Post by Goldash on Jan 20, 2012 10:21:37 GMT -5
My second favorite pay-per-view of the year, the Rumble is one of the most exciting events in the WWE calendar. With a little more than one week to go, now's the time for predictions. Who do you think has the greatest chance of winning the #1 Contendership this year?
My money's on five wrestlers. Three are my personal favorites to win and two are the "logical WWE choices" that I'm hoping do NOT.
Let's start off with my personal picks:
Chris Jericho (Raw), Wade Barrett (Smackdown), and Undertaker (Smackdown???)
Y2J makes the most sense, especially on the Raw side of the coin. Part of that reason's because I feel his current buildup as a cowardly and delirious heel suits him well leading into the Rumble. He'll parade around the next few weeks doing absolutely nothing but scream "YEAH BABEH~!" while playing to the crowd before entering the Rumble thirtieth and parading around ringside until the strongest face is left standing. Then, when the crowd expects the final face to make mincemeat out of him, he catches the fans off-guard and makes the final elimination. The sky's the limit, especially if a match against Punk is on its way.
Wade Barrett's chances of winning, especially if Daniel Bryan continues his roll as a delirious heel champion, are dwindling by the day. It seems Barrett is destined for a match in the Wrestlemania undercard, which means his tremendous push after injuring Randy Orton could likely be for naught (unless Randy returns at the Rumble, but more on that later). Unless the WHC match at Mania becomes a three-way dance between Bryan, Show and Barrett, I honestly don't see Wade pulling this off and everything making logical sense, especially if Bryan keeps the belt. As a wrestling fan, however, I'd appreciate seeing Wade get a spot in the main event.
As for Taker...well, no one knows if we'll see him within a thousand-foot pole of Wrestlemania this year. But because the Rumble always seems to include a big return, I wouldn't be surprised if Taker enters and wins to set up his eventual 20-0 record and WHC victory against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. Even though Bryan doesn't seem like an opponent on the level of HHH or HBK, there's a slight possibility of a great angle and a sold match here with the way Bryan's acting and a potential "warm-up" for Taker in his angle against the much more imposing Big Show. As Vince McMahon said, "anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation"...but those days are long gone. Still, it'd be surprising and excellent to see.
Which leads me to the two wrestlers who may be the WWE's choices to win (and the ones I DON'T want to see in the Wrestlemania main event): Rey Mysterio (Raw), Randy Orton (Smackdown)
If it turns out Orton's injury was kayfabed (which I don't think is the case) and he returns at the Rumble --- which just happens to take place his hometown of St. Louis --- it would be far too obvious and predictable. It will likely be a Wrestlemania main event match with Wade Barrett (if he wins the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match) or a three-way between Bryan and Barrett. Not what I want to see happen, but who knows.
Rey, on the other hand, has been out a little while and there could be a possibility of a return at the Rumble --- unless WWE already projected his on-air return as being on a much later date. While I wouldn't mind seeing him in the match, I would be devastated if he won. There's no place for him in the Raw main event unless Punk drops the strap at Elimination Chamber, and a main event match between Rey and Bryan just doesn't excite me. Mysterio seems more like an outside chance to win (let alone compete) but I pray WWE doesn't make him a two-time winner this year.
Onto my predictions for the rest of the matches on the card...
Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk [C] - WWE Championship: John Laurinaitis as Special Referee
Punk retains. I honestly don't see Ziggler winning unless the WWE plans to build up Punk and Johnny Ace at Wrestlemania, which, honestly, seems like a match more suited for Elimination Chamber or even Extreme Rules (if Punk loses at WM to a heel Royal Rumble winner, most likely Y2J). With John admitting on Raw that he'll be in a position to "screw" Punk at Rumble from the get-go, I see many possibilities. One, Punk could attempt to get disqualified or counted out to retain his belt (a classic WWE heel tactic that may work with a heel special referee). Two, John could controversially break the rules of refereeing which may lead to the intervention of Triple H or Vince McMahon to reverse the decision or give Punk the win in a restart. Three, Punk could somehow overcome the odds (which may very well happen). Who knows. As long as Laurinaitis/Punk isn't on the Wrestlemania card, I'm pretty sure we're going to be seeing a Punk retention at the Rumble.
John Cena vs. Kane
This is one of the better Cena angles I've seen in a while, as Kane has proven to be a great foil for Cena over these past few weeks. Never mind the cartoony "Warrior vs. Hogan in 1998" backstage skits or Zach Ryder's involvement, this is slowly turning Cena into the heel-ish persona he'll have to adopt against the heavily favored Rock at Wrestlemania. Cena will win, and it'll likely be on a spot much like the one he attempted against Swagger on Raw this past week (the con-stair-to, if you will).
The Big Show vs. Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan [C] - Triple-Threat Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
I prefer the likelihood of a Bryan win, and I'm pretty certain it'll be a cheap victory. I'm even expecting AJ to find a way to get involved, either using a foreign object to 'get back' at Show or using the old heel female manager tactic of handing Bryan a prop with the referee's back turned and letting him get a cheap win while avoiding the DQ. If Show or Henry win, I honestly don't see where it can lead...unless Bryan or another wrestler wins the belt at Elimination Chamber. Oh, well. "Anything can happen", right?
Unannounced Divas Match
Umm...when's Kharma returning? That's all I want to know.
Anyway, this year's Rumble figures to be quite surprising, regardless of outcome. It's always one of the most unpredictable events of the year (even if we guess correctly). Predictions are half the fun, but we won't truly know until next Sunday. As Hockey Night in Canada's Bob Cole once said, this one should be a 'dandy'...whatever that's supposed to mean in 21st Century terms...
