Early picks for the Royal Rumble
 

So tickets just went on sale for the Rumble, so who are you picking to win the Rumble this year? Do you go for the "big man" like Kane or Big Show? Do you go with potential main eventers like Dolph Ziggler or Cody Rhodes? Or will this be the perfect place to finally debut Brodus Clay?

Plenty of candidates to push into the full time main event scene this year. Rhodes, Ziggler, and Barrett are all ready on the heel side. Sheamus is ready on the face side. Wouldn't be against the Miz taking it either, even though he main evented Mania last year.

I'll go with Miz, or if Punk loses the title before then I'd put money on him winning it*


*I would not place bets on wrestling.

1. Cody
2. Miz

It's not gonna be JTG and I'm pretty confident about that.

Can't really see outside this list myself, I think Rhodes is an outside bet though.

Personally hoping it's Barrett. Possible outside bet on Bryan if he cashes in before and loses.

ALBERTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DEL RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO!

Can see it being Jericho too if this whole itbegins stuff is him.

Too early to pick IMO, I find Rumble picks very tough, anyone can win it.

Ziggler. He'll lose the US Title at TLC, then they'll continue his push to make him look like a potential winner, and pull the trigger at the Rumble.

Randy Orton

Curt Hawkins?

John Cena or Zack Ryder.

Hopefully Ziggler, would not mind Sheamus.

Sheamus or a returning Jericho (submission based heel badass)

Barrett for Smackdown and either Ziggler or Sheamus for Raw.

Unlikely Henry or a heel keeps the title on Smackdown till Mania while Raw is a bit of a toss up depending on the plans involving the Rock vs Cena.

I think Henry is DEFINITELY keeping it til Mania and Bryan will be cashing in on him. It's all been leading so well to that.

So I'm thinking the Rumble goes to Punk (Having him chasing at Mania would be fun) or Orton (Gets the hometown win and Orton vs Punk in his current state would feel REALLY interesting and fresh. It's almost hard to believe they wrestled at last year's Mania considering the changes. This could be the next WWE super-feud.)

Also, Sheamus winning would be pretty cool. Though with Henry vs Bryan, Sheamus vs Punk doesn't really sound right for some reason. And I think it is VERY important for Punk to be in the title match at Mania for him to continue to grow at this point. WWE title match at WM is just a necessity at this point.

So basically, my top 5 in order of their odds of winning...

1) Randy Orton
2) The Miz
3) CM Punk
4) Chris Jericho
5) Wade Barrett

I'd have 1 man to have eliminated everyone except entrant #30 who is about to come out and it's John Laurinaitis, who before entering the ring wishes the guy in the ring the best in all his future endeavours thus a Laurinaitis rumble victory

this :y:

Wow, a Wrestlemania headlined by Mark Henry Vs Daniel Byran....

It's gonna be Wade Barrett....bank on it.

Wade Wade Wade, you know it.

Yes Curt Hawkins can win it, or even the cameraman when he enters the ring. Who knows. It's either Ziggler or Orton.

John Lauranitis can win it if he wants to.

As the WHC is likely to be overshadowed by the WWE title and Cena V Rock match, you could give it a bit more prominance by having 3 matches around it at Wrestlemania.

Have Sheamus and Barrett draw the Rumble. Teddy hollas and makes a #1 contender match at Elimination Chamber and an Elimination Chamber match for the title, but both Sheamus and Barrett argue that they shouldn't be left out of the chamber match so they both qualify for it and are in the match. Bryan then comes out and confirms he will be cashing in at Wrestlemania. Orton wins at EC (Henry could retain I GUESS, but I'd be much happier if he's not champ)

Then at WM, you've got Bryan V Orton for the title and the winner of that match will take on the winner of Barrett and Sheamus for the WHC later that night.

Jericho, Ziggler, Punk (if he loses the title), Cena

If Jericho is returning, and they want to do Punk vs. Jericho, he seems like the best pick. Followed closely by Randy Orton winning it again. Whether he joins Henry vs. Bryan for a Triple Threat or even Punk vs. Orton. A more obtuse pick would be Daniel Bryan winning and cashing in the title shot at WrestleMania without needing to use his briefcase just yet. It'd be a credibility boost for Bryan, that's for sure.

