WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Is the Perfect Time to Unleash a Women's Rumble Match

The next phase of the women's revolution should unfold at WWE Royal Rumble 2018.

The timing is right for the first all-female Royal Rumble match. The women's division has both sufficient buzz and roster members to create the historic bout. Booking a women's Rumble match would build on surging momentum in emphatic fashion.

As WWE's women continue to blaze trails and battle in matches that once only showcased men, women having their own Royal Rumble match feels imminent.

In 2016, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks clashed in the first women's Hell in a Cell match. The following year, Carmella walked away the victor in the first women's Money in the Bank ladder match. The next natural step is for the annual Battle Royal to be where women blaze their latest trail.

And WWE is reportedly considering that move for the Jan. 28 pay-per-view.

Speculation about that possibility shot up when Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan and Ruby Riot all debuted on the main roster last week. Gary Stonehouse of The Sun reported those moves were in preparation for the Rumble. "The influx of females into the female roster is building up to the historic first-ever women's Rumble match," he wrote.

Hall of Famer Lita believes in the idea, as she made clear in a Q&A in Paris in October (h/t Alex Pawlowski of Fightful).

"I would absolutely love if there was a Women's Rumble," Lita said. "If anybody has seen the Mae Young Classic, has watched Ring of Honor, has watched these promotions around the world, there are no shortage of entrants of who could be in that Royal Rumble." 

WWE wouldn't even have to dip into the ROH talent pool as she mentioned, though. The NXT invasion saw to that.

Even assuming the brands' two champs, Flair and Alexa Bliss, aren't involved, WWE has the numbers to make a 20-woman version of the Rumble work. 

Credit: WWE.com

Raw features Alicia Fox, Asuka, Bayley, Dana Brooke, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Paige and Banks. Add newcomers Rose and Deville, and the red brand can provide 10 Rumble combatants. SmackDown's women's division has now added Riot, Logan and Morgan to a roster that features Becky Lynch, Carmella, Lana, Naomi, Natalya and Tamina. That makes nine entrants from Team Blue.   

Nikki Bella could return to round out the field.

If WWE wants to deliver a full 30-Superstar experience for the first women's Rumble, it has options. The company can bring in Mae Young Classic competitors like Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez. It could throw in surprise names from the past like Kaitlyn or Beth Phoenix. Or else, this could be where UFC's Ronda Rousey could officially enter the WWE world. 

But this is not just a case of WWE having the requisite number of bodies; the women's division is more stacked than it ever has been.

Banks is one of WWE's best overall performers. Lynch is a top-flight babyface. Asuka is a magnetic force. Natalya is a future Hall of Famer.

Putting all those stars in a groundbreaking bout with the NXT rookies is a no-brainer.

Thanks to both the level of talent and the ways the company has showcased it, there's an electricity surrounding the women's wrestling scene right now. 2017 saw two Money in the Bank ladder matches, the Mae Young Classic tournament flourish and women main-eventing Raw and SmackDown more regularly. 

A women's Rumble is a fitting way to follow that, to keep the women's revolution at the forefront of WWE. No matter who ends up comprising that bout, no matter who ends up winning, the women's Royal Rumble will be among the most talked-about matches of the year.  

There is history to be made and a thrill ride to be had. WWE has to embrace the inevitable.