Who I Thought Could Win The 2022 Royal Rumbles

In most of the years I've ran this blog, I've published a post shortly after watching the last WWE TV shows leading into the Royal Rumble and have shared what my final 'pick' would be to win the battle royals.

Last year, I had Bianca Belair to win the women's Royal Rumble and then narrowed down to Daniel Bryan or Edge to win the men's match. I opted to run with Bryan and, as we saw, Edge went on to win.

As of right now, I have been unable to narrow down what I believe could happen with the men's match. So, instead, I'll share with you some names I have bet on within the last year and explain why I had periods in which I thought there could be a chance of them winning the Rumble.

Brock Lesnar

The bets I placed on Brock Lesnar were done after he returned at SummerSlam 2022 and lost against Roman Reigns at WWE Crown Jewel. 

In the build to Crown Jewel, the reports stated that Reigns/Lesnar was not going to be a one-and-done and that the program could go all the way to WrestleMania. 

That's why I chose to bet on Lesnar to win the Rumble.

The rematch being pulled from the WWE Day One card, which led to Lesnar winning being placed in the WWE Championship match and leaving as titleholder, has complicated matters slightly as it does not guarantee that Lesnar will participate as a Royal Rumble competitor.

There are many out there who believe that Lesnar could lose the strap to Bobby Lashley on the Rumble undercard and then go on to win the battle royal later in the night. This would put everything back on course to the Reigns/Lesnar meeting that is reportedly set for Mania.

Roman Reigns

My first bet on Roman Reigns to win the Rumble would have been as soon as I learnt that the Crown Jewel match was going to be the first of a new series of meetings between Lesnar and Reigns. I had a feeling Lesnar would claim the Universal Championship in Saudi Arabia and then Reigns would be his challenger for the strap at Mania via a Rumble victory.

I once again gambled on Reigns when the Day One match was announced. 

I was even more convinced that Reigns could win the Royal Rumble after watching the Smackdown following Lesnar's WWE Championship victory when he and Reigns had a segment on the show. In the promo, Lesnar brought up the prospect of the two meeting in a title versus title match. Reigns talked his way out of it by claiming that it was a good idea. However, he ruled it out by pointing out that it was Lesnar's idea. 

I immediately thought that the match could have been title versus title and - to get there - Reigns would win the Rumble and then choose Lesnar as his challenger as it would, in effect, become Reigns' idea for the title versus title match.

WWE has evidently shied away from title versus title talk, so my idea no longer feels as strong as it did on the day it was first brought up.

I still feel that Reigns should not be overlooked tonight. 

Dave Meltzer reported, back at the start of the year, that Seth Rollins was meant to have won the WWE Championship in the fatal four-way at Day One. Rollins finds himself in a title match for a different strap tonight, so - what if he claims the Universal Championship and then it's Reigns who walks into the Rumble, wins it, and then chooses Lesnar?

    

The WrestleMania destination of a Lesnar/Reigns match  - as well as Rollins potentially going in as a champion - would have been corrected albeit with a change in respective titles should Reigns lose tonight before going on to win the Rumble.

Big E

Speaking of Rollins, one of my friends had been strong in his opinion that Big E would win the Rumble tonight. I wasn't convinced because of how he was booked as a champion. However, I did place a few bets on E just in case my friend turned out to be right.

According to Dave Meltzer, a Big E versus Seth Rollins match was pencilled in for WrestleMania. Remember what I wrote above about how Rollins was set to leave Day One with the WWE Championship? Well - one way to get to that match would be for E to win the Rumble and then choose Rollins as his opponent.

Big E challenging for the title he had previously held could also be achieved should Bobby Lashley leave the Rumble with the strap.

With all that said - on last night's Smackdown, it was revealed that Big E has returned to the blue brand. Does this mean they've moved him there because Rollins .vs. Big E will now become Smackdown's Mania program while Lesnar .vs. Reigns is going to be the one for Raw or that there been a change of plan which might explain some price changes midweek.

AJ Styles

Is Bobby Lashley versus AJ Styles the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania? If so, it could explain why AJ Styles' price has declined this week forcing bookies to place him a second-favourite.

I was hoping to see Edge versus Styles at Mania. 

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As far as the women's Royal Rumble goes, I only had one name I was strong on for the past few months.

When Bayley was injured in 2021, I immediately backed her in the hope that she would rehab and make a surprise return, followed by a win, at the Rumble. 

I remained hopeful of a Bayley win until the reports of Ronda Rousey returning began to filter in this week.

If Rousey is a participant tonight, they have to go with her winning the Rumble. I really cannot see an alternative winner knowing that Rousey is on her way back. 

It has to be Ronda Rousey if she's in the match.