With their apparent chemistry, and how on fire the dude has been lately, I would not criticise the WWE if they had Dolph Ziggler win the Rumble, though, and he challenged CM Punk for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. It may not seem like the best "story" heading into Mania, since Ziggler is a cocky heel, but it would lead to a potentially great match. And besides, the "story" at WrestleMania is John Cena vs. The Rock, so it doesn't really matter.

I hope Dolph Ziggler

It's headlined by Rock-Cena. And given the build, Henry vs. Bryan is a MUCH more than satisfactory 3rd main event.

For a twist...I wanna say the wwe debut and subsequent Rumble win of...

Either Miz or Orton. If it's Orton, then I think it will be a triple threat at 'Mania between Henry, Orton, and Daniel Bryan.

Dolph Ziggler will iron man the rumble, as #1 or #2 and win the whole thing.

I don't think he'll win it, but I can see Dolph entering #1 or 2 and staying til the final 4. That would be huge. Something they could bring up for years and years to come.

Orton's my guess.

Changed up my picks a little I'm pretty sure a face is gonna take it this year a heel's never taken it twice a row so I'm going with the odds cuz Jericho will likely feud with Punk so yeah.

Whoever the mystery guy from the 1/2 promos is. (Brock Lesnar)

Orton wins and gets a title shot at WM on his Birthday!

or not, since RR is in St Louis

Ziggler to win and challenge Punk at Mania.

im thinking
1)miz
2)jericho
3)ziggler
4)barrett
5)sheamus
cm punk if he loses the title before the rumble

The popcorn vendor in the nosebleed section

Ziggler, Sheamus, Barrett, Orton, Miz

Cena. And he'll be all like "I want my title shot at No Way Out instead of WrestleMania." and he'll win that so the match with him and Rock will pointlessly be for the wwe championship.

The Rock will probably be in the Rumble right? He'll probably eliminate Cena and leave himself saying that's all he wanted to do.

I kinda doubt Rock or Cena will be in it,

<font color=goldenrod>There are plenty of good candidates, but I have a feeling it will be Randy Orton.</font>

Cena will be there in some capacity. If not in a title match then in the Rumble. And the Rock better fucking be there somehow. It's the first major step in the Road to Wrestlemania.

This is where I am leaning, as well. I mean, it all depends on what the WWE wants to do with CM Punk and with the World Heavyweight Title, but Randy Orton is definitely someone that will be in a high profile match at WrestleMania, and currently has nothing planned.

Calling it now!

Ziggy, Barrett, Jericho.

With Ziggler losing the US title, it's a good sign he's being considered at least.

Though he's not my number one pick...

1. Sheamus
2. Jericho
3. Ziggler

I’m thinking Punk defends against Ziggler at the Rumble. Would be ideal.

If Bryan does carry the belt until the Rumble, which could well happen, I see him defending against Show and Henry. Could actually be the perfect way to give him some credibility, if they choose to go that way.

If Del Rio, Booker, Rhodes, Cena, Kane, Orton, Sheamus, Miz, HHH, Barrett, and Ryder are all in the Rumble, that’s a great start. Throw in a couple of surprise entrants (Rikishi and Road Dogg), and it could get mental. Plus, they can have JR substitute for Booker on commentary. :drool:

An interesting note from Superstars this week, in that Matt Striker said that this year the Rumble is not locked down and that if a Superstar competes elsewhere on the show, they can still be in the Rumble match. Now, this could be Striker just trying to build up a sense of unpredictability to things on his own -- but if that is the plan, then it would make sense for the losers of the title matches at the Royal Rumble to appear in the actual Rumble match.

For example, I could see Dolph Ziggler being one of the Final Four even after a hellacious WWE Championship match and competing for ages in the actual Rumble Match. Something like that could really help Ziggler get to the next level. Hell, imagine if CM Punk retained the WWE Championship and entered the Royal Rumble because he might as well compete for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania as well? I don't think the WWE would have him win -- but imagine if Chris Jericho tossed out CM Punk? Or even if a Cody Rhodes or Wade Barrett did it?