My money's on five wrestlers. Three are my personal favorites to win and two are the "logical WWE choices" that I'm hoping do NOT.
Let's start off with my personal picks:
Chris Jericho (Raw), Wade Barrett (Smackdown), and Undertaker (Smackdown???)
Y2J makes the most sense, especially on the Raw side of the coin. Part of that reason's because I feel his current buildup as a cowardly and delirious heel suits him well leading into the Rumble. He'll parade around the next few weeks doing absolutely nothing but scream "YEAH BABEH~!" while playing to the crowd before entering the Rumble thirtieth and parading around ringside until the strongest face is left standing. Then, when the crowd expects the final face to make mincemeat out of him, he catches the fans off-guard and makes the final elimination. The sky's the limit, especially if a match against Punk is on its way.
Wade Barrett's chances of winning, especially if Daniel Bryan continues his roll as a delirious heel champion, are dwindling by the day. It seems Barrett is destined for a match in the Wrestlemania undercard, which means his tremendous push after injuring Randy Orton could likely be for naught (unless Randy returns at the Rumble, but more on that later). Unless the WHC match at Mania becomes a three-way dance between Bryan, Show and Barrett, I honestly don't see Wade pulling this off and everything making logical sense, especially if Bryan keeps the belt. As a wrestling fan, however, I'd appreciate seeing Wade get a spot in the main event.
As for Taker...well, no one knows if we'll see him within a thousand-foot pole of Wrestlemania this year. But because the Rumble always seems to include a big return, I wouldn't be surprised if Taker enters and wins to set up his eventual 20-0 record and WHC victory against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. Even though Bryan doesn't seem like an opponent on the level of HHH or HBK, there's a slight possibility of a great angle and a sold match here with the way Bryan's acting and a potential "warm-up" for Taker in his angle against the much more imposing Big Show. As Vince McMahon said, "anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation"...but those days are long gone. Still, it'd be surprising and excellent to see.
Which leads me to the two wrestlers who may be the WWE's choices to win (and the ones I DON'T want to see in the Wrestlemania main event): Rey Mysterio (Raw), Randy Orton (Smackdown)
If it turns out Orton's injury was kayfabed (which I don't think is the case) and he returns at the Rumble --- which just happens to take place his hometown of St. Louis --- it would be far too obvious and predictable. It will likely be a Wrestlemania main event match with Wade Barrett (if he wins the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match) or a three-way between Bryan and Barrett. Not what I want to see happen, but who knows.
Rey, on the other hand, has been out a little while and there could be a possibility of a return at the Rumble --- unless WWE already projected his on-air return as being on a much later date. While I wouldn't mind seeing him in the match, I would be devastated if he won. There's no place for him in the Raw main event unless Punk drops the strap at Elimination Chamber, and a main event match between Rey and Bryan just doesn't excite me. Mysterio seems more like an outside chance to win (let alone compete) but I pray WWE doesn't make him a two-time winner this year.
Onto my predictions for the rest of the matches on the card...
Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk [C] - WWE Championship: John Laurinaitis as Special Referee
Punk retains. I honestly don't see Ziggler winning unless the WWE plans to build up Punk and Johnny Ace at Wrestlemania, which, honestly, seems like a match more suited for Elimination Chamber or even Extreme Rules (if Punk loses at WM to a heel Royal Rumble winner, most likely Y2J). With John admitting on Raw that he'll be in a position to "screw" Punk at Rumble from the get-go, I see many possibilities. One, Punk could attempt to get disqualified or counted out to retain his belt (a classic WWE heel tactic that may work with a heel special referee). Two, John could controversially break the rules of refereeing which may lead to the intervention of Triple H or Vince McMahon to reverse the decision or give Punk the win in a restart. Three, Punk could somehow overcome the odds (which may very well happen). Who knows. As long as Laurinaitis/Punk isn't on the Wrestlemania card, I'm pretty sure we're going to be seeing a Punk retention at the Rumble.
John Cena vs. Kane
This is one of the better Cena angles I've seen in a while, as Kane has proven to be a great foil for Cena over these past few weeks. Never mind the cartoony "Warrior vs. Hogan in 1998" backstage skits or Zach Ryder's involvement, this is slowly turning Cena into the heel-ish persona he'll have to adopt against the heavily favored Rock at Wrestlemania. Cena will win, and it'll likely be on a spot much like the one he attempted against Swagger on Raw this past week (the con-stair-to, if you will).
The Big Show vs. Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan [C] - Triple-Threat Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
I prefer the likelihood of a Bryan win, and I'm pretty certain it'll be a cheap victory. I'm even expecting AJ to find a way to get involved, either using a foreign object to 'get back' at Show or using the old heel female manager tactic of handing Bryan a prop with the referee's back turned and letting him get a cheap win while avoiding the DQ. If Show or Henry win, I honestly don't see where it can lead...unless Bryan or another wrestler wins the belt at Elimination Chamber. Oh, well. "Anything can happen", right?
Unannounced Divas Match
Umm...when's Kharma returning? That's all I want to know.
Anyway, this year's Rumble figures to be quite surprising, regardless of outcome. It's always one of the most unpredictable events of the year (even if we guess correctly). Predictions are half the fun, but we won't truly know until next Sunday. As Hockey Night in Canada's Bob Cole once said, this one should be a 'dandy'...whatever that's supposed to mean in 21st Century terms...
