10 Leading Contenders To Win WWE's Women's Royal Rumble

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! WWE are doing the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match properly. Phew! There will be 30 ladies in the match and the only way for any of them to be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope. If you're going to do it at all DO IT RIGHT and damn skippy are they doing it right? Right?

Just like the first-ever women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match did last year, I expect the first-ever women's RR to open the show and get WWE's next network special off to a hot start. What I don't expect to happen is for WWE to woefully misjudge the finish to the match like they did at MITB. Who can forget James Ellsworth - A MAN WITH FULLY FUNCTIONING TESTICLES - ascending the ladder and condescendingly dropping the briefcase to Carmella because the Princess of Staten Island wasn't able to get up there herself? A man became the first ever Miss Money in the Bank... I think I speak on behalf of the entire WWE Universe when I say no nonsense this time, please WWE!

With 30 spots up for grabs in the match, guessing who will be involved - never mind who will win the entire thing - is a stab in the darkest room imaginable. When you take both Raw and SmackDown Live's respective champions out of the equation - Alexa Bliss and Charlotte won't be in the match because they can't challenge themselves - there are only 20 names remaining on the main roster. Maybe the field is just wide open enough for a surprise name from NXT or maybe even further afield to make history... let's have a look at 10 of the leading contenders now.

10. Shayna Baszler

Even the most fearless people are scared of Shayna Baszler. The former Ultimate Fighter has made quite the impression since making her first televised appearance in a WWE ring in the middle of last year.

Despite having only two-years in-ring experience under her belt, Baszler made it all the way to the final of the first-ever Mae Young Classic, losing to Kairi Sane in the final. After making a huge impression on the women's game during the tournament, and on several people's faces, WWE acted swiftly in signing her to a contract.

After amassing an amount of hype that would even have the likes of Mojo Rawley sweating from the arse, The Queen Of Spades finally made her televised NXT debut on December 27 by choking out Sane. She looked very strong, very strong indeed.

Even though age isn't on her side it looks like WWE are going to use Shayna's legitimate fighting background to its fullest. She's currently going around the Performance Center showing the young guns how to apply submission holds properly before murdering them in the face. "Let me put it on you so you know what it feels like," she says. I got chills just typing that sentence...

A legitimate background, name value, knows her way around the squared circle - Shayna Baszler ticks all the boxes for a potential women's Royal Rumble winner.

9. Bayley

WWE are finally getting there with Bayley, I think.

Gone are the days where she's a SILLY VIRGIN who doesn't know how to use a kendo stick

even though

she's a demented soul who once did a Reverse Hurricanrana off the top rope to poor Sasha Banks' neck; and now, she's just a nice gal having a nice time while travelling the world with her best friend by her side. It's going to be a slow process to recover The Hugger after the mess WWE's creative has made over the past 18 months with her, but we're finally seeing the first signs that we might just be on the way to getting there - I only say this because the majority of the boos appear to have subsided. Baby steps.

Would a women's Royal Rumble win for Bayley be out of the blue? Yes.

Is Bayley a big enough name to win the Rumble and it

not

feel silly? Yes.

Could the win be used the shoot another pretender to bonafide stardom into the stratosphere? Yes.

Is it the most unpopular outcome WWE could rustle up on January 28? Nope.

With all of those answers in mind, I reckon there's a chance. I wouldn't mind seeing Bayley win, even though the build to this potential success - unless WWE makes her the centrepiece of everything they do in the coming weeks - has been colder than my Granny's house.

8. Sasha Banks

WWE's women's ranks are weird places to be at the moment as so many of the familiar faces have lost just about all of their momentum. With all the focus on a new stable on each show, a number of ladies are currently feeding off scraps - Sasha Banks is one of those.

The Boss has been restricted in what she's been able to do in recent times, so she's very much in the same category as Bayley when it comes to a potential Rumble win. While it would be completely out of the blue with her recent successes, or lack thereof, in mind, her name and talents carry enough weight to shoulder the reaction that a win would bring. I guess it would be like Randy Orton winning last year's men's match, which presumably means Dana Brooke - who has

that

modicum of 'go away heat' that Roman Reigns has with some quarters - needs to be the last one in there with either Sasha or Bayley.

