Right then, what did I miss? I don't think it's worth going into the reason(s) for the long gap between posts. After all we're right on the edge of Wrestlemania season baybay! Just know that these posts are back as of tonight. I had originally planned to bring these back with the 2016 Sammy Awards, but then WWE had to go and cancel the Slammy's didn't they. So really blame WWE, I mean we all do anyway- but still. Anyway, we've got a stacked Royal Rumble card- and for those of you who've been reading these blogs for a while you'll know I like to book the entire Royal Rumble match in these predictions. So hopefully you'll be looking forward to my inevitably better version of the Rumble.
Anyway, I might be a bit rusty with this whole "predicting" thing- so let's see how I get on shall we?
Pre-Show: Sasha Banks v Nia Jax
The injury angle is of course the potential spanner in the works of this prediction. I'm simply saying Sasha's going to win, because well, she's Sasha. Added onto that the fact it's on the Pre-Show which drastically decreases any chance of a Heel winning means I see Sasha winning. That's not to say it's impossible Nia wins, but with this being the last PPV of any kind for RAW wrestlers for over a month I doubt they'd keep the angle properly going for that long.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Pre-Show: Sheamus & Cesaro v Gallows & Anderson- RAW Tag Titles
As much as I want Gallows and Anderson to win the Titles, I simply don't see it happening. Which is annoying, but a sad fact of how they've been booked. I may have discussed it a bit at the time, but if I didn't I'd just to like to say that Finn Balor getting injured was the worst possible thing for Gallows & Anderson. I'll maintain to this day that Balor would've turned pretty soon after winning the Title at Summerslam. For the simple reason that Roman has be the #1 Babyface. Anyway, that's off topic. Sheamus and Cesaro are winning. God knows who they'll wrestle next. The Shining Stars?
Winner: Sheamus & Cesaro
Pre-Show: Mickie James, Alexa Bliss & Natalya v Becky Lynch, Naomi & Nikki Bella
A women's 6-Man Tag. When was the last time there was a good one of those? I think Mickie James is pinning Becky with some shenanigans. There are of course alternative outcomes. These 6 could very possible be in a Women's Elimination Chamber match for example, and Naomi could be pinning Alexa after their little interaction on Tuesday. Then Nikki could be pinning Natalya for obvious reasons, but I personally think these two will be abandoning the match to fight all over the arena. I'm sticking with Mickie getting the win.
Winner: Mickie James, Alexa Bliss & Natalya
Neville v Rich Swann- Cruiserweight Title
There's not really been much to shout about in the absence of these blogs, but Neville's turn has been without doubt one of the highlights of that time. If it weren't for AJ and Jericho, I'd actually be saying Neville's the best thing about WWE TV at this moment in time. I do really like Swann, but Neville's run is simply too good to halt now. Get the Title on Neville, and start building the inevitable Wrestlemania Pre-Show match for the Title between Neville and Gallagher.
Winner: Neville
Bayley v Charlotte- RAW Women's Title
I'm most likely wrong, but simply put, I just want the Title on someone other than Charlotte and Sasha. I think the more likely scenario is Bayley winning the Title at Mania by pinning Sasha in the rumoured 4-Way between Bayley, Charlotte, Sasha and Nia which would allow Sasha to turn and us to finally get a Bayley/Sasha main roster feud. So simply put, I know I'm wrong, but I'm predicting it anyway.
Winner: Bayley
John Cena v AJ Styles- WWE Title
I saw something to the effect of Meltzer said that neither AJ or Owens will be the Champion going into Mania. That made me think of the possible routes they'll go down for the Mania Title matches, the wildcard is of course the Chamber between now and Mania. Given the fact that AJ's rumoured Mania match is against Shane, I think it's a lot more likely that AJ loses the Title in the Chamber given what he's already said with regard to the Chamber match. Therefore I can only predict AJ to win. Although it definitely wouldn't be a surprise if Cena did win let's put it that way.
Winner: AJ Styles
Kevin Owens v Roman Reigns- Universal Title w/ Jericho in a Shark Cage
Going back to what Meltzer said, according to him the Mania card at this moment in time has The Undertaker wrestling Roman. As soon as Taker showed up on RAW in recent weeks I had a feeling it would happen let's put it that way. To me, Taker was either wrestling Roman or Strowman- and I don't think Braun's ready for a proper "marquee" match-up at a Wrestlemania yet despite how much he's improved in recent months.
