Looking Ahead – 23rd January 2007
Well well well, long time no see hey people?
Sorry about that. Computer and Internet problems are to blame, but everything’s finally sorted out now (about time too AOL you f*ckwits) and I’m back and ready to go once again.
Basically, what happened was that I wanted to upgrade my AOL Broadband connection, but instead of upgrading to a faster speed they decided to cut me off and cancel my account. NICE!
So after a couple of MONTHS complaining and receiving promise after promise after promise (and a nice 6 Months Free Discount) I’m all hooked back up and better than ever.
It’s been a nice break though to be honest, as before I was spending an unhealthy amount of time on the ‘net and not really doing much with my day, whereas now I’m not on as often but can still find time to write this and check out all the wrestling/music/downloads/PORN!1!11!!!! that I need.
Looking back, I don’t really know what I did all day long apart from wan… er… read… stuff!
Anyhoo, enough with me babbling on about myself, let’s have a gander at who could possibly win the Royal Rumble, which is on this Sunday no less.
RAW, SMACKDOWN, ECW
The Royal Rumble; Sunday January 28th
The Announced Card
The Royal Rumble
30 Men
WWE Championship – Last Man Standing Match
John Cena vs. Umaga
World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy
ECW Championship
Lashley vs. Test
The Hardyboys vs. MNM
The Breakdown
I’m sure other people might do this, but screw it, it’s always good to have a different view and perspectives on things and the Rumble is as good as any to compare thoughts and opinions.
Here are the 30 men currently entered into the Rumble (in alphabetical order), along with where I think they’ll end up and their chances of winning the match.
Shelton Benjamin
He’s got come good momentum going with Charlie Hass at present, and he’s a future Main Eventer no doubt about it. Shelton’s a consistently good performer so I expect him to get a decent amount of time in the Rumble before being eliminated.
Chris Benoit
Like Shelton, Benoit’s always on form and seeing as how he won the match a couple of years ago, he’ll be in for a long time before being eliminated by Chavo so they can extend the feud for another month (No Way Out) or two (WM23).
Carlito
Carly’s dropped down in the ranks slightly in my opinion, but a good performance in the Rumble could boost his stock up. He doesn’t really have any direction at the moment, so maybe he could eliminate a high-profile guy on Raw to start a feud in time for WrestleMania, which could culminate in the MITB Ladder Match (which will hopefully be making another Mania appearance this year).
Super Crazy
He’s getting a little mini-push with the speaking thing, but not enough of one to even think about doing anything of interest in the Rumble match.
Tommy Dreamer
This guy’s going nowhere fast, so expect a quick elimination which will more-than-likely be a sick spot, like being dumped to the outside hard by Khali.
Kenny Dykstra
I see Kenny as a “Shelton Benjamin” type performer, who has all the gifts to do the job, but Kenny just needs a bit more seasoning before embarking on a high-level program. He’ll eliminate, or be eliminated by Ric Flair.
Edge
Edge is awesome, period. In my opinion he’s the most over Main Event Heel on Raw right now, but with HHH out he needs some focus and a slight directional change. Being tag champs is all well and good, but once his beef with HBK is over, how do Rated-RKO drop the straps?
The answer is to get a mini-feud going between Edge and Randy Orton, with Orton eliminating Edge from the Rumble and having Edge cost them both the Tag Titles in a match against, say, TWGTT the next night on Raw. That way, both Edge and Randy are still in focus, both are still Heel’s and are both good possibilities for another two guys to go into the MITB match.
Finlay
My personal choice to win the Rumble. He’s a legend and for all the hard work he’s put in the past year and a bit, he should get a chance to Main Event WrestleMania and take the title from Mr. Kennedy/Batista/Cena/Umaga/Lashley/Test… personally I’d like to see Umaga vs. Finlay, but that’s not exactly a decent WM Main Event for the average fan to pay for. Ah well.. once can dream.
