It's almost time for Evolution 2018, kicking off with a pre-show scheduled for 6 p.m. ET Sunday on the WWE Network.

No matter what happens, the sheer fact that this all-female event is even happening is fantastic, so there is plenty of goodwill to go around.

Some of that hype can be attributed to the surefire classics to come, like Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai in the Mae Young Classic final and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair capping off their rivalry in a Last Woman Standing match.

However, not everything is pure sunshine, as WWE has been focused on so many other things lately that the creative team dropped the ball with some of the matches on this card.

The Riott Squad vs. Bayley, Sasha Banks and Natalya leaves much to be desired, and the booking for the Battle Royal was about as lazy as it comes.

It's anybody's guess how things will turn out, but with some educated guesswork, we can at least predict who will walk out of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum victorious.

Before the first bell rings, let's gaze into our crystal balls and give one final round of picks for the matches set to take place at Evolution 2018.

Trish Stratus and Lita vs. Alicia Fox and Mickie James

As Hall of Famers, Trish Stratus and Lita fall into that category of legends who are perpetually protected from looking too weak.

With matches like the Royal Rumble, they can take losses and not hurt their legacies, but in a tag team match like this one against Alicia Fox and Mickie James, winning feels like a certainty.

There was at least a chance they could lose if Alexa Bliss had remained in this match, as WWE could have booked this as a means to give The Goddess a win over a legend to further cement her status.

But now that she's out of the match with an injury, that is no longer a factor.

Fox and James won't be given the same special treatment, as they weren't even able to get the best of Lita and Stratus when they blindsided them with an attack on Raw.

This program started with the intention of leading to Bliss vs. Stratus. And without Bliss in the picture, it's downgraded to merely being a showcase of how great Stratus and Lita are.

Somewhere down the line, Stratus and Bliss will be able to step in the ring and face each other, but in the meantime, it will remain another "what if?"

Final Pick: Trish Stratus and Lita are victorious.

Mae Young Classic Final: Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai

The key to picking a winner for the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament may not be the two women competing in the final but one woman who isn't: Tegan Nox.

It must be taken with a grain of salt, but since Nox suffered her leg injury in October, it became easy to speculate that she could have gone further in the tournament instead of being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Had she not gotten injured, she could have defeated Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai, which would have set her up for this match, but that didn't come to pass.

In a world where Nox was the plan, it means Shirai never was supposed to get this far, so the idea of her winning the tournament seems less likely than for it to have gone to Toni Storm, who would have made it to the end of her side of the bracket regardless.

However, a case could be made that even if plans changed, WWE could have decided to go with the flow and give Shirai the win.

This is especially true because Shirai has already been positioned as Kairi Sane's best friend, and a clash between the two could happen at TakeOver: WarGames with the Mae Young Classic win earning Shirai a shot at Sane's NXT Women's Championship.

This is one of the hardest matches to predict on the card, which makes the contest that much more interesting.

Final Pick: Toni Storm wins the tournament.

NXT Women's Championship Match: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

The most recent round of NXT tapings featured no hints as to what will happen with the NXT Women's Championship come TakeOver: WarGames, which keeps the outcome of the match between Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler a mystery.

That is great, as any announcement that Sane or Baszler will be defending the title in November or would spoil this match, but it also means there isn't much to go on when it comes to making a prediction.

Last year, the Mae Young Classic winner, Sane, earned a title shot at TakeOver: WarGames for her tournament victory, so if history repeats itself, we could see any of the four possible outcomes.

Sane vs. Shirai has the best-friends angle. Sane vs. Storm would be a great match—as would either of the Mae Young Classic finalists against Baszler, especially since The Queen of Spades and Storm have worked well together in the past.

There's also the matter of whether Baszler is ready to move up to the main roster. If she is, she won't be reclaiming the title.

But if WWE is holding off on that, it seems reasonable she would become the first two-time NXT women's champion in order to build more momentum.

When in doubt, the champion has the advantage, and Sane also has two wins over Baszler. The undefeated Bianca Belair is also ready to become the brand's top heel, so The Pirate Princess may have a slight edge.

Final Pick: Kairi Sane retains the championship.

Battle Royal for Women's Championship Opportunity

The Battle Royal at Evolution is a necessary monster that exists primarily to get as many women on to the card as possible rather than to be a game-changer for storylines.

The good news is that it has stakes, with a future women's title shot available to the winner. But the bad news is that everyone has been thrown in with little to no rhyme or reason.

It's a safe call to eliminate the legends like Ivory, Molly Holly, Torrie Wilson and so on because it's tough to imagine they would stick around long enough to build to a match at Survivor Series or TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.

