Two title matches airing on WWE Royal Rumble pre-show

[cero2k]

Source: f4wonline.com

WWE has confirmed two title matches for Sunday's Royal Rumble pre-show.

On SmackDown's go-home show for the PPV, it was announced that Rusev's United States Championship defense against Shinsuke Nakamura will be airing on the Royal Rumble pre-show. Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy will also defend his title against Kalisto, Akira Tozawa, and Hideo Itami in a fatal four-way match on the pre-show.

Both matches had already been announced for the Royal Rumble before being confirmed for the kickoff show.

The two-hour pre-show will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. The panel for the first hour will be Jonathan Coachman, Beth Phoenix, Booker T, and Jerry Lawler, with Shawn Michaels and David Otunga replacing Booker T and Lawler in the second hour. There will also be another panel with JBL and Charly Caruso.

Sunday's PPV is taking place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Here's the updated card:

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Finn Balor
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan defending against AJ Styles
Men's Royal Rumble match
Women's Royal Rumble match
Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey defending against Sasha Banks
SmackDown Women's Champion Asuka defending against Becky Lynch
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against The Miz & Shane McMahon
United States Champion Rusev defending against Shinsuke Nakamura (pre-show)
Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defending against Kalisto, Akira Tozawa, and Hideo Itami in a fatal four-way match (pre-show)

[cero2k]

Nakamura went from winning the rumble, to the pre-show match. that has to be some kind of record, right?

[Big Red Machine]

Nakamura went from winning the rumble, to the pre-show match. that has to be some kind of record, right?

Definitely for the Rumble at least. Other candidates for any one-year drop include:

- Jinder went from a world title match at SummerSlam 2017 to not even being on the show in 2018

- Del Rio went from a world title match at WM29 to participating in the inaugural Andre The Giant Memorial Waste of Time, which while it was at least on the main show, probably means less than a championship match on a pre-show.

- Arguably worse than that is Bray Wyatt who went from defending the World Heavyweight Title at WM33 to helping someone else win the Andre The Giant Memorial Bathroom Break the next year.

- Bayley went from successfully defending the Raw Women's Title at WM33 to being in the inaugural Oh Sh*t We Named It After A Serial Abuser Memorial Battle Royale on the pre-show of this year's WM .

- Sasha Banks was also in both of those matches, but at least she wasn't the champion both going into and coming out of the previous year's Mania.

- Mickie James, Becky Lynch, Carmella and Naomi also all went from a title match on the main show of WM33 to the inaugural Definitely Not Named After The Fabulous Moolah Waste of Time Battle Royale, but I don't think those falls are as bad because the women's SD Title match at WM33 was not pushed anywhere near as hard as the Raw one was (and, in Naomi's case, she did at least win both of those matches).

- Sandow, who won the 2013 MITB but by 2014's MITB was involved in a go-nowhere jobber feud with Adam Rose (though that was at least on the main card).

- Jack Swagger went from challenging for the World Heavyweight Title against Del Rio at WM29 to a pre-show tag title match at WM30, but at least that pre-show match was a title match that got actual time (over sixteen minutes, which is more than any pre-show match will be given nowadays).

- Big Show went from a Hardcore Title match at WrestleMania X-Seven to not even being on the card the next year.

- Mabel went from winning KOTR in 1995 to not even being with the company one year later because they had no use for him (in fact, just seven months after his KOTR victory, he got squashed by Diesel on an episode of Superstars in less time than it took Diesel to beat Bob Backlund).