My initial thoughts when I saw Meltzer said that Owens wouldn't be Champion going into Mania was surprise, because at the time I genuinely thought Jericho would win the Rumble and go on to wrestle Owens for the Title at Mania. I just can't see a scenario where Owens loses the Title in this match as shocking as that may be. The No DQ addition last Monday just makes me think there'll be some shenanigans resulting in Owens retaining. However, it's for that exact reason that I think that's what they want you to think and Roman's winning.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Royal Rumble Match
The last few times I've done this there's been a sizeable number of "empty" spots in the Rumble, meaning I've just dived right into the match. This year, and fair play to the WWE they've actually booked the match quite well. As a result there's only 8 spots left to be filled, so let's look at who they'll be.
Firstly, no to Kenny Omega. I know some people think he will- but he won't. He just won't. The first name, which I think is a fairly obvious one is Samoa Joe. I don't think this one even needs to be discussed. His feud with Nakamura's over and his absence on any NXT programming since it ended says it all. Then one that's less exciting, but is equally as likely is Kane. It's just not a Rumble without Kane really. Then last "safe bet" one bringing us down to 5 empty spots is the man, the myth, the legend, James Ellsworth. This promises to be one of the most "serious" Rumbles in recent memory, but there'll still be time for some comedy. Then there's another sort of "comedic" entrant, although not to the same level as Ellsworth in Enzo Amore, who genuinely baffled me when trying to work out the order of this because I thought he was already in the match so I'd accidentally left out Rusev in my original 30.
Ellsworth being in the match brings me onto my first slightly less obvious pick for the remaining spots, JBL. JBL's made his hatred of Ellsworth pretty clear, and I just think they'll do something with the two- plus Dolph being in the match after recent goings on leads to some interesting dynamics shall we say. I also think Mark Henry's quite likely, just cos Texas really.
This leaves us with two spots left, and these are my "wildcard" options I suppose you could say. In that these appearances could truly go one way or the other. The first is perhaps more likely than unlikely, but I'd still say far from a guarantee in Kurt Angle. If Kurt does show up, the "You Suck" chants in that size of a stadium will be a proper goosebumps moment. I'm just desperate for it to happen really. Then the last option after what happened on Monday is Triple H.
Now that we've got the 30, let's get ready to rumble!
1. The Undertaker
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Kurt Angle
4. Kane
5. Enzo Amore
6. Cesaro
7. Baron Corbin
8. Xavier Woods
9. James Ellsworth
10. The Miz
11. JBL
12. Dolph Ziggler
13. Rusev
14. Dean Ambrose
15. Bray Wyatt
16. Big E
17. Sami Zayn (but not really, more later)
18. Randy Orton
19. Braun Strowman
20. Kofi Kingston
21. Big Show
22. Mojo Rawley
23. Luke Harper
24. Goldberg
25. Mark Henry
26. Big Cass
27. Sheamus
28. Chris Jericho
29. Samoa Joe
30. Triple H
In-terms of the stature of the guys involved, I would argue that this is one of, if not the biggest Rumbles ever. That's obviously what they've gone for- and as a result they're not going to start the Rumble off with two Midcarders. It may not necessarily be Taker and Brock, but it'll be two of the "big three" i.e. Taker, Brock and Goldberg. I've gone for Taker and Brock because of the obvious history between the two, combined with the fact I think it's almost nailed on that they'll be doing Taker and Brock at Mania next year in New Orleans. We won't really get much between these two, with a stare off being the majority of their "1-on-1" time. However, in the last 30 seconds or so Brock will kick Taker in the dick and F5 him. He'll look as if he's about to eliminate Taker when a certain music will hit and the place will go mental.
I'm going to Mania this year, so I obviously hope there'll be some amazing moments- but I'll predict right now that if Kurt Angle shows up in the Rumble then it'll be the best moment we'll get all year. Kurt will milk the entrance and the "You Suck" chants before coming face-to-face with Brock. Brock will go to German Suplex him, Angle will reverse it and hit a few on Brock. He'll then hit the Angle Slam on Brock before getting the Ankle Lock on Taker- and then we'll get a certain relation of Taker entering in 4th. We'll get some back and forth with Kane and Angle, but there won't really be much in this little section. Then we get #5, Enzo Amore! You probably already know where this is going. Enzo eliminates all of them at the same time! No, he's going to come in- it'll be worked so Taker, Brock, Angle and Kane are in the 4 corners of the ring. Enzo will be dead centre in the ring, do his wacky dance, look as though he's going to try and take them all on. Kane hits him with a Big Boot, Taker Chokeslams him, Angle Angle Slams him, Brock hits the F5 and then he gets dumped over the top rope. Most likely by Kane just to give him another elimination to add to his career total. (Enzo Amore eliminated by Kane).
