Updated WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Match Card and Predictions Before Raw

History awaits for two WWE Superstars at the 2018 Royal Rumble.

While the traditional route to the WrestleMania main event is there for the winner of the men's event, one woman will get to write her name into the history books and become the first female winner at this year's show, which is approaching fast on the horizon.

Naturally, as is often the case at Royal Rumble, the 30-man—and 30-woman—extravaganzas take up the thinking of many with the event nearing.

But this year, there is plenty of other action on the card that should make for a well-rounded start to WrestleMania season as the company's plans for that show fall into place.

Ahead of Monday's taping of Raw, here's a look at the latest card and what the pay-per-view itself could throw up in terms of surprises.

Updated Match Card

Heading into this week's taping of Raw, the Royal Rumble card looks like this:

• Enzo Amore vs. Cedric Alexander (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
• The Usos vs. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin (WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
• Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan vs. The Bar (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
• Final of WWE United States Championship tournament
• Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane (WWE Universal Championship)
• AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (Handicap match for WWE Championship)
• 2018 Women's Royal Rumble match
• 2018 Men's Royal Rumble match

The confirmed participants for the Royal Rumble matches are:

• Men's Match: Elias, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, Matt Hardy, Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Aiden English
• Women's Match: Naomi, Asuka, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Paige, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Liv Morgan, Mickie James, Sarah Logan, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch

Daniel Bryan vs. Shane McMahon Moves a Step Closer to Reality

As things stand, there's still no clear indication when—or even if—Daniel Bryan will be allowed to wrestle in WWE again.

But that doesn't have to stop WWE's plans to have SmackDown's two authority figures clashing at WrestleMania—and those plans will move a step forward at Royal Rumble.

The two men find themselves in constant conflict with one another at present, leading to Bryan's decision to place Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in the WWE Championship picture, much to McMahon's chagrin.

Expect Styles to retain with the possibility of a dream match against a Royal Rumble winner like Shinsuke Nakamura hopefully all too much to resist—but also expect Shane to cost Zayn and/or Owens victory.

That will prompt Bryan into further retaliation, and whether it's Bryan himself or perhaps Zayn working for him, a match against Shane McMahon will begin to look a certainty for WrestleMania 34.

Both Brands' Tag Team Championships Change Hands

While the Universal Championship and the WWE Championship appear set for little change this month, the same cannot be said for Raw and SmackDown's tag titles.

Expect both to be likely contenders to change hands at Royal Rumble, with new feuds and WrestleMania rivalries set to fall into place by way of the results.

Firstly, there's no way Seth Rollins and the arrogant upstart Jason Jordan can stay on the same page for too long. Jordan is destined for a heel turn and a match against Rollins in the coming months. That could come by way of them losing their Raw tag titles to The Bar here—a team who are more than worthy of another run with the belts.

Then on SmackDown, while The Usos are the company's standout tag team by some distance at present, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin have been desperately close to claiming the gold for too long now.

They're capable of a solid run as champions themselves, perhaps even slowly turning heel to turn their attention to The New Day.

All the signs point to a sea of change in the tag divisions.

Asuka Starts, and Finishes, the First Women's Royal Rumble Match

When WWE makes history by hosting a women's Royal Rumble match for the first time in history later this month, don't bank on it being a passive, quiet affair.

There's every possibility the company is going to pull out all the stops to make sure the match is an instant classic, and that likely means some big performances from the star names in the bout.

Asuka falls into that bracket. The Empress of Tomorrow is one of the early favorites to win the bout—but WWE should go one further and have her last the entirety of the contest.

Have her enter as No. 1, and outlast all the other 29 competitors to go on and earn a championship shot against Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania.

If WWE is serious about making Asuka into an unstoppable force, this is a perfect opportunity to show that.

The Undertaker Costs John Cena Victory

Though WWE is yet to officially give any hints that we are destined for a blockbuster WrestleMania 34 bout between John Cena and The Undertaker, speculation is ablaze that is the direction both men are heading.

If that comes to fruition, it's possible that next week's Raw 25 will be the starting point for the feud—which makes complete sense.

But only when Cena steps through the ropes to compete in this year's Royal Rumble match will we see the feud take off.

WWE would be wise to use one of the biggest matches of the year as a pivotal point in the rivalry between these two behemoths—not necessarily by having Taker enter the match himself, but having him cost Cena a chance of victory and a title match at WrestleMania.

With Cena and just a few other guys left, the lights dim and Cena is stunned. Someone—perhaps a heel like Samoa Joe—uses the opportunity wisely, tossing Cena over the top rope and ending his hopes of winning.

It then gives Cena legitimate reasoning to want to finally lay The Deadman to rest once and for all at Mania.