Who knows, we might see Sasha double-cross and turn heel on Bayley to win the entire thing - we all know she's a way better heel than she is face, and the woman herself has gone on record saying she prefers to work that way. If she did, we'd have so much lovely wrestling to look forward to over the coming months between two ladies who are better foes than they are friends.

7. Naomi

Hello, you see the two entries before this? The same applies here. When you really think about it, the Riott Squad and Absolution really are short-sighted pieces of booking.

Anyway, every single time Rumble season rolls around we see a man stood in the ring cutting a promo saying he's going to win the damn match and come after the champion's championship. Naomi did this while SmackDown Live Women's Champion and her good friend, I must add, Charlotte was stood right in front of her. I don't know if it's because I got lost in the staredown - bloody hell do I love a good staredown - or the way SmackDown have been emphasising the pair are very good pals in recent times, but the way Naomi said it and the subsequent silence just felt like they were sewing the seeds for something bigger. I don't know, it might just be me...

Whatever happens, if Naomi is to come out on top in the women's Rumble then WWE are going to have to replay that segment roughly 61,472 times because thanks to beatdowns from Ruby, Liv and Sarah, a Naomi win would feel just as cold as my Grandad's house, never mind my Granny's.

6. Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch is back with a sh*tload steam - that's right steam, not wind - in her sails.

The Irish Lass Kicker was lost in no women's land before jetting off to film The Marine 6: Close Quarters but now appears to be back and brimmed with the piss and vinegar only a push up the card can give you. Yes she'd captained Team SmackDown Live at Survivor Series and yes she'd defeated James Ellsworth in a

rarer than a Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat

Intergender Match, yet still she was nowhere near the level she was while feuding with Alexa Bliss at the start of 2017.

Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. It seems this logic applies to both human hearts and wrestling booker's pencils...

It remains to be seen what SmackDown Live's creative team has in store for Becky over the coming weeks. One thing is for sure though, she'll have to be made the centrepiece of everything going on Tuesday night's to make a potential Rumble victory feel any less cold than my Auntie's house, never mind my Grandad's or Granny's.

I feel like I'm repeating myself a hell of a lot at this stage... DAMN STABLES!

5. Kairi Sane

I wish I had Kairi Sane's elbow. Life would be easier if you had Kairi Sane's elbow, you know.

The Mae Young Classic winner is one of the heavily rumoured surprises for the women's Rumble, and if she does make an appearance she'll automatically be one of the frontrunners to win the damn match because of her elbow. While most of the ladies in the match will be using both arms and maybe even a leg to get their opponents over the top rope, Sane will just elbow them - probably all at once.

"ARRRRRGH," she'll say. Because she's a pirate.

After building one hell of a reputation while turning out for Stardom over a six-year run, Sane's initial stint as part of the MYC and on NXT signals that big things are coming her way. After winning the tournament she's already been involved in an NXT Women's Championship match at TakeOver: WarGames with limited TV time, which tells you all you need to know. WWE could also work her fledgeling rivalry with Shayna Baszler into the Rumble if they wish, you never know.

If Dave Meltzer labels you one of the three best female wrestlers in the world - alongside Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani, if you were wondering - you're more than good enough to win the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match. As we all know, Dave Meltzer is love, Dave Meltzer is life.

4. Paige

I know, you've probably just popped a blood vessel in your head because Paige was recently injured on a house show...

I've just watched an Instagram post of Absolution's entrance at another house show over the weekend and Paige is moving fine. The leader of Absolution even climbed to the middle turnbuckle to salute the crowd so given another couple of weeks rest she should be fine to compete in the Rumble. It's important to note that I'm neither a medical professional nor have any knowledge about Paige's injury, so what I've said there could be complete nonsense.

What isn't nonsense, however, is that before her injury, Paige and Absolution - Asuka aside, obviously - were

the

dominant act on Raw. Had the injury not occurred, then Paige would have been arguably the favourite to win the entire thing. Since it has, and since it remains to be seen how serious the injury is and how much it will impact on what she's capable of doing in the ring, there's a massive question mark against her name so I'm not really sure what else I can add here...

I guess we'll have to wait and see on this one.

3. Nia Jax

We may as well all go home at this point because Nia Jax is the favourite to win the women's Royal Rumble.

