The timing of the WWE’s upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event has thrown many off, especially since it took place so close to the Superstar Shake-up where several big-name superstars that will be in action this Friday switched brands.
Obviously, seeing stars from Monday Night RAW go up against those on SmackDown LIVE isn’t anything new. However, when you throw championship titles into the picture, then it can get a little confusing as to which way things could go. Although, you could also argue that this is the reason why there’s going to be so much excitement and intrigue heading into the event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE
Thankfully, things don’t seem too straightforward and predictable. In fact, even though many believe a Roman Reigns victory is guaranteed over Brock Lesnar, the mystery surrounding The Beast’s contract combined with the swerve we witnessed at WrestleMania 34 is leading many to believe that Lesnar could reign supreme again.
Two other title matches which - on the surface - look straightforward are the United States and Intercontinental Championship matches. Following his loss on the first night of the Superstar Shake-up, Jinder Mahal gets his rematch against SmackDown’s Jeff Hardy.
Seth Rollins faces a much tougher task, though. He defends the Intercontinental title in a Fatal 4-Way ladder match against RAW’s Finn Balor, as well as Samoa Joe and The Miz.
When speaking on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez has claimed that based on The Maharaja losing back-to-back matches on RAW, against Hardy and Chad Gable, WWE's style of booking suggests he will leave the Middle East with the United States title.
Opposite him, The Miz then should leave as the new Intercontinental Champion. The interesting thing about this, though, is that should they become the new champions, they’re not going to be switching brands, as Kurt Angle told Mahal on RAW.
TITLE SWITCH?
Instead, the plan is to have the United States title become a part of RAW while The Miz is expected to continue his Intercontinental title reign on SmackDown with the record on the horizon.
According to Ringside News, he said: “What I think is going to happen is it’s WWE’s booking, so [Jinder Mahal] has lost twice.
“That means he’s going to win the US title, Miz wins the Intercontinental title and they switch brands and Miz can break the IC record.”
The titles switching brands does make complete sense.
The Miz has done wonderful things with the Intercontinental Championship, so he deserves to continue working his way towards that record rather than getting involved in the United States title picture.
It also means Jinder can head into Backlash as the champion, being able to feud with the likes of Finn Balor and Seth Rollins moving forward.
Will the United States and Intercontinental Championships switch brands once the Greatest Royal Rumble is over? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.