I've been doing quarterly previews of WWF/E big 4 PPVs since WM12, publishing them here for about a decade. I'm old enough to have watched the full history of WWF/E PPV in real time (I seens 'em come and I seens 'em go) this year's Rumble is Sunday.
1 Men's Royal Rumble match 30 man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 37
Edge strikes me as the most likely winner; I'm almost entirely making that up, there isn't a lot of evident long term feud building in this promotion. But his promo in the go home RAW shifted entirely from his Orton feud to a need to win a main title (I can't recall if he specified, I assume not) prior to his window closing. And given WWE affinity for name brand veterans (see #4 below) sticking Edge in one of the main events at Mania makes sense. My inclination might be to have him switch "brands" (ick) and challenge Reigns. Edge/Reigns would be really fresh and Edge has the gravity to pull off the idea that he might take the belt. For work purposes, I'd prefer Danielson, who is either positioned to do very well in the Rumble or to leave the territory. Brock's been gone since Mania, Rollins could return at any moment, Cena's always sitting out there, the money match is Rock/Reigns, so there's room for surprise entrants.
(Edit - 3 1/2 stars, paint by numbers textbook solid Rumble, Edge did, in fact, go over)
2 Women's Royal Rumble match 30 woman Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 37
Babyfaces have both women's belts, so a heel makes sense (I assume Lynch isn't ready to come back yet; I don't know Rousey's interest in returning - this feels like a spot for someone like that) Flair would make sense, because she always makes sense in predicting WWE booking. She and Asuka, as seen below, are currently tag champs, Asuka currently has the RAW belt, if they were to lose those belts and Flair were to win this match and challenge Asuka, you could understand that progression.
(Edit - 3 1/4 stars - pretty good, the work in the women's division can get rough once you move anywhere beyond upper card, but it was pretty good, Belair goes over)
3 Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Kevin Owens Last Man Standing match for the WWE Universal Championship
Match quality aside (and he's fine) "Head of the Table" Reigns is the best act in US wrestling and it's not particularly close. He's had the belt since August and will keep it here. Owens has been excellent in this role (do you watch Talking Smack? The Heyman/Owens Talking Smack stuff has been outstanding) and this is likely the best match of the night.
(Edit - 3 1/4 stars; I really liked this, even with the challenge of the last man standing stip, but the finish was brutally botched; Reigns goes over.)
4 Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg Singles match for the WWE Championship
This is likely the worst match of the night, certainly the shortest. This is a hotshot angle to shoehorn Goldberg's name on the card. He's going to get pinned. McIntyre's the lineal WWF Champion, he's had the belt since November. He's fine.
(Edit - 1.5 stars, as expected)
5 Asuka and Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler Tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Asuka/Flair took the tag belts from Jax/Baszler in December; Asuka's clearly a babyface, Jax and Baszler clearly heels, Flair's Flair (how would you describe her...she's a babyface who acts like a heel) as mentioned above, maybe a switch here makes sense, Flair's got an ongoing program with Lacey Evans that, I guess, they could stretch to Mania, meaning someone else would be winning the women's Rumble (it's a tough program to watch, Ric's involved, there's what sure looks like elder abuse, it's no fun) either way a switch here checks out.
(Edit - They moved this to the pre-show, they did switch the belts; this match was replaced with a Banks/Carmella Title match which was okay)
That's the current card - The Fiend will do something related to Orton, one assumes, they could do a US Title match, an IC Title match to fill out the card/pre show.
It's the Rumble. You know how it works.
I've done it for Mania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. Here is my ranking of every match in the history of the Royal Rumble. Times are approximate, star ratings are for the 3 and up matches. Apologies if I missed anything. Updated through 2020.
