WWE: The Royal Rumble fallout

As the dust and smoke settles down, we’re done with one of the biggest PPV of the year, the Royal Rumble. Like many other fans, I was enthusiastic about the second biggest night in the WWE Calendar. Although only five matches were announced, the PPV had so much hype and was built around two men. One was the longest reigning WWE champion in the modern era, and the other was an ex-WWE champion, returning for a title match after a decade. While all the fans wanted Rock to win the title, I was one of the more Punk faithful fans, hoping against hope that Punk’s impressive run wouldn’t end on the night.

The match was hyped up so much, that it took away the focus from the Rumble match itself. Although many people predicted a Cena victory, some of the others were hopeful of a surprise win. And boy did that nearly happen! The second entrant of the night was none other than Chris Jericho, and the roof almost blew up when his music played. By the end of the night, although the results went against what I hoped for, RR lived up to its expectations, and the show was fun, something that had been missing in the past few Rumbles.

This article isn’t about looking back at the RR itself, but the possible fallouts as we head towards the biggest night of the WWE Calendar, Wrestlemania. It is all but confirmed that the Rock will face Cena for the WWE title at Wrestlemania. Since Cena won the Royal Rumble match, it makes sense to pit the two against each other this year as well. The WWE try to milk as much as they can out of a big match, and it didn’t surprise most of the fans when they took that path. Cena, in all likeliness, will go on to win the WWE title at Wrestlemania, thus leaving the door open for a rubber match in the future. Don’t make a mistake about it, WWE will milk this feud to the maximum. The interest and the buzz this match might generate, however, will be less than last year.

Now, coming to the man who was in the spotlight for more than a year. CM Punk had the best year of his career, not just in the WWE, but in his wrestling life. He was the top dog of the biggest organization in the world, and that is no small feat. He’s in the ranks of John Cena, Austin and Hogan as the flag bearers of the WWE. But interestingly enough, it’s uncertain who his Wrestlemania opponent is going to be. If everything goes according to the WWE plan, he’s scheduled to face the messiah of Wrestlemania, the Undertaker, and that would be a bigger match than Cena–Rock hands down. But in the world of WWE, matches can change at the last moment. A Punk–Cena–Rock triple threat is also very likely, but I hardly believe WWE would put their top 3 guys in one match, when they can sell more tickets just by Punk–Taker match. This will also give Punk a huge rub, and like I mentioned in one of my articles, if Taker goes on to put Punk over at Wrestlemania, he’ll reach legendary status, and can be a bigger name than the Austins and Hogans (That’s how much the streak means in the WWE, and the stake of Undertaker in the business). But that is a very unlikely scenario, and WWE wouldn’t take this route.

Then comes the big ending of the show. Spoiler alert for those who haven’t watched RAW yet, but Brock made his WWE return and F-5’d Vince, just as it was looking as if Vince would fire Heyman. It was reported that Brock has signed an extension till next Wrestlemania, which can only mean big things for him in the WWE. This also lays the foundation for the HHH–Lesnar match at Wrestlemania. So this year, we will get to see not one, but 3 big matches at the biggest stage of the year, which can only mean more revenues and buy rates for the company. Again, I’m expecting HHH to beat Lesnar, just to leave a door open for a rubber match in the future, if WWE wants to go that way.

The next most likely match is Ziggler–Jericho. Jericho made his WWE return at the Rumble and received the biggest pop of the night. He looks to be in the best shape of his life (Thanks to DDP Yoga), and like the crowd chanted, he still ‘got it’. Jericho can make anyone look good in the ring, and he’s in a rivalry against one of the best workers in the business, Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler has to make 2013 his year. In spite of holding the MITB briefcase, it’s sad that no one has taken him seriously till now. A feud with Jericho and a win at Wrestlemania can do a world of good for his career, and lay the foundation for his run as the WHC, which will happen in the near future.

This leaves the door open for the WHC, and for guys like Del Rio, Sheamus and Randy Orton. Expect an Orton/Sheamus win at the EC, as it has been rumoured that they might face each other at Wrestlemania, with Orton turning heel. I highly doubt they can pull that off at one PPV, but they might go with a triple threat with ADR, Sheamus and Orton, with Orton turning heel. We’ll find the answers at EC, as the WWE can go with either an ADR heel turn (Highly unlikely and the wrong choice), or with the Orton heel turn.

My last prediction will be about Kane–Daniel Bryan duo. These two have arguably been the best thing about RAW for a while now, and I expect a Kane vs Daniel Bryan match to happen at Wrestlemania, as these two will be the contenders for the WHC in the Smackdown! In the Elimination Chamber match, I expect Bryan to cost Kane the championship by pinning him, or vice versa, thus setting up a match between the two at Wrestlemania. The card is stacked, and there are still other guys like Cesaro, Rhodes Scholars, Miz and a ton of other talent, who can be put against each other in an 8 man tag team match. All of these big matches will take more air time, and so these guys will be stacked against each other in a big tag team match and will get only little air time, but it’s worth it to be on a Wrestlemania card. We’ll find out more as time rolls on, but this Wrestlemania card is shaping up to be one of the best in a long time.