WWE Royal Rumble - Women's Royal Rumble Match

[Jack-Hammer]

Stephanie McMahon just confirmed at the closing moments of Raw that, after months of rumors and speculation, there will be a women's Royal Rumble match taking place at the ppv.

Details are sure be revealed in the coming weeks such as if this will also be open to women currently competing in NXT and how many seconds it will be in between competitors coming out among other things. It could be fun or it could be little more than a novelty, depending on whether or not they really strive to treat this similarly to the men's match.

If you count all the women on the main roster, including Becky Lynch who's filming a movie and Lana, then there are 21 women on the main roster. As a result, I can see them bringing up a few additional women from NXT like Ember Moon, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay & Kairi Sane, maybe a few greats from the past like Lita and Trish Stratus, I can also easily see one or both of the Bella Twins popping up to compete, so it won't be difficult gathering up 30 women to fill out the match.

 

[Khalifa]

Don’t tell me Natalya has retired just before the woman’s Rumble. Maybe she is going down to NXT but still. Would prefer to wait one more year for the woman’s Rumble so we get a few new names in their but at the end of the day the womans roster is the best it’s been ever so why not and to be fair you could just call up Ember Moon and etc from NXT if you need to. Is the woman’s championship as good as a prize as the WWE championship? Feels like a Rumble for the IC title just with history being made butt again it’s what they’ve got so it does make sense. Does the winner switch brands? That’d make it more interesting for me if say Asuka went and fought Charlotte.

The Rumble has gotten stale for the last couple of years so just switching the gender doesn’t do anything for me. It’s histiry and that’s cool but like every other first gimmick match (except the HITC) the woman have had, it’ll be far from good. I’m expecting an Asuka win, what better way to debut the Rumble I think.

 

[Da Prophet]

I'm begging for them to have Ronda Rousey win it. It would be hilarious after the reaction tonight of everyone being so proud that the women have been given this chance, if a non-wrestler can in and stole the win. Let someone go from number one all the way to the final two, only for Rousey to enter at 30 and win it.

I just want to see it because people would lose their minds over Rousey coming in and taking the historic win from someone else. A non-wrestler winning the first ever female Royal Rumble, it's classic WWE!

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Will Asuka be in it? And if she's in it, isn't she by default the winner? Or are they going to turn yet another undefeated streak into a "singles matches only undefeated streak"?

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I'm not a big fan of it mostly because women battle royal are normally clunky and boring, but I guess since they have so much time to fill why not do one instead of 2 championship matches. My only problem is what will be the prize for this one especially if Charlotte and Alexa bliss are involve in the match? Do we had more women's from nxt to fill in the last 10 spot or do you just do a 20 women rumble match? That's going to be questions that they will have to address. As for now, I fill just a cheap stunt because they need to fill time on the show.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Terrible idea.

The PPV is going to be a big mess. So is the first hour going to be Women's Rumble match, second hour one or two non-Rumble matches, third hour the Male Rumble match? Sounds like a shit show if it goes that way.

I doubt they book the Women's Rumble as good as they do the Male Rumble match when it comes to time and moments.

The only thing I look forward to though with the Women's Rumble just like the Male Rumble match is just the surprise entrants, so there's that at least.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Terrible idea.

The PPV is going to be a big mess. So is the first hour going to be Women's Rumble match, second hour one or two non-Rumble matches, third hour the Male Rumble match? Sounds like a shit show if it goes that way.

I doubt they book the Women's Rumble as good as they do the Male Rumble match when it comes to time and moments.

The only thing I look forward to though with the Women's Rumble just like the Male Rumble match is just the surprise entrants, so there's that at least.

There's not a chance in hell this thing goes for a full hour. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was knocked down to 20 entrants. They could fill it out to 30, but I guarantee that means you have the occasional woman who's in there about as long as Gail Kim that one time.

Putting it at 20 people means most women will get at least a respectable amount of time, as RR matches go.

It does beg the question: Is it going to be over the top rope like the men's RR match? Women's battle royals generally are through the ropes period. Not over the top.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I just wish they would they would make storylines out of these women wanting things and then having to go out and prove themselves instead of a simple promo about you have proven yourself so we are going to give you something that you never mentioned that you wanted.

Really good promo by Steph but now what. The next month of Raw is just going to be the same as the men saying, "I'm going to win the Rumble", "No, I'm going to win the Rumble". Let's fight.

