I already posted a column this week but since the Royal Rumble is one of the premiere events for the WWE I'll take some time to discuss the show and who I think the winners will be as well as the start of "the road to Wrestlemania." The winner of the Rumble gets a shot at the title in the main event of the biggest show of the year so that definitely shows how important the Rumble is in terms of setting up storylines for Wrestlemania. The Rumble has also provided many memorable moments and matches. A few worth mentioning would be when Shawn Micheals only had one foot touch the floor and then would go on to win the match, Ric Flair winning the then WWF in a Rumble match, The Rock v.s. Mankind I Quit match, Stone Cold winning a few Rumbles and many other moments in pro wrestling history. Now let's discuss this year's Royal Rumble.

I don't really expect too much from the Chris Jericho/JBL match, mainly due to JBL possibly having some ring rust and also it seems as though he's not prepared atleast physically to return to the ring. Now don't get me wrong here, JBL is very entertaining and he deserves alot of credit for having the title run he did a few years ago but at this point he would probably be most effective as a commentator because he reinvented the role of a heel commentator during his time as a commentator on Smackdown. This isn't really intended to be something against JBL in terms of his star power or spot in the company but Jericho going from wrestling for the WWE title to wrestling an announcer returning to the ring has to be seem as a step down the PPV ladder. A side note about Jericho is that the WWE really dropped the ball with his return because they rushed him into the title picture and then did nothing to follow up on it and a Jericho/Orton feud could have gotten alot of mileage out of it if the WWE would have developed the feud over a few months but the Jericho/Orton feud consisted of only one title match. As for the match at the Royal Rumble, I'll pick Jericho with really the only reason being that the WWE needs to do something to show that he is still a major star on Raw.

It's obvious that Ric Flair will win the match against MVP because Flair's storyline is scheduled to run until Wrestlemania but I'd expect it to be an entertaining match because let's be honest, any Ric Flair match is an entertaining match. MVP will also benefit from the match even if he loses the match because Flair will make him look good in the ring, which Flair has done with everyone he's been in the ring with during his career. It will be interesting to see who Flair wrestles at Wrestlemania in his final match and it will probably be another classic moment in pro wrestling history.

I mentioned in a previous column that I think an Edge/ Rey Mysterio feud could be a good feud for the title so I'd expect the World Heavy Weight title match at the Royal Rumble to be very solid. The elements are there for a memorable match and both wrestlers give it 100% in the ring. Rey is one of the most over "good guys" in the WWE and Edge is one of the best heels so with that combination the match will probably tell a great story with some great wrestling as well. As for a winner I don't see Edge losing at this point because he still hasn't had a really solid run as champion so I'd expect him to keep the title atleast until Wrestlemania. As for Rey, I think it would be wise to keep him in the title picture for atleast another month because as I said he's one of the top wrestlers in the WWE.

The WWE title match should be a great match and it has the potential to steal the show but I don't expect a title change for a few different reasons. One reason being if Hardy would win the title there's really not many other heels on Raw besides Orton that could be consider a legitimate threat to the title so considering the lack of top heels it doesn't seem like Hardy will win the title. Another reason being that the WWE is almost trying to make it too obvious that Hardy has a chance to win the title. What I mean when saying that is Hardy has gotten the best of Orton every week on Raw since the feud began to make it seem as though Hardy has a chance to win but the WWE has almost done too much to make it seem possible that Hardy could be the next WWE champion. I think Orton will retain the title and probably be the champion until Wrestlemania until he loses the title to whoever wins the Royal Rumble.

As for the actual Royal Rumble match, it's tough to pick a winner with thirty wrestlers in the match. Maybe Mark Henry will win?...no not him...let's see...maybe Hornswoggle will main event Wrestlemania?...no probably not... The Miz could win the match?....let's hope not....wait I think I know who's going to win...The Great Khali...Yeah...that's the ticket! Okay...okay that was an attempt at a joke but seriously Triple H is the only one that the WWE has really been pushing going into the Rumble so that's who I will pick to win it. It shouldn't be considered much of a surprise because we all know Triple H's spot in the main event of Wrestlemania is reserved since he is apart of the McMahon family tree. As I've said many times Triple H is a great wrestler but nobody should have main evented as many Wrestlemanias as he did. The very few wrestlers that could main event that many Wrestlemania are no longer on the WWE roster. Hulk Hogan is a terrible wrestler in terms of in ring ability but he had the star power to main event many Wrestlemanias. The Rock and Stone Cold are also on the level of top talent ever in pro wrestling but Triple H just isn't on the same level in terms of star power as The Rock or Stone Cold. Triple H isn't on the level where he should be main eventing Wrestlemania almost every year but because he's apart of the McMahon family tree he is given a spot in the main event. The Royal Rumble should be an entertaining match though it's always cool to see Mick Foley, Santio stomp a mud pie, and Tommy Dreamer in a match.

Overall I think the Royal Rumble will be a good show.

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

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