The Royal Rumble is considered the start of “the road to Wrestlemania” and taking all the possible effects into account, the Rumble is essentially the building blocks to the biggest event of the year in the entire wrestling industry. Before I discuss the details of the card and predict who I think is going to win, I think it’s worth mentioning that this year’s Rumble has a very solid under card, which hasn’t always been the case with the Rumble’s under card in the past.

I’d expect the ECW title match to be a solid match because you have an established veteran in Matt Hardy, who can help Swagger through a good match for Swagger’s first major PPV match. Speaking of Swagger, it seems like he has all the tools necessary to become an established star in the long run but I have to wonder if it’s too early for Swagger to be given a title? Swagger’s feud with Tommy Dreamer was an essential tool that was needed to get Swagger to this point because it allowed Swagger to start to develop his heel character and the good matches he had with Dreamer also gave Swagger some credibility. Swagger has charisma, a look, and if he can continue to develop his in ring skills, I would expect him to have a bright future in the WWE. As for a winner, it’s obvious that Swagger is keep the title here because it wouldn’t make sense for him to lose the belt after he just won it.

The Women’s title match should be really good and I really don’t think there’s a reason to expect any less from a Melina/Beth Phoenix match. These two always give it 100% and they’ve always had good matches with each other. I can’t see Melina winning the title here because it would seem like this particular feud is being used to introduce Beth’s new side kick instead of a direct feud with Beth and Melina. Anything is possible but I’m going to say that Beth Phoenix retains the title at the Rumble.

The WWE title match is a tough one to pick a winner. Jeff Hardy just won the title last month and it’s a title reign the people have been wanting to see for so long but with Hardy’s shaky past, I doubt the WWE would invest a Wrestlemania main event spot in his, especially considering he was taken off the card of last year’s Wrestlemania card following a wellness policy violation. I’d expect Edge to win the title here and head to the main event spot of Wrestlemania 25. I know that No Way Out is before Wrestlemania but that PPV has been used to set up challengers rather than champions for Wrestlemania in the past few years, With Christian’s return to the company all but confirmed, I would think that he will cost Hardy the title to set up Jeff Hardy vs. Christain at Wrestlemania, which is a good feud to use to reintroduce Christian into the company and it would still be a high profile match for Hardy despite him not being the champion. As for the actual match, I’d expect there to be some really good back and fourth action to create some drama for the match, which Hardy has always done a good job of putting together with his recent main event matches that keep the crowd on the edge of their seat.

The World Heavy Weight title match is interesting because there are two wrestlers in the match, JBL and John Cena but I would think that Shawn Michaels will effect the outcome of this one. The finish of the match will probably involve Michaels deciding weather of not he will help JBL win the title. I think Michaels will decide not to help JBL, which could set up JBL vs. HBK at Wrestlemania and would also send John Cena to the main event of Wrestlemania as well, which is a smart decision considering he is the WWE’s most profitable star at this point in time.

Now to the Royal Rumble match, there’s thirty wrestlers so instead of trying to discuss possible scenarios for many of the stars in the match, I will mention a few I think might be victorious at the Rumble. The Undertaker is a major possibility because he is one of the company’s biggest stars and an Undertaker/Cena Wrestlemania main event could draw the WWE a lot of money. Randy Orton is another one I could see possibly winning it because the WWE has continued to give him a steady push and his new “legacy” stable is evidence of that. The only problem I see with Orton winning the Rumble is that I don’t know who he could challenge for the title. Assuming I’m correct that Edge is the WWE champion for Wrestlemania, you rarely see a heel vs. heel title match in the WWE and Orton has already had a length feud with Cena so I don’t know what role Orton could logically play if he wins the Rumble. The other possibility is obviously Triple H because we all know Triple H will have his spot in the main event of Wrestlemania reserved as long as he is wrestling, which is why I will pick him to win the Rumble match. I hope someone else wins it but considering Triple H hasn’t made his way into a main event yet, he will probably win it. Even if he doesn’t win the Rumble match, it’s basically a guarantee that somehow Triple H will be in a World Heavy Weight or WWE title match at Wrestlemania.

Overall, the Royal Rumble seems like it will be a good PPV.

Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

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