The match itself will be fine. Hopefully Sasha does something innovative as she is the most likely to get the opportunity to do something different and do it well. I expect Bayley to be number one. It should last about 25 to 35 minutes. I suspect a WM championship match will be the prize, which will be won by Ellsworth . How about they go bigger and tell the women that the winner gets anything they want? Then have Charlotte win it and ask for their own women's PPV event. That can be the catalyst for Rousey to show up and be the main event of that women's PPV.

I'm getting ahead of myself here and only setting myself up for disappointment. Must keep expectations limited. The build to the match will be generic, the match will be fine, it will be dull for 85% of it, the other 15% will be the thrill of a couple cool spots, a return, the newness, and then Asuka or Becky will likely win and face their respective brand champ at WM.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I'm not a big fan of it mostly because women battle royal are normally clunky and boring, but I guess since they have so much time to fill why not do one instead of 2 championship matches. My only problem is what will be the prize for this one especially if Charlotte and Alexa bliss are involve in the match? Do we had more women's from nxt to fill in the last 10 spot or do you just do a 20 women rumble match? That's going to be questions that they will have to address. As for now, I fill just a cheap stunt because they need to fill time on the show.

Also the other question coming out of the announcement is that if it's only a raw brand exclusive match or if both brand will be represented in that match because it wasn't made cleared last night. The announcement felt rush like they didn't even think about how this was going to work before announcing it. In the end this felt more like the other 2 first they did for the women's and it was less about the girls in the match and more about promoting the women's revolution. The segment felt really out of place and made the announcement anti climatic. I just hope they figure out what they one to do with this before the rumble and put the performers first in the promotion of this match instead of promoting the whole women's revolution thing, because as it's stands right now, They're no point of doing this match outside for the simple reason of padding themselves in the back for doing another first with the women's.

 

[Wolf Pac]

There's not a chance in hell this thing goes for a full hour. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was knocked down to 20 entrants. They could fill it out to 30, but I guarantee that means you have the occasional woman who's in there about as long as Gail Kim that one time.

Putting it at 20 people means most women will get at least a respectable amount of time, as RR matches go.

It does beg the question: Is it going to be over the top rope like the men's RR match? Women's battle royals generally are through the ropes period. Not over the top.

If WWE knock it down to 20 entrants, they will likely get complaints from fans that it's not a proper Rumble like the Male Rumble match. If it doesn't go a full hour like the Male Rumble match, they will get complaints from people, saying the Women's Rumble match was about as useless as the 1995 Royal Rumble.

I just don't see this match going down as good or being treated the same as the Male Rumble as some people think, which is gonna lead to complaints. Plus the first Women's Hell in a Cell and Money In The Bank matches were shit.

They did have a Women's Battle Royal on NXT where the women were eliminated over the top rope, so yeah I believe it's going to be over the top rope in this one.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

Will Asuka be in it? And if she's in it, isn't she by default the winner? Or are they going to turn yet another undefeated streak into a "singles matches only undefeated streak"?

Haven't paid attention to the commentary much, so don't know if they're continuing Asuka's winning streak from NXT, but if so, her streak is already a '"singles matches only undefeated streak"' as she lost a battle royal in NXT.


I am happy for the women. Like GSB said, it could've used a better introduction/build up, but it is what it is, I guess.
I see some saying that they should have 30 participants but i disagree. 20 should be the max, that way there are fewer inexperienced women in the match. Something like...
1. Mickie James
2. Sasha
3. Becky
4. Paige
5. Bayley
6. Naomi
7. Natayla
8. Carmella
9. Alicia Fox
10. Ruby Riot
11. Nia Jax
12. Asuka
13. Tamina
14. Dana Brooke
15. Sonya Deville
16. Liv Morgan
Surprise entrances:
17. Ember Moon
18. Nikki Cross
19. Nikki Bella
20. Kharma (or any ex-TNA knockout would be cool)

If they can get a female "legend" to return, I would love to see Victoria back in the ring, more so than Lita and/or Trish.
As for the winner, if the Horsewomen vs Horsewomen at WM is the actual plan, there's no reason for Sasha, Bayley, or Becky to win, so I would say Asuka. If that isn't the plan, 100%, Becky should win.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Cool so long as it's not an abridged version. I suppose they've been working towards this for the past couple of years so it would be a shame if they rushed it. They don't necessarily need 30 competitors, 20 of their best would probably be better.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

If WWE knock it down to 20 entrants, they will likely get complaints from fans that it's not a proper Rumble like the Male Rumble match. If it doesn't go a full hour like the Male Rumble match, they will get complaints from people, saying the Women's Rumble match was about as useless as the 1995 Royal Rumble.