After the Enzo spot, Taker and Angle will pair off, as will Kane and Brock- before Cesaro enters the mix. I really hope they give Cesaro a decent showing in this Rumble. It's unlikely, and while I'm not doing it in "my" match I hope they avoid some fuckery involving Sheamus & Cesaro to eliminate one of, if not both of them. Anyway, Cesaro's amazing- and he'll come in like a house on fire, uppercuts for everyone, let's move on. Next in, we have Baron Corbin- who's been an interesting player over the last number of months. He'll do the usual thing of running in and clotheslining everyone, before eventually hitting the End of Days on Kane and eliminating him. (Kane eliminated by Baron Corbin). Next in we have Xavier Woods, and he won't be too dissimilar to Enzo in that he'll be steamrollered by Brock, F5'd and quickly dispatched. (Xavier Woods eliminated by Brock Lesnar). The key thing here is Xavier is completely dead on the outside and is remaining on the outside for the foreseeable future.
After that elimination, Brock will go on a bit of a tear, F5's and Suplex's for everyone (except Taker) leaving him waiting for the next entrant. James Ellsworth! I'd considering a number of options involving Ellsworth, whether it be a spot with Ambrose, a spot with Braun, or even a spot with Goldberg. However, this is what I settled on. It's basically going to be Brock doing his usual sadistic laugh thing knowing he's about to murder someone. Ellsworth walking to the ring as slowly as humanly possible. Just as Ellsworth is about to enter, Taker shows up behind Brock, low blows him, and subsequently Chokeslam's him. Taker then stares at Ellsworth in the usual "Taker" way and Ellsworth before Angle appears behind him, Angle Slams Taker and basically a repeat of what happened with Taker and Brock. In short, Ellsworth's survived. For now.
Now, entering at #10, Tye Dillinger! How original! C'mon guys, I predicted this last year. It's obviously a possibility, but for a number of reasons I simply don't see it happening. The funny thing is, due to the size of the crowd, I'm not even sure the majority of those in attendance will actually care that much- simply because they won't know who Tye Dillinger is. However, there'll still be some wanting him- so in place of Tye you need the heat magnet himself The Miz.
Miz enters, he'll go on a spree of "Yes" Kicks, but that's really it for his little section. Next in, we have Tripp Bradshaw, also known as John "Bradshaw" Layfield. As I've already said, he's made his hatred of Ellsworth pretty apparent. Once he's taken his tie off etc., he'll enter the ring, Ellsworth will be magically in the middle of the ring without anyone around him, JBL will enter the ring, Clothesline from Hell, and Ellsworth is slightly less f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s. (James Ellsworth eliminated by JBL). However, JBL's not long for this world, and after what's been happening recently on Smackdown I would actually quite like to see this in the Rumble. Dolph enters, JBL goes for the Clothesline from Hell, Dolph ducks, Superkicks JBL over the top rope. (JBL eliminated by Dolph Ziggler).
Next in, we've got Rusev, and he'll do the standard "running wild" once he comes in, before getting the much anticipated stare down between Rusev and Kurt Angle. Again, I'll be very disappointed if this doesn't happen. While I'm not necessarily expecting a match between the two, it just sort of has to happen really. After some back and forth, with Angle going for the Angle Slam, Rusev reverses, Superkick and throws Angle over the top rope. (Kurt Angle eliminated by Rusev). Let's face it, if Angle's entering the Rumble a proper heel has to be the one to eliminate him, much like with AJ last year.
In next is Dean Ambrose, who'll do his usual Dean Ambrose stuff. We'll get a few little moments between Ambrose and Brock because of Mania last year, and of course Ambrose and Miz- but apart from that there's not really much to it. Bray Wyatt's the next man to enter the fray, and his time before the next entrant is almost exclusively going to be stare-downs between him and Taker and him and Brock. Meanwhile, with some distractions from Maryse, (Cesaro eliminated by The Miz). We're quite Heel heavy at the moment, so we need some babyfaces to balance things out a bit- bring in Big E. Your Uncle and your Daddy. He'll be Belly-to-Belly'ing everyone in sight upon entering, but as with Xavier, Brock will murder him, dump him to the outside where he's out cold, for now. (Big E eliminated by Brock Lesnar).
