John Cena

Everything is full steam ahead as WWE charges toward the 2019 Royal Rumble and the Road to WrestleMania starts taking shape.

The winners of the men's and women's Rumble matches will receive title shots, making them among the most important fights of the year.

As soon as one Rumble ends, speculation begins about which Superstars will win the following year's installments, but with the next victors set to be crowned on January 27, the field has narrowed down considerably.

Anything can happen, and surprises are part of the fabric woven into the Royal Rumble gimmick, though some particular contenders stand out as the true top picks.

The Women's Royal Rumble Winner

Out of each Royal Rumble's 30 competitors, only one is supposed to outlast the gauntlet and stand tall.

In 1994, though, both Lex Luger and Bret Hart fell at the same time. Rather than rule it a draw with no challenger for Yokozuna, both were declared winners and received title shots at WrestleMania X.

WWE did something similar in 2005 with Batista and John Cena, but the official win was given to The Animal, even though The Champ went on to win the WWE title at WrestleMania.

This year, there are no other choices for the Women's Royal Rumble other than Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, who are so tightly tied together in a feud with Ronda Rousey that they both have to win.

That may seem strange, as Lynch is scheduled to face Asuka for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the event, but in 2011, both Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler lost title matches before competing in the Royal Rumble. Roman Reigns also did it in 2017.

That means it's well within the realms of possibility Lynch will follow suit in 2019 if she comes up short against Asuka.

If Flair did win and fought Rousey alone at WrestleMania 35, WWE would knowingly upset the big fanbase Lynch has built up in the past few months. But the company clearly doesn't want it to just be Lynch vs. Rousey, or Asuka would be facing Flair.

The only way to not leave one of the two out of the mix is to have a Triple Threat, and the only way for both to fight Rousey and jump to the Raw brand is to win the Royal Rumble.

If anything happens other than a co-winner situation with Lynch and Flair, it would be astonishing.

The Men's Royal Rumble Winner

While the women's match is easy to predict, the men's event is much harder to pinpoint, as there are several options available depending on which wrestlers are holding the titles.

Brock Lesnar has beaten Braun Strowman over and over again, so it's safe to assume he will do the same and retain the universal title over The Monster Among Men.

If so, the only man on Raw who has any legitimate chance of being booked to face Lesnar at WrestleMania is Seth Rollins—unless Reigns is able to return to action.

Given the circumstances, The Architect is a safer bet now his feud with Dean Ambrose is fizzling out and someone else will be gunning for the Intercontinental Championship, allowing him to focus on the universal belt.

Nobody else, such as Elias or Finn Balor, would be chosen for the role of Lesnar's opponent for WrestleMania.

While there's a chance an outsider like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson swoops in and takes that title shot, he would be an unreliable pick to even be in the match at all, let alone win and dedicate the next several months to building up to it in April.

If Strowman is victorious and becomes the new universal champion earlier in the night, though, Rollins is out as the top contender. That role would instead switch over to a heel such as Lars Sullivan or Drew McIntyre.

With Sullivan, it's a stretch to go straight to the main event, but The Freak vs. The Monster writes itself, and WWE chairman Vince McMahon loves his giants, so Sullivan could well win the Rumble match to mark a strong debut.

McIntyre edges him out, though, as WWE has made it a point to feature him the past few months and keep him looking strong.

The feud between Strowman and McIntyre was even put on hold, possibly because WWE decided to do it at WrestleMania.

However, all of that is just for Raw, and we could have a winner who challenges for SmackDown's WWE Championship instead.

When looking at that roster, there aren't many options, as we can assume Daniel Bryan retains the title against AJ Styles and fights another babyface at WrestleMania.

Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, Mustafa Ali and the like could win, but they wouldn't set up the grandest marquee for the biggest show of the year.

If Cena or a returning Shawn Michaels were to win, though, a contest between either of them and Bryan would have that big-match feel.

Cena would be fighting the man who was almost his brother-in-law and attempting to win a record 17th world title, while Michaels would be wrestling his first singles match since retirement and be facing his former pupil.

