PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!! -- Who will walk out of the Royal Rumble as WWE Champion?

[James Steele]

Don't be a bitch and "call it" 2 hours into the show. Be a man and call it weeks in advance! Are you that crazy voice inside Vince McMahon's head?

VOTE NOW!!!

***This is for WHO YOU THINK WILL WIN not for <s>WHO DO YOU WANT TO WIN!</s>***

[Tazz Dan]

I voted Rock. I don't want him to, I just feel that's what's going to happen.

[Curd]

I won't bet anything such as my Curdginity, but I believe Ziggler will be booked to be the first Rumble winner still holding an MITB briefcase.

Also, Rikishi will participate in a nod to the Attitude Era.

[Curd]

Lawler: Who's gonna throw out Rikishi?!?
Cole: A group of five or six other men!

[Wishbone]

Gotta agree with Tazz Dan on this one. While I hate the idea of Rock being the one to dethrone Punk, and WWE wasting the opportunity to make a big star with it. I'm almost willing to bet that Rocky will walk out champ.

[Shadrick]

Nah. It'll be Punk, imo.

[whiteyford]

Punk, dropping the belt to Rocky is too obvious.

[Shisen Kopf]

CM Punk retains after the Shield interfere and beat the Rock down

[Shadrick]

CM Punk retains after the Shield interfere and beat the Rock down

This.

[MoFo]

Rock, because Punk winning would be stupid and boring.

[Corporate CockSnogger]

#TeamRockyFinallyJustBringItKnowYourRoleCookiePussBoots2AssesItDoesntMatterWhatYourNameIsMillionsAnd MillionsIfYaSmellllllllllllWhatTheRockIsCookingCandyAssJabroni

[OldSchoolFan]

CM Punk retains after the Shield interfere and beat the Rock down

I am leaning towards a stipulation that if anyone (The Shield) interferes leading to a DQ the belt can change hands, leading to The Shield attacking Punk just enough to secure the DQ

[Bad News Gertner]

The Rock, because the WWE enjoys making money and ratings.

Hopefully Punk gets sent down to NXT for being so boring and terrible.

[drave]

Sincerely hope Punk walks out with it, especially after all the recent hype over the length of his title reign. To have it end from someone that shows up once or twice a year would be complete shit. No interest in Cena "5 moves of Doom" v Rock "3 moves of Doom "at Mania again.

[Nicky Fives]

Punk.... Rock gets screwed over somehow.....

[VSG]

Good job with the public poll there.

Voted Punk.

[Joesgonnakillyou]

It's tough but i think the Rock's winning

[KaosDarksol]

The rock. If you give it to him now and then have him drop it at mania it is a better victory for cena.

[Savio]

Punk via Low blow

[XCaliber]

I'm voting CM Punk since Rocky winning is too obvious he will very likely get a rematch the night after or the week following then finally end his run.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Dolph can't even cash in for that title. How could he walk away as champ?

Voted for The Rock cause I think it might be over for Punks great reign, but I don't want it to be. I'll be very happy to be wrong at the Royal Rumble.

[The Gold Standard]

I think The Rock will win, but I don't want him to win. Which I never thought I would say.

[Bad News Gertner]

Nobody likes CM Punk. Let's all hope he gets beat in 17 seconds.

[Emperor Smeat]

Punk.

Mania Streak vs Reign Streak would be a bigger matchup than Rock-Cena II in terms of possible hype.

Rather not have the Rock win if it meant the Rock-Punk feud gets tossed aside just so that Rock-Cena II gets rushed. Rock and Punk fit a lot better together than Cena did with the Rock.

[Keith]

I went with CM Punk just because I don't think that because of Rock's schedule (movies and whatnot) it would be wise to have him hold the title from now until WrestleMania.

I lean towards him winning it at the Elimination Chamber PPV, and then going into WM as Champion.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Punk wins, and then @ EC in the WWE title Chamber match the remaining 3 are Punk, Rock, and Cena.

A situation then ensues which results in a controversy over which of the 3 should be WWE Champ, but Punk escapes with his title still intact, and the next night on RAW we see the announcement of a triple threat @ WM XXIX for the title.

[Nicky Fives]

As big of a draw Rock may or may not be, a guy who has wrestled 2 matches in the past 10 years should not be champion.....

[James Steele]

Dolph can't even cash in for that title. How could he walk away as champ?

It is Vince McMahon's suitcase, he can do whatever the fuck he wants to with it. I think it would be awesome if they keep building Vince's hatred of Punk and after CM Punk beats The Rock, Vince comes out and says "Screw it, I'm Vince McMahon and dammit I want you to lose that damn title. Dolph Ziggler, your MITB contract is now for either world title. Get your ass out here."

[Shadrick]

Sincerely hope Punk walks out with it, especially after all the recent hype over the length of his title reign. To have it end from someone that shows up once or twice a year would be complete shit. No interest in Cena "5 moves of Doom" v Rock "3 moves of Doom "at Mania again.

