{"id":112452,"date":"2021-01-30T14:33:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T20:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=112452"},"modified":"2021-01-30T14:36:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T20:36:07","slug":"wwe-royal-rumble-ppv-ppv-primer-1-31-javiers-preview-predictions-for-the-mens-and-womens-royal-rumble-matches-owens-vs-reigns-mcintyre-vs-goldberg-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/30\/wwe-royal-rumble-ppv-ppv-primer-1-31-javiers-preview-predictions-for-the-mens-and-womens-royal-rumble-matches-owens-vs-reigns-mcintyre-vs-goldberg-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE ROYAL RUMBLE PPV PPV PRIMER 1\/31: Javier\u2019s preview &amp; predictions for the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s Royal Rumble matches, Owens vs. Reigns, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-114283178\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The road to WrestleMania and all the sign pointing it entails, begins On January 31, 2021 with the thirty-fourth Royal Rumble emanating from the Thunderdome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. I\u2019ve always found the lead up to the Rumble to be a fun experience as speculation abounds regarding the potential winners. There is the anticipation of what surprises we might be delighted, disappointed, or dismayed by. Old rivals and allies cross paths, new enmities are born, and strange bedfellows made. When done well, it&#8217;s usually a fun night and the WWE event I most look forward to every year. So, without further ado \u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Men\u2019s Royal Rumble match\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Story in a nutshell: Thirty men enter the ring at regular intervals and are eliminated by getting tossed over the top rope with both feet touching the ground with the last person standing winning a title shot against the champion of their choice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">A.J. Styles, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Braun Strowman have all had a spotlight on them heading into the match. Cesaro and Shinsuke are (former?) tag partners who have big wins against Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan has been touted as a future hall of famer that has never won the Royal Rumble. Sheamus has had several strong showings on Raw. A.J. Styles has been acting as the \u201cgatekeeper\u201d who has been keeping lower card wrestlers from entering the Rumble by beating them in matches. Strowman came back from \u201csuspension\u201d (he was injured) on the final Smackdown before the Rumble. Other notable entrants include Randy Orton, who is involved in a feud with the Fiend and whose face was recently burned by Alexa Bliss, and Edge who has been out with an injury.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Prediction: The challenger for one of the titles will be decided by the Rumble winner while the challenger for the other title will likely be decided by the Elimination Chamber match on the next PPV. Raw can field a better Chamber match so I think the winner will come from Smackdown, specifically Daniel Bryan.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">That is if there IS a winner. The Fiend was presumably destroyed at the last PPV and hasn\u2019t been seen since. It is possible the Fiend interferes in the match making it so there are no winners.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Finally, a part-timer or an outsider, like Brock Lesnar (has a connection to Heyman), Goldberg (still has beef with Reigns), John Cena (recently appeared on a skit and the promos between Cena and a heel Reigns would be fire), or (and I can\u2019t believe I am saying this since I was never a fan of his), CM Punk (a bump in the ratings and to keep him away from the competition) are all possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Bonus Predictions: Bobby Lashley has the most eliminations only for an opportunistic Riddle to eliminate him.\u00a0One of the Mysterio&#8217;s accidentally or \u201caccidentally\u201d eliminates the other.\u00a0Jimmy returns and eliminates Jey setting off a feud.\u00a0John Morrison or Xavier Woods has the parkour-style elimination escape. Maybe Reginald if he gets involved.\u00a0Damien Priest debuts. Boom.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-449224318\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Women\u2019s Royal Rumble match\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Story in a nutshell: Thirty women enter the ring at regular intervals and are eliminated by getting tossed over the top rope with both feet touching the ground with the last person standing winning a title shot against the champion of their choice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not many women involved have received a spotlight on the way to the Rumble. As of this writing, only thirteen of thirty women have been declared as participants. Bianca Belair and Bayley have had the brightest spotlight as the two have been feuding recently. Charlotte has been feuding with Lacey Evans (Evans hasn\u2019t been declared yet). Billie Kay has been trying to join and help the team of Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. Depending on the placement of this match on the card, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax either come in as tag team champions or have been thwarted by Charlotte and Asuka. Alexa Bliss is mourning the Fiend\u2019s demise and has been feuding with Randy Orton and recently has had matches with Asuka where she has shown an alternate persona similar to the Fiend.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Prediction: Barring the return of Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, or someone not on the active roster, my number one pick is Rhea Ripley, though I\u2019m far less confident of that than I was after last year\u2019s WrestleMania run. Bayley winning to rekindle her feud with Sasha Banks seems just as likely.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Bonus Predictions: Whether she wins or not, Ripley will debut.\u00a0Eva Marie will make a surprise appearance.\u00a0Naomi gets the &#8220;defies elimination&#8221; spot. A heavy involvement of NXT talent. A miscue by Baszler and Jax get them into position to be eliminated by Lana leading them into conflict during their tag team match if the Rumble match happens before the title match.\u00a0Lana gets put through the table for her efforts.