How would I book the Royal Rumble matches.

This Saturday is everyone's favorite pay-per-view, The Royal Rumble! The event is always shrouded in mystery because you never know who will enter the Rumble. In previous years we have gotten shocking debuts like Aj Styles making his WWE debut and polarizing moments like Keith Lee confronting a shocked Brock Lesner. I could go on for days about all the shocking moments we have seen, but that's for a different blog. Today I will discuss who I would pick to win the Royal Rumble and other minor details that come with the match. This Rumble is significant not just because it is the first Rumble with Triple H in charge of creative it also has the tall task of washing last year's ABOMINATION out of the fans' minds!! Last year was in conversations of the worst Royal Rumble ever, which is impressive when you think back to some other stinkers over the years, that was last year, and 2023 provides a new year and new ideas!

Men Royal Rumble: This one is easy to pick; I'll start with yes, you can make a case for a few men, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, and GUNTHER... The Rock, BUT the man I would book to win is Cody Rhodes! Cody has set the world on fire by announcing his return at the upcoming pay-per-view, and he has promised to achieve his goal and win the world title. Cody has the perfect story to tell. He is the fallen angel who left WWE to build his legacy and to make his father proud! While he was gone, he did just that; Cody Rhodes helped create AEW and won world titles in other promotions, Cody did everything he set out to do, but he chose to return to WWE to cement himself as the top star he is. He came back to help cement his family legacy as one of the greatest wrestling families ever! Cody made it clear what he wanted most: the title his legendary father never won. He wants to hold that world title over his head and do something his father Dusty never could do, it's the ultimate tribute to his father, and he will not be stopped. That story alone is enough for fans to get behind the beloved babyface. Combine that with Cody coming off an injury that was supposed to keep him out for months, but he is returning sooner than projected. Cody is one of the few top babyfaces WWE has to pose a legit threat to Roman Reigns because he has all the fans by his side, and his gutsy performance at Hell in A Cell has made fans believe in the American Nightmare. Having Cody win the Royal Rumble will only make him look even stronger and give him the necessary momentum to face Roman Reigns.

The winner is the most important part of the Rumble, but a very important superlative is the "iron man" of the Rumble. The wrestler who lasts the longest but does not win can elevate a superstar or push them further into a title push and have Cody defeat Roman Reigns for the title (you can read How I would end the reign of Roman Reigns in a different post.) My pick for Iron man is Seth Rollins; have him come in two or three and make him last most of the match. He has the motor to go all night long if he has to, and the man can't have a bad match! A phenomenal performance at the rumble can open SEVERAL opportunities for him, like a mid-card title, a marquee feud with a Hall of Famer/superstar; heck, if WWE can split the unified, universal WWE championship, they can have Seth Challenge for that title. The man with the most eliminations should be Bobby Lashley; after being screwed by Brock Lesner for a second time, I expect the all-mighty to come out with a vengeance, and the former world champion will solidify himself as the top beast by eliminating the most men and give him some further momentum to head into a final war with Brock Lesner at a later date. The surprises are always hard to guess, but I'd have the surprises be the return of Zack Ryder, who's on a fantastic run on the indies, a legend like Diamond Dallas Page getting a fun little run in the rumble, have Jay White (if possible) SHOCK THE WORLD and appear in the rumble and set the world on fire. I could even see the return of Matt Riddle, Johnny Gargano, and Ciampa, if possible, at Rumble night.

Women Royal Rumble: This one is the most challenging to pick, in my opinion; it can genuinely be anyone, and I have a few names in mind, like Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss/ Bianca Belair (depending on who loses their title match) are the names that come to mind. The women's division in WWE is depth, and picking a winner is TOUGH, so I'm going to say I'd give Liv Morgan the Royal Rumble win, but I'm going to book it in the hopes the WWE doesn't screw up a second time with her push. I enjoyed her title run, but it felt like they made her more interesting the second she lost it, and Liv felt her most confident. I think the confident hardcore psycho would flourish under the brightest lights and could finally take that leap the fans have been hoping she'd take. Liv winning would be perfect for the Royal Rumble win. Waiting for her at Wrestlemania is the woman Liv has never beaten and possibly Liv Morgans's most formidable challenge, Charlotte. Constant disappointment follows Liv when she faces Charlotte, so the buildup to this match will bring firey moments as Liv is no longer the doe-eyed babyface scared of the spotlight! She is the confident, tough woman who has gone head-to-head with some of the most talented women in wrestling and has won. This feud can be for the women's championship and be Liv's final quest for respect and culminating at Wrestlemania Liv takes. Home the title defeats Charlotte and finally earns the respect of the top dog in the division, solidifying her star status and showing the fans that Liv is here to stay and a big piece of the division for years to come. The Iron Woman for this match, I'm going to pick a newer face to Raw and have it be Candice LeRae, LeRae is a veteran of the indy and a mainstay on NXT for years, so she is no rookie and certainly has Royal Rumble experience, so having her go deep into the Rumble is a phenomenal idea to show the fans how talented she truly is and build her up as an up and coming star in the division. The woman with the most eliminations can only be one, and that is Rhea Ripley! Ripley is a juggernaut dominating women (and some men). She eliminates the most women out of everyone in the Rumble and will end up facing the champion at Wrestlemania; the Royal Rumble winner DOES NOT PICK. We see some history tonight because Rhea appears in the women's AND men's Royal Rumble, and she will be on the short list of women who have been in the men's rumble and eliminated someone. For the surprises, I see Beth Phoenix returning at the Rumble, and Chelsea Green will also return to WWE. In a shocking moment, fans will see Kairi Sane, the NJPW women's champion, appearing in the rumble, and, once again, WWE will enter through the forbidden door. We will also get some cameos from NXT stars like Roxanne Perez, Sol Ruca, Tiffany Stratton, and Cora Jade.

This Rumble has so much potential to be unique, and a lot of fantastic talent will be in it. I hope that WWE builds some new stars and makes some wrestlers a bigger deal. The talent in WWE delivers every time they get the chance to show it off, and hopefully, with Triple H in charge, we will see wrestlers showcase themselves in ways we have never seen before. That's what the rumble is for! to build stars of the next era.