10 Wrestlers Who Deserve A Big Push After WWE Royal Rumble 2019
Rollins and Lynch weren't the only big winners on 27 January.
Mark Royal Rumble 2019 down as WWE's first big success of the year.
While the pay-per-view wasn't without its problems (the taxing seven-hour runtime, for one), it largely delivered what people wanted from it: red-hot title fights, two solid over-the-top-rope battle royals, and a couple of favourable Rumble victors in Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
They stand as the night's biggest winners, and this week's Raw set their respective WrestleMania 35 courses. For Rollins, it's almost certainly Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and while Lynch has challenged Raw's Ronda Rousey, talk of a Triple Threat with Charlotte Flair refuses to die. Either option would likely blow the MetLife Stadium crowd away.
Though the Rumble winners stand to benefit most from the night's happenings, WWE's first 2019 pay-per-view brought dozens of other praise-worthy performances, many of which warrant bigger pushes. The road to WrestleMania will be paved with opportunities. WWE isn't always a true meritocracy, and they'll go with their guys and girls regardless of who showed out on 27 January, but the names within have done more than enough to justify a seat near the top of the table, no matter what WWE have planned for them...
10. Kacy Catanzaro
While this year's women's Royal Rumble was always going to include several NXT talents, few could've called Kacy Catanzaro's participation. Two short bouts in the 2018 Mae Young Classic were the extent of her televised WWE career up to that point. She hasn't made a single developmental taping, and with the Performance Center now more overstuffed than ever before, there's no sign of her breaking through any time soon.
Catanzaro shone regardless. She didn't score any eliminations, but she was able to outdo both Naomi and Kofi Kingston with the night's best escape spot. Gifs of her landing on her backside, scooting to the barricade, hand-walking to the post, then pulling herself up like a spider monkey will be replayed for years. That, coupled with a number of other impressive athletic feats, made her one of the match's biggest standouts.
A former gymnast and American Ninja Warrior competitor, Catanzaro's unique skillset means getting over is almost guaranteed. Whether or not she can actually work remains to be seen, but that's why she's in developmental: to learn. Nonetheless, she looked impressive against Rhea Ripley in the MYC. Let's hope we see more of her soon.