WWE Royal Rumble 2023 predictions: we used WWE 2K22 to pick the winners
It’s the happiest time of year for any wrestling fan, the Royal Rumble. Not only does it mark the start of the build to WrestleMania, but the Rumbles themselves are always two of the most enjoyable matches of the year. Still, with 30 competitors in each one, picking winners can be difficult, so we’re looking at the WWE video games to help us out.
We’ve simulated every match in WWE 2K22, and we’re going to tell who won, how it went down, and whether I think it was the right result.
If you want a look at what may be coming in the newly announced WWE 2K23, check out our WarGames interview, and our WWE 2K23 roster reveal.
Bianca Belair(c) vs Alexa Bliss – Raw Women’s Championship
Alexa is taking no prisoners in this match and immediately begins a slow beat down on Belair, however, Belair’s advantage as the stronger competitor eventually lets her fight back and take control.
For some reason, Belair became obsessed with the top rope part-way through this match, as she went for diving attacks on six separate occasions – some of which almost didn’t fail.
It’s Alexa who finally lands a successful move from the top rope, hitting Twisted Bliss but only getting a two-count.
Bianca takes this personally and goes to the top once again, landing hard on Alexa with a 360 Senton Bomb, but is unable to put her opponent away.
After a bit of back-and-forth, Bliss goes for a DDT but Bianca slips out it, immediately grabbing Alexa for the KOD, but that is countered too.
Alexa gears up and looks like she might be going for the kill, but that’s when Belair picks her up, hits the KOD, and gets the win.
Predicted winner: Bianca Belair
I think we can trust the game on this one, Belair has held the Raw Women’s Championship for almost a year now, so if she’s going to lose it, it would make sense for it to happen at WrestleMania in a couple of months against a bigger opponent.
Bray Wyatt vs LA Knight – Pitch Black Match
We don’t know exactly what a “pitch black match” is yet, and it isn’t in the game. All we’ve been told about it is that there are no rules, which just makes it sound like any generic hardcore match. Either way, we chose Falls Count Anywhere for the closest simulation.
Surprisingly, LA Knight doesn’t get flattened here. He lands a lucky shot moments after the bell and dominates the early portion of the match. He even lands his BFT finishing move, but Bray kicks out with ease.
Now it’s time for Bray to do what he does best, he lures LA Knight out of the ring and begins to take control, using the barricade, ring steps, and concrete floor to his advantage.
You’d think it’d be a done deal from there, but Knight isn’t done, he lands a Torture Rack Neckbreaker on Wyatt, follows it up with a second BFT, and gets the upset win.
Predicted winner: LA Knight
If there’s one match I’d say the game got completely wrong, it’s this one. Not only is this Bray Wyatt’s first match since returning, but LA Knight has barely won a match since debuting on Smackdown. The wrestling community would absolutely lose their minds if Bray lost this one, and it would be entirely justified.
Roman Reigns(c) vs Kevin Owens – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Owens comes out full of piss and vinegar in this match and it seems like he has Reigns’ number for a while.
The Tribal Chief is smarter though and throws Owens out of the ring at an opportune moment. From there, it’s an uncensored beatdown on KO, with Reigns slipping back into the ring only briefly to break the ten-count. A veteran maneuver – as Michael Cole would irritatingly put it.
Owens limps back into the ring, but Reigns stays on top, locking in a chokehold. Owens manages to break free, heading to the top rope and crushing Reigns with a Bullfrog Splash – only gets a two-count, though.
The prizefighter isn’t done though as he drops Reigns with a Stunner, but that still isn’t enough to end it.
Reigns has had enough, and after a glance at the wise man Paul Heyman he leaps to his feet and takes Owens down with a Guillotine Choke, thankfully, Owens is close enough to the ropes to break the hold.
The two men exchange tired strikes and it’s Owens that hits the floor first, Reigns charges up for the spear, but Owens gets his knee up and counters. It’s a smooth transition into a second stunner and that’s enough for KO to end the 872-day reign of the Tribal Chief.
Predicted winner: Kevin Owens
While it would be cool if this happened on Saturday, I highly doubt such a dominant and historic title reign will come to an end so suddenly. That said, with Sami Zayn’s questionable loyalty to The Bloodline in play, it’s possible he could give Owens a helping hand.
Women’s Royal Rumble
The slight issue we face with simulating the Royal Rumbles is that we don’t know all 30 entrants yet. In fact, as of writing, only seven women have been officially announced for the match. So, we’re filling it in with our best guesses of who will end up participating, and we’ve thrown in a few surprises along the way – that’s part of the fun of the Rumble, after all. We let the game randomize what numbers everyone entered at, though.
Things start off with a trip down memory lane as Asuka enters number 1 and Becky Lynch draws number 2.
They brawl as the ring fills up until number 8, Ronda Rousey, comes out full of beans and ready to fight dirty, but she’s stopped in her tracks by number 9: the returning Naomi, whipping Rousey over the ropes and kicking her back to her ranch.
The returns start coming and they don’t stop coming. Number 12 is Beth Phoenix who…doesn’t do much, which isn’t that different from real legends in the Rumble.
