Hiya!
I am truly excited for this year’s Royal Rumble. Oh, it’s always been my favorite WWE pay-per-view of the year as there are always a few surprises and cool stunts the wrestlers pull off every year. But what makes this year a little bit more special is that Stephanie McMahon announced that the Women’s Division will get their very own over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble event!
But I am wary of it. Even though this is something to be legitimately excited about as a wrestling fan, I do have some concerns about it because of the last few Royal Rumble winners. Last year, boring Randy Orton won it. The year before that, Triple H swooped in with the 30th spot to win it. Three years ago, the WWE essentially spit in the face of fans by, not only making Daniel Bryan get eliminated very early, but making the manufactured babyface Roman Reigns, which everyone just straight out hated!
If history is to believed, I can see the WWE pulling off some stupid stunt this year with the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble by making some undeserving participant win just to get a rise our of their viewership. I can thing of more than a few women that shouldn’t win this year’s Royal Rumble and here is that list…
1. Stephanie McMachon
“But she isn’t an active wrestler!” you may cry out. And that’s probably what the she wants you to think! It’s true that Stephanie McMahon isn’t that active wrestler but it’s a well known fact that she’s a beast when it comes to keeping fit. So, if she does decide to compete in the Women’s Royal Rumble, she’s probably going to be extremely ready for it.
I do think Stephanie is a… well, “good” may seem like a overestimate of what I think of her. I do believe that the “real” Stephanie is much better than the bitter, egotistical and spiteful character she’s plays on RAW at the very least. I mean, no one can be that evil, can they? But we’re still talking about wrestling and the character. It wouldn’t be unheard of if the Stephanie McMahon character would be so self-absorbed that she created the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble just so she could win it herself. It would totally fit with her character and would make sense if they make it into a big storyline up to Wrestlemania.
The problem that would arise from Stephanie McMahon winning is it would leave a stain on the very first Women’s Royal Rumble. Having her win it would mire it in controversy instead of having someone cleanly winning it through hard work and dedication to wrestling each and every week. I don’t want to see the first one to have a controversial ending. Maybe make her win the second even Women’s Royal Rumble?
2. Kairi Sane
She’s probably the most ballsiest women wrestler in NXT right now. But that doesn’t mean the Pirate Princess should pillage her way to win the Royal Rumble.
Right now, Kairi Sane isn’t part of the “main” roster as she’s still in NXT, wowing fans with her great wrestling ability and cute charisma. But the WWE’s main Women’s roster is rather thin. I estimate that there are only around 20 who are part of the RAW and Smackdown locker room, including the Goddess Alexa Bliss and the Queen Charlotte Flair. The WWE will need to fill in those extra spots with other women’s wrestlers. We’ll probably see some guest performers and nostalgia acts but I’m betting they’ll have some NXT performers to try out if they would get a reaction as well. It’s safe to assume Kairi Sane will be one of those people.
Despite her probably getting a huge reaction and although she already has a solid fanbase, having Kairi Sane come out of NXT and win everything would be a bad move for her. She shouldn’t be thrust into the main even of Wrestlemania so early. She needs to still build herself up, practically from scratch, if she does move to the main roster. Giving her too much attention and giving her a title shot too early would be detrimental to her in the long run.
3. Either of the Bella Twins
It would be easy for me to just say I dislike the Bella Twins and leave it at that. But there is a little more to than that simple reasoning why neither Nikki or Brie Bella should win it all.
I mentioned earlier that the WWE will need to bolster the number of participants for the Women’s Royal Rumble with some returning talent. Well, the Bella Twins have been off WWE television programming for a while now so I would imagine they would get a huge pop from their fans if their music hits at any time during the Royal Rumble. I don’t really understand their appeal as there are so many women’s wrestlers who are much better than them but I will acknowledge they do have a lot of fans. I can only imagine the ear-piercing squeals of joy if either Nikki or Brie return and win it all.
