WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Matches: Final Picks and Predictions for Entire Card

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 is upon us, and Sunday night, the top Superstars from Raw and SmackDown will battle for the opportunity to headline wrestling's grandest event, WrestleMania 33.

While all eyes will be on the annual 30-man extravaganza, headlined this year by the likes of The Undertaker, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, there is a plethora of undercard matches that should affect the build to this April's spectacular.

Kevin Owens will defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in a match where the champion's best friend, Chris Jericho, will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage.

AJ Styles and John Cena will renew their rivalry when The Phenomenal One defends the WWE Championship against The Leader of the Cenation in SmackDown Live's sole contribution to the actual pay-per-view card.

Charlotte Flair will look to extend her pay-per-view win streak when she defends the Raw Women's Championship against Bayley, and Rich Swann will defend his cruiserweight title against the dangerous Neville.

Who can fans expect to walk away victorious from those bouts, as well as the three pre-show matches, building momentum for themselves at the most important time of the year?

Find out with these last-minute prognostications.

Raw Tag Team Title Match: Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows

Credit: WWE.com

After Sheamus and Cesaro captured the Raw Tag Team Championships from The New Day, they found themselves challenged by Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

Anderson and Gallows have been in tag team title bouts before, most notably during their truly awful feud with The New Day in which they had their credibility and legitimacy as a team stripped away via corny, unfunny penis jokes.

Now refocused and determined to capture the gold that has eluded them to this point, they have the opportunity to dethrone a set of champions who have never completely coexisted.

But should they?

Anderson and Gallows deserve championship gold. They have handled every bit of poor booking WWE Creative has thrown at them and are still somehow believable badasses. But it feels too early to take the titles off Sheamus and Cesaro, whose last five months have been dedicated to arriving at this point.

Prematurely taking the titles off them would unravel months of writing and creates a scenario where The Celtic Warrior and The Swiss Superman are back on the hunt—a story fans invested themselves in not all that long ago.

Keep the titles on them here, and allow the feud to intensify for another month.

Prediction

Sheamus and Cesaro defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to retain the titles.

Becky Lynch, Naomi and Nikki Bella vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss and Mickie James

Credit: WWE.com

The SmackDown Live brand will intertwine its top female rivalries in one explosive six-woman tag team match, now slated for Sunday's pre-show.

Alexa Bliss is the current queen of the SmackDown mountain, the women's champion and lead villain. Sunday, she will not only have the attention of former titleholder Becky Lynch, but she will also be the target of Naomi's aggression after a tense verbal confrontation between the competitors this past Tuesday night.

Lynch will also be seeking revenge against Mickie James, whose shocking return coincided with The Lass Kicker losing a shot at the title once again.

Then there is the never-ending war between Nikki Bella and Natalya.

The two Total Divas stars' rivalry has grown progressively more heated, culminating with a strong backstage brawl on Tuesday's show.

With three stories sharing the same match, expect things to get wild, crazy and even a little dangerous with the unpredictable James involved.

The heels probably need the win more to build further credibility and momentum, but the babyfaces should get the win here, with Naomi pinning Bliss to set up her impending title opportunity.

Prediction

Naomi, Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch defeat Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Mickie James.

Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

Credit: WWE.com

Sasha Banks' reign as Raw women's champion came to a heartbreaking end at Roadblock: End of the Line when Charlotte Flair forced a submission from her just minutes into the overtime period of their 30-minute Iron Man match.

Worse yet, her knee was left a mess, injured severely from the Figure Eight.

Unfortunately for The Boss, things would not get better.

She found herself on the receiving end of a beatdown from Nia Jax, an unstoppable force of a woman who looked to insert herself into championship contention. When Banks retaliated, costing Jax a No. 1 Contender's match against Bayley, she infuriated Jax and set herself up for another attack.

Ahead of a scheduled match on the Royal Rumble pre-show, Banks got the upper hand, attacking Jax with a crutch and sending her scurrying for cover.

Given WWE Creative's insistence on 50-50 booking, that would suggest Jax will earn her first significant main-roster victory on Sunday night.

While fans may take exception to that outcome, the women's division is only as healthy as its individual parts. The more competitors who have credibility and legitimacy, the better. Banks is a made woman—a star who will be front and center for the division for years to come.

Using some of that star power to put Jax over will not hurt The Boss in any way, but it will elevate Jax's stature within the division.

Prediction

Nia Jax defeats Sasha Banks.

Cruiserweight Championship Match: Rich Swann vs. Neville

Credit: WWE.com

Rich Swann's victory over The Brian Kendrick for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship should have cemented him as the face of that division for the foreseeable future. Instead, former friend Neville returned and executed a successful heel turn, obliterating the charismatic titleholder and leaving him lying.