\u00a0If the Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship match happens before the Rumble, Carmella enters and crosses paths with Bianca setting up a feud.\u00a0Taya Valkyrie debuts. Ric Flair is responsible for his daughter\u2019s elimination.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens, WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing match\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Story in a nutshell: After an attempt to get at Adam Pearce went awry when Pearce outmaneuvered Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, Reigns finds himself face to face with Kevin Owens again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reigns, feeling that Adam Pearce was undercutting him, manipulated the results of a gauntlet match to ensure Adam Pearce ended up as Roman\u2019s number one contender at the Royal Rumble where Reigns would be able to punish Pearce with no repercussions. A savvy Pearce activated the \u201ccard subject to change\u201d clause on the contract by being too \u201churt\u201d to compete and named Kevin Owens as his replacement, much to Reigns\u2019s chagrin. No matter how hard Reigns tries during this long running feud, Kevin Owens has refused to stay down for Reigns. It is a feat that will be put to the test in last man standing match.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1995002332\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Prediction: Yeah. Reigns wins.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>\u00a0Drew McIntyre (c) vs Bill Goldberg, WWE Championship match\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Story in a nutshell:\u00a0After Drew McIntyre disrespected the Legends present at the Raw Legends show, Goldberg called out Drew McIntyre and challenged him for his Universal Championship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the part before the comma in \u201cStory in a nutshell\u201d makes no sense, it\u2019s because this story has been botched from the start. During the Legend\u2019s special episode of Raw, Goldberg came out to address a promo Drew never did since it was cut for time. Whoever thought Goldberg would call an audible and pivot to something that would make sense severely underestimated the man\u2019s intractability. Then McIntyre came down with a case of the COVIDs and little could be done to salvage the situation. And the frosting on the poop cake is the involvement of Miz, who is threatening to cash in his Money in the Bank contract.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Prediction: Claymore, kick out, Spear, Jackhammer counter, Claymore, Claymore, Drew win.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Asuka &amp; Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler &amp; Nia Jax, WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship match\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Story in a nutshell: Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax were granted their guaranteed rematch that is totally old-fashioned which WWE doesn\u2019t do any more unless they forget or it is a convenient way to get to a match.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">With Asuka being involved with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte dealing with family drama and Lacey Evans, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler realized it was the perfect time to capitalize on the champions\u2019 distraction and so decided to exercise their rematch opportunity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Prediction: One of these teams will break up as a result of this match. A Ric\/Evans interference can cost the champions the title. However, it&#8217;s more likely to be Baszler and Jax. Whether the disintegration is permanent depends on the match&#8217;s placement on the card relative to the women\u2019s Rumble match. If the Rumble happens before, then the strife between Baszler and Jax comes to a head here.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Sasha Banks (c) vs. Carmela WWE Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship match\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Story in a nutshell: After successfully defending her title against Carmela already, Sasha Banks offered Carmella another title shot in order for Sasha to get her hands on Carmela\u2019s sommelier, Reginald.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, that was the long and short of it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Prediction: Sasha retains and will feud with Bayley while Bianca and Carmela mix it up.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/29\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-1-29-alt-perspective-detailed-coverage-of-roman-reigns-kevin-owens-war-of-words-final-rumble-hype\/\">LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 1\/29: Alt perspective, detailed coverage of Roman Reigns &amp; Kevin Owens \u201cwar of words\u201d, final Rumble hype<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2828092182\"><div id=\"pwtor-3122917550\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The road to WrestleMania and all the sign pointing it entails, begins On January 31, 2021 with the thirty-fourth Royal Rumble emanating from the Thunderdome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. I\u2019ve always found <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/30\/wwe-royal-rumble-ppv-ppv-primer-1-31-javiers-preview-predictions-for-the-mens-and-womens-royal-rumble-matches-owens-vs-reigns-mcintyre-vs-goldberg-and-more\/\" title=\"WWE ROYAL RUMBLE PPV PPV PRIMER 1\/31: Javier\u2019s preview &amp; predictions for the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s Royal Rumble matches, Owens vs. Reigns, and more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":74227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4447,27,5893,3],"tags":[240,96,72,71,112,1460,117],"class_list":["post-112452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-ppv-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe","tag-monday-night-raw","tag-raw","tag-smackdown","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-raw","tag-wwe-royal-rumble","tag-wwe-smackdown"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2019\/01\/RoyalRumblePhoenixWide_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112452"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112460,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112452\/revisions\/112460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}