Royal Rumble 2018

[KaiserGlider]

Three matches announced thus far:

Men's Rumble match - I find myself not particularly excited for this one right off the bat, strangely... though there's still a month to go. Given that we haven't had a good Rumble winner in a looooooooooong ass time, and all signs point to Roman/Brock at Wrestlemania, I hope they manage to build some hype for this match (and for a potential winner who the crowd actually roots for).

Women's Rumble match - It's really cool that they're finally going to do a women's rumble, because between both brands the roster is absolutely stacked with female talent right now. I'm guessing Asuka will win and go on to take the belt off Alexa Bliss at Wrestlemania.

Lesnar vs Kane vs Strowman - Meh. Braun already lost to Brock in disappointing fashion, and Kane just isn't in their league. I know AJ Styles is a tough act to follow as far as interesting challengers for Brock go, but they still should have gone with a better match than this. Because this just feels like a shittier version of the Summerslam main event.

Who should win the men's rumble this year?

[Messiah]

Who should win the men's rumble this year?

Joe should win and then go to SmackDown and challenge Styles for the title.

I'm probably in the minority but I think holding off on Styles/Nakamura longer would help make it an even bigger match. Nakamura just needs more time.

[The Legend]

I think my personal preference at this point would be Sami Zayn, have Owens win the belt before Mania and you get Owens vs Zayn for the championship.

[Str8Shooter]

All signs point to Reigns winning again and facing Brock, but that seems to obvious and so certain to guarantee another pissed off crowd making a mockery of the Rumble match again (isn't it in Philly again? The scene of the 2015 crime) that they may have someone from Smackdown win.

I think there's a decent chance that Nakamura wins the Rumble and faces Styles at Mania in a face vs face "dream match" to try and pacify the internet fans by giving them a match of "their" own to go along with Reigns/Brock.

There's always a chance someone like Owens could win the Rumble and challenge Styles as well. I'm not sure why I'm so sure AJ makes it to Mania with the title but I feel like he will.

[The Legend]

I'm probably in the minority but I think holding off on Styles/Nakamura longer would help make it an even bigger match. Nakamura just needs more time.

@Messiah

In a perfect world you are probably right that waiting a year would make the match even bigger. IF, the WWE could successfully keep both guys as hot or hotter than they currently are right now. Truth be told I don't feel like both guys will be in as good a spot or better in a year -- particularly Nakamura. I also think holding off on this match would really hurt Nakamura from the perspective that I'm not sure what he'd do at Mania without this. He's not going to be booked in a fantastic grudge feud (mic skills and writing will forever prevent that), so the title and A.J.'s history in Japan would be a boost and crutch that Nakamura's feud could really use.

[Hanley!]

All signs point to Reigns winning again and facing Brock, but that seems to obvious and so certain to guarantee another pissed off crowd making a mockery of the Rumble match again (isn't it in Philly again? The scene of the 2015 crime) that they may have someone from Smackdown win.

Even I don't think WWE are dumb enough to have Roman win again in Philly. The negative reaction to it would make headlines. They can be 100% sure of that. Someone from Smackdown - or possibly someone who's crossing over to Smackdown - will win.

I like Messiah's idea of Joe winning and flipping brands and facing Styles. That's maybe best case scenario for me. Nakamura winning would also be cool, along with being more likely. But he doesn't feel over enough to win the Rumble right now. He's been losing to Jinder and playing second fiddle to Randy Orton in meaningless tag matches. Ideally the guy winning the Rumble has a little momentum, and has been protected a bit, and looks just on the edge of breaking out. That description doesn't fit many people now besides Joe.

If a Smackdown guy is winning though, chances are we're getting a better winner than usual. The most likely option is Nakamura, but you could get Owens or Sami Zayn. Cena returning and winning, to rekindle his feud with Styles would be a long shot. Just please don't let it be Mahal or Corbin.

At least, that's assuming if what they're looking for is an opponent for Styles. If they're going to take the title off him at the Rumble again, then who knows what weird nonsense they might do between now and Wrestlemania. Last year's Styles to Cena to Wyatt to Orton sequence wasn't easy to predict in advance.

[KaiserGlider]

I would love for Joe to win it, but I don't see it... just because it's Samoa Joe. Historically, (like in the last decade or so), the guy who won the Rumble is someone the WWE has always had a hard-on for and willing to push - HHH, Roman, Del Rio, Sheamus, Batista, Cena, Orton, etc. Does Samoa Joe fit on that list? I don't think he does, at least not yet. To me he still feels like an outsider. And what has Joe done since the Lesnar feud in the summer? I wouldn't say his momentum right now is any higher than Nakamura's. But at least Nakamura is a babyface, so that gives him a better chance of winning. He would be my choice, by the way. AJ vs Joe for the WWE title at Wrestlemania is just too crazy, even for 2017.

I'm gonna predict they still go with Roman, just because he's Roman. It wouldn't be the first, or third time he has closed a major PPV with boos. I can see it. It SHOULD have been Braun, that would have been the perfect climax to his entire monster push over the past year. But they just had to job him out to Lesnar and then stick him with Triple H at Wrestlemania.