WWE Bold Predictions: RAW 25 Provides a Few Surprises

By Bryan Heaton | Jan 22, 2018

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Daniel Bryan Declares Himself For The Royal Rumble – But Doesn’t Actually Compete

Again, this one may not be a bold prediction. I’m in the camp that believes WWE will never let Daniel Bryan wrestle for them again, no matter how much it seems like they’ve been teasing it for the past year and a half. From the spats with The Miz on Talking Smack, to his growing role in the feud between AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Shane McMahon (jeez, that’s a convoluted mess), it’s all a smoke screen to me.

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But there’s silly rumors out there about Bryan being a favorite to win the Royal Rumble. Look, it makes no sense. Some employee leaked a potential story idea, and now the knuckleheads who gamble on pre-determined entertainment are driving the betting lines crazy.

WWE has no intentions to clear Bryan – just ask Mark Henry. But they have no problem giving that impression for all these months. So why not pull a bait and switch? This week on SmackDown, Bryan will declare his entry into the Men’s Royal Rumble Match.

Then, the day of the Rumble, Bryan will be mysteriously attacked backstage, and he’ll be declared unable to compete. Instead, we’ll get, say, EC3, who remembers how good D-Bry treated his “s***ty dead cousin” Derrick Bateman, to replace him. Then, EC3 is revealed to be his attacker down the road, or something.

This way, Bryan gets to pretend like he’ll wrestle for a few days, EC3 can be a surprise debut, and WWE gets to troll the audience like a good corporation should.

Next: The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling

What do you think is on tap for WWE this week?