Also, something I've been thinking about: It really makes no sense for anyone but a SmackDown! Superstar to win the Royal Rumble this year. By that I mean someone who challenges for the World Heavyweight Championship (a RAW guy could win and then jump brands). That's unless they drop the idea of John Cena going after the WWE Championship for his match with The Rock. Otherwise they'll have to tease a Triple Threat between Cena, The Rock and whoever wins the Royal Rumble. The only person I can see that being is CM Punk (and I could see Punk getting screwed, kicking Laurinaitis in the head and then winning the Rumble).

So, depending on what they want to be the World Heavyweight Title match at WrestleMania, I think we'll see a Royal Rumble that reflects that. It would seem that Randy Orton and Wade Barrett will continue their issues, possibly through to WrestleMania. Could Barrett win the Rumble in Orton's hometown, with Orton then making it his mission to win the World Heavyweight Title from Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber so he can beat Barrett at WrestleMania? Bryan would then have a rematch scheduled, and I could possibly see them having Bryan worm his way into Barrett and Orton's problems.

I don't think it's too much of a stretch (although it's far from certain, of course) that the WWE could very well give us Randy Orton defending the World Heavyweight Title against Wade Barrett (2012 Royal Rumble Winner) and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXVIII. Meanwhile, Punk is eliminated from the Royal Rumble (after successfully defeating Dolph Ziggler despite Johnny Ace doing everything in his power to screw Punk) by Chris Jericho, setting up a rivalry between them in time for WrestleMania. The promo work (when Jericho starts talking -- if he starts talking) would be enough to sell people on that match.

So yeah, I'm officially changing my pick for Royal Rumble Winner, at present, to Wade Barrett. In the Final Four, I see Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler both being there. The WWE will probably want to tease a Sheamus win, too. Either him or someone else that competed elsewhere in the show, with a babyface making the most sense. So yeah, I'd go with either Big Show or Sheamus rounding out the Final Four.

Am I applying too much logic to the Rumble?

1. Randy Orton - St. Louis is his hometown..... if he's healthy enough, he'll win (unfortunately)
2. Chris Jericho - The next logical favourite, but not my personal pick
3. The Miz - Needs something to do to make him seem like a main eventer again
4. Cody Rhodes - His time is now, Rhodes & Bryan could make masterpieces in the ring
5. Dolph Ziggler His time is also now, Ziggler & Punk could make masterpieces in the ring

Nicky Fives number 5.

That is my hope.

Going through the WWE roster, here are the 30 guys that I think the WWE would like to use in the Rumble Match:

RAW Superstars:

1. Alex Riley
2. Brodus Clay
3. Chris Jericho
4. David Otunga
5. Dolph Ziggler
6. Epico
7. Evan Bourne
8. Jack Swagger
9. Kane
10. Kofi Kingston
11. Mason Ryan
12. The Miz
13. Primo
14. R-Truth
15. Santino Marella
16. Zack Ryder

SmackDown! Superstars:

17. Big Show
18. Cody Rhodes
19. Ezekiel Jackson
20. Hornswoggle
21. Hunico
22. Jinder Mahal
23. Justin Gabriel
24. Mark Henry
25. Sheamus
26. Ted DiBiase
27. Wade Barrett

Surprise Entrants:

28. CM Punk
29. Goldust
30. Triple H

I know that CM Punk, Goldust and Triple H are all under contract; but at the moment Goldust and Triple H are sort of inactive, and no one would expect the WWE Champion to troll the Rumble.

If the WWE wants more surprise entrants, I would suggest that they remove Hornswoggle. But the WWE (and the demographic the WWE wishes to appeal to) loves the guy, and he was sort of fun in the Rumble last year. Plus, he's actually been very effective, in a kayfabe sense, in Battle Royals and Over the Top Rope Challenges. Plus, it could be a memorable way to start the Royal Rumble by having Cody Rhodes toy around with Hornswoggle for a bit. Since they've been trying to use Hornswoggle to get Justin Gabriel more over as a face, it would stand to reason that Gabriel could also be an early entrant to help out Horny, only to also get eliminated by Rhodes.

