5 early predictions for 2019 Royal Rumble winner

As soon as Survivor Series is in the rearview mirror, all eyes inevitably turn toward the Royal Rumble. Only a small pitstop awaits us beforehand. This year, it will be at TLC on December 16th. Afterwards, WWE will make the turn on the Road to WrestleMania.

Survivor Series usually gives us hints about what we can expect two months later, and last night, we got a few.

On the women's side of things, Charlotte Flair seems a lock to win that Royal Rumble match. No other contender even emerges as a likely possibility at this point.

On the men's side of things, we have ourselves a horse race, which should make things very exciting. Let's take a look at the five likeliest candidates as of today.

#5 Seth Rollins

Fresh off his victory over this year's Royal Rumble winner, Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins has regained all of the momentum he lost during the Shield reunion. He has had a tremendous year and is by every means an ideal Royal Rumble winner.

First, though, he'll need to deal with Dean Ambrose, which will make or break his chances on January 27th.

Seth Rollins will first need to drop his Intercontinental Championship if he's poised to be a Royal Rumble winner. Dean Ambrose might ironically do him that favor. If Seth Rollins emerges with the title still intact, though, it suggests that WWE will have other plans with him.

Either way, Dean Ambrose is set to haunt him for months to come. That will define him heading into Phoenix. At this point, Seth Rollins is in that place where he's a standout, but the needle looks more likely to be pointed elsewhere.

Chances: Possible, but improbable, as of November 19th, 2018.