Way-too-early WrestleMania 35 predictions
Becky Lynch explains what winning the Royal Rumble means and her aspirations to main event WrestleMania. (2:09)
PHOENIX — In 2014, Daniel Bryan’s destiny was undeniable, but it took WWE months to set the proper course. The chaos and deafening boos at the Royal Rumble in Pittsburgh showed just how much they underestimated Bryan’s fan support, but they ultimately reset their plans and cashed in with an all-time moment at WrestleMania 30.
Sunday night’s Royal Rumble proved there’s no interest in repeating those mistakes, as Becky Lynch seeded her path to WrestleMania by overcoming impossible odds. Seth Rollins’ victory was equally well-received by the fans at Chase Field, though the outcome might seem a tad too predictable for a show that typically thrives on surprises, the journey, the payoffs and the potential to come far outweigh any downside of the destination being a bit obvious.
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are heading to WrestleMania as victors in the 2019 Royal Rumbles. Plus, Shane McMahon and The Miz earned the SmackDown Live tag team titles while Ronda Rousey, Asuka, Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan all retained.
Ronda Rousey still loves what she’s doing after one year with WWE and for now her escapist fantasy of a non-public life will have to wait.
Tommaso Ciampa and Shayna Baszler kept their titles, but others could not, as the tag team and North American championships changed hands.
For Lynch, that was clear in the immediate aftermath of her victory.
“It’s the biggest night of my life,” Lynch said shortly after her victory to ESPN. “And what this means going forward isn’t wasted on me.”
Lynch’s victory came in the most dramatic of performances Sunday night. She was in the opening match of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, vying for the SmackDown women’s championship against Asuka. They had an absolute war, physically pushing each other to their limits, and for once, Lynch lost fair and square on her own in the middle of the ring. It can’t be overstated how much that win solidified Asuka as the top woman on SmackDown, something that felt a bit distant in the months since her own Rumble win in 2018 ended in disappointment and the end of her undefeated streak.
Being down only made the triumph sweeter. The odds were so perilously stacked against her in this story that Lynch wasn’t even among the original list of 30 women in the match. Lana’s injury during the kickoff show prevented her from entering at No. 28, and in a master stroke of continuity and world building, that sliver of opening allowed Lynch to kick down the door and stomp her way through to victory. Along the way, Lynch finally vanquished Nia Jax, and once again got the upper hand on Charlotte Flair despite Jax getting a few extra licks in before she exited.
Some 48,000-plus inside of Chase Field roared when Lynch clinched her Royal Rumble victory. The path seems as clear as it ever was, as Lynch now holds the key to challenging Ronda Rousey and fulfilling the potential of a match that has thus far been lingering unfulfilled. Lynch and Rousey is the rivalry that outshines the rest of what’s going on with either Raw or SmackDown, but the possibilities are still vibrant. There are still two pay-per-views to go before WrestleMania. Flair has a legitimate claim to the Rumble win after Lynch was allowed into the match on nothing more than what appeared to be the whim of Fit Finlay. A triple threat match is fully in play, but Flair still stands as the clearest challenger for Asuka’s SmackDown women’s championship — a match that would bring everything in their story full circle in a rematch from WrestleMania 34.
Whether it’s Lynch and Rousey — straight up, or a triple threat — there’s one final hill to be climbed over the next two months.
“It means changing the damn business,” Lynch said of her victory. “We’re going to main event WrestleMania.”
As for Rollins, he took out Braun Strowman, the other prime world title contender on Raw. The choice for WrestleMania seems pretty clear for him as well. Over the last six-plus months, and perhaps even longer, he has been the most vocal character every week on Monday Night Raw about Brock Lesnar’s absentee championship reign. He now holds the key to ending such a reign, and the narrative between Rollins and Lesnar is thick, to say the least. WrestleMania 31 saw Rollins cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase mid-main event and steal away with the title before Lesnar or Roman Reigns could do anything about it. The pair never had a one-on-one rematch.
Since that title reign ended for Rollins, he’s only had but a few minutes as a world champion over the last four years. As others stepped forward in Rollins’ absence, he’s had to grind his way back to the top. His Intercontinental championship pursuit and subsequent reign helped crystallize just how far he’s come back in the mind of fans. Rollins stands as the man of the people, and the one chosen to give Raw a regular champion back.
Even if, by some strange course of fate, the WWE decides to throw a curveball, the longshot possibility would be a WWE title feud with Daniel Bryan in the leadup to WrestleMania. As far as backup options go, it doesn’t get much better.
My way too early WrestleMania 35 card: