler -300
Charlotte Flair +200
Sasha Banks +800
Ronda Rousey +1000
Rhea Ripley +1500
Lacey Evans +2000
Kairi Sane +2300
Becky Lynch +3000
Nikki Cross +3000
Alexa Bliss +3500
Liv Morgan +3500
Nia Jax +3500
AJ Lee +4000
Ruby Riott +4000
Asuka +4500
Bayley +4500
Carmella +4500
Mandy Rose +4500
Paige +4500
Sonya Deville +5500
Io Shirai +5500
Candice LeRae +6500
Dana Brooks +6500
Odds as of Jan. 22 at Bovada