Ric Flair
As mentioned a few paragraphs up, he’ll be focusing on Kenny Dykstra and will either eliminate or be eliminated by Kenny. I’d say Flair will eliminate Kenny as that’ll give Kenny more ammunition to carry on the feud for a few more months.
Chavo Guerrero
Chavo will be after Benoit, and as with the Flair-Dykstra program I’d say that the same thing will happen here.
Jeff Hardy
I can’t see Jeff winning the Rumble or coming anywhere close, and as the current IC champ, it’s not going to happen.
Matt Hardy
Matt’s stock has been boosted in my eyes since teaming up with Jeff again and feuding with MNM, but he won’t win the Rumble. No chance in hell.
Gregory Helms
I’d rather he defend his Cruiserweight Title as well, but nope, no dice. He should last roughly… 5 minutes at best.
Hardcore Holly
Jobber in the eyes of the fans, Main Eventer in the eyes of WWE Creative and Agents. He’ll get a decent amount of offence in before being bundled out by Khali or somebody large.
Kane
Expect Kane and Khali to face off against each other at one point or another during the match, as the do the old “let’s stand up against each other and look really tall” spot, before battling it out.
King Booker
He’s kind of lost in the shuffle, but hopefully they don’t squander his “never had the rematch” thing he’s got going on at the moment and use it to their advantage. Like throw him in the WM23 World Heavyweight Title Match for example. He’ll last a fair amount of time in the Rumble. He’s one of those guys who nobody notices being eliminated, then 5 minutes later you ask yourself where he went. Not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. I suppose it’s like he can blend in with the rest when he’s not winning, yet can outshine everybody else when he is.
Chris Masters
Anybody who’s heard that new WWE.com talk show with JBL and Michael Cole know what JBL thinks of this guy, and his comments are great. Masters won’t win it, or do anything noticeable or worthwhile.
Shawn Michaels
A possible Rumble Winner, but I think there’s more mileage and direction by having Taker win it instead. He’ll be eliminated by either Edge, Orton, or a combination of both.
The Miz
I like his chances.
*cough*
Johnny Nitro
Now here’s a guy who has benefited alot in recent months, from both the K-Fed involvement and also the Hardyboy feud. Not too sure what the next step is, but it’s not winning the Rumble that’s for sure.
Randy Orton
Will no doubt do something with Edge and HBK at some given point. Nothing much left to say really that hasn’t already been said above.
Montel Vontavious Porter
Semi-Jobber… would do slightly better if he didn’t dress like a retard, as it would mean I could take him seriously. Anyhoo, point being, not gonna win.
CM Punk
Would be an awesome thing to have Punk win the Rumble and Main Event WrestleMania, but not going to happen. Nope. No. End of.
Sabu
Meaningless entry from a directionless spot-botcher doesn’t add well to his chances of winning.
Sandman
Another Jobber-To-The-Stars (tm. somebody). If Elijah Burke is entered this is a good place to shed some spotlight on the feud.
The Great Khali
Look for Khali to take The Big Show’s place as the guy who get’s eliminated by everybody in the ring. He’ll toss a few people around like rag-dolls, then get eliminated in under 10 minutes. Short but strong.
Kevin Thorn
Cool name, decent gimmick, no chance of winning.
Undertaker
My pick to win the match, as the “Title vs. Streak” match at WM23 looks all the more likely.
Rob Van Dam
He needs to gain some momentum and attention and this is the place to do it, but he’ll never get the belt back.
Viscera
Will be eliminated by Khali to show off Khali’s “strengths” and will not do much else.
–
So there you have it!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?!
Do you agree with my thoughts, disagree? Do you think HBK is a dead-cert to win? Do you feel CM Punk has a shot? Should Marquis Cor Von have been included?
Let me know here or click the feedback like at the bottom of the article.
The Last Bit…
This was fun. Remind me this time next year to do it again if I’m still kicking about.
See you next week for No Way Out and WrestleMania predictions and whatnot.
~ Danny Wallace.