1. '03 WWF Title: Kurt Angle d. Chris Benoit 20 min 5
2 '15 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar d. Seth Rollins/John Cena 23 min 4 1/2
3. ’00 WWF Title HHH d. Cactus Jack 27 min 4 ¼
4 ’01 IC Ladder: Chris Jericho d. Chris Benoit 19 min 4 ¼
5. '17 WWF Title: John Cena d. AJ Styles 24 min 4 1/4
6. '16 IC Falls Count Anywhere: Dean Ambrose d. Kevin Owens 21:30 4 1/4
7 ’04 Rumble Match: (Chris Benoit) 61:30 4
8 ’92 WWF Title: Rumble Match (Ric Flair) 62 min 4
9. '18 Rumble Match (Shinsuke Nakamura) 65:30 min 4
10 '14 Bray Wyatt d. Daniel Bryan 22 min 4
11. '17 RAW Title: Kevin Owens d. Roman Reigns 23 min 4
12 ’91 Rockers d. Orient Express 19 min 4
13 ’95 WWF Title: Diesel draw Bret Hart 27 min 4
14. '19 Smackdown Womens Title: Asuka d. Becky 17 min 3 3/4 stars
15. '20 Rumble Match (McIntyre) 61 min 3 3/4
16. '10 Rumble Match (Edge) 49:30 3 ¾
17. '00 Tables Hardys d. Dudleys 10:30 3 ¾
18. ’94 Tags: Quebecers d. Bret/Owen 16:30 3 ¾
19. ’04 WWF Title: HHH draw HBK 22:30 3 ¾
20 '11 World: Edge d. Dolph Ziggler 20:30 3 ½
21 ’02 WWF Title: Chris Jericho d. Rock 19 min 3 1/2
22 ’98 WWF Title: Casket Match: Shawn Michaels d. Undertaker 22 min 3 ½
23 ’07 WWF Title: Last Man Standing: John Cena d. Umaga 22:30 3 ½
24. '19 Universal Title: Brock Lesnar d. Finn Balor 9 min 3 1/2
25 ’99 WWF Title: I Quit Match: Rock d. Mankind 22 min 3 ½
26 ’93 WWF Title: Bret Hart d. Razor Ramon 18 min 3 ½
27 ’11 Rumble Match (Alberto del Rio) 69 min 3 1/2
28 ’90 Rumble Match (Hulk Hogan) 59 min 3 ½
29 ’97 Rumble Match(Steve Austin) 50:30 3 ½
30 '18 Women's Rumble (Asuka) 59 min 3 1/2
31. '19 RAW Women's Title: Ronda d. Sasha 14 min 3 1/2
32. '17 Cruiser Title: Neville d. Rich Swann 13 min 3 1/2
33. '18 WWF Title: AJ Styles d. Owens/Zayn 16 min 3 1/2
34. '20 Universal Title: The Fiend d. Daniel Bryan 17:30 3 1/2
35 ’01 WWF Title: Kurt Angle d. HHH 24:30 3 ¼
36 ’13 WWF Title: Rock d. CM Punk 23:30 3 ¼
37 ’93 IC Shawn Michaels d. Marty Jannetty 14:30 3 ¼
38 ’05 Edge d. Shawn Michaels 18:30 3 ¼
39. '18 Smackdown Tags: Usos d. Gable/Benjamin 14 min 3 1/4
40 ’09 WWF Title: Edge d. Jeff Hardy 19:30 3 ¼
41 '16 WWF Title Rumble Match (HHH) 61:30 3 1/4
42 ’12 Rumble Match (Sheamus) 55 min 3 ¼
43 ’05 Rumble Match (Batista) 51:30 3 ¼
44 ’03 Rumble Match(Brock Lesnar) 53:30 3 ¼
45 ’00 Rumble Match(Rock) 52 min 3 ¼
46 ’01 Rumble Match(Steve Austin) 62 min 3 ¼
47 ’06 Rumble Match (Rey Mysterio) 62 min 3 ¼
48 ’07 Rumble Match (Undertaker) 56:30 3 ¼
49 ’89 Rumble Match(John Studd) 64 min 3 ¼
50 ’98 Rumble Match (Steve Austin) 55:30 3 ¼