Transitional champion?

[Shadrick]

Seriously who else is built up enough to dethrone Punk? If not Rock, then who?

Rock getting the title put on him for the Road makes perfect sense from a transitional standpoint. He'll drop the belt at Mania to.....Cena. Or he'll drop it the following night after something epic.

From a business standpoint it makes sense. From a "mark" standpoint, theres this interesting stigma surrounding Rocks part time schedule. I think the "A guy who has wrestled 2 times in 10 years shouldn't be champion" really comes from a perspective of pure fandom and theres nothing wrong with that per se. In the moment, sure you might not be a fan, but in the long term, WWE has not built anyone up enough to make Punk losing the title to them a big situation; no star is to be made because of it now. And thats not on Rock, thats on creative.

I don't know, I guess I just think its interesting that whenever a match is over, a title change occurs, whatever, all of a sudden people rule it is a terrible move when, from a long term perspective, we truthfully have no idea where its going or what it will lead to, especially with this being the BEGINNING of the Road. Punk has done all he can do this run. Face/Heel. He's beaten everybody but Dwayne and I suspect he will do it again at the Rumble, then drop it at Elimination Chamber.

I don't think Rock winning at the Rumble is the "entertaining" move because its predictable, which is why I think he wins it at EC. But then again, maybe I'm putting too much stock in WWE actually doing some epic shit with their storylines this year. They built up Cena/Rock so much, and played so much into Cena HAVING to win that after he lost....NOTHING HAPPENED. No change in character. No downward spiral. No tweener status. It was like it didn't even happen.

So I guess we'll see. /Noid.

[owenbrown]

Cena wins

[Bad News Gertner]

Seriously who else is built up enough to dethrone Punk? If not Rock, then who?

Rock getting the title put on him for the Road makes perfect sense from a transitional standpoint. He'll drop the belt at Mania to.....Cena. Or he'll drop it the following night after something epic.

From a business standpoint it makes sense. From a "mark" standpoint, theres this interesting stigma surrounding Rocks part time schedule. I think the "A guy who has wrestled 2 times in 10 years shouldn't be champion" really comes from a perspective of pure fandom and theres nothing wrong with that per se. In the moment, sure you might not be a fan, but in the long term, WWE has not built anyone up enough to make Punk losing the title to them a big situation; no star is to be made because of it now. And thats not on Rock, thats on creative.

I don't know, I guess I just think its interesting that whenever a match is over, a title change occurs, whatever, all of a sudden people rule it is a terrible move when, from a long term perspective, we truthfully have no idea where its going or what it will lead to, especially with this being the BEGINNING of the Road. Punk has done all he can do this run. Face/Heel. He's beaten everybody but Dwayne and I suspect he will do it again at the Rumble, then drop it at Elimination Chamber.

I don't think Rock winning at the Rumble is the "entertaining" move because its predictable, which is why I think he wins it at EC. But then again, maybe I'm putting too much stock in WWE actually doing some epic shit with their storylines this year. They built up Cena/Rock so much, and played so much into Cena HAVING to win that after he lost....NOTHING HAPPENED. No change in character. No downward spiral. No tweener status. It was like it didn't even happen.

So I guess we'll see. /Noid.

You have to look down the road. The Rock walking into Wrestlemania as champion will do better business than Punk going in as champ from a casual fans point of view.

[Saving Grace]

Punk retains at the Rumble, Rock wins WWE Title in the Chamber, and Cena wins the Rumble. Cena/Rock 2 and Super Cena and the CHAMP IS HERE starts again. While punk goes into Mania to face Taker for the streak. Thats my call on it.

[Keith]

Who knows? Maybe at the Elimination Chamber the last two will be Punk and Rock. At some point the lights will go out, then when they come back on, Undertaker is standing inside the Chamber, grabs Punk by the neck, Chokeslam, lights go off, they come back on, only Rock and Punk re inside the Chamber, Rock covers, 1-2-3, Rock wins the Title, he goes into WM as Champion, and it sets up Undertaker vs Punk.

[Sepholio]

Brock Lesnar.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>The Rock.</font>

[drave]

Transitional champion?

No, especially not transitional.

I agree with you on the "business aspect" as Rock's name alone is enough to draw. I guess I am too "smarkish" or whatever you wanna label it to have some guy stroll in and even GET a shot, let alone take the title. The hype around Punk's title streak is a big part of his character at this point and I feel like the end to that would be wasted on a guy that will simply disappear after WM yet again.

The names he has ran through is most impressive. Someone that needs that "next level" rub should be the one to end it to help them get there, if that makes sense.

[Xero]

Way out there theroy: Cena wins the Royal Rumble, which is the match BEFORE the title match. Rock wins the WWE title. As per a few years ago, it's clear you can challenge for the belt before Mania (Cena did it at Elimination Chamber, if I recall correctly). WWE throws the booking logic of this out the window and Cena wins the title after "cashing in" his title shot.

