WWE Royal Rumble predictions, match card, preview: Who wins the Rumble?

Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins

This is where things get interesting. Wrestling fans know that Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are headed for their third WrestleMania match for a world championship. At Day 1, the two were set to battle for the Universal Championship, but Reigns was pulled the day of the event after testing positive for COVID-19. Lesnar was then added to the WWE Championship match between Big E, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley, where he emerged victorious.

Now with both Lesnar and Reigns holding world championships, one of them has to lose their title, right?  That may very well occur at the Royal Rumble.

Reigns is set to face off against Rollins, his former Shield partner, for the title. The Uso’s, Reigns’ cousins, are banned from ringside after losing a tag match to Rollins and Owens via disqualification, after the champion hit his former stablemate with a Superman punch. Rollins has stressed during the lead-up to their championship match that he has never lost to Reigns in the main title match. Usually, that is a tell that Reigns will end up winning. But what if it isn’t?

Reigns has held onto the Universal Championship for over 500 days. His reign will end at the Royal Rumble.

Winner: Seth Rollins

WWE Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

Lesnar shocked the world after winning the WWE Championship at Day 1 after pinning Big E with an F-5. After the match, Lesnar had a staredown with Lashley, teasing a match between the two. That will be happening at the Royal Rumble.

Ever since Lashley returned to WWE in 2018, fans were clamoring for him to finally face off against Lesnar. Lashley is coming off a tremendous 2021, where he defeated The Miz for the WWE Championship on the March 1 episode of RAW and held it for six months. He defended his title against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37, Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank and Goldberg at SummerSlam.

As mentioned in the scenario above, either Lesnar or Reigns is going to lose their title heading into WrestleMania 38. Given the prediction above, Lesnar will defend his championship against Lashley in what should be a fantastic match. But it would not be entirely shocking to see if Lashley were to pick up a huge victory.

Winner: Brock Lesnar