This time has finally arrived, and I felt like it snuck up on us a bit this year, but it is now time for the Royal Rumble. Obviously, there is a lot of noise behind the scenes at this moment in time within the WWE, but hopefully it doesn’t spoil the show. It shouldn’t, but I guess we shall find out. At the moment, there are only 4 advertised matches, which seems a little lower than normal. I know there are normally 5 or 6 matches, but I like it this way. There doesn’t need to be a bunch of matches on a card for the Royal Rumble show. The thing that really surprises me is to see so few entrants officially announced. I really like that. They announced more last night, but 17 have been announced for the men and 10 for the women. I always hated when there were all but like a couple announced. It put less emphasis on the matches, in my opinion. With that being said, I think that both RR matches are pretty much wide open. You have a handful of great picks for both the men and women heading into WrestleMania. It is a good time to be a fan of the WWE, but like I said earlier, hopefully outside things don’t meddle into the product. I don’t think it will, it is a new WWE. Well, with all of that being said, let’s dive in. I will predict the other two matches first and get into the Rumble matches, where I will pick a winner, the Last 4, and my dark horse. Let’s break it down.

*predicted match winners are bolded

- Men’s Singles Match: United States Championship

Logan Paul (C) vs. Kevin Owens

I would be surprised if Logan Paul drops the belt after his first defense. This is his first defense of the belt and I know fans are upset that it has been nearly 3 months, and this is the first time that he is defending it, but I don’t mind it. This should be a fun matchup and every single one of Logan Paul’s matches have been pretty dang good. Paul is heavily favored at -2000, which is a bit surprising to see that large of a favoring, but I don’t think he will drop the belt tonight.

- Men’s Fatal 4-Way: Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (C) vs. Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. AJ Styles

I really like this matchup. These multi-superstar matches usually indicates that a title change is imminent, but it doesn’t appear to be the case here. If you would’ve asked me a couple weeks ago, I would’ve said that it is possible that Randy Orton could win here, but I’m currently in the camp of “I’ll believe it when I see it” with Roman dropping his title. Personally, I don’t mind Roman holding the belt and to be fair, if anyone has earned that right, it is him. I think this should be a fantastic match, but if you are gambling, Roman is a heavy favorite at -3000. RKO is at +800, LA Knight +1400, and AJ Styles is +1600. I think most fans are interested to see where the Roman/Rock storyline goes from here, but I guess we shall find out tonight. It should be interesting.

- 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match

WINNNER: Bayley

FINAL FOUR: Becky Lynch, Bayley, Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair

Dark Horse: Bianca Belair

In my predictions article at the start of the year, I predicted that Becky Lynch would win the Royal Rumble and I think that is still a good possibility. However, I think it is Bayley’s time to shine. After thinking about it, I think Bayley winning makes a little more sense. She would Ideally face off with Iyo Sky at WrestleMania and it sets things up for them to turn against each other. With Becky Lynch, the idea is that she would face Rhea Ripley, but to be honest, she doesn’t really need to win the Rumble to do so. As of now, Bayley is favored at -200 and Becky is right behind her at +300. I think one of those two ladies will get the win tonight, but anything can happen obviously

As for my dark horse pick, there aren't many other women that I think will win but seeing Bianca Belair at +1400 is crazy. She currently has the 5th highest odds to win behind Bayley, Becky, Jade Cargill, and Nia Jax. Do I think Belair will win? No, not really, but among the grouping that she is near, she definitely has a better shot than the rest of the women. It is a good possibility that Naomi will return tonight. She left for a little while but is expected to return soon and I think it will be tonight. She should receive a nice, warm welcome. As for other potential surprises. I think we may see Carmella, but I am not expecting it. She gave birth just 3 months ago, so I think it would be pushing her a bit to get back. I think Sasha Banks could return, but as of right now, it seems that she is AEW-bound rather than heading to WWE, so I say don’t expect her to return tonight. It wouldn’t really shock me though. I do think Jade Cargill will be in the Rumble and I think she and Bianca Belair will face off for a little portion of time setting them up for WrestleMania, however, I don’t think she has a real shot to win. I would expect a couple returning legends tonight, but who they might be is big question mark. I think Trish Stratus could be in the cards, because she technically is still an active member of the RAW roster. Regardless, I think Becky Lynch will be your Ironwoman tonight, but it appears that it is Bayley’s night tonight.

- 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

WINNER: CM Punk

FINAL FOUR: CM Punk, Gunther, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre

Dark Horse: The Rock

The Women’s Rumble seems like it is down to 2, maybe 3 entrants. The Men’s Rumble is more open. I think there are realistically 5 men that could win the big match tonight. However, anything can happen. As of right now, CM Punk is the odds-on favorite. It has been shifting between he and Gunther this week, but as of now, Punk is favored at -105. Gunther is just behind at +210. Cody Rhodes is next up at +250 and The Rock has the 4th best odds at +600. It appears that the rumored storyline between Gunther and Brock Lesnar is being put on the backburner after some court docs from a lawsuit have emerged, but I am not here to talk about that. A couple years ago, I mentioned that I though Gunther would have a great 2024 and I even reiterated that in my predictions article for the upcoming year. I think he very well could win tonight, but he doesn’t really need to. The situation with Lesnar may have thrown a wrench in plans, but this may actually benefit Gunther even more.

I guess we’ll see, but my pick for tonight is Punk. A year ago, I would’ve never thought that Punk would be an option, but here he is. It also appears that The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is happening at WrestleMania and not Elimination Chamber as some suspected, which makes perfect sense. If The Rock shows up in the Rumble tonight, he could win as well, but he doesn’t need to. For Punk, I feel like he could benefit the most from a win tonight. It would fast-track him to WrestleMania and his dream was to headline the show. It would also knock off another milestone in the process with a Rumble win. Cody Rhodes could also benefit from another Rumble win, but then again, it doesn’t feel like it is the right time for him. He could win, but at this point, he is 4th in my confidence rating.

As for suprises, I think MJF is a potential surprise, but I don’t think he’ll show up, personally. He is mending injuries, so I don’t think he will be an entrant. Kazuchika Okada is also another possibility, but most people think he is bound for AEW. Other than those two, I can't really think of any more suprises. Potentially, Pat McAfee although he doesn’t have a real shot to win. I also think John Cena is a possibility to show up, but I can't see him winning either. It should be fun regardless of who wins or who shows up, so let’s get ready to rumble!

Yacs

Royal Rumble (2024) Predictions