The 2012 Royal Rumble Preview

The Road to Wrestlemania begins this Sunday with the 2012 Royal Rumble, emanating from St. Louis. One of the biggest events of the year should live up to the hype, with two intriguing championship matches, a dynamic singles match, and many storylines in the battle royal itself.

WWE Championship
John Laurinaitis as Special Guest Referee
Dolph Ziggler v.s. CM Punk (c)

Dolph Ziggler enters 2012 with his second consecutive championship match at the Royal Rumble, facing Edge last year for the World Heavyweight Championship. In wrestling, a year can make a world of difference. Ziggler is better on the mic, and he’s even better in the ring. He’s continued to progress and evolve his character, and you can tell it isn’t just talk when he says he wants to be the best ever; he’s actually working to be. This match with Punk will be a great one, no matter the outside forces with John Laurinaitis as the guest referee.

With Triple H returning to Raw next Monday to evaluate the status of Johnny Ace, it looks like the clock is nearing zero on his time as General Manager of Raw. For those that have disliked the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations appearing on camera as much as he has, those days seem to be coming to a close. The blowoff might be a terrible match between Punk and Laurinaitis in a month, but by Wrestlemania I see his on-screen role over. Given the circumstances it may seem like a perfect opportunity to screw Punk as Laurinaitis has stated he will, but given that I see the winner of this match facing the winner of the Rumble at WrestleMania, there’s only one logical choice- CM Punk.

World Heavyweight Championship
Triple Threat Steel Cage Match
Mark Henry v.s. Big Show v.s. Daniel Bryan (c)

Since winning the title in December, Daniel Bryan has begun to turn the corner and come into his own as a character. Sure, he has been placed in odd parts of the show, and hasn’t been made to look strong in certain matches, but his ring work is still great for the big guys he’s working with, and more importantly for the company he works for, his mic work has been good. Is he The Rock on the stick? No, and will never be, but he speaks realistically and he gets his point across. The fans have also started to take to Bryan’s heel turn. You’re starting to hear more boos and displeasure with the World Heavyweight Champion. I’ve always said that while people make a big deal about Bryan’s size, it actually would be a benefit for him as a heel as it would frustrate the fans that someone that small was winning matches and was a champion.

However, he needs more time to continue to momentum that has finally been started, and I’m not sure Vince will give him the opportunity. I’m hoping I’m wrong, as Bryan has shown that he has the tools to be a world champion, but as with many guys that aren’t Vince’s creation, I’m thinking he’s going to pull the plug on this title reign at the Rumble. I see Mark Henry swooping in for his second world championship victory.

Kane v.s. John Cena

Kane is back, reignited, causing terror and back with a variation of his trademark mask. While the idea of Kane turning back the clock with the mask was a nice thought, it has been still strange seeing the Big Red Monster’s face covered up once again. After seeing his face all these years, it’s still taking time for me to adjust to him with the mask (and hair).

The storyline between Kane and John Cena has an odd, hot and cold one, taking elements from the Attitude Era and terrible horror movies. It has also been playing off of the crowd dynamic that has faced Cena since 2006, with Kane playing the role of the Internet Wrestling Community and telling Cena to turn heel, essentially. Though they are playing of the chat room talk, it has been nice to see an edge to Cena. One of my biggest complains with John is not that he hasn’t turned heel, it’s that he’s has always carried on as if nothing really bothers him. When The Rock came back it was nice to see him out that element a little, but under this storyline he has totally strayed away from the corny, joking character he’s been for years. Instead he is ruthless, such as when he layed waste to Jack Swagger two weeks ago. It’s been a nice change of pace that I’d love to see more of in storylines not involving Kane.

Maybe I’m giving WWE too much credit here, but I still am under the belief that when Cena does turn heel, it will be unexpected, much like Hogan’s in 1996. Therefore Cena once again rises above hate, beats Kane and remains face.

The 2012 Royal Rumble Match

The Royal Rumble match this year has a lot of questions as to who will come out victorious, even how the match will be won. With event in St. Louis this year, and Randy Orton returning, many have picked the Viper to emerge victorious from the 30-man battle royal. It’s very possible Orton could win- Orton’s previous rival, Wade Barrett, seems to be involved in a feud with Sheamus, and by WrestleMania it seems that Big Show will be squaring off against Shaquille O’Neal, opening up the World Heavyweight Championship picture on Smackdown.

The wild card in this match- and the entire pay-per-view- is Chris Jericho. What will be his role in the match? Will he fight? Will he even get in the ring? Will he eliminate himself? Though Jericho has been slowly working the fans over the past few weeks, I think the time to fight has come and Jericho will compete, albeit I see it in an unconventional manner. Maybe he rolls out of the ring a few times and rests then re-enters, but no matter how he goes about competing, I see Chris Jericho winning the 2012 Royal Rumble and heading to WrestleMania to take on CM Punk.