WWE Royal Rumble Preview; Final Four Prediction

It’s time again for the annual WWE tradition known as the Royal Rumble. The Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO will host the 25th Anniversary of the event on Sunday January 29th.

PREVIEW:

This year the Rumble is back to the traditional 30 participants. I’m not sure why WWE went back to 30? I enjoyed the 40 man Rumble last year. You would assume the Rumble Match is going to be the main event of the show, why not throw as many people into it as you can so more superstars get exposure? Hopefully they add 1 more quality singles match, or they lengthen the Rumble. Regardless the Royal Rumble is arguably the second best show of the year and it’s going to be a good PPV. We are still a couple weeks out and there are not many things we know for sure. Here are two things that we do know and a few early predictions:

(1) CM Punk vs.Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Title w/ Special Guest Referee John Laurinaitis

I think Punk should win this one. It doesn’t look good with Laurinaitis as the ref, and I could easily see a scenario where Punk gets screwed out of the title. But with Chris Jericho looming to challenge Punk at Wrestlemania 28, you have to think it’s going to be for the belt. This match will steal the show of the singles matches, as it should. Both of these guys are in the Top 5 best in ring performers that WWE has. CM Punk needs to build up momentum heading towards Wrestlemania, overcoming Ziggler and Laurinaitis to retain the title will be a great start. In recent weeks he has taken a back seat to Cena and Kane, and will need to be on his ‘A’ game to remind people why he is champion.

(2) John Cena vs. Kane

Whether or not this is a singles match or they are just in the Rumble Match, they will face off at some point. I hope it’s a singles match. The rivalry has been the main event on Raw for weeks now. If you’re going to give that much airtime to a story and not give it a match on one of the biggest PPV’s, something is wrong. The match itself would be good, and should further John Cena’s path to Wrestlemania against The Rock. I predict Cena beats/eliminates Kane, and they also set up a future Kane vs Zack Ryder match.

FINAL FOUR RUMBLE PARTICIPANTS:

John Cena- At one point people thought Cena vs. Rock would be for the title. This is still not out of the question, but I find it improbable. Cena will stay in the Rumble because he is a top draw and people want to see him there. Cena winning doesn’t make much sense because the Rumble winner usually waits until Mania for their title shot. That would mean The Rock would have to win the title somehow before Mania to set up a match with the challenger Cena. Out of the question? No, but Cena vs. Rock should not be for the title.

Chris Jericho- As mentioned above, Jericho vs. Punk is probably going to determine who ‘The Best in the World’ is and most people associate the WWE champion as the best. Does Jericho vs. Punk need the title to be awesome? No. Do I think that it should be for the title? Yes, because it goes hand in hand with a ‘Best’ storyline. Also, Jericho has never won the Rumble and it would be a nice piece of his resume to brag about heading into Wrestlemania.

Wade Barrett- No one on Smackdown has been on a bigger role lately than Wade Barrett. He seems destined to win the World Title at some point in 2012. I’m not completely sold on Barrett winning the Rumble this year though. He could just as easily get to the World Title match at Mania by winning the Elimination Chamber next month.

Randy Orton- The internet has been buzzing about a surprise return by Orton. After all, he is from St. Louis and it would make for a great moment for him to return. That has been the theme of a couple recent Rumbles; in 2008 with John Cena and again in 2010 with Edge making returns to win. Randy Orton himself won the event in 2009 and he is the top star on Smackdown. The build to Wrestlesmania is only better for everyone if Orton is involved. Orton is currently “injured,” but no one really knows if it’s just a work…

In part 2 of this article I will preview the other matches and give my pick to win the Rumble.

Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter @the_realfish

 

 

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