Bianca Belair vs. Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 40, Heel Kevin Owens, More Quick Takes

The arrival of new names, familiar faces resurfacing, and several Superstars cementing their path to WrestleMania 40 were among the top takeaways of WWE's Royal Rumble this past weekend.

Jade Cargill made a major impact in her official WWE in-ring debut in the women's Rumble, eliminating a slew of competitors and lasting until the final three. Now the focus shifts to what her immediate future holds in the company and if she'll be joining the main roster full-time en route to WrestleMania.

As expected, Kevin Owens didn't walk out of the Royal Rumble as United States champion, but the inconclusive finish does set the stage for an inevitable rematch with Logan Paul for the title. Ultimately, all signs point to Owens turning heel again ahead of 'Mania, but who he'd be working with is unknown.

There's any number of babyfaces for Owens to be put in a program with once he wraps up his rivalry with Paul. If nothing else, it will be a refreshing change of pace for his character after floundering on SmackDown for the past few months.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle why a heel turn for Owens is necessary, Bron Breakker's stellar showing in the men's Rumble, LA Knight maintaining momentum despite racking up losses, and more.

Should WWE Rush into Bianca Belair vs. Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 40?

Bianca Belair was the first name fans lobbied to see the debuting Jade Cargill share the squared circle with upon signing with WWE in the fall.

It didn't take long for the two to cross paths, as their brief face-to-face confrontation in the women's Rumble was one of the biggest highlights of the night and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

As it stands at the moment, Belair is without a WrestleMania match. Charlotte Flair would have been an obvious opponent, but the various injuries she suffered back in December ruled that out as a possibility.

Belair sticking around in the WWE Women's Championship picture would be the wrong call considering how overexposed she's been in the title hunt the last few years. A 'Mania match with Cargill would guarantee her a spot on the card and introduce Cargill to the masses as a massive deal.

With Cargill vs. Belair being a dream match for many, the decision to rush into it at this stage would be questionable, instead of saving it for down the road. If officials feel Cargill needs more seasoning, then putting them together as a tag team for WrestleMania would work just as well.

Bron Breakker Is More Than Ready for the WWE Main Roster Call-Up

The NXT presence has been missing in the men's Royal Rumble match in recent years, but the inclusion of Carmelo Hayes and especially Bron Breakker in the 2024 installment did wonders for both top prospects.

Breakker in particular has been greatly overdue for a main roster call-up, having lost the NXT Championship last April and doing nothing of note in NXT since. Although it's ideal for WWE to have a plan in place for any pending NXT call-ups on the main roster, Breakker should have been on either Raw or SmackDown some time ago.

His appearance in the men's Rumble gave a fans a small preview of what to eventually expect once he graces the main roster, and that should undoubtedly be soon.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported that the spot was originally occupied by Brock Lesnar before he was pulled from the pay-per-view. Everything about his many eliminations, his presentation and his sheer dominance screamed star.

If there are no tentative plans for WWE to bring back Lesnar for WrestleMania, Breakker would be a solid secondary choice, not to mention that he was the last man to pin Gunther two years ago in NXT.

He's currently competing in the Dusty Rhodes Classic alongside Baron Corbin, but having the Rumble mark his main roster call-up would be a more meaningful use of him (unless the idea will be to have him pull double duty in the meantime).

LA Knight Has Managed to Maintain Momentum Despite Recent High-Profile Losses

It was a mere matter of months ago that LA Knight was arguably the hottest commodity in all of WWE.

He was built up for a failed opportunity at Roman Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel. The subsequent returns of Randy Orton and CM Punk to the company did him no favors, either.

Despite that, he has successfully sustained his push at the main-event level, and that's no small feat.

Despite that, he has successfully sustained his push at the main-event level, and that's no small feat.

What's better is that his losing was won't continue for much longer. With Logan Paul retaining the United States Championship at the Rumble, Knight vs. Paul with Knight taking the title is the only appropriate endgame for Knight at WrestleMania 40.

Knight may not be a world champion until 2024 at the earliest, but being booked like one until then is certainly encouraging.

Who Will Serve as the New Voice of SmackDown?

Per PWInsider, Kevin Patrick was released by WWE last week, leading the lead commentator spot on SmackDown wide open.

Patrick was perfectly adequate in the role but didn't excel as quickly as officials likely hoped he would. The decision to remove him had to be made, but nothing has been announced as far as who his replacement will be.

The strongest candidate is Vic Joseph, who has been doing great work behind the both in NXT for a few years now. This followed a short stint for him as the voice of Raw in 2019, but he has improved exponentially since then.

Pat McAfee is fresh off returning at the Rumble and quickly competing in the men's match. It's always possible his stay on SmackDown will last as long as it did the last time, but going with someone far more experienced such as Mauro Ranallo would add so much to the blue brand.

The rigorous road schedule may not be for him at this stage of his career, but Ranallo would easily be the best fit as the voice of SmackDown moving forward if WWE were somehow able to pull that off.

Kevin Owens Is on Track to Turn Heel Ahead of WrestleMania 40

Kevin Owens has had an interesting stint on SmackDown so far in that he's been featured fairly regularly but nothing in anything of significance. His feud with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller was fine and his pursuit of the United States Championship has been paint-by-numbers stuff.

If WWE wants to ensure he doesn't get lost in the shuffle on the road to WrestleMania, turning him heel would be the best case scenario.

Owens is no stranger to portraying a villain in WWE as many find him to be a natural in the role. SmackDown is stockpiled with babyfaces these days between Randy Orton, AJ Styles, LA Knight and Rey Mysterio, so Owens can afford to turn and SmackDown wouldn't be miss a beat.

In terms of possible opponents he could collide with at WrestleMania 40, Orton is bound to free as he has no clear direction, either. Orton and Owens have rarely faced off in WWE and could deliver a rock-solid midcard 'Mania match if given the opportunity.

The next step toward turning heel will be snapping once he's unsuccessful in his attempt to capture the United States Championship and Orton can get involved from there. Regardless of how it happens, it will provide Owens with the usual character reset that rejuvenates his career.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.