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WWE will present the Greatest Royal Rumble this Friday from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Here is our take on what should go down this Friday afternoon:
The Greatest Royal Rumble.
Dave: I think whoever wins here should be someone that is a top card guy that will use this to challenge for the Title of his brand. AJ and an Nakamura are tied up in the Smackdown feud so the Universal Title should have a challenger set here. Braun Strowman winning, and then going after the Universal Title, makes the most sense to me. If not him, Bobby Lashley is my second choice but I don't see that happening. Also, since this will be about two hours, or more, it should be the main event.
Mike: I predict a long, long, long match. The most obvious choices for the win are Daniel Bryan and Braun Strowman, unless they do something completely out of left field with a surprise like Brock or Roman appearing. It's going to be really hard to have a legitimate prediction for this one, so I am going to go with Braun tossing out a ton of people and winning in the end.
Richard: Since this will be the longest Royal Rumble in the history of Royal Rumbles, I wonder if anyone in the first half of the field will even be considered a viable contender or do they try for the coast to coast winner in this match? Braun seems like the logical choice, but I say that the person entering at number 45 wins the match (so let it be Braun). I would love to see Big E have a strong performance to give him a boost and maybe let people think that he can contend for a singles title as well as be part of the New Day. The other person who I think could have a great performance is Bobby Lashley. I think they could also give Sami a good run in the match and I wonder if they will book this outside of the box to cater to the Saudi fans more than what might be expected in other countries. I am looking forward to seeing how the final spots are filled. Do we get Hall of Famers, names from the past, or NXT talent in this match? Andrew has an interesting name for this match, and you can hear who it is on the Preview audio.
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Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Title.
Dave: If this isn’t where Reigns finally wins the Title then I will just throw up my hands and never understand what they are doing with both Lesnar and the Title. As I have said before, that belt is the most important in the company and the man who holds it needs to be on TV. When he isn’t there, it sends a bad message to the viewers. I don’t know if Reigns is the answer or not, but no one said he has to hold it for a while. It just needs to come off of Brock and it needs to happen on this show. Then they should use Brock as what he actually is, a special attraction.
Mike: Roman will win the belt here and my prediction is that Reigns escapes the cage to lose so Brock doesn't have to be pinned clean.
Richard: Every time I pick against Brock,he wins, so for purposes of how I want this match to end, I am going with Brock (even though I want Roman to win). This should lead to whoever wins facing Braun so he can run with the title before we get into the 'about time he won' period. If they keep the title on Brock, do they have him in Montreal to lose the title? With it being a cage match, they can do the escape finish so Brock doesn't have to get pinned to lose. Do they do a spot where Brock suplexes Roman through the cage or maybe Roman spears Brock through the cage and then lands on the floor?
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Title.
Dave: Nakamura needed something after failing to win the belt at WrestleMania. The heel turn could be the answer. Since he has showed that he is fine with breaking the rules, they might as well have him do it here and steal the belt from Styles and see what they have in him as the champion. If he loses again here, it pretty much cements he is a mid carder for the rest of his run. I don’t know if he can get over as a top guy in Vince’s world but I know he’s talented enough that I would give him the shot to try, and not waste the opportunity.
Mike: I have liked the swagger and arrogance that Nakamura has shown thus far since his heel turn at WrestleMania. To me, this could be the blowaway match we hoped to see at Mania but didn't really get, but I don't see a clean finish here. I really can see Nakamura getting himself DQ'd to continue the program.
Richard: I can see this as a step on the road to Backlash where there is a non-finish to set up a stipulation match. Since Nakamura has gone from 'Knee to Face' to 'Forearm to Ding Ding', maybe it is time for get a taste of his medicine and let AJ hit him low to get DQed and have a No DQ match where they can just low blow each other for 20 minutes (okay, maybe not). If they decided to take the title off AJ, they can have the ref get distracted and Nakamura cheats to win to set up the rematch at Backlash. If they go goofy for the finish, I hope it doesn't take away from a good match to that point.
Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal for the US Title.
Dave: Jinder is on Raw now and has lost twice since coming over. It would make no sense to have him win the Title back after that, and that’s not even considering the fact that it would move the belt to another brand. They could have Joe win the IC belt and then switch he and Jinder but that would seem really contrived to me. They have broken Jeff away from Matt so keep the belt where it is. If this belt changes, the IC will have to as well unless they make things really goofy for a while.
Mike: In a perfect world, Jeff Hardy retains, but I can really see this one going either way.