Perhaps more than anything, the winner of the Royal Rumble depends on whether Cena or Michaels would fight Bryan. If they are set to, one of them will win the Rumble rather than going through the Elimination Chamber, which will revert to a Raw match.

At that point, either Rollins would win to get a shot at Lesnar or Sullivan or McIntyre will win it to face Strowman depending on which Superstar leaves the Royal Rumble with the Universal Championship.

But if it isn't going to be Cena or Michaels against Bryan, the top contender defaults to Rollins or, by some extreme long shot, The Rock.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.

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Cena's Rumored WrestleMania Match in Jeopardy?

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton to WrestlingInc.com), WWE has been planning to pit John Cena against Lars Sullivan at WrestleMania 35 in April.

That match may no longer be on the table, however, due to some reported recent incidents involving Sullivan.

Meltzer noted that Sullivan was supposed to compete in a dark match prior to Monday's episode of Raw, but he reportedly either didn't show up or left the arena early due to an anxiety attack.

He then reportedly didn't show up for a scheduled dark match at SmackDown, and instead flew home.

For the past several weeks, WWE has been airing vignettes hyping Sullivan's main roster debut after a successful run in NXT.

Per Meltzer, the feud between Cena and Sullivan was expected to begin at the Royal Rumble, but it is now unknown if that will happen.

Banks Takes Shots at Lesnar, Rousey

Ahead of her Raw Women's Championship match against Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble, Sasha Banks threw some shade Friday on Twitter.

The Boss posted the following tweet about her plans after winning the Raw Women's title:

Banks took shots at Rousey and Universal champion Brock Lesnar due to their part-time schedules.

While Rousey appears on Raw almost every week, she doesn't work any house shows. Meanwhile, Lesnar's appearances are highly sporadic, although he will face Braun Strowman at the Rumble.

Banks is a four-time Raw Women's champion, but she hasn't held the title since August 2017.

Given her status as one of the premier women's wrestlers in the world, Banks apparent frustration is easy to understand.

It seems unlikely that she'll leave the Rumble as champion, but all the pieces are in place for her and Rousey to put on a fantastic match.

WWE Reportedly Made Offers to The Elite Before AEW

All Elite Wrestling is moving forward, but WWE and Triple H reportedly tried to sign the brains behind the operation beforehand.

Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks are set to run AEW with the help of the Khan family, which owns the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. 

They will be joined by several well-known wrestlers, including fellow Elite member Adam "Hangman" Page.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Raj Giri of WrestlingInc.com), Triple H made some "unique" contract offers to members of The Elite.

Triple H reportedly offered Page "main roster money" to work in NXT and be one of the top Superstars for the brand.

Also, The Young Bucks were reportedly offered a three-year deal for the same amount that AJ Styles makes. They were also offered an out after six months if they were unhappy.

Meltzer added that part of the contract would have included Being The Elite airing weekly on WWE Network.

While The Elite reportedly talked with Triple H for 12 hours and praised him for his efforts, they ultimately decided to start their own company.

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John Cena announced his intention to enter the multi-man match at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Jan. 27. 

The Cenation Leader opened WWE Raw on Monday night to say he's competing in the 30-man Battle Royal to earn his way onto the WrestleMania 35 card.

Cena's acting career has taken up more of his time in recent years. The 16-time world champion was open in a December interview with Sports Illustrated's Dan Greene about how he's "in the phase where I'm handing the stick off" to younger wrestlers.

Still, the 41-year-old has consistently made the effort to show up during WrestleMania season.

He competed in the 2018 Royal Rumble match and lasted nearly half an hour. He even challenged for the Universal Championship in a seven-man Elimination Chamber match a month later. The veteran also lost to The Undertaker in what amounted to a squash match at WrestleMania 34.

Cena essentially has a standing invitation to WrestleMania every year, but it's hard to see where he'll fit into this year's event. The Undertaker was basically the last major WWE star he hadn't wrestled on a big stage, and The Deadman's age (53) and physical limitations meant that was always going to be an underwhelming occasion.

AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura would've been two "dream-match" opponents for Cena given they were the biggest stars of TNA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, respectively, before arriving in WWE.

However, The Champ has already feuded with Styles and battled Nakamura in a highly publicized battle on SmackDown Live in 2017.

If Cena is looking to pass the proverbial torch to younger stars, though, WrestleMania 35 could be an opportunity for him to christen one of WWE's biggest up-and-coming names.

After two weeks of taped episodes, WWE Raw returns with the first episode of 2019, headlined by the return of several iconic Superstars.

Universal champion Brock Lesnar is back to confront Braun Strowman before they clash in the main event of this year's Royal Rumble on January 27, but The Beast Incarnate is far from the only recognizable face advertised for the hugely significant first show of the new year.

Who will return to boost star power in the face of strong competition in the form of a national championship football game?

John Cena Returns to Raw

The New Year's Day episode of SmackDown Live saw John Cena return, come face-to-face with Becky Lynch and team with The Man to defeat Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega.

Monday night, he returns to the flagship show with no established rivalry or teased angle to speak of. Instead, the franchise star of WWE since 2005 will lend his considerable star power to a brand desperately in need of it, particularly as Alabama and Clemson vie for the national championship in college football over on ESPN.

There are plenty of options for Cena, including interactions with young stars looking to make an impact, such as Apollo Crews, or a face-to-face with a surging force like Drew McIntyre.

Look for the 16-time heavyweight champion to perform in some sort of tag team match that allows him to lend credibility to the show without putting too much pressure on himself to perform in a singles bout.

From there, do not be surprised to see Cena announce himself for the Royal Rumble in an attempt to lend that annual extravaganza another big name.

Hulk Hogan Celebrates the Life of 'Mean' Gene Okerlund

The wrestling world was saddened Thursday by the death of one of the sport's most recognizable personalities, the great "Mean" Gene Okerlund.

A staple of WWE television from 1985 through his departure for WCW in 1993, he stood alongside every great from Andre the Giant to Ric Flair to Bret Hart in backstage interviews.

Always the level-headed broadcaster in a world of giant personalities, he relayed the message of even the most cartoonish characters to the audience at large.

One of his most iconic guests was Hulk Hogan and Monday night, The Hulkster returns to Raw for the first time in three years to celebrate the life of his late friend.

"Well ya know something, Mean Gene," he started so many iconic interviews. It only makes sense that the Superstar who once trained Okerlund for a match would be the man to wave goodbye to him in front of a wrestling world eager to celebrate the life and times of the 2006 Hall of Famer.

Expect plenty of emotion, lots of "brothers" and even a few tears Monday night.

The Beast and The Monster In the Same Arena

Brock Lesnar returns to Raw Monday night, where he will be in the same building as his Royal Rumble challenger, Braun Strowman.

The Beast and The Monster Among Men have had numerous clashes in the past, including at Crown Jewel, where Lesnar capitalized on interference from Baron Corbin to defeat Strowman and regain the Universal Championship.

At Rumble, Lesnar defends against Strowman, who is coming off elbow surgery but will not have to combat the interference of the former interim Raw general manager.

With Strowman finally beginning to heal and their match such a significant part of the Royal Rumble card, do not expect any physicality between champion and challenger. Instead, look for The Monster to send a message loudly and clearly to Lesnar that suggests he is a very real threat to the title.

Six months after her breakup with former WWE champion John Cena, Nikki Bella reportedly has found a new partner thanks to her stint on Dancing With the Stars.

Per Emily Marcus of US Magazine, Bella and Artem Chigvintsev have been a couple "for a while."

Cena and Bella were engaged to be married after he proposed to her following a mixed tag team match against The Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33. The couple called off their engagement and broke up in April 2018, weeks before their scheduled wedding date on May 5.

Bella and Chigvintsev, who has been a dancer on the ABC competition series since 2014, were partnered up when the former WWE Divas champion was a contestant on the show in Season 25. 

While Bella has cut back on her WWE schedule in recent years, she returned to the company for a brief period in 2018 to have a feud with Ronda Rousey that resulted in her losing in the main event at Evolution in October.