Even if it is what the fans may want, having any of the Bella Twins win the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble wouldn’t be “best for business.” Having them come back and get a lock to main event Wrestlemania would steal the spotlight from some other female WWE Superstar who has been wrestling consistently for the past few months. Also, the Bella Twins can be considered “legacy” talent and giving either of them the top spot at Wrestlemania would be a waste, especially if the WWE would want to push some up and comer now.
4. Bayley
Yes, I don’t think the Hugger should win this year’s Royal Rumble.
Strictly speaking, Bayley is a really good performer in the ring. She does have the ability to pull off some great matches as her stint in NXT has proved. She also does have some charisma and I can see the storyline potential of Bayley, the childlike girl who watched WWE shows since she was a kid, win it and get her wish to main evnt Wrestlemania. It would be something like a dream come true so it isn’t that far-fetched for her to be the last woman standing when all is said and done.
So why am I so down on Bayley winning it? Well, it’s mostly the WWE’s creative department’s fault. Bayley hasn’t really done anything of note recently to show that the WWE is too keen on her at the moment. They could pull a surprise but it would look bad if they did. She wouldn’t get a big enough pop if she did because, like I said, she hasn’t done anything yet. It would feel like the WWE has no plans for Wrestlemania and they’d have to build a story to make it seem like Bayley has what it takes to beat either Alexa Bliss or Charlotte. And we’ve all seen her take on Alexa Bliss last year to lackluster results. I could see her be in the final four and come close to winning it but get eliminated shortly after.
5. Ronda Rousey
C’mon! We all know she’s gonna be in the Royal Rumble! It’s the worst kept secret in the WWE at the moment!
Ronda Rousey actually being in the Royal Rumble would definitely be a treat and a scary proposition for all the women in the WWE. She really knows how to fight and she’s super popular to both WWE fans and non-wrestling fans. You know she’s going to get a really good run and she will show her dominance when she gets in the ring. She’ll probably toss out more than a few female Superstars just so show she’s a terror in the squared circle as well as the octagon.
With that being said, having Ronda Rousey win the first Women’s Royal Rumble would be terrible for wrestling fans for one big reason: she isn’t a wrestler. If she becomes the last woman standing in the Royal Rumble, the WWE will be telling its fans that their current women’s roster of wrestlers is no match for one UFC fighter. It would be saying that the women in the WWE are inadequate to main event Wrestlemania. And you don’t even need Rousey to win to give her a match for Wrestlemania. Have her go on a tear and eliminate Nia Jax, Absolution or the entire Riott Squadd. The women she eliminated get sore and forcibly toss Rousey over the top rope even though they aren’t supposed to be in the match anymore. Rousey gets upset and fights them off until they reach the curtain. Boom! You’ve got your Wrestlemania match.
BONUS: Santina Marella
Remember Santina Marella?
While I would love the see the character back one more time in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble, Santina Marella already had her glory, winning the 2009 all-female battle royale at Wrestlemania of that year. She had a very good, albeit short-lived, stint in the WWE. Santina was a great performer and provided a good number of laughs.
Oh, and she’s actually a guy dressed in drag. So, no.
Byee!
Who do you want to see win the first women’s Royal Rumble? Who do you not want to see win? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 
Good read, I agree with it all to be honest, though 4 makes me sad…it’s not really Bayley’s fault.
Surely Asuka has to win to stay unbeaten? It’s predictable but it could be worse.
I don’t believe Asuka needs to win to say undefeated as the Royal Rumble is a “special event” and isn’t counted in someone’s win-loss record. But, yeah. If Ronda Rousey isn’t in it to win, Asuka would be the favorite to take it.
I’m not sure if WWE see it like that, though I’d agree with you. It’s either Asuka or Becky in my opinion and I’d be ok with that. I’m not sure Rousey will be in the Rumble, think she might have a match at ‘Mania instead.
Have you heard that Steph is doing commentary for the Rumble? Someone on Twitter had the Ida that she would be on commentary then enter as #30 and win the Rumble. I really don’t want that – it would cheapen the whole thing!