Choke's Royal Rumble Predictions
Posted by: choke Jan 27, 2013 | 1618 views | 1 comments
My predictions for the Royal Rumble PPV
Pre-show: The Miz vs Antonio Cesaro for the US Championship
I was a little surprised that this was picked as the pre-show match, but I think it's a good idea to make it a match that means something and has a chance to be really good vs some of the previous offerings. It just wouldn't make sense to take the title off of Cesaro right now with the strong work he's doing in and out of the ring. I do think the Miz has a good chance of taking the title off of him eventually, but not on his first crack at it. Cesaro should keep up his impressive fantasy season
Who should win: Cesaro
Who will win: Cesaro (though I wouldn't rule out a countout or DQ win for Miz allowing Cesaro to retain)
Rhodes Scholars vs Team Hell No for the Tag Team Championships
Rhodes Scholars get another shot after inexplicably losing their previous chance(s?). I've been saying it for months already but the Hell No gimmick is just tired to me. I'm hoping them bringing back Shelby to "graduate" Bryan and Kane is foreshadowing for this pairing to end. The Masked Man on Grantland hypothesized and wished for a heel turn by Dr. Shelby and having him manage Rhodes Scholars. Kinda crazy but I like it. It's time to get them back on the singles track, and maybe after they lose the belts they'll eliminate one another in the rumble to make it official. If Scholars do win, I think they will hold onto the belts for quite some time as there's not much for competition at the moment in the tag division.
Who should win: Rhodes Scholars
Who will win: Rhodes Scholars (please?)
Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship
I've seen quite a few wrestling writers praise the recent face turn by Del Rio. Maybe it's just my absolute hatred for most faces, but I haven't been too impressed personally. I have very little interest in this match as a whole as a result, though I'm hoping we get a Del Rio victory solely so we can possibly move passed this feud and maybe move onto something more interesting like Ziggler vs Del Rio? Can we get a Dolph Ziggler MITB cash in tonight? Yeah probably not.
Who should win: Del Rio with Ziggler finally cashing in MITB
Who will win: Del Rio with no Ziggler.
30 Man Royal Rumble match
My favorite wrestling event of the year. Even if the results often disappoint and the surprises often fail to surprise, it just doesn't get more exciting than counting down with the clock for each and every entrant wondering who's coming out next. So far there are only 18 announced entrants, and of those announced only 6 have even a slight chance of winning. I'll go through my least likely to win up to most: As for elimination points I like Kane, Sheamus, Ryback, and Ziggler to rack up a ton. and hopefully Khali for my own personal reasons.
Extremely slim to no chance: 3MB, Cesaro, Barrett, Bo Dallas, Hell No, Khali, Kingston, PTP
The Miz: The darkest of dark horses. This just wouldn't make sense to the current storylines
Randy Orton. He's always got a chance because he's Randy Orton, but not so much here I think we see Barrett and Orton possibly eliminate each other, or the Shield possibly take him out.
Sheamus: The current fantasy point leader. This would make more sense to me if it wasn't Del Rio as a face in the driver's seat with the World Championship. If Ziggler cashes in then I could see Sheamus being a possibility
Ziggler: I've seen some crazy theories that Ziggler will win the Rumble so he has both the MITB contract as well as the #1 contender status from this match. I'd LOVE that to happen, but I can't see the WWE going this route.
Ryback: A few months back I thought this was where the WWE was going to go, with Ryback winning to challenge Punk at Mania. At this point though it looks like they're having Ryback focus on the Shield and I think that will be the match for him in April
A mystery entrant: A returning Mark Henry? Brock Lesnar? Undertaker? Christian? If Henry or Taker show up in the match, they've got a legit shot
Cena: Gotta go with the favorite here even if I don't want to see it happen. Whether they go Cena vs Punk for the WWE title or Cena vs Rock in a rematch for the WWE Title, it's hard to picture Mania not having Cena fighting for the championship.
Who should win: I'll go into my reasons in the next segment as to why I don't think Cena should win, but I also don't have any good alternatives really. If Lesnar returns I like HHH to somehow spoil his Rumble to set up the HHH/Lesnar rematch at Mania. I don't think Taker will be in the Rumble, and as much as I'd like to see Henry return as a monster heel and win it setting up a match against Del Rio, that's just wishful thinking. So I guess I'll go with the crazy Ziggler theory as my "should" win.
Who will win: Cena
The Rock vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship
Even though I haven't been too impressed with the Rock's promos leading up to this match, I'll still admit the buildup has been done well for the most part. Punk has done some of the greatest mic work in his career over the last several weeks, which is a huge compliment considering some of the other amazing work he's done in the past. Pipe bomb Punk >>>> anything else. The Shield stipulation is interesting, and I'm going to predict the Shield interferes and Punk gets stripped of the title, BECAUSE THE ROCK IS PART OF THE SHIELD. okay not really. I think the Shield will stay away. My ACTUAL insane prediction which will not happen but that I secretly still believe might actually happen, is the Undertaker comes out and distracts the Rock giving Punk the win, and setting up the match to end all matches with the Rock vs Undertaker at Mania. I know, this isn't REALLY going to happen, but just picture the Rock hitting the Rock Bottom, sets up the people's elbow, runs the ropes, is seconds away from landing it when (LIGHTS CUT OUT. HELLS BELLS). The crowd would go absolutely bananas. Lights come back on and Punk gets the distracted Rock up for the Go To Sleep and wins. Okay so the Rock will win.
I just realized I didn't go over why I think this is a bad idea. I get them possibly wanting a Cena/Rock rematch at Mania, but to me that match doesn't need the title on the line. Do they think the card of Cena vs Rock for the WWE title and Punk vs Ryback in a non-title match will sell more than Cena Rock just because and Punk vs Ryback (or someone else) for the title? It's like bringing the Undertaker back to fight the Rock for the title, it's just not necessary, the match sells itself without a belt on the line. Just imagine Mania (warning: fantasy dream sequence up ahead) with a Rock vs Cena match, Lesnar/Undertaker, Punk vs Ryback for the WWE Championship, Del Rio vs Ziggler vs Big Show in a triple threat for the World Championship, Scholars/Hell No in a TLC match for the tags, Barrett vs Orton in a "no matter what happens Orton takes a 6 month break" match, Cesaro vs Miz in a "no matter what happens we never have to watch previews for the new Miz Marine movie/DVD" match, Kaitlyn vs AJ Lee in a "both contestants must wear halter tops and shorts" match, and the preshow with the Shield vs Sheamus in a 3 on 1 match where Sheamus is blindfolded and has his hands tied behind his back (end dream sequence)
Who should win: MY CRAZY STORYLINE ABOVE. CM PUNK
Who will win: The Rock :(