The Royal Rumble is a wrestling Pay-Per-View (PPV) presented by WWE. This years Royal Rumble will take place Sunday, January 29 th at 8 PM EST. It also marks the 25 th Anniversary of the Royal Rumble. The WWE has started to announce the line up for this years Royal Rumble.
This years Royal Rumble will feature the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match. The 30-Man Royal Rumble Match is an over the top rope battle royal. Meaning that a Superstar must be thrown over the top rope and both feet must hit the floor for that Superstar to be eliminated. At last years Royal Rumble, Alberto Del Rio made history by becoming the first WWE Superstar to ever win the 40-Man Royal Rumble Match. Will ‘DESTINY’ strike twice for Del Rio or will another Superstar be punching their ticket to WrestleMania. Odds are another Superstar will be punching their ticket to WrestleMania. In my previous article “Who Will Win The Royal Rumble?” I selected Wade Barrett as the winner of this years Royal Rumble Match.
Besides the Royal Rumble Match, the WWE Universe will get to see a WWE Championship Match. The WWE Championship Match will feature the Champion CM Punk and the challenger Dolph Ziggler. This Match will also include a special guest referee. The referee will be Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manger of Raw, John Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis has been sticking his nose in Punk’s business over the last few weeks. Laurinaitis booked Punk in a Gauntlet Match. Punk had to defeat Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, and Mark Henry, if he wanted a Match with Laurinaitis. If anyone of the Superstars defeated Punk they would receive a WWE Championship Match. Punk defeated Swagger but come up short against Ziggler as Laurinaitis provide a distraction. The following week on Raw when Punk defended his Championship against Ziggler, Laurinaitis provided another distraction. The distraction caused Punk to lose the Match; However, Ziggler did not become WWE Champion because Punk was counted out. Later that night on Raw, this Match was booked.
It would appear Ziggler has the advantage with Laurinaitis as the special guest referee. When really Punk has the advantage. Most of the WWE Universe know that Punk and Laurinaitis don’t like each other. That could cause some problems during the Match. If Laurinaitis refuses to count for Punk, Punk could end up getting himself disqualified for attacking Laurinaitis. Even though Punk would lose the Match, he would keep the Championship since it can not change hands during a disqualification or count out. It is also possible that Punk will attack Laurinaitis and make an unconscious Laurinaitis count the one, two, three. It has happened before so I would not be surprised if it happened again. If Punk does not use an unconscious Laurinaitis to count, another referee may be sent out to count the pin fall. If all else fails, Punk can slap on the ‘Anaconda Vice’ forcing Ziggler to tap out. Besides that Ziggler has gotten the best of Punk leading up to the Royal Rumble. For those reasons I’m giving the victory to Punk. If Punk happens to lose the Match, he will still be WWE Champion.
The Royal Rumble will also feature a World Heavyweight Championship Match. Daniel Bryan will defend his Championship against The Big Show and Mark Henry in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match. The Royal Rumble should mark the end of Bryan’s Championship reign, but Bryan’s recent heel turn may keep him Champion for longer. Bryan escaped his first Championship Match against The Big Show by getting disqualified. Bryan egged Henry on at ring side, which led to Henry attacking Bryan and him getting disqualified.
The disqualification led to a second Championship Match between The Big Show and Bryan. This time the Match was a No Disqualification – No Count Out Match. Bryan still figured out a way to keep the Championship. Bryan brought his girlfriend Aj to the ring. As The Big Show looked in control of the Match, Bryan rolled outside the ring and got The Big Show to chase him. Bryan ran right past Aj, moments later The Big Show ran into Aj knocking her over. Aj showed no effort to move, this led to her being knocked over and carried out on a stretcher. As a result the Match never came to an end.
Bryan’s most recent Championship Match never came to an end either. Bryan was set to square off against Henry in a Lumberjack Match. Henry was dominating Bryan, until Bryan feel outside the ring and began attacking the Lumberjacks. Henry pulled Bryan back into the ring but he could not stop what happened next. The Lumberjacks flooded the ring attacking Bryan and Henry before turning on each either. As the Lumberjacks turned on each other, Bryan took the opportunity to leave the ring and head backstage. When Bryan arrived backstage he was met by SmackDown’s General Manager, Theodore Long. Long informed Bryan that he would be defending his Championship at the Royal Rumble. Bryan would defend his Championship against The Big Show and Mark Henry in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match.
The Triple Threat Steel Cage Match is just what Bryan needs to escape with the Championship. While The Big Show and Henry are occupied with battling each other, Bryan can climb the cage and pick up the victory. Even though Bryan should not be World Heavyweight Champion, he has been getting some boos from the fans. For that reason Bryan will probably keep the Championship until Elimination Chamber, which is why I’m giving him the victory at the Royal Rumble.
The Royal Rumble will feature a singles Match between Kane and John Cena. Kane has been trying to get Cena to ‘embrace the hate’ rather than ‘rise above it’. So far Kane’s tactics have worked. Kane has been going after Cena’s friend Zack Ryder. Cena was able to save Ryder the first time, but the second time Ryder was not so lucky. Kane attacked Ryder ‘Choke Slamming’ him off a loading dock. Cena left his Match against Dolph Ziggler to come help. When Cena arrived, Kane jumped him from behind and choked him out.
The following week on Raw, Zack Ryder had to defend his United States Championship against Jack Swagger. Ryder’s injuries put him at a severe disadvantage, which allowed Jack Swagger to pick up the victory and become the new United States Champion. Shortly after the Match it was revealed that Ryder was not medical cleared to compete and never should have faced Jack Swagger. Rather than give Ryder a do over, like Theodore Long gave Mark Henry. The Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Monday Night Raw, John Laurinaitis apologized for his mistake. This angered John Cena, so Laurinaitis booked him in a Match against Jack Swagger. Before the Match ever began Cena began to ‘embrace the hate’ by attacking Swagger before the Match ever started. Cena’s actions impressed Kane, who pointed out that Cena will fully ‘embrace the hate’ at the Royal Rumble.
Cena may fully ‘embrace the hate’ at the Royal Rumble but he will do it to defeat Kane. With WrestleMania approaching Cena will probably pick up victories at every PPV between now and than. For that reason I’m giving the victory to Cena.
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Royal Rumble
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