I just don't see this match going down as good or being treated the same as the Male Rumble as some people think, which is gonna lead to complaints. Plus the first Women's Hell in a Cell and Money In The Bank matches were shit.

They did have a Women's Battle Royal on NXT where the women were eliminated over the top rope, so yeah I believe it's going to be over the top rope in this one.

I agree with you about how if they don't have the same match as the male they will get complaints from fans, but you forgot something, this will probably be the opening match on the show like the women'S MITB match, so again that's something peoples might complaint about and the fact that just like the Hell in the Cell and Money in the bank match, this is just a PR move to make themselves look better in front of investors and mainstream media. It has nothing to do with the performers since the segment last night made them look like complete idiots and was counter productive to everything they build up with the raw women'S division over the past year.

 

[GOOZEKING]

Are the women going to go over the top rope or between the middle rope at the rumble? Cause I HATE it when they go between the middle rope during battle royals

 

[Sai the Uganda Guy]

Really hope James Ellsworth makes a shocking return and wins it in the end, much like (s)he won the first ever women's MitB match.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I agree with you about how if they don't have the same match as the male they will get complaints from fans, but you forgot something, this will probably be the opening match on the show like the women'S MITB match, so again that's something peoples might complaint about and the fact that just like the Hell in the Cell and Money in the bank match, this is just a PR move to make themselves look better in front of investors and mainstream media. It has nothing to do with the performers since the segment last night made them look like complete idiots and was counter productive to everything they build up with the raw women'S division over the past year.

Yeah, I agree with you on it just being a PR move to make themselves look better in front of investors & mainstream media. And that final segment on Raw was indeed ridiculous, going from "Bitch, I'm gonna kill you" to "Yay, we're getting a Royal Rumble"

As for the Women's Rumble opening the show, it only makes sense that it does with two Rumble matches on the show. They need to space them out from each other, so the fans don't get exhausted from watching two Rumble matches for two straight hours.

 

[Navi]

Unlike most posters I think it will be interesting. No way its going to take an hour and I don't think they will even put 30 women into it. Charlotte was promoting it last night on Smackdown and she said she will await the winner at Mania. So I'm assuming that she and Alexa Bliss will not be entering the match.

Some fans are also expecting Rhonda Rousey to show up, but she is filming a movie right now and won't be finished until February. Of course she could finish early, as of now though she will not be available. Also read that Trish Stratus is teasing a return at the Rumble, so you know if she comes back Lita might show up as well. Both are still in great shape and I don't think a one night event will hurt them, plus what a bonus for the fans.

I'm looking forward to it as the women have really stepped up and delivered every time they've been asked too. Much different from the bra and panties pillow fights of the Attitude Era. We've come a long way but there is a still a long way to go.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The novelty of the match alone is enough to have me interested and I think it'll come out alright.

As to the question of whether or not they go out over the top rope, they shouldn't even have the damn thing if they don't. Part of the whole purpose of the whole Women's Evolution schtick is to treat the women, or at least try to, in a similar way to the men and that doesn't happen without going over the top. The few times NXT holds women's battle royals, and there've been a couple, they always go over the top so there's no reason why it shouldn't be the same for the main roster.

Will it come off as important as the men's? Under most circumstances, probably not because the men's roster is and almost certainly always will be the backbone of any pro wrestling company, unless a company is strictly all female of course. I think fans will enjoy it just as they've enjoyed the overall experience of seeing women's wrestling actually get good in WWE, but this match won't be as important to them, no matter how well booked or who wins, as who wins the men's Royal Rumble so they can know who'll challenge for a top title at WrestleMania.

However, notice I said "most circumstances" and what I mean by that is that fans already know that the winner will almost certainly be a SmackDown wrestler. Given that it's all but written in the stars that Roman Reigns will face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the Universal Championship, it's a helluva waste to have him win the Rumble. To be perfectly honest, I'd almost rather they just let Lesnar "choose" his own opponent rather than waste a Royal Rumble win on Reigns or put him in a #1 contender's Elimination Chamber match the next month that we already know he'd win.