How any lady in the match is expected to hoist 272 pounds of Jax over the top rope is beyond me. It's impossible. In most of her matches, Nia is the overwhelming favourite but in a match where the only way you can be eliminated is by being thrown over the top rope, she's a certainty to win. No question about it.

Just look a the history books in the men's version and all of the larger athletes who have romped to a victory down the years. Heck, every single year around this time it feels like Michael Cole starts to give us an endless string of lectures on how The Big Show is nailed on to win the Rumble because he's 500 pounds. HOW CAN ANYBODY LIFT HEAVY THINGS OVER THE TOP ROPE?

What's that? Show has never won the Rumble from 12 attempts? Are you sure? Are you dizzy, blud? He's 500 BIG ONES?!

I guess it's best we keep Nia at number three then just in case WWE actually decide to apply logic to their first-ever women's Rumble... the logic that the heaviest wins rather than the heaviest never wins, I mean.

2. Ronda Rousey

As I sit here writing this article, wondering where it all went wrong, there is still a chance that Ronda Rousey will be in the women's Royal Rumble.

The rumours are still there. They aren't going away. We know that Ronda is going to be making a big announcement soon that will "change the game" through her own website - rather than UFC's - which all but confirms a move to a different company is on the cards. We know that talks have been going on between her and WWE and we know that an agreement hasn't been reached.

Most importantly, however, there hasn't been a 'no' from either side. As long as there isn't one of those between now and the 28th, the women's Rumble looks increasingly more likely to get a bit

rowdier

.

While Ronda's star has fallen slightly over the past couple of year's there's no doubting her credentials as an attraction. Her name still has considerable value to it while we all know how much of an arse-kicker she is. If Shayna Baszler ticked all the boxes for a potential women's Royal Rumble winner earlier in this list then Ronda Rousey ticks them all twice - maybe thrice!

I'm only putting Ronda at number two on the list as she isn't confirmed for the Rumble. WWE's men's Rumble didn't have a single surprise entrant last year - Tye Dillinger aside but is he really a shocker in the

true

Rumble sense? - but with 10 free spaces and no public rejection on Rousey from either herself or WWE,

surely

 she's a goer. If she is, you simply can't argue against her winning. That 'if' is still pretty large, though...

1. Asuka

She's never lost. Simple.

And just so you know, if Asuka doesn't win the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match her undefeated streak IS still intact. Royal Rumbles are matches where there is one winner and no definitive losers in my book. While The Empress Of Tomorrow won't have won the match if she's dumped over the top rope, she won't have definitively lost it either.

Can that discussion end now? FANTASTIC!

10. Triple H

WWE

The Cerebral Assassin is no stranger to championship gold, having racked up an impressive 14 World title reigns, five Intercontinental Championships and three Tag Team titles. Throw in a Royal Rumble, King of the Ring and a couple of Slammy’s and you have an illustrious career befitting one of the greatest to lace a pair of boots.

Before solidifying himself as World Title material, though, Triple H had to climb the ranks like everyone else, putting a shift in and showing he could wear a belt, elevating himself, the title and his opponents when entrusted with the responsibility.

The Game got his chance in the fall of ’97, when he captured the European Title in an absolute non-match with DX stablemate Shawn Michaels.

Trips initially lost the title without really losing it himself, with Owen Hart beating The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust, who was dressed as Triple H, massive fake nose and all.

It wouldn’t be too long until The King of Kings regained the title from Owen, going on to hold it for a not inconsiderable 120 days before dropping it and moving swiftly on to bigger and better things.

For his programme with Owen and the odd decent defence here and there, Triple H cracks the top ten.

9. Al Snow

WWE

Going from Triple H to Al Snow is what some would call a ‘hard left turn’, but the fact that Al ranks higher than Hunter is not as alien as you may think.

While Snow, another Attitude Era mainstay who got over thanks to a novel gimmick and his versatility, didn’t hold the European Championship for long, he did what many from the time did a lot better than some today: he made whatever television time he did have count.

After winning the title, Snow proceeded to come out each week as a new amalgamation of a European stereotype.

There was the David Hasselhoff-loving, lederhosen-wearing, sausage-eating German. There was a beret-wearing, poodle-walking, baguette-eating Frenchman. There was the, erm, leather jack and glasses wearing Greek…

Anyway, while the continental cosplay didn’t exactly lead to much upward mobility, it is a fondly remembered gimmick and contributed to one of the more standout European Title reigns of the time.