Within the realm of reason: Rock wins after the Shield attempts to attack him and instead Lesnar comes out, destroying the Shield and giving Punk the F5. This leads to Punk vs Lesnar with the story that Lesnar is pissed about Heyman screwing him out of something that hasn't yet been revealed (contract dispute maybe).

My answer: Rock wins clean and has a stare down with the Rumble winner.

No matter what the Rumble match will probably be going on before this match. Which probably also means a bullshit 30-40 minute Rumble.

[drave]

No matter what the Rumble match will probably be going on before this match. Which probably also means a bullshit 30-40 minute Rumble.

I hope not! RR is one of my fav PPV's (and generally one of the best) all year! The order I don't care so much about, but a shitty RR would be bleh.

Honestly, I will be watching more for the actual rumble than anything. I am interested in the title match as well, but the rumble just has more of a...... ah fuck I don't know what, I just enjoy it.

[Xero]

I agree, the Rumble should always be last, but even I have to say that Punk vs. Rock kind of overshadows it. It's kind of like my feeling on Mania. A title match should be the main event. Unfortunately, lately, very few of the title matches actually belong in the main event. Taker vs. Triple H and Cena vs. Rock were a million times bigger than Jericho vs. Punk and ESPECIALLY Bryan vs. Sheamus.

But that's more of poor booking choices over the years and the fact that there's now an influx of modern living legends that are more important to fans than the titles. Rock, Lesnar, Hunter, Taker, Austin etc are MUCH bigger names than Punk, Sheamus and even Cena. And those living legends shouldn't be in title matches (at very major events) because they won't be around for a long while and usually disappear after Mania.

Fact of the matter is, the Rumble match is fun, but the WWE title match at the Rumble is easily the biggest non-Mania main event to come along since Lesnar vs. Triple H, and this is bigger than that match IMO.

[Shadrick]

You have to look down the road. The Rock walking into Wrestlemania as champion will do better business than Punk going in as champ from a casual fans point of view.

I agree, and I agree that "fans" especially the IWC refuse to do that, and thats okay, its their right.

But It's just comical when guys say "OMG THAT WAS SO STUPID I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY DID THAT" literally 30 seconds after a PPV is over. On one hand, I get it, because the WWE creative has been known to fuck some things up, but on the other hand, its like "Okay, just watch to see whats happening now...it might not be as "stupid" as you think"

[drave]

I agree, the Rumble should always be last, but even I have to say that Punk vs. Rock kind of overshadows it. It's kind of like my feeling on Mania. A title match should be the main event. Unfortunately, lately, very few of the title matches actually belong in the main event. Taker vs. Triple H and Cena vs. Rock were a million times bigger than Jericho vs. Punk and ESPECIALLY Bryan vs. Sheamus.

All the more reason to try to legitimize the title and get it back to it's "once former glory". Not that it will ever happen. That whole mindset ended the day VKM decided to call his busiess "sports entertainment". However, especially lately, incorporating the reign in the event AND with a small portion of Punk's character inflating that statistic, now would seem like as good a time as ever. And that isn't a CM Punk specific markout, it would be for anyone in his current position (exception to Heath Slater, can't stand the dude).

But that's more of poor booking choices over the years and the fact that there's now an influx of modern living legends that are more important to fans than the titles. Rock, Lesnar, Hunter, Taker, Austin etc are MUCH bigger names than Punk, Sheamus and even Cena. And those living legends shouldn't be in title matches (at very major events) because they won't be around for a long while and usually disappear after Mania.

Agreed. The Attitude Era seemed to be more about characters than titles, and the fallout still lingers today.

Fact of the matter is, the Rumble match is fun, but the WWE title match at the Rumble is easily the biggest non-Mania main event to come along since Lesnar vs. Triple H, and this is bigger than that match IMO.


Oh it is without question as huge as you labeled it and I can only hope it lives up to the hype. Let's just hope they don't fuck up the Rumble like it potentially seems will happen.

[Emperor Smeat]

Baring any last minute changes, the WWE accidentally spoiled both the Rumble and title match.

WWE has sent out promotional material for the 2013 Royal Rumble DVD & Blu-Ray packages – and it appears they’ve spoiled the pay-per-view’s main event in the process.

As you’ll see in the image below (provided by WWEDVDNews.com), WWE is advertising that the main event for WrestleMania 29 will be The Rock vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship. The ad notes, “Buzz is already building after the main event match-up announcement placing two mega-watt Superstars face-to-face for the first time since WrestleMania 28.”

While it’s always possible this could be an error … it appears that CM Punk’s 400+ day title reign will be ending at the Rumble, with John Cena getting his “twice in a lifetime” shot at The Rock on April 7th.