Royal Rumble: Five questions we have as Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka win

THE Royal Rumble is over and WWE is now on the road to WrestleMania. But a lot can happen between now and the big show.

Here are five questions that we have following the events of the Royal Rumble.

Will Nakamura REALLY headline WrestleMania?

So Shinsuke Nakamura defied the odds to win the Royal Rumble – after dumping golden boys John Cena AND Roman Reigns out of the ring.

It was a dramatic, nerve-shredding end to an incredible Rumble match.

But does it mean that Nak is really going to be in the main event at the Show of Shows?

The chances of Shinsuke v AJ Styles headlining over Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns – which WWE is clearly booking for the Universal title – are slim at best.

To make Nakamura the Rumble winner was a gutsy move by the usually cautious WWE (the past five winners have been “safe” established star choices).

But does the company have the guts the put Nak v AJ on last and give them free reign to put on a true ‘Mania classic?

What’s the story with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon?

The 2-on-1 handicap match for the WWE Championship ended in mild controversy, when AJ Styles pinned Kevin Owens – who was clearly the illegal man.

This will surely lead to some kind of rematch or another shot at AJ’s title for either KO or Sami Zayn.

But it feels like there’s still a lot hanging in the air for this storyline – which is really about who’s side Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are really on.

Last night was the perfect opportunity for either Bryan or Shane to get involved and show their true colours – and set up whatever it is this story is leading to.

Can it really be a Bryan v Shane match at WrestleMania? Their absence last night means we still have no idea either way.

The mystery is intriguing but WWE could just be setting us up for major disappointment.

Is Sasha Banks a heel now?

Fans have wanted it for the best part of a year, last night it finally happened: The Boss has turned heel… we hope.

First she chucked best friend Bayley and fan favourite Trish Stratus out of the Rumble, then used underhanded tactics to try and eliminate Asuka.

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Everything about Sasha – her facial expressions, her trash talking, her newfound vicious streak – screamed heel.

It’s exactly what Sasha (not to mention the Raw women’s division) needs. Playing a heel on NXT between 2014 and 2015, she was the best thing in WWE.

What is WWE’s plan for Undertaker?

After months of speculation over whether The Deadman is really retired, most now agree that Taker is coming back for one more match – most likely against John Cena.

Taker’s cryptic promo on Raw 25 last week left the door open (mostly because no one understood what he was babbling on about).

But WWE have now had two opportunities to play its hand with Taker.

He could have appeared again at Raw 25 to shoot an angle with Cena – or last night in the Rumble.

So is he really wrestling one more match? Or have fans simply “worked themselves into a shoot” (wrestling lingo for “talked themselves into believing it”) about a Taker comeback?

How will Ronda Rousey fit into WrestleMania?

Ronda Rousey’s sudden appearance was a sucker punch of an end to the Royal Rumble.

Not only that, but her then pointing to the WrestleMania sign and having her handshake slapped away by Asuka cranked up the excitement.

But what does WWE have planned for Rousey at WrestleMania?

For a realistic, believable bout, Rousey battling women’s Rumble winner Asuka would be a killer matchup.

But even though Asuka is over with fans and still undefeated, she doesn’t fit the WWE superstar mould – and WWE probably sees Rousey v Charlotte Flair as the real money match.

Whatever happens, the news that Rousey has signed a full-time contract – rather than just making occasional appearances – is huge for the WWE women’s division.