8. Owen Hart

WWE

The King of Harts made a damn fine European Champion, as he combined his personality and charisma with a natural wrestling ability and inherent credibility.

It almost never happened as, like extended family member Davey Boy Smith, Owen was close to calling it quits in the wake of the Montreal Screwjob. With brother Bret moving onto the land where the big boys played, Owen was thinking about joining him, provided that he could get out of his contract.

Unfortunately for Owen, he couldn’t, with Vince and company deciding he was too valuable an asset to let go to the competition. Now that he was staying, though, WWE knew they had to do something with The Rocket and began hatching plans to make him a champion.

When he pinned Goldust and became European Champion, Owen immediately enhanced the perception of the title. With Owen as champ, good matches were guaranteed and the person that took it from him would be elevated in the eyes of the fans, too.

While many of Owen’s title defences took place on smaller shows like Shotgun Saturday Night against such luminaries as Jesus Castillo – yeah, me neither – it was really his feud with the future Mr. Stephanie McMahon that made him such a great champion in the all-too-brief time he held it.

7. Kurt Angle

WWE

The meteoric rise of Kurt Angle was something to behold at the dawn of the new millennium.

The Olympic Gold Medallist took to professional wrestling like a duck to water, displaying incredible athleticism, charisma and natural instincts and timing.

Given his pedigree and how quick fans took to hating the man who preached the three I’s, it was no wonder that WWE went about further decorating the man that would become one of the best to lace  a pair of boots.

In the midst of an impressive undefeated streak, Angle felled Val Venis  for the European Title on the February 10th, 2000 episode of Smackdown.

It was not until seventeen days later, at the No Way Out pay-per-view, that Angle’s European Title reign would blossom, with the Hall of Famer beating Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental strap and becoming the ‘Eurocontinental Champion’.

Angle was a hoot as the clean cut but cocky double champion and defended both titles in the same match on house shows. When he tried the same at WrestleMania 2000, he found himself title-less after Jericho and Chris Benoit pinned each other in successive matches where Angle wasn’t involved in the decision.

All of which gave Angle more to complain about, as he continued to get under the skin of the WWE fans on his way to an unparalleled career on top.

6. X-Pac

WWE

Fresh off a FedEx firing from Eric Bischoff and WCW, Sean Waltman resurfaced in WWE the night after WrestleMania XIV, quickly aligning himself with Triple H and the New Age Outlaws to form the latest incarnation of those cheeky poop joke provocateurs, DX.

After engaging in an entertaining feud with Jeff Jarrett, the newly named X-Pac would set his sights on D’Lo Brown and his European gold, capturing the title on the September 15th, 1998 Raw.

His first reign would be short-lived, however, as Brown regained the belt two weeks later in a return match on Raw.

Proving that during this era the shorter the title reign, the better, the former 1-2-3 Kid won the belt once again at In Your House: Judgement Day in a grand match.

One of the good things about X-Pac’s reign as European Champion is that you were almost always guaranteed a good and entertaining match, whether he was in there with an ultimate fighter (Ken Shamrock), prison guard (Big Boss Man) or actual Vampire (Gangrel).

A good champion who could have done even more with the belt, had he been given the time and not had to drop it to Vince’s third favourite child.

5. Eddie Guerrero

WWE

Eddie Guerrero had an auspicious start in WWE.

After jumping from the sinking ship that was WCW, Guerrero – along with Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn – caused a stir by attacking WWE wrestlers and being treated as a genuine threat from the off.

Then the next time they appeared on television, the quartet lost all of their matches and, worse, poor Eddie dislocated his elbow while performing a routine Frog Splash. It was a disheartening situation, the pain and worry etched over his face.

But you can’t keep a good Guerrero down, and Eddie rallied, coming into his own as a personality while temporarily on the side-lines. When he returned to the ring, he quickly captured the European Championship from Chris Jericho and started an onscreen relationship with Chyna.

Eddie was a fighting champion, defending in good matches against eclectic opponents such as his fellow Radicalz members, Rikishi and Essa Rios.

Latino Heat’s 100+ day run as European Champion is a fondly-remembered part of his early WWE days.

