WWE Royal Rumble 2019 match card, rumors

The next pay-per-view (PPV) on the WWE schedule is the Royal Rumble event set to take place on Sun., Jan. 27, 2019, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, the company’s annual beginning of the year showcase featuring its most popular gimmick match. It will crown the next number one contender to either the Raw (Universal) or SmackDown Live (World) championship for the men, and either the Raw or SmackDown women’s title for the women.

We’re just two weeks away from showtime, and the card currently looks like this:

• Royal Rumble (Men)

R-Truth will enter at number 30 thanks to his Mixed Match Challenge win. Others to declare so far: John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Elias, Jinder Mahal, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Andrade Almas.

• Royal Rumble (Women)

Carmella will enter at number 30 thanks to her Mixed Match Challenge win. Others to declare so far: Natalya, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Alicia Fox, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Zelina Vega.

• Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman (Universal championship)

This match was made official when Strowman defeated Baron Corbin at TLC in a match designed entirely to get Corbin out of power and give Strowman some time to heal up from an elbow issue. He was always going to get this match. The latest rumors and reports indicate he still hasn’t been cleared to wrestle, but he is expected to be ready for this match.

• Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (WWE championship)

AJ Styles won a Fatal 5-Way to earn a rematch for the title here.

• Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks (Raw women’s championship)

Rousey said she wanted a match with Banks, so she got one. They did have Banks beat Nia Jax to become top contender first.

• Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (SmackDown women’s championship)

They did away with automatic rematches but Lynch still won a triple threat against both Charlotte and Carmella to earn her way back to another shot at the title she lost at TLC.

• The Bar vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz (SmackDown tag team championship)

Miz harassed McMahon into being tag partners and then they just sort of fell into a title shot. Because, well, McMahon.

• Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami.

205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick put together qualifying matches to determine who would challenge Murphy for his Cruiserweight championship. Kalisto, Tozawa, and Itami all won said matches to set up this Fatal 4-Way.

With eight matches already scheduled, including the two Rumble matches, that could end up being the entire card.

You in?