‘SmackDown Live’ Star Expected To Win 2018 Royal Rumble Match
The WWE will hold the 2018 Royal Rumble at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on January 28. It is going to be a very big event because the WWE is going to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Royal Rumble. The winner of the match will earn a title opportunity, either for the WWE or Universal championship, at WrestleMania 34.
It has been rumored for quite some time now that the main event of WrestleMania 34 will be Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal championship. The WWE has been booking Lesnar as an unstoppable champion, making his F-5 finisher as devastating as possible. The company is looking to crown Reigns as the face of the company for the fourth time in as many years.
One of the ways to make Lesnar vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 34 is to have “The Big Dog” win the 2018 Royal Rumble Match. It will be the second in Reigns’ career but the WWE should be cautious because Philadelphia fans have been very unkind to “The Guy.” When Reigns won the 2014 Royal Rumble Match in Philly, he was showered with boos by the crowd. The early elimination of crowd-favorite Daniel Bryan did not help, as well as an appearance from The Rock.
According to Cageside Seats, the WWE is not expected to use the Royal Rumble Match to set up the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34. The report noted that it is likely that a SmackDown Live superstar is going to win the 2018 Royal Rumble Match and he will challenge for the WWE championship at WrestleMania 34.
The current WWE champion is AJ Styles and he is expected to enter WrestleMania 34 with the title. Styles is set to defend the WWE championship against Jinder Mahal at Clash of Champions, a SmackDown Live-exclusive event next month. With Mahal facing Triple H at the live event in India next month, as well as the India show doing poor in ticket sales, it is possible that Styles will remain as the champion for a while.
But which SmackDown Live star will win the 2018 Royal Rumble Match? No name has been revealed just yet but Shinsuke Nakamura is the current favorite. Wrestle Zone reported that Nakamura and Styles recently teased a WWE title match at WrestleMania 34 at a live event in Florence, Italy. Nakamura vs. Styles is a dream match for many and it has a chance to steal the show at WrestleMania 34.
However, it should be noted that these are still just rumors at the moment and plans can change. The WWE has been changing their plans frequently in the past month and it could happen again heading to the Royal Rumble event early next year.
[Featured Image by WWE]