4. Matt Hardy

WWE

The Sensei of Mattitude has proven time and time again that he can make anything, whether it’s a match, angle or title, mean something if he is given the time and freedom to get it over. See every mad thing he has done in the Broken Universe as proof.

In his early days as a WWE superstar, Matt had to work hard to distinguish himself, from his brother Jeff if not the rest of his co-workers. As with Edge and Christian, management clearly always saw the ultra-unique Jeff as the potential singles star, whereas question marks remained over the comparatively conservative Matt.

Proving himself as a worth singles champion, Matt had a great run with the European Title in the spring and summer of ’01, taking it from Eddie Guerrero, who was enjoying a second, briefer reign with the gold.

A true fighting champion, marvellous Matt’s title defences were an ever-present and, although he never had a classic match while holding it, he had countless good ones and the fact that he actually defended and cared about the title meant that the fans ended up doing so too.

When The Hurricane finally took it from him after 122 days, it was seen as a bigger deal than it might have been were it not for the efforts of the elder Hardy.

3. D-Lo Brown

WWE

Onto number three and you’re looking at the real deal now. You’re looking at a man who is gonna kick your sorry ass down the street. I’m sure you used to think you owned the streets, but you should probably pack your bags because your arse is dead meat.

That’s right, it’s D’Lo Brown! Unlike many of the entries on this list, D’Lo is probably the one who is most likely to be remembered because of his European Championship glory, not in spite of it.

Over a joint record four reigns, D’Lo – who really is underrated by just about everyone not named Jim Ross – defended the title in a number of great matches, many of which were show-stealers in a time not exactly remembered for an abundance of great in-ring action.

Highlights included the previously mentioned series of matches with X-Pac and a great SummerSlam ’98 opener with Val Venis.

Aside from the matches, what made D’Lo stand out was the head wobble, chest protector gimmick and the fact that he was the first 'Eurocontinental' Champion. That’s right, while that wily Olympian Kurt Angle may have made a bigger deal about it, he was pipped to the accomplishment by Brown.

If you want to see the European Championship when it meant something, watch D’Lo Brown when he held the belt!

2. William Regal

WWE

As British wrestling fans of a certain era, obviously we love William Regal. Whether he was a Real Man’s Man, getting his tea peed in or kissing a billionaire’s bare backside, he was always good value and made you want to watch whatever he was involved in.

That Regal returned to the company to have the run that he did have is something of a minor miracle, since substance abuse issues had hampered his initial run in ’98 and subsequently led to WCW issuing a pink slip. If WCW decided your personal demons were too bad to do business with you, you knew you had a bit of a problem.

But Regal also knew that he needed to get help and to help himself and quickly went back to work, cleaning up and proving his worth in WWE’s developmental leagues. After a bit of time to get rid of the ring rust, Regal reappeared on television as the snobbish Goodwill Ambassador.

Now that WWE had a true European star eager to prove themselves in their ranks, it only made sense that he would go after the title most closely aligned with his homeland.

After defeating Al Snow for the title, Regal quickly went about defending against all comes and briefly found himself in the main event mix, competing with Steve Austin, The Rock and Kurt Angle. That he was in there with the best in the biz was a good omen for both Regal and the championship he held, whether he won the matches or not

Regal would lose the belt to Crash Holly and Test before being elevated to Intercontinental level, but he returned to the European Title scene once again in 2002, having half decent matches in the days of RUTHLESS AGGRESSION.

A fine champion and a fine man!

1. The British Bulldog

WWE

So here we are, the best European Champion of all time, saving the best for last. Well, actually, we’re saving the first for last because the first is the best and that is the inaugural titleholder, ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith.

A true superhero to children in the UK, Smith was already well established by the time he defeated Owen Hart in that tournament final in Germany. Davey Boy became a legend when he beat Bret Hart for IC gold on these shores in the stupendously good main event of SummerSlam ’92.

In the time between those two triumphs, Bulldog had left the company for a stint in Atlanta, returned, bounced up and down the card, formed a successful tag team with Owen and headlined several European tours.

It seems obvious that the European Title was dreamed up with Davey Boy in mind and for good reason: he was over, he was marketable and he could work. Plus, the belt just looked really, really cool around his waist!