Sami Zayn's music hits, after his slightly questionable win on Monday Night. But nobody comes out. What could this possibly mean? We cut to the shaky, running camera backstage where Kevin Owens who's already pissed because he lost his Title tonight is throwing Sami into various things in order to steal his spot in the Rumble. Yup. Owens steals Sami's spot. Samimania is running wild! Owens will be selling the (most likely) multiple spears, but he'll still be going for it, and will most likely be cheered by the majority of the crowd who'll be pissed Roman took the Title off him.
Randy Orton's out next, and he's here to help out Bray of course. RKO's for a few people, before he and Bray combine with their Abigail/RKO spot to eliminate Baron Corbin. (Baron Corbin eliminated by Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton). Next, Randy and Bray will eliminate Rusev (Rusev eliminated by Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton). Randy and Bray will be standing tall when the next man enters, who Bray's quite familiar with. Braun Strowman. We'll get the stare off between Bray and Braun, not too dissimilar to the one they had before Survivor Series with Randy stepping in front of Bray. Before Braun "nods" as if to say I won't be going for you, turning around, hitting the running powerslam on Dolph before swiftly dispatching of him (Dolph Ziggler eliminated by Braun Strowman). They'll then gang up on the various guys still in the Rumble before we get our #20 entrant Kofi Kingston.
He'll spring to the ring and Braun will literally use Kofi's own momentum to throw him from the ring all the way to the announce tables on the other side. It's Kofi Spot time! Big E and Xavier will have been slowly coming round as the match has progressed to the point where they're both on their hands and knees at this stage. Kofi sees this, and uses Big E and Xavier as Stepping Stones to get back to the ring. He'll then go to the top rope, dive off and eat an RKO before being swiftly dispatched. (Kofi Kingston eliminated by Randy Orton).
In next is The Big Show, and he'll have a stare-down with Braun, back and forth, but with Braun being too powerful and swiftly dispatching him. (Big Show eliminated by Braun Strowman). Out next is Mojo Rawley who'll try and put up a fight, but be eliminated by The Wyatts pretty quickly (Mojo Rawley eliminated by Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton/Braun Strowman). Then, Luke Harper's next out, and after Smackdown things will be a bit intriguing between Harper, Bray and Randy. They'll have a little stare off before looking as though they're on the same page by going straight after Ambrose, and after Ambrose putting up a bit of a fight (Dean Ambrose eliminated by The Wyatt Family).
At this stage, we've got The Undertaker, Brock, Kevin Owens, Miz, Bray, Randy, Harper and Strowman. Sounds like it's time for some Heels to be cleaned out. Enter, Goldberg. He'll hit the ring like a house on fire. Spear everyone except Brock, with the big spot coming when he Jackhammers Braun and eliminates him (Braun Strowman eliminated by Goldberg). We'll then get the big moment with Brock and Goldberg facing off once more. After some back and forth, they'll basically work it so they both eliminate each other (Goldberg eliminated by Brock Lesnar/Brock Lesnar eliminated by Goldberg). They'll keep fighting after hitting the floor and we'll get the massive pull apart brawl to suitably hype up their Wrestlemania match.
Out next is Mark Henry for the aforementioned "Texas pop", but he'll be overwhelmed by The Wyatts pretty quickly and dispatched by them. (Mark Henry eliminated by The Wyatt Family). As is the case with these sort of eliminations you'll have all three facing the same way, Harper takes a step back and pushes Bray over the top rope and eliminates him (Bray Wyatt eliminated by Luke Harper). However, Harper will turn around and take an RKO for his troubles before being eliminated by Randy. (Luke Harper eliminated by Randy Orton). Now he's been eliminated Bray will Sister Abigail him on the outside to firmly establish Harper's divorce from the family.
This next little bit is mainly the "cool down" part before we hit the big finish, and we're bringing Big Cass out to start that little section. Then it's Sheamus out and he'll be doing his usual Sheamus things. This is basically just to fill the ring up for the latter stages of the Rumble. Out next is Jericho, who does have a chance of winning if Owens retains earlier in the night. He'll obviously align with Owens and they'll be on top for their little bit before the next entrant.