Due to his current status with the WWE, I could really see a Road Dogg appearance. I never actually saw them together as Road Dogg was gone before I started watching, but even I think that a Road Dogg/R-Truth reunion could be some sort of wacky fun. Other mid-carders could be bumped, of course, for your Kevin Nashes or Steve Blackmans.

Also, I'm willing to bet that there's a spot in the Rumble where a pissed off (having lost in a World Title match earlier) Mark Henry tosses out guys left, right and centre to remind people that he is meant to be a monster. The WWE are clearly high on the guy, but I can see Ryan trying to body slam Henry, only to get tossed out. Also, I could definitely see a Henry/Brodus Clay interaction -- which could be hilarious. Especially if Clay actually eliminates Henry, possibly setting up something for the two at WrestleMania (although I could just see Clay coming out and dancing with Miami Heat before going to the back at the show).

Jericho and Orton are still top picks, but I think Barrett has grown with the absence of Orton. They'll no doubt have Orton featured on the show, and I figured that he would distract or hinder Barrett's chances somehow -- but the more I think about it, the more I think they could have Barrett win, and then rub the victory in Orton's face after the match. Perhaps some sort of brawl between the two to end the PPV? Has the Rumble ever ended like that?

Added thoughts:

* If the WWE wants Chris Jericho to be a babyface (a lot are predicting he'll reveal himself to be a heel, but Jericho could take this anywhere he wanted), then he would be far from a terrible challenger to Daniel Bryan and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. SmackDown! doesn't really have a "star match" right now, but Jericho could change that. He wins the Rumble and announces that he'll be facing Daniel Bryan, who has to make it through the Elimination Chamber first. It's also possible that they could add Wade Barrett and Randy Orton to that match. The history there would be tremendous -- NXT, Nexus, Orton punting Jericho, Barrett throwing Orton down the stairs, etc. This becomes far more likely if Dolph Ziggler impresses enough people that he earns himself a permanent spot in the main event. Laurinaitis screwing over Punk and helping Ziggler become WWE Champion only for Punk to need to earn his next title shot by winning an Elimination Chamber from the commencement of the match would be a typical WWE story. But it's a template that has proven itself time and time again.

* If Randy Orton is healthy, he'll almost definitely win the Royal Rumble. The WWE will have him in the SmackDown! main event at WrestleMania, with the only exception being if they decide to make Orton vs. Barrett into a real feud with a vicious pay-off at WrestleMania. Orton's been playing ball and putting people over a lot lately, so maybe he won't have a problem being in the "Orton/Punk" spot again this year.

This is my order of who I think has the best chance to win:

1. Randy Orton
2. Dolph Ziggler
3. Sheamus
4. Wade Barrett
5. Chris Jericho (Depending on when he begins competing again, he could be placed higher)

Cody, Alberto and Miz are possibilities, too. I honestly would be 100% happy with any of the above winning.

JERI-FUCKING-CHO.

<font color=goldenrod>The title match losers were in the Rumble last year as well, so it would make some sense for them to appear again if only for Dolph Ziggler to have a good run.</font>

Its strange enough but remember last year I talked about Mark Henry winning the Royal Rumble and people thought there was no way he could win? I could see him possibily winning it this year.

I'd say as of now the top contender's to win would be Jericho and then Orton if he can get cleared by then.

Jericho for the win, so he can make his long-awaited victory speech.

What's with all the ████ing censored words?

This would be a great chance for Bobby Eaton to make his long-awaited return, and usher in a new era of greatness, integrity and class.

Can you imagine if Eaton won the rumble and The Z-Man came back and won the World Title and Eaton challenged him for it at WM!?!

Ziggler is in both the main event for a title shot, and the Rumble. Wins the Rumble, loses the title match.

Well, unlike Z-Man, Bobby Eaton has more crediblity and is more well-liked, both in and out of the ring.

A lot of wrestlers admired his wrestling style, due to him not injuring anybody in the ring. Mick Foley and Steve Austin credited that in their respective books.

Probably makes him a shoe-in to get to the last four at least.

let's keep in mind the injured list.

-Randy Orton
-Alberto Del Rio
-Evan Bourne (suspended)
-Sin Cara
-Rey Mysterio

So all of the above seem doubtful as entries.

What I think the Rumble will consist of.

