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| Your 2011 Rumble Winner? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
The first one is the World Championship match, Edge taking on Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler is a first-time World Championship contender taking on Edge, who is fresh of the worst feud in wrestling from the prior year, a schlockfest with Kane over primarily torturing and maiming Paul Bearer. This feud was simpler, but it really didn't do a whole lot to put Ziggler over as a credible title contender except for one post-main event attack on Edge a couple weeks ago. According to Smackdown spoilers, Ziggler gets beaten down and gets his comeuppance during the show, which according to common WWE booking logic means he's getting the title. Not so fast there, my friend. I really don't think Ziggler is, nor should he be, getting the title at this point. He'll get there some day, but not today. I just hope the match is competitive and that Ziggler is able to carry Edge to something watchable.
The second is the WWE Championship match, Miz defending his title against Randy Orton. I feel like this match could go either way, even though I kinda figure that the WWE wants the title on Miz for an extended period. Yeah, he's been must see, an ambassador for the company and the like, but I get the sinking feeling that him carrying the title into WrestleMania doesn't scream a "WrestleMania"-level match yet to the bookers. Taking the belt off him here in favor of Orton is a disturbingly realistic option that not many people would like them to consider, but until the Rumble is over and Miz is still WWE Champion, I don't think that pit in my stomach is going to go away.
The third title match is Nattie Neidhart taking on Team LayCool in some capacity for the Pretty Butterfly Championship. This match is notable mostly because it's the big rumored point for Awesome Kong's WWE debut. Otherwise, it feels like a throwaway for me, if only because we've seen it so many times before and because LayCool is reverting to making fat jokes at an obviously not fat challenger to get heat. Ugh.
That leaves us with the Rumble match itself. Even though there are realistically four or five guys who can win this year out of 40, the match itself is never solely about the guy who wins. Although this year, there's that element of unpredictability since there's really no clear-cut favorite going in. John Cena is always a threat to win. A returning Triple H could win too, setting up a title match with Sheamus at WrestleMania (the rider being Sheamus winning one of the two titles at Elimination Chamber *sigh*). It could be CM Punk or Alberto del Rio. Maybe even Kane as a longshot or the Big Show. They could elevate someone in John Morrison or Kofi Kingston.
A lot of the fun goes with guessing who gets the Diesel/Kane push (most guys eliminated) or the Ric Flair/Rey Mysterio push (ironman/endurance). There are two really obvious candidates for the former push, and they go hand-in-hand with the current Nexus/Corrrrrrrrre stuff. Each group has a muscular enforcer - Mason Ryan for the Nexus and Ezekiel Jackson for the Nexus Wolfpac - and my guess is one or both will go on an eliminating spree to clear out room for their respective fearless leaders (even if RED BELLY doesn't consider himself the leader of the group). The latter has a few options as well that are intriguing. Any one of the potential winners could last that long, but they could also give an endurance prize to someone who isn't quite ready to win but could use the rub long-term. Daniel Bryan is my pick for the longest laster in the match. He's booked as a scrapper who uses technical ability and guile to gain his advantages rather than brute strength, and I can see that working in his favor, especially to escape elimination via skinning the cat or by other means.
The surprise entrants are also a big part as to what makes the Rumble great. Last year, we only really had two surprise entries into the Rumble - Beth Phoenix and Edge - but both had very long-lasting impacts. Phoenix eliminated the Great Khali via smooch and Edge won the whole thing a mere six months after rupturing his Achilles' tendon, an injury that keeps guys out a lot longer. With the 10-man increase, I expect to see more than two surprise entrants. Triple H is obviously one to look out for, as is Finlay, who is deemed too old for regular competition by Vince McMahon but who may not have a problem making a guest run in. Who else could surface? Here are a few names that I'm going to put some stock into:
Diamond Dallas Page - DDP is coming back to the WWE in a broadcaster role, hosting a "Best of Nitro" show for WWE Classics on Demand. What better way to get the advertisement out there for the new show then by having the host - a multiple-time former WCW Champion - out there for a few minutes?
Chris Jericho/Batista - Lumping both these guys in there because they're both former employees who left last year and who are always rumored to be on the return by some dirtsheet somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised by either, but I don't really think they're going to make appearances here either.
Percy Watson - Oh yeah! He's been doing the dark match round, usually going over William Regal in the process. This would be a logical re-entry point for Watson, especially if they didn't want to put him into the Nexus/Co(r*100)e morass.
Road Warrior Animal - There's buzz that the Road Warriors will be included in the WWE Hall of Fame class this year, and Animal's in good enough shape to run into the ring and get thrown out after throwing some punches. Why not?
Okay, now that everything else is out of the way, who is my pick to win? It's the boring choice, it's the knot-in-the-stomach choice, but I have to go with John Cena. Business is down. The WWE is predictable. I hope to God he doesn't win, not because I don't like him but because I think it'd be the boring choice, but I think he's going to take it and either defeat Miz or Orton at WrestleMania for the title.
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