This Sunday night, the WWE presents its 27th annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh and it will kick off the road to WrestleMania XXX on April 6 in New Orleans. Since 1988, the Royal Rumble has been one of the most exciting events on the WWE's calendar and this year it is once again headlined by the 30-man over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble match with a chance to face the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXX up for grabs. Here are some predictions, rumors and a preview of the event.
WWE Tag Team Championship Royal Rumble Kick-Off Match-Cody Rhodes and Goldust (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws:
Before the show airs live on pay-per-view, these two teams go head-to-head in a pre-show match for the tag team titles. The Rhodes brothers have been a key factor in the revitalized tag team division and the WWE should probably keep a good thing going.
While the Outlaws have added intrigue to The Authority storyline with CM Punk by walking out on him during a match, the Road Dogg and Billy Gunn have had their moment in the sun and shouldn't derail the positive momentum of the Rhodes Brothers. While there is an outside chance that The Brotherhood could break up and have a WrestleMania match, I don't believe that to be in the cards and the Rhodes Brothers will likely retain.
The Pick: Cody and Goldust retain the tag titles in front of a hot crowd.
Goldust won the Intercontinental Championship at Royal Rumble 1996
Singles Match-Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt:
The WWE started and stopped that Daniel Wyatt storyline almost in the same breath, and hopefully it will launch Bryan into a main event superstar after clearing this hurdle with The Wyatts. The WWE's plans on pushing The Wyatt Family adds a bit of intrigue to this match and the hesitation of them to put the belt on Bryan also suggests that maybe he's due for a loss.
It'll be interesting to see if either of these two participate in the Royal Rumble match later on in the show, and I believe a cool scenario could see Wyatt go over Bryan only to have him win the Rumble match later on in the show leading to Wyatt having a major gripe that he beat the man who gets to headline the biggest show of the year.
A rumored match between Wyatt and John Cena at WrestleMania could mean that the WWE would be looking to put Wyatt over here, but it seems as though Bryan is due to get some revenge after being kidnapped by The Wyatts.
The Pick: Daniel Bryan wins.
Daniel Bryan defeated The Big Show and Mark Henry in a triple threat cage match at last year's event:
Singles Match-The Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar:
These two behemoths clashed back during the 2003 Royal Rumble where Lesnar took out The Big show in the opening match to get into the Royal Rumble match. Lesnar won the Rumble in '03 and he eventually went on to beat Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XIX to win the WWE Championship. With Brock Lesnar rumored to take on The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX pending on if the WWE lands Sting or not, the WWE will likely be looking to make Lesnar come out strong.
The WWE has made The Big Show look invincible on Monday Night RAW, throwing Lesnar around with ease in recent weeks which is likely used as a way to make The Big Show look strong heading into the match where a Lesnar win would make him look even stronger.
Both men look a lot different than they did in their 2003 clash--Lesnar with his UFC style carried over to the WWE and Big Show's skinnier look. As far as a winner, the WWE isn't paying Lesnar huge checks on a limited basis just to job him out to The Big Show.
The Pick: Brock Lesnar beats The Big Show and goes into WrestleMania XXX looking stronger than ever.
Brock Lesnar defeated The Big Show at the 2003 event:
Lesnar then went on to win the Rumble match:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship-Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena:
In a rematch from TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in December--minus the stipulation--Orton and Cena go head-to-head once more this month. The plans for both men at WrestleMania are seemingly up in the air as Cena has been rumored to be involved with Bray Wyatt, then with Batista, then with Hulk Hogan who likely can't wrestle at the event, while Orton has been rumored to take on Batista at the event.
It's hard to bet against John Cena--the face of the WWE--going into the biggest show of the year without the title, but it's also unknown what Orton could be doing at WrestleMania unless he faces Batista without the title. It seems like Orton's constant complaining to The Authority may come to a head here and perhaps Triple H, Stephanie or someone else will aid him to victory or perhaps if the Cena and Wyatt rumors are true, Wyatt will make a statement by costing Cena the title.