There are also some women who just don't have the momentum to propel them to a title match, such as Dana Brooke, Lana, Tamina Snuka, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose and The IIconics.

Carmella was recently the champion and has already feuded with Becky Lynch, Nia Jax had her shot at Ronda Rousey and it's doubtful Ember Moon would be positioned to fight Rousey at this stage in her career.

Barring some major surprise like an NXT star using it for a shot at the NXT Women's Championship or NXT UK women's title, Nikki Cross coming up to the main roster in one fell swoop or an unannounced legend like AJ Lee shocking the world, the field is pretty much narrowed down to Naomi and Asuka.

Both could face Lynch for her title if she retains it, and then it's a matter of deciphering what WWE may do at WrestleMania with the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Asuka vs. Lynch is a bigger deal than Naomi vs. Lynch, so if The Lass Kicker holds on to the belt until 'Mania, she will likely face The Empress of Tomorrow there.

This means Naomi could be the perfect choice to win this Battle Royal, earn a shot at Lynch at Survivor Series and be the next to fail to dethrone the champion.

Final Pick: Naomi wins.

Bayley, Sasha Banks and Natalya vs. The Riott Squad

The least important match on the card—by far—is the six-woman tag team match between The Riott Squad and Bayley, Sasha Banks and Natalya.

This is about as meaningless of an exhibition as it comes, and with nothing on the line, no story to dictate a necessary outcome or likely any repercussions to come out of it, the winning team might as well be chosen with the flip of a coin.

WWE has a track record of making someone look strong on go-home shows before they lose on a pay-per-view, so since Ruby Riott stole a win over Banks on Raw, the smart bet is to lean toward the babyfaces for this encounter.

After all, this event is going to heavily revolve around positive vibes, and having the heels win would be a downer.

By all means, The Riott Squad should win to offset their loss at Super Show-Down and to give them more credibility, as well as make this an event where it's not all babyface wins, but it's hard to imagine WWE going in that direction.

In the end, it doesn't matter because this will be a filler match. And since WWE knows it's inconsequential, it will probably book it so the crowd can cheer some more instead of boo.

Final Pick: Bayley, Banks and Natalya win.

SmackDown Women's Championship Last Woman Standing Match

The feud between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair has been an interesting one in that WWE continues to push them in a narrative the fans just do not want to accept.

Try as it might, having the commentators chastise her constantly and booking her like a heel, Lynch just does not get booed by the audience. They like her too much, and it throws the dynamic of this program out the window.

That makes it hard to tell where WWE is going, because if this were a regular feud, the obvious outcome would see Flair reclaim her title, teach Lynch a lesson and stand tall as the babyface champion the crowd adores.

Putting the belt on Flair again would likely result in more boos, though, so WWE may decide to keep it on The Scarlet Spitfire and go with the flow of the WWE Universe.

Since this is a Last Woman Standing match, there exists any number of ways to get around having Flair lose without making her look weak.

Past matches have seen people lose because they were duct-taped, chained up or held down by equipment, so Lynch could incapacitate Flair on a technicality and walk out with the title in a way that preserves Flair's credibility.

Final Pick: Becky Lynch retains the championship.

Raw Women's Championship Match: Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella

The Raw Women's Championship feud has revolved mostly around the idea that Nikki Bella used politics and the entertainment side of WWE to get to the top, whereas Ronda Rousey is a no-nonsense fighter who backs up her words with her fists.

From an outsider's perspective, there's no argument against saying Rousey is the more legitimate fighter. Her UFC career is proof of her utter dominance. But within the context of WWE, suspension of disbelief allows considerable flexibility for this to be a more even contest.

The Bella Twins are wildly popular, so instead of being squashed, they will be protected.

However, even though Bella was the longest-reigning Divas champion in history, her character has never been made out to be an unstoppable combat specialist, especially when she's been a heel. Even from their debut, The Bella Twins trademark has been cheating rather than steamrolling through the competition.

In this match, WWE will seek to balance showing Bella as a strong competitor with a fighting spirit that Rousey underestimated with making sure she's still the heel and not the underdog to root for.

She will get the edge here and there, particularly with Brie at ringside to provide distractions just to illustrate how she's the villain, but she will fail to capture the title as Rousey proves she's still The Baddest Woman on the Planet.

Keeping the championship maximizes Rousey's potential for media coverage and goes with the logical flow of her being the top priority and something new, as well as the more active regular roster member.

This isn't primarily about making Bella look like a master between the ropes. It's about two of the most popular names in the women's division being on the marquee.

At the end of this, Rousey's credibility will remain intact, Bella will still look fine even in her loss and they will have a new-found respect for each other that will lead to them hugging it out to send everyone home happy at the show's conclusion.

Final Pick: Ronda Rousey retains the championship.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.