The heel turn reinvigorated a character who had been ignored by management and, more importantly, rejuvenated a division that had become bogged down by subpar creativity and a lack of compelling stars.

His intensity and aggression have forced the fun-loving Swann to exhibit the same traits if he wishes to leave Royal Rumble with his championship.

Whether that is enough to defeat a more focused, determined Neville is the question.

The answer should be "yes," setting Swann up to chase the title, which should better suit him.

Prediction

Neville defeats Rich Swann to win the Cruiserweight Championship.

Raw Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair

Credit: WWE.com

Wrestling's consummate underdog will look to unseat its most dominant female competitor Sunday night when Bayley challenges Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship.

Much has been made of Bayley's fandom and her dream to one day be the women's champion in Vince McMahon's company. So much so that Flair took to using old videos and photos to humiliate her top contender, but much to her chagrin, it proved ineffective.

Bayley embraced her inner wrestling fan and promised to dethrone the second-generation champion.

Flair admitted respect for Bayley, but the challenger's continued determination that she can beat the champion soiled the admiration. Now, Flair is out to crush her opponent's dreams in dramatic fashion and continue her unprecedented streak of pay-per-view victories.

This is not Bayley's time. A win here would be premature, whereas a win at WrestleMania, with the eyes of the wrestling world watching, would be the unforgettable moment both fans and the performer herself deserve.

Prediction

Charlotte Flair defeats Bayley to retain the Raw Women's Championship.

Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns should have won the Universal Championship at Roadblock: End of the Line in December.

Unfortunately for WWE's most polarizing figure, interference from Chris Jericho led to a disqualification that cost the second-generation star his first opportunity to carry the Raw-exclusive title.

Sunday night, he will not have to worry about the future Hall of Famer sticking his nose in the match because Y2J will be suspended high above the ring in a shark cage, unable to come to the aid of best friend Kevin Owens. Reigns will instead be able to focus his attention on the champion and taking away the most coveted prize in sports entertainment.

For Owens, the match represents an opportunity to prove his worth as champion. Too often, his title defenses have been plagued by interference and shenanigans, devaluing his worth in the process. A clean win over Reigns without the dark cloud of doubt cast by Jericho would lend credibility that simply has not been there throughout the Canadian's reign atop Raw.

A Reigns victory would set him up nicely for WrestleMania, providing him another marquee spot on the most important card of the year. Would it evoke tremendous heat from fans hellbent on booing him at every turn?

Of course, but it would set him up to enjoy a third consecutive main event match and firmly establish him as the face of Raw—a role he has filled for months anyway.

Prediction

Roman Reigns wins the WWE Universal Championship.

WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Credit: WWE.com

The Royal Rumble match may be the namesake of Sunday's pay-per-view, but the contest that will steal headlines may be the WWE Championship match between John Cena and AJ Styles, a rematch of their epic from this past August's SummerSlam extravaganza.

Cena and Styles have incredible in-ring chemistry, as witnessed in the aforementioned SummerSlam bout and a half-dozen other contests in which they have shared the squared circle. Add to that the emotionally intense rivalry that has developed in the last week, with each Superstar taking shots at how the other ended up where he is today, and you have the makings of an early Match of the Year candidate.

But who will leave the Alamodome with the gold around his waist?

Styles would be the preferred choice, if only because of the quality of his reign to this point and the freshness that still exists with him at the top of SmackDown Live. He has been the most consistent worker in WWE for the last year and lent credibility to the company's premier title.

Cena is reliable at this point in his career. The most recognizable full-time star the company has, he is the type of star the company would understandably want representing it on the road to the most important show of the year.

Prediction

John Cena defeats AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship.

2017 Royal Rumble Match

Credit: WWE.com

The Royal Rumble match is one of the most anticipated bouts of WWE's year, a mangled mess of 30 Superstars all vying for the right to headline WrestleMania. While the winner is typically predictable, the mystery and intrigue surrounding the participants, order of entry and any surprises continue to fuel its popularity.

This year, WWE has packed the match with star power, recruiting Goldberg, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar to round out a field that features multiple former world champions and some of the most intriguing young stars in the industry.

Speculation is high.

Will Undertaker win his second Rumble, cashing his ticket to an event in WrestleMania that has come to define him? Can Goldberg add to his Hall of Fame credentials by winning the contest in only his second try? Will Brock Lesnar return to the main event of The Showcase of the Immortals by way of another Rumble triumph?

Or will a younger, unproven star seize the opportunity?

Can Baron Corbin, winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, continue his streak of Battle Royal wins? Will Sami Zayn finally win the big one?

What of Chris Jericho, the grizzled veteran experiencing a career renaissance and heading toward a showdown with best friend Kevin Owens? Can he achieve the one goal he has yet to cross off his list?

Prediction

Randy Orton wins the Royal Rumble match.