WWE's annual Royal Rumble event is just a day away. The PPV will emanate from Philadelphia on January 25. The Royal Rumble match, the WWE World Heavyweight title bout and a few more matches are already set for the show. Here are some predictions for the show:
WWE's annual Royal Rumble event is just a day away. The PPV will emanate from Philadelphia on January 25. The Royal Rumble match, the WWE World Heavyweight title bout and a few more matches are already set for the show. Here are some predictions for the show:
1) New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) v/s The Ascension: The Ascension has been poorly received as a tag team by WWE fans so far, but the idea to push them heavily means a loss at the Royal Rumble seems unlikely. In fact, after the beating they suffered at the hands of the New Age Outlaws and the Acolytes on RAW, the only positive way forward is for The Ascension to beat the New Age Outlaws at the Royal Rumble. That is the most logical outcome as well as the one WWE wanted when they booked this match in the first place. One only wishes the APA was also involved.
2) The Usos v/s Miz and Damien Mizdow (Tag Team Title match): Miz and Damien Mizdow haven't been getting along well lately, and even less so with Mizdow impersonating X-Pac on RAW. A face turn for Mizdow (whom the crowds love) seems imminent, but it will mean his team loses. Expect the Usos to retain the Tag titles courtesy either Mizdow or Miz turning on the other. Then a Miz v/s Mizdow match can be booked for Wrestlemania 31.
3) Paige and Natalya v/s the Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie): One problem is no one cares about any participant in this match except for Paige. The second problem is Nikki is nursing an injury. Expect a win for Paige and Natalya, unless Natalya turns heel.
4) The New Day (Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston) v/s Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Adam Rose (pre-show): This match will go on the pre-show, and rightly so, because none of the competitors (except Cesaro to some extent) are of much interest to the crowd. There is also very little storyline involved. Xavier Woods is injured, but winning would be of little use to Kidd, Cesaro and Rose. Thus, expect the New Day to emerge victorious.
5) Royal Rumble match: Two months ago, it was very easy to predict a winner - Roman Reigns, the new golden boy of the establishment. However, rumours now abound that Daniel Bryan might be booked to win it. The reasoning is two-fold: Firstly, WWE chairman Vince McMahon is impressed with Bryan's continuing popularity even after being out for nine months due to injury. Secondly, Reigns is slowly losing support of the WWE fans and WWE does not want him to be booed just because the crowd wants Bryan to win, like it happened with Batista last year.
However, WWE would lose a chance to build a future superstar in Reigns if they don't book him to win the Rumble and beat the champion at Wrestlemania. It can be argued that Reigns needs the win more than Bryan, even though the latter might be more popular with fans. So I'd rather predict the winner as Reigns OR Bryan instead of hedging my bets.
6) Brock Lesnar v/s John Cena v/s Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Championship match): This must be one of the hardest matches to predict in recent years, because each superstar will take WWE down a different path to Wrestlemania if he ends up as champion on Sunday.
One scenario would probably be to let Lesnar remain champion. Sting or a returning Randy Orton could spoil Seth Rollins' chance to win the title. Then a Reigns v/s Lesnar or Bryan v/s Lesnar match can be booked for Wrestlemania. This would lead to a new champion (Reigns or Bryan). Seth Rollins could then cash in his Money In The Bank contract to finish off the Reigns/Bryan and take their title after the Wrestlemania main event is over.
However, an alternative scenario, in which Cena wins the title from Lesnar but Rollins cashes in at the Royal Rumble itself, is also possible. This sets up a Rollins v/s Bryan/Reigns match at Wrestlemania and allows a face champion to be crowned at WWE's biggest event of the year.
In conclusion, the WWE World title match and the Royal Rumble match itself are hard to predict, making the main events the must-see parts of the Rumble. The rest is mostly filler, though one or two more matches may just be added to the card.
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