Richard: Does the result of this match tie into the result of the IC title match? I would have Jeff retain the title and keep it on Smackdown. I liked the attack on Jeff on Tuesday to give Mahal a slight advantage but he has lost his two matches since he returned to Raw so why let him win this one?
Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title.
Dave: If Jinder wins, I could see Miz or Joe winning. Joe already has a match with Reigns at Backlash and is booked against him on other shows. But if it’s me, I have it come down to Rollins and Balor. Rollins retains but barely, setting up a feud between he and Finn. I want to see that.
Mike: As I talked about on the We Don't Need No Stinkin' Name Show, I'd really like to see Miz end up the winner here so he can take the belt back to Smackdown with him, since he really has done an admirable job at raising the profile and credibility of the championship. It will be interesting to see if Lashley is added, as some of the local advertising has listed him, but even if he's not part of this match, this really has the potential to completely steal a ridiculously stacked show. Of everything on the card, this is the one match I am personally looking forward to the most.
Richard: Imagine if Joe or Miz win this match and then the Bar win the tag titles to leave Brock as the only male champion on Raw. I would love to see Joe or Miz win but it makes sense to keep it on Seth. I hope we don't see the 'crazy spot off the top of the ladder when the match can be won' spot because a Coup De Grace off the top of the ladder will look cool, but it could lead to trouble if it is not done right. This is my pick for the match of the night because of the four men involved.
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro and Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team Titles.
Dave: The Bar winning the RAW Titles would present a goofy situation as they are on Smackdown now. Beyond that, Matt and Bray have been a lot of fun together and I would like to see that continue and for them to get some traction. If The Bar wins, it also means that the two men that lost the belts to one are the champs again, and that isn’t good for the straps.
Mike: I think everyone is in agreement here that Bray and Matt Hardy are victorious here.
Richard: I cannot believe that I am picking Bray Wyatt to win the match, but I don't want The Bar to leave Smackdown because of the other matches they can have and Sheamus and Cesaro versus Harper and Rowan sounds so fun. Matt and Bray can dominate the Raw tag team scene.
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.
Dave: You don’t put the belts on The Brothers just to take them off this quickly. They need to retain here so WWE can see what they have in the twosome. I am not a huge fan of the gimmick but they deserve a chance to show if it can get over.
Mike: I could see them doing a disputed finish here in order to keep the program going.
Richard: I really like that they gave the titles to Harper and Rowan and these two teams have had some very good matches in the past. I hope they keep the titles on Luke and Erick and the options for the division are very intriguing to me. Bludgeons vs Sanity could be interesting.
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a Casket Match.
Dave: Taker didn’t come back at Mania and trash John Cena only to lose his specialty match to Rusev. It might be his Day in Saudi Arabia, but Rusev will be closed in the box by the end of his bout.
Mike: This will be about Undertaker's entrance and the spectacle that comes with that, not about having an incredible bout. Rusev isn't winning.
Richard: At least Rusev won't be just another name in the Greatest Royal Rumble. Maybe Undertaker Gimmick is more powerful than Rusev Day. Will Aiden get in this match to add some goofy to the situation?
John Cena vs. Triple H.
Dave: Given said beatdown by Taker at Mania, I see Vince wanting to make John Jack “strong again”, as if he really needs it. HHH is the consummate company man so he will help his father-in-law do that by putting John Jack over. HHH is now so much more important out of the ring than in it, and that is a huge compliment. Cena's value to WWE is inside the squared circle.
Mike: This is probably going to be the ultimate "send the crowd home happy" show and that would include Cena winning clean with the AA. HHH losing will be forgotten immediately afterwards, anyway.
Richard: At least Cena doesn't have to be told by a referee to interrupt an important post match moment to know whether he has a match on Friday. Cena gets the win after countering a Pedigree into an Attitude Adjustment.
Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto for the Cruiserweight Title.
Dave: It’s too soon for Cedric to lose the Title. He just won it and Kalisto should give him a great challenge but Cedric needs to come out with the win. The goal here should be to give the audience a great, high flying match. These two can get that job done.
Mike: I concur with Dave here. Alexander has looked great since winning the belt and has been one of the true highlights of the division. While Kalisto is really talented and fun to watch, I don't see a title change here.
Richard: I wonder if they put Kalisto in this spot instead of Mustafa Ali since I think they will have Alexander retain. This will be a good match and I look forward to seeing what happens with the future of 205 Live.
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