WWE Royal Rumble 2016 Match Card: Updated Predictions for Each Match at Event

With the WWE Heavyweight Championship on the line at Royal Rumble 2016, there's no WrestleMania main event guarantee, which gives the company a chance to do something unexpected. 

That won't be easily accomplished for this company, especially in recent years.

In 2013, the Rumble match was the appetizer for the night's main event: CM Punk vs. The Rock for the WWE title. The problem was, once John Cena eliminated Dolph Ziggler and we were down to three competitors (Cena, Sheamus and Ryback), the event was over. The predictable outcome—Cena wins the Rumble, The Rock wins the WWE title—came true. It was lazy booking, all in an effort to get Cena-Rock 2 at WrestleMania 29.

The following year, WWE did the same thing. At this time, The Shield was at its pinnacle, Roman Reigns was hot and Daniel Bryan was the most beloved wrestler in the company. Instead, WWE gave its WrestleMania 30 main event to a reviled Batista, who had only returned to WWE the month prior.

Bryan never even entered the Rumble, causing a backlash among the 70,000 in attendance. The gut-punch from the 2014 Royal Rumble was CM Punk's quitting WWE the very next night, never to be seen in the squared circle again. 

You'd think WWE would learn its lesson, but then at the 2014 Royal Rumble, the powers that be made the same mistakes. Daniel Bryan's return was cut unceremoniously short, and WWE fans let their displeasure be known. It didn't help matters that Reigns became Batista 2.0, a once-loved Superstar who was crucified by an angry Philadelphia crowd. Not even his cousin The Rock could save the moment. 

When it comes to the Rumble match, here's hoping that a fourth time's the charm, and WWE Creative learns from its past mistakes and gives fans an exciting event that sets up an amazing Road to WrestleMania. 

Fans should also hope WWE Creative doesn't focus all its attention on the main event, since every match at Royal Rumble 2016 is a title shot. This pay-per-view needs to be a complete event in order to properly set up Superstars heading into The Showcase of the Immortals. 

With that said, what direction will WWE go on Sunday, January 24 in Orlando, Florida? Who will walk out holding WWE gold, and who will gain momentum heading toward WrestleMania 32?  

Kickoff Match: Fatal 4-Way Rumble Qualifier

Credit: WWE.com

This match, only announced on Wednesday afternoon, is a great sign for WWE fans.

The setup: Four teams (The Dudley Boyz, The Ascension, Mark Henry and Jack Swagger, and Darren Young and Damien Sandow) will compete for the chance to enter the Royal Rumble match later in the evening. 

Simply put: Eight Superstars who have no business being in the main event will do battle so that only two of them will get in the match. 

Most intriguing will be whether Sandow gets another chance to come back from oblivion. He was over with the crowds and, in the ring, could put on a good match with most Superstars on the roster. It's a shame that he hasn't been used since his run with Curtis Axel as The Mega Powers ended last year. 

Prediction: Damien Sandow and Darren Young win, enter the Royal Rumble match

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch (WWE Divas Championship)

When Stephanie McMahon introduced the next generation of WWE Divas last summer, there were high hopes among fans that they would finally see NXT-style matches on the main roster.

It's taken over half a year, but the division finally has its first real match for the main roster's top women's title. Sure, there have been growing pains along the way: Becky Lynch's goofball interviews that defined her first few months on the roster, Charlotte's terrible babyface persona and the complete absence of Sasha Banks from any meaningful match. 

Royal Rumble 2016 offers that first glimpse of hope that flickered on July 13, 2015. Charlotte has finally found her calling as the division's top heel alongside her father, Ric Flair. Lynch has re-emerged as The Lass Kicker, shedding her happy-go-lucky sidekick routine. 

Both women will figure prominently for the Divas Championship throughout WrestleMania season. Not only are they superior athletes who have great chemistry together, but the fact of the matter is that there aren't any other women in the division equal to them. 

As evident from this past week's Raw, WWE is moving full steam ahead with storylines pulled straight from their reality television series Total Divas. Natalya, Paige, Brie Bella and Alicia Fox were spinning their wheels trying to have a match that no one cared about, all to push the reality TV agenda. It was hard to watch. 

As has been written before, the WWE Divas are marketing juggernauts and little more to Vince McMahon and Company. The two classes of WWE Divas on the main roster—the wrestlers and the marketing props—need to remain separate. 

On Sunday, the class of the Divas division will be on full display. As long as they're given a good spot on the card (i.e. not directly preceding the main event) and enough time to continue their story, this match could sneak up and surprise even the most cynical critic of the women's division. 

Prediction: Becky Lynch via DQ, Charlotte retains

The Usos vs. The New Day (WWE Tag Team Championship)

The Team of 2014 faces off against the Team of 2015 for the titles at Royal Rumble 2016. Read that sentence again, and you'll understand why it might be a difficult few months for the tag team division. 

The tag team division is beset by injuries and poor storytelling. Sin Cara's injury derailed any push The Lucha Dragons might have received to contend for tag team gold. The Ascension is a joke. The Dudley Boyz are stuck in a time warp. The Prime Time Players had their moment in the sun. 

Simply put: There are no relevant tag teams on the WWE main roster other than The New Day and The Usos. 

In reality, The New Day's success in 2015 has led to this problem. As a three-man team, the group burst onto the scene once the three found their true voice as superior heels. WWE has taken that idea and supersized it, creating multiple stables of midcard talent that could otherwise be used to build a suitable tag team division. 

The Wyatt Family. The League of Nations. The Social Outcasts. Even the Ascension was repackaged with Stardust as The Cosmic Wasteland. 

