Last week, I released my possible scenarios for the men’s match this year, and now it’s time for the women’s preview. It was a great addition to the show a few years ago to add a Women’s Rumble and honestly, I don’t know why it took so long. The Women’s Rumbles have honestly been more interesting because it usually is a toss-up as to who might win. They took a little of the surprise out of the women’s match though when they announced so many entrants a couple weeks ago. Recent developments over the last couple of days have made things a little more interesting though. 21 entrants have been announced, so who’s gonna win? Let’s dive in a break some scenarios down.

Odds-On Favorite

I’ll talk about the first potential two-time winner later on, but as of now, the odds-on favorite was last year’s winner. Bianca Belair is currently at 3/1 to win the Rumble. While I think there is a decent shot of this happening, I don’t think it will. They have so much room to really surprise the fans here and another Belair win could be predicted from a mile away. I definitely think she will be a big player in this match, but I don’t think they’ll repeat this early. There are a lot of women in this match that could benefit from a Rumble win and I think Belair has had plenty of chances over the last couple of years. We’ll see, but definitely expect Belair to be in it for the long haul during this match.

The Forbidden Door is Open, For Now

With the announcement of the Impact Knockouts World Champion, Mickie James, it is understood that there could be some people from other wrestling promotions entering the Rumble. Will Mickie win the match? Highly unlikely, but the concept of bringing in other people from elsewhere is interesting. It could signal that the WWE is becoming more open-minded and I think that this could be a great thing. Obviously, Mickie James has a deep history with the WWE and has had great success in her career with the company, so it is difficult to tell if this is a situation where they’ll be open to other lesser-known talent among WWE fans or if WWE wanted to feature Mickie and possibly other talent that the WWE Universe would recognize only. I don’t personally expect much to happen after this in regards to the “forbidden door”, but who knows? This could really be something special. Could there be more entrants from other brands? It’s possible. There was a report that Jessica McKay and Cassie Lee were asked about entering, but they declined. If you don’t recognize their names, they were The IIconics. With only 9 entrants left available, there will likely be a couple of surprises, but I’m just not sold that there will be many, if any, more ladies from other promotions.

Could We Finally See a 2-Time Winner?

The Women’s Rumble winners have been Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Bianca Belair. Do any of them have a shot? Absolutely. As of now, Belair and Flair are confirmed for the match, but I would be surprised if Asuka doesn’t show up. An Asuka return would be big, but she isn’t expected to be a contender. She currently has 18/1 odds. Like I mentioned before, Belair is currently the favorite to win, so it would come as no surprise to see here win. Asuka isn’t likely going to win, but Charlotte Flair is a possibility too. I don’t think it’s a good possibility, but there’s a chance. With Charlotte, I don’t see a reason for her to win. What good would it do for the SmackDown Women’s division if she wins? Not a bit. They’re so short-handed right now and Flair choosing her own fate makes no sense. She has 12/1 odds. Becky Lynch isn’t likely going to enter because she has a match with Doudrop. Belair definitely has the best shot to be the first 2-time winner.

Surprise Returns?

The Women’s match has potential for a bunch of “surprise” returns. Of all of the possible returns, Bayley is the most likely. She is coming back from a knee injury and is likely going to be back in action this Saturday. Bayley also was the odds-on favorite about a month ago and still has 7/1 odds. Alexa Bliss has had some vignettes on RAW the last couple of weeks, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see her Saturday either. Bliss has the 3rd highest odds to win the match at 6/1. Continuing the trend, Asuka is expected to be back at some point soon, so she is another entry that would be considered likely.

There has been a lot of buzz over the last couple of days of a possible Ronda Rousey return that wasn’t mentioned previously. As of last week, Ronda Rousey didn’t have any odds whatsoever, but now she has the 2nd best odds at 5/1. I think it’s pretty simple if she is in the match. If she’s in, she wins. It doesn’t feel like she’s been away for nearly 3 years and a return would be huge for the WWE. The only concern with her return is the fact that she gave birth to a girl in September. Speaking of that, Lacey Evans is another possibility to return. She had a child in October but has been hinting at a possible Rumble return. She currently has 66/1 odds, which seems a little high. This may be a decent small bet to take a chance on.

Another performer that has gained some steam lately for a possible big return is Paige. She officially retired in April of 2018, but she had a lot of injuries prior to her retirement, so it feels like she’s been away for longer. Now, I’m not saying her return is at the level of Edge or Daniel Bryan, but it is similar in nature. She was forced to retire due to neck injuries and has been working to get back. Paige currently has 16/1 odds and I think that is fair even if she does enter the match. I don’t expect her to win even if she returns, but it would be a very nice surprise to see her competing again. She would add a lot to the women’s division if she can return on a regular basis.

Dark Horse Pick

I really think Lacey Evans is a good Dark Horse pick, but I don’t think she will honestly win. She’s not who I am going with though. My Dark Horse pick is Liv Morgan. Her odds are 16/1 and I think it is possible that she could win. Things haven’t really been leaning her way lately, but I think they could easy pull this off. Fans are already on her side and it would be perfect for her to have her big moment at WrestleMania if they decide to put the belt on her. Morgan and Becky Lynch had a great match last month on RAW and the match ended in an odd way, so they could easily have a rematch. If you want a good Dark Horse pick, you can’t do any better than Liv Morgan.

Best of the Rest

Of the ones that I haven’t mentioned, Rhea Ripley is next in line. She currently has 8/1 odds which is kind of surprising. She has been in a tag team for the better part of the last 6 months and has recently split from Nikki ASH. Nothing has indicated to me that she will be a contender on Saturday, but WWE has done crazy stuff, you know, like giving a performer her first singles match on the main roster at WrestleMania for the RAW Women’s Championship and book her to win the belt. Who was that again? Can’t remember. Anyway, Sasha Banks has 14/1 odds and she would’ve probably been higher up on the odds list, but an injury forced her out of action. She possibly could enter, and I think she has a good shot to win if she can compete, but I’m not expecting her to compete.

NXT competitors have been pretty slim in the last couple of Rumble matches, but it is likely there will be at least one or two to enter both matches. Raquel Gonzalez has 14/1 odds to win and I think that would be an interesting angle if she would win. Gonzalez has proven herself in NXT over the last year or more, but I can’t see a legitimate reason why she would win. At 25/1, Lita would be an interesting winner this year. She was an announced competitor 2 or 3 weeks ago and I think it would’ve been awesome if they kept it a secret, but they had a good promo angle with her and Charlotte Flair, so I think she may have a decent shot. Other than these ladies, I can’t really see anybody else winning the match.

Yacs

Possible Scenarios for 2022 Women's Royal Rumble Match