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Royal Rumble – Preview/Predictions

By Daniel Correia

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Tonight starts the Road to WrestleMania with the Royal Rumble.  This is my favorite PPV of the year because of the Royal Rumble match itself.  It’s one of those matches that is totally gimmicked out and because it only happens one time a year, it’s exciting and it has a ton of importance to the main event title picture.  Here goes my predictions for tonight’s show:

ECW Championship Match
Christian (Champion) vs. Ezekiel Jackson

ECW Champion Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson

SHOULD: Christian WILL: Christian

  • This match up is one I’m looking forward to seeing if you can believe it.  Jackson has slowly grown on me and I’m glad to see him get a chance to wrestle on a PPV, but I don’t know if he’s going to rise to the occasion to make this a great match though.  I have a feeling that William Regal is going to get involved somehow considering he’s done it in the past.  Christian is a charismatic champion and right now is the face of ECW, and it’s hard for me to go against a guy that has proven he can actually wrestle.  Normal WWE tendencies are to have the Champion win at the PPV if the challenger wins clean the week before, and Jackson got a clean pin on Christian on Tuesday’s ECW, so I’m going with Christian to retain the ECW Title tonight.

Women’s Championship Match
Michelle McCool (Champion) vs. Mickie James

SHOULD: Mickie James WILL: Mickie James

  • Over the course of the last few months, McCool and her BFF Layla have been teasing the crap out of Mickie b/c of her “weight issues.”  Personally, I’m sick of this angle and want to see Mickie beat the shit out of McCool.  Now, when it comes down to it, I can (and think we will) see Mickie winning the match outright and becoming the NEW Women’s Champion, however, I can also see this match ending in a DQ of Mickie because she let her emotions get the best of her and she refuses to break on a 5-count.  Best case scenario on the DQ idea would be Mickie taking a chair to McCool, but in WWE, women and chair shots don’t really go together.

WWE Championship Match
Sheamus (Champion) vs. Randy Orton

SHOULD: Randy Orton WILL: Sheamus

  • Now, considering the past landscape of the WWE title picture, I’m shocked at myself for thinking that Randy Orton should win this match up, but considering the fact that Sheamus isn’t seasoned enough, and the looming rebellion of Legacy, I think it would benefit WWE to put the title back on Randy for that scenario.  Unfortunately for us, I think that we’re going to have to deal with Sheamus being WWE Champion at least till the next PPV when he somehow, miraculously defeats Orton.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
The Undertaker (Champion) vs. Rey Mysterio

SHOULD: Undertaker WILL: Undertaker

  • I respect what Rey Mysterio has done in the business, but it’s still hard for me to consider him in the main title picture because of his size.  It’s almost like he can go in there with the giants and come out unscathed more than half of the time.  I don’t think that him being the Champion is believable, so it’s safe to say that I’m going with Taker on this one.  I think he holds onto the title all the way till WrestleMania where he’ll not only have to defend the belt, but “the streak” as well.  There also might be a run in from Batista or even Shawn Michaels, so be alert.

Royal Rumble Match
30 WWE Superstars (Click Image)

Since this match up is so “unpredictable,” I’m going to give you a couple scenarios I could see playing out tonight:

  • Shawn Michaels and Batista are the final two in the match.  This is the MOST LIKELY SCENARIO.  WWE has been leading up to this situation over the course of the last few months with Batista’s quest to regain the World Title, and Shawn Michaels’ quest to end Taker’s WrestleMania streak.  In all honesty, I would prefer Shawn Michaels to win and face Taker at WrestleMania considering their previous match at last year’s offering, but I really think that they’re going to give it to Batista.
  • IF, Randy Orton wins the WWE Title from Sheamus earlier in the evening, I can possibly see Ted DiBiase winning the Royal Rumble.  I know this is slightly coming out of left field, but this would ultimately be the opportunity for WWE to sever the Legacy ties completely and place DiBiase squarely in the main event picture.
  • If you’ve heard the rumors, Edge may make his return tonight in the Rumble match.  Currently on WWE.com (click image above), they only have 25 names listed as to who’s actually in the Rumble.  That leaves some openings for some surprises.  If it does happen, expect Edge to get back at Chris Jericho for his comments concerning Edge’s injury and time away from the ring.
  • John Cena NOT in the final 4.  Yes, I said it!  All things considered, my thought process is that Cena may be one of the last 10 to be eliminated, but I don’t really get this feeling that he’s going to be one of the final 4 in the ring.  I know he’s the WWE poster boy, but for the most part, he’s been cast aside for the past month and hasn’t really been a “main event guy.”

I’m going to leave you with a video that puts the Royal Rumble in perspective, By The Numbers:

The Royal Rumble PPV will go live at 5pm Pacific time.  Review to come on Monday morning, so stay tuned!  Enjoy the show, I know I will!

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