9 WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Results Predictions
Like father, like daughter.
WrestleMania is, of course, the biggest date in the wrestling (or at least, the WWE) calendar. But is it the best?
The exhausting bloat of the show-of-shows and the desperation to create 'moments' has gradually began to chip away the overall enjoyment of the most prestigious of pay-per-views. It's obviously still the one day we all look forward to, but has it perhaps started to become, dare we say it, a little overwrought?
By the 20th hour of content across a three-day weekend, you never want to hear another bell.
Really, it's the anticipation of WrestleMania that makes it so special. And that anticipation begins with the Royal Rumble: truly the best show on WWE's annual schedule.
The timeless format remains as compelling as ever, as the excitement for the big one begins to build in earnest. Batista-shaped missteps aside, this is as good as it gets, before the bigger picture begins to emerge over the following three months and our hopes and dreams are tempered by fate or faulty booking.
2018's edition was perhaps the best PPV WWE have presented in years, a glorious new dawn that ultimately, proved false. 2019 might see the return of the old guard - only this year, it'll be more than welcome.
9. Happy New Rusev Day
It's a brand new year and that means a brand new Rusev Day - and who knows, perhaps at long last a reversal of the Bulgarian's pitiful pay-per-view fortunes.
So reliable is a Rusev defeat on the big shows - he's literally lost every match dating back to December 2016 - that we've filled these column inches with fun facts about his home country. That joke wore thin around the time he was thumped in four seconds by Randy Orton, so his turnaround is as welcome for us as it is him.
Unfortunately, it has to come at the expense of Shinsuke Nakamura. Having last year's Royal Rumble winner lose on the pre-show twelve months on really puts the exclamation point on his criminal fall from grace. What's next for Nak? We can think of some options...
Prediction: No Fear, Sofia: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Bulgaria returns next month.