WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Predictions!

Tomorrow night, World Wrestling Entertainment returns to pay per view with the Royal Rumble. This is the first event as we head towards WrestleMania in April. The event starts at 8pm ET and at the time of this writing there were only four matches announced for the event. Here are my predictions for the event.

Grudge Match:
John Cena vs. Kane
I still believe that this is a rather interesting story. Cena has really upped his game as he has been teasing the possiblility that he has embraced the hate. I don’t think we will see a clean finish here and the feud will probably continue for at least one more pay per view. That being said, I’m going to consider this a disqualification win for Kane. Since Cena has been having a change of attitude, I think he goes nuts and gets disqualified in the process. This would give Kane even more reason to have him embrace the hate.

For the WWE Championship: Johnny Ace is the special referee
(champion) CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler
The WWE has done a great job at building Ziggler up as a challenger for the championship. He has all the momentum going into the championship and there are a lot of people who believe that Ziggler is going to walkout the championship. That’s when you know you have put together a good angle. If you add in the special referee, you’d think that Punk has no shot in hell to win this match. I feel that Punk is going to find a way to pull through this victory since he is probably the top face in the company, yes, even more than Cena right now. Punk retains somehow, someway.

For the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Steel Cage Match
(champion) Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Who would’ve thought that a bland babyface like Daniel Bryan would become one of the best heels in the WWE right now? I don’t think anyone should be all that surprised. Bryan has done a fabulous job just by himself to provide entertaining television with Big Show and Mark Henry. I think Bryan retains the championship here. I could see a finish where a side of the cage breaks and Bryan lands on the floor as a result. I can see that happening to hate Bryan even more. Plus, he deserves to be the champion for a long time.

30-Man Royal Rumble Match: The winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania
Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Wade Barrett appear to be the front runners for the Royal Rumble this year. I think we can take Sheamus and Barrett out of the equation at this time. Yes, they have been having a good few months, but to be in a title match at Mania? I don’t think so, not right now. I’m a big fan of both men and think in 2-3 years they will be in that spot, Barrett might be in that spot earlier. So, that leaves us with Jericho and Orton. Since the show is happening in Orton’s hometown it would seem like a great story to have him win it and challenge Bryan for the championship at Mania, if that were the direction he would want to go. Then, you have Jericho who has just returned and is looking to make a splash in the WWE. His first actual match will be the Rumble and he is coming across like a huge threat in the WWE. So, will Jericho or Orton win? I don’t think Jericho is going to win this. I feel like his character is going to do something bizarre. Thus, I’m going out and saying that Randy Orton will win the Royal Rumble this year. It would only help Smackdown in terms of getting people to watch it on a more regular basis.

That’s it for this time around on the predictions. If you wish to share your predictions, feel free to share them! Thanks for reading and enjoy the pay per view tomorrow night!