Our 3 Cents - Royal Rumble 2023
Welcome to Our 3 Cents! We're about to start the most exciting time of the year! The ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA! The Rumble is always one of the most anticipated shows for obvious reasons. Without further to do......
John: 57-17 (77%)
Lonnie: 53-21 (72%)
Jesse: 44-30 (59%)
Let's take a look at the card:
Pitch Black Match
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
Jesse: I think like most of us, we have no idea what to expect this match to actually be. I have a hard time picking this match because I know Uncle Howdy is going to get involved, but who is he going to help? I think he will help Bray win so that sets them up for a match at Mania.
W: Bray Wyatt
Lonnie: I feel like Wyatt and Knight together was a good choice for both men. Wyatt faces someone new and gets to reestablish his character. Knight is getting a lot of air time in a major feud to make his mark on the main roster. As far as the match, I have no idea what to expect from this. I just hope it’s not too “over done” and actually let’s these two wrestle some. In the end, this match serves to set Bray up for something bigger at Mania.
W: Bray Wyatt
John: Let me talk to ya!! One would think this is a slam dunk pick and Bray would win this easily. However, we don't know exactly what a pitch black match is or the rules. LA Knight has been equally great throughout this in my opinion. I hate for a loss to just derail him. A part of me even feels like Knight could win this as Uncle Howdy could cost Bray the match and I don't think anyone would think anything of it. I mean Uncle Howdy did drop Bray with a Sister Abigail a few weeks ago. I could see them heading towards Wyatt vs. Howdy at Mania. It's Bray's first match back so he's still the safe bet but I feel like Knight could get the surprising win! YEAH!
W: Bray Wyatt
WWE Raw Women's Championship Match
Bianca Belair (champ) vs. Alexa Bliss
Jesse: I want Alexa to be champ again, right behind Bayley she deserves it the most. I mean she has had to carry this Fiend gimmick for what seems like 5 years. Sadly I don’t see her winning, since Bianca will be champ going into Mania, and she has that reality show coming out.
W: Bianca Belair
Lonnie: I really feel like the Raw women’s division has been spinning its wheels. Bianca is a good champion and they have Bayley and Becky on the roster, but I just feel like the division isn’t hitting its potential. While it is nice to see Alexa make it back to the title picture, I fully expect Uncle Howdy to get involved in this match leading to Bianca retaining.
W: Bianca Belair
John: I may be in the minority here but I'm been very underwhelmed by Belair's championship reign. Her feud with Becky ran it's course and I didn't love her feud with Bayley. I felt Bayley should of won the championship to build up Damage Control but that didn't happen. Since that feud, Belair has been in a holding pattern. Bliss is a serviceable challenger here but I feel like she has bigger things going on with Bray Wyatt/Uncle Howdy. I would welcome a title change here but I think Belair holds the gold until Mania.
W: Bianca Belair
WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns (champ) vs. Kevin Owens
Jesse: I say the same thing about KO I said about Alexa, he deserves to be champ but it’s not going to happen. Sami will somehow be involved, but KO ain't walking out of the rumble as champ.
W: Roman Reigns
Lonnie: Owens should have ended Reigns’ long title run years ago when he had him in handcuffs…. But some bad officiating later and we have Roman on a historic run. This match is going to involve Sami and help set up the next stage of the Sami/Bloodline saga. We know Roman will retain here, it’s just a matter of how it goes down that is the interesting part.
W: Roman Reigns
John: I really like KO and wish there was a way he could hold one of the championships but it's not going to happen here. Reigns should no doubt take the titles to WrestleMania. This is just another bump in the road. It's unfortunate because this story has been gold. I see Sami Zayn showing his allegiance to Reigns and making sure Reigns leaves with the gold.
W: Roman Reigns
30 Woman Royal Rumble Match
Participants include: Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega, Emma, Lacey Evans, Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Xia Li, and 18 TBD
Jesse: It seems like nobody is talking about the women rumble, which is disappointing. Now is the time to build up some women for the mania stretch but they have missed the chance on that. Not to mention cutting womens time on Raw XXX but atleast we got to see DX for the 47th time in the last 5 years.
W: Rhea Ripley
Lonnie: I feel like I should pick Charlotte or Ronda because I swear WWE hates the fans when it comes to the women’s division. Hopefully with Triple H in charge this changes. I think the best pick here is Rhea. She has been great as part of the Judgement Day and I feel it is her time to become a main event person.
W: Rhea Ripley
John: We haven't had many confirmed names for this one. Besides those announced, I assume big names like Becky Lynch and Bayley will be added. I'd like to see a returning Asuka in the match and hopefully she debuts her darker Kana character. I hope Charlotte is not in this like she was before when she was champion. As for the winner, it wouldn't surprise me if Becky won it but I have no desire to see her face Bianca or Charlotte again. Therefore, I'm going with Rhea Ripley to win it and face Bianca at Mania. I believe Ripley should of won when Belair won it a couple years ago. This would also be great for the Judgment Day and hearing them all gloat of Ripley going to Mania would be great!
W: Rhea Ripley
30 Man Royal Rumble Match
Participants include: Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Ricochet, Bobby Lashley, Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Austin Theory, Gunther, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Omos, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Santos Escobar, Rey Mysterio, Karrion Kross, Brock Lesnar, Xavier Woods, The Miz, Dominik Mysterio and 11 TBD
Jesse: What a damn crap shoot this is. Cody is the odds on favorite but I just don’t see him winning and WWE throwing us a curveball. Sami is very hot right now and should get the Kofi and Daniel Bryan treatment and win, but I think he will interfere in the KO/Roman match and will have a match himself vs Roman at Elimination Chamber. The Rock is too old for this shit now and would do horrible. The surprise entrant this year will be Stone Cold himself. He wasn’t at Raw XXX, and imaging the roar when that glass shatters at #27? But that leads me to who I think should win…Seth Freaking Rollins. They haven’t closed the loop from last year when he technically beat Roman, and what a better time than to headline one of the Mania Nights.
W: Seth "Freakin" Rollins
Lonnie: I think there are three decent choices here: Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, or The Rock. Of those three I think The Rock is a stretch. He has been rumored to come back for years and never has. Also, I don’t believe they would be able to keep it a secret and nothing has leaked yet. Realistically I think Sami and Cody are going to get Wrestlemania title shots at one of Roman’s championships. I feel like Roman will turn on Sami in the next month or two leading to them fighting on Saturday. And then Rumble winner Cody will get his match Sunday night and prevail over a weakened Roman from his match the previous night with Sami. Cody was clearly being built up with all his wins over Seth before his injury to fight Roman and I believe they still to that plan on his return.
W: Cody Rhodes
John: As much as I'd love to see Sami Zayn win this and cap off a great Bloodline story, all the hype and video packages point to a returning Cody Rhodes getting the win. I mean they even were hyping what time he was going to be on Raw back before he got hurt. WWE probably sees this as the best option since The Rock appears to be out of the picture. While I think Cody is the favorite, having Sami win and pay off the whole Bloodline story is too good in my eyes to pass up. The crowd would be nuts for it as he has been super over for months now.
W: Sami Zayn
That does it for this edition of Our 3 Cents!! Check back for a full review of the event to see how we did!
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