Who’s favored to win the Royal Rumble?
There is massive news this week concerning the WWE Network shutting down in March, but let鈥檚 start with tonight鈥檚 Royal Rumble.
Who is Rumble favorite?
The official Road to WrestleMania kicks off tonight.
Almost from its inception, the Royal Rumble has always had big favorites heading into WWE鈥檚 most popular match of the year. But, for one of the few times in the event鈥檚 33-year history, the men鈥檚 Rumble is wide open, as is the women鈥檚 match.
As of Friday afternoon, only 17 of the 30 competitors had been announced for the men鈥檚 version, while 12 of the 30 women had been confirmed.
Could Daniel Bryan finally win the men鈥檚 Rumble, or could it be a returning star like Brock Lesnar or Edge?
Will we see Ronda Rousey or Becky Lynch return to WWE and win the women鈥檚 Rumble, or will WWE look to elevate a new star like Rhea Ripley or Bianca Belair by having one of them win?
Roman Reigns will defend the Universal championship against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match, while Drew McIntyre defends the WWE championship against Goldberg.
Asuka and Charlotte Flair defend the women鈥檚 tag titles against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, while two more title matches could be added in an Intercontinental title match between Big E and Sami Zayn and a U.S. title match between Bobby Lashley and Riddle.
Speaking of Big E, he would be a good pick to win the Rumble.
NBC buys WWE Network
It was asked in this column last week how the closing of the NBC 缅北禁地 channel would affect WWE鈥檚 TV deals with the USA Network for Raw and NXT.
Talk of this all but disappeared on Monday when an announcement was made that Peacock, NBCUniversal鈥檚 streaming service, exclusive rights to WWE Network in the United States. The five-year deal is worth over $1 billion and averages out to over $200 million a year.
The WWE Network will be on Peacock Premium and cost $4.99 a month, half of what the Network costs now.
Comcast鈥檚 eligible Xfinity X1 customers and Cox Contour customers enjoy Peacock Premium included with their service at no additional cost. For the ad-free version, Peacock Premium Plus will cost $9.99 a month.
It is amazing that WWE was able to pull in this kind of deal with the way ratings have lagged the last year. In fact, when WWE releases its yearly numbers next week, 2020 will go down as the most profitable year in company history.
The mega TV deals with USA Network for Raw and with Fox for Smackdown are paying off, plus not running house shows is saving the company money.
A few experts online, like Dave Scherer from www.pwinsiderelite.com, have made a great point that WWE is now a TV company and those who have been clinging to the old model for WWE should accept what the company now is.
Look at it from this perspective: the WWE Network has 1.1 million domestic subscribers, whereas Peacock has 33 million subscribers.
That is 33 times more potential sets of eyeballs on WWE鈥檚 product.
WWE Icons debuts today
Not only is the Royal Rumble on the WWE Network today, but so is the new series WWE Icons. Today鈥檚 debut episode is about Yokozuna.
For those unfamiliar with him, a man his size should not have been as agile as he was and I am looking forward to the show.
Japanese star signs with WWE
It was reported Thursday afternoon by www.pwinsider.com/elite that Meiko Satomura has signed with WWE.
Huber鈥檚 official cause of death
Jon Huber, who wrestled in WWE as Luke Harper and in AEW as Brodie Lee, passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
AEW moves PPV
AEW has moved its Revolution PPV to March 7. Originally, the show was sent to air a week earlier.
This Day in History
In 2010, Edge won the Royal Rumble.
This week鈥檚 question
What would happen if the determined Royal Rumble winner accidentally got hurt or thrown out? Keri from Uniontown.
WWE always has a contingency plan, and usually the 鈥渘ext person鈥� who would be picked on the fly is one of the last men eliminated.
This way, if the chosen winner couldn鈥檛 win, they make the call on the go.
Email questions/comments to powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to @BillHughes_III.