51 ’08 Rumble Match (John Cena) 51:30 3 ¼
52. '19 WWF Title: Daniel Bryan d. AJ Styles 24:30 3 1/4
53 '14 WWF Title: Randy Orton d. John Cena 21 min 3 1/4
54 ’10 World: Undertaker d. Rey Mysterio 11 min 3 ¼
55. '20 RAW Women's: Becky d. Asuka 16:30 3 1/4
56 ’11 WWF: Miz d. Randy Orton 20 min 3 ¼
57 ’05 World: HHH d. Randy Orton 21:30 3 ¼
58 ’07 Hardys d. MNM 15:30 3 ¼
59 ’12 WWF Title: CM Punk d. Dolph Ziggler 14 min 3
60 ’01 Tags: Dudleys d. Edge/Christian 10 min 3
61 ’08 WWF Title: Randy Orton d. Jeff Hardy 14 min 3
62 ’92 Owen/Anvil d. Orient Express 17 min 3
63 ’95 Tags: Bob Holly/123 Kid d. Tatanka/Bam Bam Bigelow 15:30 3
64 ’02 Rumble Match(HHH) 69:30 3
65 ’94 Rumble Match: (Bret/Lex) 55 min 3
66 ’93 Rumble Match: (Yokozuna) 66:30 3
67 ’91 Rumble Match (Hulk Hogan) 65 min 3
68 ’96 Rumble Match(Shawn Michaels) 59 min 3
69. '19 Rumble Match (Rollins) 57:30 min 3
70. '20 Women's Match: (Charlotte) 54:30 3
71 ’99 Rumble Match (Vince McMahon) 56:30 3
72 ’95 Rumble Match (Shawn Michaels) 39 min 3
73 ’09 Rumble Match (Randy Orton) 58:30 3
74 '14 Rumble Match (Batista) 55 min 3
75 ’13 Rumble Match (John Cena) 55 min 3
76 '15 Rumble Match (Reigns) 59 min 3
77 '17 Rumble Match (Orton) 3
78. '19 Women's Rumble Match (Becky) 72 min 3
79 ’88 Rumble Match (Jim Duggan) 33:30 3
80 ’02 IC: William Regal d. Edge 10 min 3
81 ’04 Eddy Guerrero d. Chavo Guerrero 8 min 3
82 ’13 World: Last Man Standing: Alberto del Rio d. Big Show 17 min 3
83 ’09 ECW: Jack Swagger d. Matt Hardy 10:30 3
84 ’96 Tags: Smoking Gunns d. Bodydonnas 11 min 3
85 ’03 Tags: Dudleys d. Regal/Storm 7:30 3
86 '16 US: Kalisto d. Del Rio 11:30 3
87. '17: Women's Title: Charlotte d. Bayley 13 min 3
88 ’97 WWF Title: Shawn Michaels d. Sid 14 min 3
89 ’89 Haku d. Harley Race 9 min 3
90 ’97 IC: HHH d. Goldust 17 min 3
91 ’06 Jr.: Gregory Helms d. Kash, Funaki, Noble, Nunzio, London 7:30
92 ’88 Jumping Bomb Angels d. Glamour Girls 14 min
93 ’89 Hart Foundation/Duggan d. Dino Bravo/Rougeaus 16 min
94 ’96 WWF Title: Undertaker d. Bret Hart 29 min
95. ’90 Ronny Garvin d. Greg Valentine 17 min
96 ’08 World: Edge d. Rey Mysterio 12:30
97 ’88 Ricky Steamboat d. Rick Rude 17 min
98 ’00 Taz d. Kurt Angle 3 min
99 ’02 Ric Flair d. Vince McMahon 15 min
100 ’98 IC Rock d. Shamrock 11 min
101 ’05 WWF Title: JBL d. Big Show/Kurt Angle 12 min
102 ’06 WWF Title: John Cena d. Edge 14
103 ’97 Vader d. Undertaker 13 min
104 ’13 Tags: Hell No d. Rhodes Scholars 9:30
105 ’93 Steiners d. Beverlys 10:30
106. '18 RAW Tags: Sheamus/Cesaro d. Rollins/Jordan 13 min.
