WWE Royal Rumble 2023: Latest Report on Show's Top Matches

WWE's Royal Rumble pay-per-view will kick off the company's 2023 schedule and between spoilers for next week's SmackDown and recent online reports, a good chunk of the show's card seems to have already been built. Aside from the two titular Rumble matches, fans can expect Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (news of that broke earlier this month and Owens has been targeting Reigns' title ever since) and Ronda Rousey vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the SmackDown Women's Championship. 

WrestlingNews.co reported last month that a new gimmick match dubbed the "Pitch Black" Match was being considered for the Rumble and would include Bray Wyatt (against, presumably, LA Knight). The same site dropped a new report on Sunday stating an Edge vs. Finn Balor rematch was also being considered for the show and that it would involve Hell in a Cell.

Balor defeated Edge back at Extreme Rules in October in an I Quit Match when the rest of The Judgement Day threatened to knock out Beth Phoenix with a Con-Chair-To before "The Rated-R Superstar" surrendered. Proving just how villainous they were, the group knocked Phoenix out anyway. The report also notes Balor will use his "Demon" persona, something he hasn't resorted to using since his infamous loss to Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules 2021.

Hell in a Cell at WWE Royal Rumble 2023

The report could also be an indication that WWE is doing away with the Hell in a Cell gimmick pay-per-view and going back to only using the stipulation when a storyline calls for it. This was something Paul Levesque recently spoke about during a press conference. 

"Hell in a Cell stepping away, for me... I think there's a lot of feeling that Hell in a Cell is one of those things that it's a giant blow-off. If you're calling somebody out at the end of something, you can challenge them to the Hell in a Cell," he said after Survivor Series. "I hear this speculation among fans a lot, and all of you (reporters) as well: Hell in a Cell, Money in the Bank, Elimination. Maybe those things should all go away."

What do you think of the Royal Rumble card so far? Who do you think wins the two Rumble matches? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!