Reports: WWE moves Women's Tag Team Title Match to Royal Rumble Kickoff
There were supposed to be six matches scheduled for the main show tonight at the WWE Royal Rumble, but that may no longer the case. The Women's Tag Team Championship match will reportedly not be on the main show.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match, featuring Asuka and Charlotte Flair defending the championships against Shayna Baszler, and Nia Jax has been bumped to the Kickoff show.
As of this writing, WWE has not officially announced the move, but Johnson has confirmed with his sources that this is indeed correct. There is currently no known reasoning as to why this match has been removed from the main Royal Rumble card.
Of course, both Royal Rumble Matches will take up plenty of time on the broadcast. Plus, the two world title matches should get some time, too. As a result, WWE may have decided to move the Women's Tag Team Championship Match to the Kickoff Show to make sure that the other bouts aren't rushed.
By shifting the tag team match to the Kickoff show, WWE has theoretically given Flair, Asuka, Jax and Baszler more time to put on a good match. This bout might have suffered if it was put on the main card because the broadcast would have been cramped.
The main WWE Royal Rumble card now only has five matches
With the Women's Tag Team Title match being bumped to the Kickoff show, this only leaves five matches tonight on the WWE Royal Rumble main card.
Those matches include three title matches and two battle royals:
- The Men's Royal Rumble match
- The Women's Royal Rumble match
- Roman Reigns will defend the WWE Universal Championship against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match
- Drew McIntyre will defend the WWE Championship against Goldberg
- Sasha Banks will defend the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship against Carmella
There is currently nothing to suggest that WWE will be adding another match to tonight's show, so it would appear all five of these matches will get substantial time tonight on the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Are you happy that WWE is moving the Women's Tag Team Championship Match to the Royal Rumble Kickoff show? Sound off in the comments below.