107. ’07 World: Batista d. Ken Kennedy 10:30
108. '16 Women: Charlotte d. Becky 11:30
109. '20 Roman Reigns d. King Corbin 21:30
110. ’10 ECW: Christian d. Ezekial Jackson 12 min
111 ’88 Islanders d. Young Stallions 14 min
112 ’02 Tags: Taz/Spike Dudley d. Dudleys 5 min
113 '16 Tags: New Day d. Usos 11 min
114 ’12 World: Cage: Daniel Bryan d. Big Show/Mark Henry
115 '19 Smackdown Tags: Miz/Shane d. The Bar 13:30 min
116 ’00 IC: Chris Jericho d. Chyna d. Bob Holly 7:30
117 ’08 JBL d. Chris Jericho 9:30
118 ’10 US: Miz d. MVP 7:30
119 ’97 Garza/Aguayo/Canek d. Estrada/Metal/.Guerrera 11 min
120 ’04 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar d. Bob Holly 6:30
121 '18 Universal Title: Lesnar d. Kane/Strowman 11 min
122 '15 Tags: Usos d. Miz/Mizdow 9:30
123 ’03 Brock Lesnar d. Big Show 6 min
124 Euro: '99 Sean Waltman d. Gangrel 6 min
125 ’98 Vader d. Goldust 8 min
126 ’95 IC Jeff Jarrett d. Razor Ramon 18 min
127 ’99 IC: Ken Shamrock d. Billy Gunn 14:30
128 ’04 Jr. Rey Mysterio d. Jamie Noble 3:30
129 ’91 Boss Man d. Barbarian 14 min
130 '14 Brock Lesnar d. Big Show 2 min
131’92 IC: Roddy Piper d. Mountie 5:30
132 ’08 Ric Flair d. MVP 8 min
133 ’98 Mini/Mosaic/Nova d. Battalion/Torito/Tarantula 8 min
134 ’97 Ahmed Johnson d. Farooq 9 min
135 ’96 Ahmed Johnson d. Jeff Jarrett 6:30
136 ’10 WWF: Sheamus d. Randy Orton 12:30
137 ’07 ECW: Bobby Lashley d. Test 7:30
138 ’04 Tags: Evolution d. Dudleys 4:30
139 ’03 World Title: Scott Steiner d. HHH 18:30
140 ’09 World John Cena d. JBL 15:30
141 ’99 Boss Man d. Road Dogg 12 min
142 ’90 Hacksaw Duggan d. Big Boss Man 10:30
143 ’91 Ted DiBiase/Virgil d. Dusty/Dustin 10 min
144 ’00 Tags: New Age Outlaws d. Acolytes 2:30
145 ’94 Tatanka d. Bam Bam Bigelow 8
146 ’94 IC: Razor Ramon d. IRS 11:30
147 ’96 IC: Goldust d. Razor 14:30
148. '20 Smackdown Women: Bayley d. Lacey 9:30
149 ’89 Rockin Robin d. Judy Martin 6:30
150 ’11 Women: Eve d. Natalya/Layla/Michelle McCool 5 min
151 '15 Bellas d. Page/Natty 8 min
152 ’12 Bellas/Beth/Natalya d. Kelly/Eve/Alicia/Tamina 5:30
153 ’02 Women: Trish d. Jazz 4 min
154 ’09 Women: Melina d. Beth Phoenix 6:30
155 ’92 Tags: Natural Disasters d. LOD 9:30
156 ’98 Tags: LOD d. New Age Outlaws 8 min
157 ’91 Mountie d. Koko 9
158 ’05 Casket: Undertaker d. Heidenreich 13:30
159 ’91 WWF Title: Sgt. Slaughter d. Ultimate Warrior 12:30
160 ’06 World: Kurt Angle d. Mark Henry 9:30
161 ’93 Bam Bam Bigelow d. Big Boss Man 10 min
162 ’95 Undertaker d. IRS 12:30
163 '15 Ascension d. New Age Outlaws 5:30
164 ’01 Women: Ivory d. Chyna 3:30
165 ’99 Women: Sable d. Luna 4:30
166 ’12 Brodus Clay d. Drew McIntyre 1 min
167 ’06 Boogeyman d. JBL 2 min
168 ’90 Bushwackers d. Rougeaus 13:30
169 ’12 John Cena draw Kane 11
170 ’90 Brutus Beefcake draw Lanny Poffo 11 min
171 ’92 Beverlys d. Bushwackers 15 min
172 ’10 Women: Mickie James d. Michelle McCool :30
173 ’03 Torrie Wilson d. Dawn Marie 3:30
174 ’06 Women: Mickey James d. Ashley 7:30
175. '94 WWF Title: Yokozuna d. Undertaker 14:30