Then the moment that is I'd say 99% likely to happen, and the moment I'm definitely anticipating to be great, Samoa Joe finally being on the main roster. Hopefully they don't ignore his history with Owens, and Owens sells it as the big deal it is and similar to how he sold Sami's entrance last year. Joe will run wild, taking out Owens, Jericho, they could even tease something between Joe and Taker even if it won't come to anything. He'll also go on to get a few eliminations under his belt in the forms of Big Cass and Sheamus before the last entrant. (Sheamus eliminated by Samoa Joe), (Big Cass eliminated by Samoa Joe).
The last entrant is Triple H. If Triple H is showing up in the Rumble, and I feel like he might, he'll only come in at #30. Because if you were in a position of power as Triple H is, why wouldn't you come in at #30? They'll be playing up how Triple H won the Rumble from #30 last year. After his initial flurry, and most likely a stare down with Taker given their history and hopefully Joe as well to tease something down the line with them. However, after all of that, Seth Rollins music will hit, he'll run down, and he'll finally get Triple H!
My theory on what happened on Monday, as well as giving Owens a way into the match by taking out Sami, was this run-in was going to happen either with Seth on Triple H or Triple H on Seth- and given the nature of the crowd it would be cheered either way. As a result, why would they have Triple H who's the heel be the one to get the pop? After some back and forth, Rollins with hit the Pedigree on Triple H to a big pop before throwing Triple H over the top rope. (Triple H eliminated by Seth Rollins).
Now we've had all of the entrants we're left with The Undertaker, Miz, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Samoa Joe. The next angle in the match is the one involving Jericho and Owens. I don't think a month is long enough to fully build the Jericho/Owens match which would happen if they split at Fast Lane. As a result, I think the disintegration of Team Chris and Kevin is going to come now. Jericho and Owens will go to throw someone over the top rope. It doesn't really matter who, so let's just say it's Miz. When Jericho will take the step back, not unlike the Harper on Bray elimination and eliminate Owens. Every man for themselves right? (Kevin Owens eliminated by Chris Jericho). However, Jericho's not long for this world either. After the elimination, he'll turn out, take an RKO and be thrown over the top rope by Randy Orton. (Chris Jericho eliminated by Randy Orton). Jericho's night isn't done there however. He'll have been thrown over to the same side that Owens is on, after hitting the deck, Owens will look at him, pick him and Pop-Up Powerbomb him onto the side of the apron.
We're now down to 4, and these are the 4 guys who I think have genuine chances of winning. The Undertaker, The Miz, Samoa Joe and Randy Orton. The Undertaker because of my aforementioned prediction of Roman Reigns winning the Title and his rumoured match with Roman at Mania. Randy Orton because there's a chance Bray wins the Title in the Chamber and then they do Randy/Bray for the Title at Mania. Then there's Joe who isn't associated with one particular brand yet, so they could tease him going for both titles for a few weeks. And of course Miz, who I've said for a few weeks is my dark horse to win the thing.
The first of the 4 to go is unfortunately going to be The Miz, and let's just give another elimination to Joe eh? (The Miz eliminated by Samoa Joe). I truly believe Joe is going to be treated as a big deal on the Main Roster, and being in this position of the Final Three in the Rumble against Orton and Taker is the perfect start to this. His elimination will come after taking an RKO and Tombstone before being forced over by both guys. (Samoa Joe eliminated by Randy Orton/The Undertaker).
To me, this has been the most unpredictable Rumble in a few years in that there's not a ridiculously obvious winner. However, it's still down to two guys with realistic chances of winning for me- and these are those two guys. I'm going with Taker winning, just because I think they'll keep Randy firmly on Bray's side until the Chamber in a few weeks time- and they'll want to start building Roman/Taker ASAP. (Randy Orton eliminated by The Undertaker).
Winner: The Undertaker
That's the Royal Rumble match folks. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this, because I've liked booking it as I have done over the last few years. Just remember, my booking hasn't been matched the last two years- so this is as good as it gets.
Hopefully you've enjoyed my first predictions in absolutely ages. The Review will be up tomorrow if all goes to plan and I haven't died from sleep deprivation. Thanks for reading as always, and let's just hope for a good one tonight eh? I've got quite high hopes for it.