Liv Morgan suddenly hulks up out of nowhere, throwing out both of our first entrants before clobbering Lacey Evans.
It’s another surprise at 16 as NXT star Cora Jade hits the ring. She goes for glory and attacks Beth Phoenix, hitting a dropkick to get her on the ropes, and, before the Phoenix can rise again, a clothesline sends her to the floor.
Liv Morgan takes issue with that and eliminates Cora while her back is turned. However, irony is a cruel mistress, and Sonya Deville does exactly the same thing to her.
Dakota Kai enters at number 25 and characteristically causes drama, attacking and eliminating her tag partner Iyo Sky – there can only be one winner, after all.
Freshly entered Mia Yim dispatches swift justice, eliminating Kai before she even knew what hit her. Yim isn’t done though, and with the power of God and anime on her side, eliminates both Xia Li and Tegan Nox less than 30 seconds later.
At 27 and 28, it’s the big bad bullies, Shayna Baszler and Rhea Ripley. Although most of the wrestlers in the ring would faint just from looking at these two, they instead decide to duke it out themselves. Everyone else breathes a sigh of relief and pretends not to notice.
It doesn’t take long for something to give between the two of them, and just as Carmella enters at 29, Rhea puts her boot in Shayna’s jaw – that’s the end of that.
The young guns who ignored Rhea before now have no choice, and the field quickly thins, just in time for Bayley as our final entrant.
Rhea Ripley, Kacy Catanzaro, Carmella, and Bayley pair off and fight, which goes about as well as you’d expect for Kacy and Carmella.
Bayley and Rhea Ripley stand as the final two. Bayley dodges a big boot from Ripley, saving herself briefly, but Judgement Day always comes, leading Ripley to glory.
Predicted winner: Rhea Ripley
Amazingly, I think the game has got it spot-on in this instance. Rhea Ripley is the frontrunner to win the women’s Rumble on Saturday, and it would certainly be deserved if the muscle of Judgement Day came out on top.
Men’s Royal Rumble
15 men have declared for the Rumble as of writing, so we’re a little less in dark for this simulation, but the same rules apply.
We’re starting off this Rumble with a little sing-song, as Elias serenades us at number 1, but it doesn’t seem to have charmed Mustafa Ali who comes in at number 2 and wastes no time beating him down.
We barely get time to settle into this thing before the monster of all monsters, Braun Strowman crashed in at 4. Surprisingly though, all of the smaller guys are able to constantly slip out from his massive arms…for now.
Rey Mysterio is at 7, and he lasts for all of five seconds, getting thrown over the ropes and kicked to the ground by Ricochet. He may be thankful though, as number 8 is the son who betrayed him, Dominik Mysterio.
Bobby Lashley is number 10, and this big beefy boy is all business. Ricochet and Santos Escobar may as well be paper airplanes with how far Lashley launched them. He then comes up against Strowman, but easily overpowers him.
Gunther and Sheamus meet a little later on, after rekindling their desire to batter the life out of each other, Sheamus finally gets one over on the Austrian, eliminating him.
The leader of Judgement Day hits the ring at 18, but with Dominik gone and Priest yet to enter, he’s on his own for now – something Drew McIntyre takes advantage of.
Kofi Kingston is 22 and Dolph Ziggler is 23, these two immediately lock onto each other and fight relentlessly for ages.
No one cares about that though as it’s time to know our role and shut your mouth as The Rock is coming down at 24.
Dexter Lumis is the unfortunate soul in his path, and he’s thrown out of the ring before The Rock takes a breath, Karrion Kross is quick to follow.
Damian Priest comes in at 25 and gets in the ring just in time to see McIntyre dump Balor onto the outside – the consequences for this blunder are immediate, as Kofi gets his legs around Priest’s neck and flips him out in an instant.
Omos is looking good at 26…until he runs right into The Rock’s fist.
It’s time for the eternal underdogs now as Sami Zayn is 27 and Cody Rhodes is 28 who each make ground in a crowded ring.
It won’t be crowded for much longer though, as the beast incarnate, Brock Lesnar is 29. Dolph Ziggler – gone. Kofi Kingston – bodied. Baron Corbin – murdered.
Finally, Austin Theory can count himself the luckiest man alive as he enters last, thankfully everybody else is too busy to notice him.
Sami Zayn manages to survive an assault from The Rock but runs straight into Lesnar, and his hope of securing the Rumble for The Bloodline is crushed.
Cody Rhodes is shockingly tossed out by Theory, leaving just the two mega stars and one dork in the ring.
Theory plays dead in the corner as Rock and Brock fight like it’s 2002. It doesn’t work though, and the pair team up to get rid of him.
The two titans fight tooth and nail for the win, but eventually, fatigue gets the best of The Rock as Brock slams his whole body into him.
I hope you’re ready for Roman vs Brock at WrestleMania for the fourth time.
Predicted winner: Brock Lesnar
Mercifully, I think the game is wrong on this one. Everyone hated it when Brock won the Rumble last year, so I doubt those with power at WWE would be stupid enough to do it again. As for who will win though, The Rock, Cody, and Sami are all possibilities – it’s really anyone’s guess.