WWE Championship: Punk v Ziggler
WHC: Bryan v Henry v Big Show
Kane v Cena
Some sort of Diva/Filler match of sorts.
The Rumble itself.

I just realized that Elimination Chamber replaced No Way Out. Haha.
As far as the Rumble goes, I can really see Jericho winning it. Maybe even Wade Barrett.

Honestly hoping for a 'Taker return as well. If they're going to have any kind of good build for a match at 'Mania, the Rumble is a good time to get it started.

Barret.

My new picks:


5) CM Punk
4) Wade Barrett
3) Sheamus
2) Chris Jericho
1) Randy Orton

What if... and I am in no way saying there is even the slightest possiblilty of this happening but what would your reaction be... if Brodus Clay won the Rumble?

Alright fine. Eaton vs Punk at Mania.

I would quit watching.

If there isn't a Dance Off with Rikishi, I'm not interested.

I'm really thinking this will happen. Ziggler has a great match with Punk, loses, but then shows up in the Royal Rumble, and has a really impressive run. I'd actually love to see Ziggler in the Final Four.

Also, with a switch in emphasis lately, and me doubting that logic will come into play, I'm more and more thinking a Jericho win is likely -- with Jericho remaining silent.

Oh come on!

Jericho or maybe Sheamus/Barret. Dunno if Jericho vs Punk is actually being planned or just IWC wishful thinking but it would be a solid Raw main event, cant see Bryan walking into 'Mania as champ though.

Orton or jericho

Or maybe the rock.

What if cena helped rock win the rumble? What if that was his heel turn? Like he knew he wouldn't get a title shot and he knew it had to be him vs rock, so rock gets a title shot at mania but cena has to be in the match. that'd be creative.

I'd prefer Rock and Cena stay out of the title picture. Especially if it means having to add the champion into the match like that.

The match needs to just happen on it's own. No titles, no other people, nothing. It's way bigger than any measly storyline they can tack onto it now.

At this point I just don't know what else they wanna do with the World title. The only other thing I can think of that would really be good main event quality for SD at WM would be if Henry won the title back and Orton got the title shot. The whole "Randy Orton can't beat Mark Henry" coming into play would give it a big fight feel.

Unless maybe Orton wins it between now and then and defends against Barrett. I'd kinda rather see Henry vs Orton though as I'd like the story behind it more. He can continue his feud with Barrett afterward.

<font color=goldenrod>I just think whoever wins the Rumble HAS to win the belt at Mania. Not having the Rumble winner get the belt at Mania for a 5th year in a row would just be silly and would only make sense if they actually wanted to start an angle where the Rumble winner is cursed.</font>

I had the feeling they were holding Sheamus for the Rumble win to challenge Mark Henry at Mania before the injury, but I think Orton will get the nod here.

That would a great angle to go on, along with the Undertaker's streak.

Theres the rumour of Big show vs Shaq so that takes him out if it happens, Bryan vs Henry Vs Orton could work but if Bryans still champion at the chamber i can't see him leaving with it. Orton winning the rumble or the title at Elimination chamber and facing Wade could be a good way to continue their feud or vice versa.

I would LOVE Sheamus challenging Henry for the title at Mania. Their feud never really got a definitive ending and Sheamus getting a "WrestleMania moment" by toppling the monster would be awesome for his career.

Why can't there be a negative streak going on? I see no reason why this is silly. Whether they make a "curse" angle or not. Streaks are realistic. They happen in legit sports, why not let them happen here?

So...are they ever gonna' have 'Taker and Barrett feud? Are they just gonna forget all about that or what?

It's been a while now... I'm pretty sure it's forgotten.

I can't see Barrett reaching the level of feuding with Taker. He's got a few matches left in him if that and they will probably be against very well established guys like HHH and Cena.

Sheamus fella, or Y2J

Even if they had a McMahon in every corner???

<font color=goldenrod>Because the Rumble is eventually going to look pretty pointless if the winner never takes advantage of his opportunity. If they went with an angle about it then that's fine, but I just feel like the Rumble winner should win more often than not.

Same thing with MITB. If the winner loses their cash ins a few times, that's fine. But if it happens too often it'll just seem like a waste of time.</font>