That's why we get tired matches like the one coming up this Sunday. That's not a knock on the Superstars competing in said match; it's an indictment on the lack of development of true tag teams that can fill out the division. 

There are two fixes. The first is creating defined roles within each of the current stables. Take The League of Nations. Rusev and Alberto Del Rio have a chemistry working together. Have them be the de facto tag team for the group, allowing Sheamus and Wade Barrett to be the singles competitors. A Rusev-Del Rio tag team competing for the titles would be fresh. 

The second is waiting for the new blood from WWE NXT. Enzo Amore and Big Cass, The Mechanics, even Blake and Murphy are bonda fide teams that could bolster the division. 

Until then, get ready for more antics from The New Day and chants from The Usos, because that's what you're going to get. 

Prediction: The New Day wins

Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens (WWE Intercontinental Championship)

The Dean Ambrose-Kevin Owens feud has been the best aspect of WWE programming over the last few months. 

From the buildup to their World Heavyweight Championship Tournament match at Survivor Series through now, both Superstars have given fans tremendous bouts mixed with compelling storytelling. It's what WWE should strive for in all of its long-term feuds. 

Their Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble should be the final chapter. 

It's tough to have a rematch following such a gimmick, since one competitor literally puts the other down for a 10-count. It's the ultimate win: You beat your opponent so badly he can't answer the bell. It's a natural end point, one on which WWE should follow through. 

It would also give the loser the opportunity to move on to the main event scene. Losing a Last Man Standing match doesn't display weakness; on the contrary, many of these matches last a grueling 20-plus minutes, showing that both are superior athletes. 

The fact that this match will take place at Royal Rumble 2016, when the loser can potentially walk out with the WWE Championship following the night's main event, allows for any number of scenarios to unfold. 

It only makes sense, though, that Ambrose ends up on top in this match. There are plenty of worthy heels to challenge him for the Intercontinental Championship, whereas Owens is needed more in the main event scene as a legitimate heel. 

Moving both men toward new angles heading into WrestleMania 32 makes the most sense. 

Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE United States Championship)

In many ways, the current Alberto Del Rio-Kalisto storyline mimics what WWE did last year with Wade Barrett and Neville. The up-and-coming wrestler got an upset win over the proven Superstar, only to be thwarted when the stakes were highest. 

Barrett and Neville did battle for the King of the Ring title, and although Neville fell short, it was a springboard to larger matches against Seth Rollins for the WWE championship and the Money in the Bank briefcase. 

Since then, The Man That Gravity Forgot has fallen back to earth, albeit not because of his own doing. Instead, poor narrative and lackluster bookings have dropped him into wrestling purgatory. 

Kalisto has already felt that burn. After defeating Del Rio for the United States Championship on Raw, Kalisto immediately dropped the belt to the former champion that same week on SmackDown. The title swap felt like change for change's sake, a meaningless event for a potential star.

Del Rio needs to be booked more solidly to make him a believable champion. Using the Kalisto loss on Raw as a jump-start to a dominant run would be smart, followed by a number of strong midcard matches leading up to a premier WrestleMania 32 match against a top-flight opponent. 

That opponent needs to come from somewhere other than the current roster, which is depleted of real star power that can help elevate the current U.S. champ. Whether it's a current NXT star (Sami Zayn) or a newcomer (AJ Styles? Shinsuke Nakamura?) remains to be seen. 

Prediction: Alberto Del Rio

30-Superstar Royal Rumble Match (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)

While there are 30 Superstars who will compete for the company's top prize at the 2016 Royal Rumble, there are only a handful who are being touted as favorites to win the Rumble match. 

Let's not kid ourselves: The likes of Health Slater, Stardust, Erick Rowan and Neville aren't walking out of the Amway Center in Orlando as world heavyweight champion. 

Speculation surrounding Triple H, who hasn't been seen on WWE programming since the opening introduction of NXT TakeOver: London, is rampant. However, putting the belt on your COO is akin to WCW making Vince Russo champion. 

With only days before the event, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt have separated themselves from the pack as the likeliest winners of the Royal Rumble Match.

In years past, the winner of the Rumble match earned a headlining spot at WrestleMania. With that stipulation gone and the WWE title up for grabs, WWE Creative can have any number of outcomes. That makes this event more intriguing than in years past. 

Both Lesnar and Reigns are the safest bets for WWE, proven stars who would carry the title along the Road to WrestleMania. With either of those two as champion, the other would likely headline Fastlane next month for a chance to face the champion at WrestleMania, similarly to last year's bout between Reigns and Daniel Bryan. 

With Reigns drawing the pole position for Sunday's match, however, winning the belt seems impossible. Allowing that result would open up WWE to immense scrutiny from fans, akin to its telegraphing his win the previous year. 

Lesnar continues to be the beast he's always been and would seem the likeliest favorite. There are drawbacks, though. As has been shown, he's best terrorizing the roster to seek vengeance, which would allow him to remain an integral part of WWE programming throughout WrestleMania season. 

Wyatt as champion would be the best decision. It would allow WWE to test whether he could carry the mantle as top dog, while opening angles for the other Superstars on the roster. It would also allow WWE to pit Reigns against Lesnar at Fastlane, making that pay-per-view a must-see event. 

Unfortunately, WWE's recent track record shows that when it does take a chance, it backfires poorly. Wyatt would be the best option, but WWE always seems to shoot itself in the foot come Rumble time. That means WWE fans will be seeing the Vince Russo option rear its ugly head. 

Prediction: Triple H wins, becomes WWE world heavyweight champion