While I still think the winner of the men's Royal Rumble will matter more, it won't be by that big of a margin but IF Ronda Rousey does pop up as a surprise entrant and actually wins the thing, then that will overshadow anything the men do in any match for the rest of the night.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Great time for Ronda Rousey to show up and eliminate half of them. I would die of happiness.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

The one thing i would do is that as soon as next weeks raw, i would announce how many spot there is for the match and have some of the women's have qualifying match to get in the match. Not just give those spot away. I think a 20 women's royal rumble would be perfect, have half of the raw women's in it and half of the smackdown women been in it and use the rest of the spots for surprise entrant. Women'S like alicia Foxx, Dana Brooke, Carmella and Lana don't really need to be in this match anyway since we know they won'T win plus carmella still has the MITB briefcase so it give her a great out for not getting in the match.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Would Lita or Trish really be a surprise entrant? This is the first one and to not have a throwback or two would be more of a surprise than seeing either or both run out.

I hope they do a better job than the men. This winner gets a shot at Mania bit has been played out for so long. And really, climb the rope and point to the Mania sign afterwards...that isn't overdone either.

The entire PPV needs a good scrubbing and I hope the women do something that makes those in charge of the men's version up their game. Why have 30 men enter when 26 have no chance? This PPV has become lazy and predictable. And not predictable as in the people who watch all the time and read dirt sheets and spoilers. It is actually predictable to casual fans and it's a shame that WWE is seemingly ok with letting tradition carry this PPV. I miss creativity in wrestling. For all the bad Russo brought, he brought a hell of a lot more fun than this current crop.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Even though it was a foregone conclusion, Asuka announced last night that she was officially entering the women's Royal Rumble match before declaring that "nobody is ready" for her and delivering a kick that took out Alexa Bliss, whom Asuka interrupted. Alexa did a great job of looking intimidated, as she well should have, but, given how WWE booking usually goes, this is probably an indicator that Asuka won't be the one winning the match. Of course, this doesn't guarantee that Asuka won't come out on top, there's a feeling that it could potentially be anyone's match, but I think a lot of people will be disappointed if Asuka doesn't win and the actual winner doesn't feel like something special.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

The more I think about it, the more I feel like asuka will get screwed by Alexa bliss at the rumble and That's how she will get eliminated which will lead to a title match at elimination chamber. Asuka wins the title and go on to face the winner of the rumble which will probably be Paige at wrestlemania.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

I have no problem with the women getting a Rumble and maybe even headlining Mania one day...if it is for the right reasons. I think the women have the potential to have some groundbreaking storylines, if helped by creative. But, so far, it just seems like a rolling checklist of things for this women's revolution/evolution to accomplish. Money in the Bank was lame, but they checked that off the list. Now the Rumble, where apparently people want the dominant favorite to win in order to make it "special"(?)...another boring check off the list. It is just so fabricated how they refer to it every time as the inaugural women's Rumble. Would they say that in conversation? Or would they say "Rumble"? They are pushing it to people who already know it's a first. I think Stephanie McMahon is on a women are the greatest blah, blah, blah crusade and if the Rumble is another anticlimactic checklist filler, then an eventual women's Mania main event will be nothing exciting. It will be because they want to say they did it, rather than because it deserves it.

Having said that, I will just ignore their over-promoting of this match and pretend like a Trish/Lita entry will be a "shock". I'll give it a shot because I'll be watching anyway. But the way Steph pretty much begged the crowd to give it a YES chant, so they could edit it and sell it on recaps and video packages going forward--as if people were actually that excited--is laughable.

Like I said, I am not against women getting big chances. I just think their motivation, so far, has not been genuine. Give them a chance because they are athletic and talented and deserve it, not because your pushing some political/equality agenda.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

I have a feeling Ronda Rousey will be a surprise entrant at number 30 and will win the whole thing. Asuka getting the title before Mania would lead to one hell of a showdown between her and Ronda at the big show. The way WWE booking goes though I feel like Asuka's undefeated streak will end by some stupid roll up against Alexa Bliss or whatever. I wouldn't put it past WWE.

As for surprises, I think Trish and Lita are pretty much locks and it would be awesome to see them come face to face in the ring before both being eliminated. I'm looking forward to the match and hope it is 30 entrants and given time. I can see either the men's or women's Rumble opening the show then 2 or 3 matches between to give the show some breathing room. I just kind of hope we get the dumb Absolution and Riott Squad face off before the Rumble as WWE will make it seem like this huge epic thing if it happens in the Rumble even though well it's not.