What better way for The Wyatts to take over the WWE than to take out the face of the franchise? Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen and while it's tough to ever bet against the biggest money maker in the business in Cena, it seems as though the WWE is going to do the Orton vs. Batista main event at WrestleMania and with that in mind--and the fact that Cena and Batista already went one-one-one at WrestleMania XXVI--Orton is likely to get the win.
The Pick: Randy Orton slithers his way to retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Cena won the Rumble match last year, but his most memorable win was his 2008 one after a surprise return:
Orton won the 30-man match in 2009:
30-Man Over-The-Top-Rope Royal Rumble Match With The Winner Going To WrestleMania To Face The WWE World Heavyweight Champion:
Participants (10 slots open): CM Punk, Batista, Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Goldust, Rey Mysterio, Big E Langston, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, Fandango andDamien Sandow
One of the most exciting matches of the year is the Royal Rumble match and this year should be no exception. With a number of slots open, there remains the possibility for some surprise entrants in the match. Some of the surprises could possibly include Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and even Sting, among others.
Roman Reigns will likely be featured prominently during the match and it will be interesting to see if the WWE uses the gimmick of the match to continue to hint at the breakup of The Shield, perhaps having one member eliminate another either on accident or on purpose, or by having one member not save another member from elimination.
Usually the No.1 and/or No.2 entrants are guys that the WWE are expected to push, so with CM Punk guaranteed at No.1 and already established, it is my prediction that Reigns will be the second entrant which makes for an intriguing early match up. Big E Langston is also expected to get a push, so he'll probably look strong before ultimately being eliminated.
Punk's No.1 entrance all but means that he likely won't win the match as it is highly doubtful that the WWE will make the first entrant win a third time--though since Chris Benoit was the last one to do it in 2004, perhaps the WWE would like to stamp a new face onto it. With Punk all but locked in to face Triple H at WrestleMania, it is doubtful that he will win but I believe he'll have a strong showing until Triple H or Kane or another member of The Authority eventually eliminates him to set it all up.
It's unknown if superstars such as Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt will join the fray, but as I wrote above it would be interesting to see Wyatt go over Bryan and then have Bryan eventually win the 30-man match, but the WWE keeps putting the brakes on Bryans' push to the full main event--as evidenced by the circus of a program he had with Randy Orton last fall.
And now, to the obvious: Batista. The WWE has made it seem like a foregone conclusion that the returning Batista will win this match and go on to WrestleMania, and his confrontation with Orton on last week's RAW almost guarantees the fact that those two will end up going head-to-head at the biggest event of the year for the gold. The WWE has had the obvious guy win in the past (The Rock in 2000, Triple H in 2002, Randy Orton in 2009 etc.) and it seems like they're gearing up to do it again this year.
I'm hopeful that the WWE will not take the obvious route and will go with the unpredictable route that has made past Rumbles so great (Ric Flair in 1992, John Cena in 2008), but it's doubtful. It would be interesting to see a guy like Punk, Bryan or another up-and-comer like Reigns, Langston or anyone else win the match, or even a quality surprise entrant win the match, but it is doubtful.
For the final four, I believe Reigns will come out at No.2 and last until the end just to back up the fact that he's being pushed. My prediction is that he'll be left in there with Batista, Punk and a returning Jericho.
One scenario could even see Triple H enter in the Rumble with the sole purpose of eliminating Punk, but that could be farfetched. Another farfetched event could see Cena lose his title match only to enter the Rumble and have it come down to him and Batista circa 2005. In the end, it will come down to Batista and Reigns, Punk or a surprise entrant, and "The Animal" will do the inevitable and go to WrestleMania.
The Pick: "The Animal" Batista wins his second Royal Rumble and is going to WrestleMania XXX.
Batista won the match in 2005:
One of the greatest Rumble matches saw Ric Flair win the WWE Championship in 1992:
It remains to be seen what will happen when the 27th Royal Rumble pay-per-view goes live this Sunday.
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