The WWE is all set to kick off their pay-per-view business of 2014 with one of the “big four” PPV’s. The official start to the road to WrestleMania, Royal Rumble carries a lot of expectations when it comes to swerves and great pushes.
The 30 man battle royal might be the main attraction of the PPV, but the WWE is desperately trying to make the undercard more interesting by stacking it with star power. Two matches have been confirmed already which will feature the lights of Randy Orton, John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Big Show. And in the coming weeks two or three more matches might be added to that list.
So here is a look at how the creative could shape up the Royal Rumble in order to get the perfect start of their WrestleMania journey.
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AJ Lee vs. Brie or Nikki Bella (Divas Championship)
Frankly speaking, there is no one except Tamina Snuka in the women’s division that hasn’t face AJ for the title. And since the turn of Tamina doesn’t look likely to happen in the coming weeks, the only other option for the creative is to put AJ in another title defense match with either of the Bella Twins.
All eyes will be on AJ becoming the longest reigning Divas champion and this means the Bella who will go against AJ will be overshadowed by the charismatic champion.
A match involving AJ is a must for the event as the Divas aren’t able to take part in the Rumble match except some rare situations. Whoever she faces, AJ is bound to win the match unless a new diva arises from the ashes who could match up to current champion.
Big E Langston vs. Ryback (Intercontinental Championship)
The intercontinental champion lost the momentum he built from November after suffering a defeat at the hands of Randy Orton. At the same time his involvement with Ryback was teased in the old school Raw when Langston squashed Curtis Axel.
So there wouldn’t be a better way to remerge his momentum than putting him in a match against an opponent who could match him in size. A bout forth title will be also beneficiary for Ryback who seems to be lost at the moment.
The title might not change hands but a good physical match can be expected from the duo which will serve as the destruction that Langston will cause at the Battle Royal.
Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan vs. Rhodes Brothers (Tag Team Titles)
The WWE picked up a staling storyline and made it into a major talking point when they decided to make Daniel Bryan join the Wyatts.
Bryan’s fan favorite character might be slowly taking the dip but from the looks of it the company might be trying to boost it further by making Bryan take out Bray from the inside. The angle has the potential for the biggest swerve in the pay-per-view as Bryan could show his true colors.
The mentioning of the tag titles came last week on Raw and there might be a non-title match this week. A win the in the non-title match will build up to this one in which the tension between Bray and Bryan is bound to rise.
Goldust and Cody Rhodes will only play the part of supporting character but will go out of Rumble with the championship around their waists.
Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
Make no doubt about it; Brock Lesnar is the winner of this match. Giving the opposite result will only occur if Lesnar decides to knock out Show after being denied by the referee.
Show is having a rollercoaster ride in the company as he always had. He was a crying giant some weeks back and now all of a sudden he is the man who throws Brock Lesnar. But nothing is going to stop Show from getting a beating at the Rumble at the hands of the Beast.
The main agenda of the match is to show the fans how deadly Lesnar is. He has already taken out one giant in the roster and Show will be next on the list. An F-5 and some bone breaking on the World’s Largest Athlete are going to do the job for the creative and only expect that as the high points of this match.
Randy Orton vs. John Cena (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
For the 1057th time, Orton and Cena will face eachother for the major title. The only attractive part about the match apart from the fancy number will be the involvement of Brock Lesnar.
The potential match between the winner of the match and Brock Lesnar is the only thing worth looking forward to as this match carries the least heat possible. Many expect Cena to win the match, but by the looks of it, Orton might be the one who will fall prey to the Beast.
The match wouldn’t be any different without any added on stipulations. The only possible twists that can take place are, Triple H aligning himself with Cena or Lesnar interrupting the match and making it a no contest. Otherwise, it’s going to be a been there done that match which is skippable.
The Royal Rumble Match
- 1. Antonio Cesaro (Final Four)
- 2. Cody Rhodes (Impressive performance)
- 3. Jack Swagger
- 4. Christian (Return)
- 5. Daniel Bryan ( turn against Bray Wyatt and Final Four)
- 6. Sami Zayn ( Better performance than Bo Dallas)
- 7. Curtis Axel
- 8. Dolph Ziggler
- 9. Goldust
- 10. Seth Rollins
- 11. R-Truth
- 12. Kofi Kingston
- 13. The Great Khali
- 14. Alberto Del Rio
- 15. Sheamus (Return)
- 16. Sin Cara
- 17. The Miz
- 18. Dean Ambrose
- 19. Rey Mysterio
- 20. Roman Reigns (Most number of eliminations)
- 21. Chris Jericho (Return)
- 22. Bray Wyatt (Eliminated by Daniel Bryan)
- 23. Damien Sandow
- 24. Santino Marella
- 25. CM Punk ( Final Four)
- 26. Jake “The Snake” Roberts (Eliminates Dean Ambrose and Damien Sandow )
- 27. Big E Langston
- 28. Rob Van Dam (Return)
- 29. Ryback
- 30. Batista ( Return and Final Four)
The major twist that can be expected from the Rumble will be Daniel Bryan turning against Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns eliminating either Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose.
The Creative doesn’t need to put in any legends for the comedy time as they have enough big returns this time. Sheamus, Jericho, Christian, Rob Van Dam and Batista are on the list with an outside chance of Jeff Hardy also.
Batista and CM Punk are the only potential winners at the moment as Bryan will be busy following up to his turn against the Wyatts. Reigns and Langston will produce dominating performances while Cesaro will boost his impending face turn with a jaw dropping performance. Sami Zayn is the likely NXT guy to be featured in the Rumble and he could also give some talking points similar to what Bo Dallas did some time back.