Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen! My name is Adam O’Brien, and I welcome each of you to my first predictions article of 2014! First stop; the Royal Rumble, which takes place this Sunday on the 26th of January from the Consol Energy Centre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The line-up is looking pretty intriguing this Sunday, folks. With an interesting pre-show match, a clash of the titans and two bearded men trying to tear each other apart, the Royal Rumble Match itself will be complimented by some very intriguing bonus matches this year. With the four extra matches, I’ll expect them to add AJ Lee vs. Naomi for the Divas Championship (so if that happens, AJ for the win), so then the card will truly be full up to the brim before we get to the good stuff.
There are so many possibilities for who can win the Royal Rumble Match, and I can’t wait to see who stands tall in the corner of the ring to symbolically point to the giant WrestleMania sign when it’s all said and done, signifying that he will be headlining the Showcase of the Immortals. It should be an exciting show! I’m not going to keep you any longer, folks! Let’s get straight to it with my match-by-match previews and predictions!
Kick-Off Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Cody Rhodes and Goldust (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws
I’m quite pleased with the WWE’s decision to turn Road Dogg and Billy Gunn heel again. They’re good friends with Triple H, so if ‘The Game-ah’ can turn Shawn Michaels against the WWE fans, he can turn the Outlaws too. The continuity there is quite pleasing, so at least that’s something smart to come out of this whole ‘Authority’ storyline.
One thing I’m not quite sure about is giving them a WWE Tag-Team Championship Match. It makes sense considering who they associate themselves with, but the guys aren’t exactly in the best shape of their lives, are they? I understand that Goldust is a Legend too and all, but at least he can move around and work at an even better rate than he did before.
The Outlaws are a little past their prime, as much as I hate to say it. It was definitely evident in Billy Gunn’s singles match against CM Punk on Raw this week. Maybe it only shows in one-on-one action, but still. If you can’t work one-on-one, maybe it’s time to pack it in. I don’t mind having Billy Gunn and Road Dogg around to cut promos and get the crowd going like they do so well, and a match every now and again wouldn’t go amiss, but Champions? You’re having a laugh, mate.
Personally I wouldn’t be surprised if the Outlaws did win. They’d be the Champions as part of the Authority’s special gang of friends, and it could lead to Cody and Goldust breaking up in the middle of the Royal Rumble Match, and going on to face each other at WrestleMania, perhaps.
While I think that would be great, there are much better ways to achieve it. And unfortunately, losing the Championships on the pre-show to a couple of veterans who likely won’t do anything with them, isn’t exactly my idea of a good way to lose a Title you fought to bring prestige back to. Think of something else, old sport.
Expect the Brotherhood to emerge victorious once again at the Royal Rumble, and go on to take the Rumble match by storm after their defence.
Winners and still WWE Tag-Team Champions: Cody Rhodes and Goldust
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt
With Luke Harper and Erick Rowan competing in the Royal Rumble Match, it’s being said that Bray Wyatt will have to battle it out on his own this time. I have no problem with that, you have no problem with that, so let’s fight! This is going to be a great match, I can feel it. Things are way too personal not to be!
I think this feud got off to a bit of a rocky start, probably just because Bryan went from the main events to this, so now that we’ve had time to take it in, I’m really happy with how it’s gone. Like I said on ‘Under the Spotlight’ last Sunday, the decision to turn Bryan against the Wyatts again so soon was questionable, but it brought about one of the coolest moments that Raw has seen in many years. Every person in the building chanting “Yes! Yes! Yes!” as Daniel Bryan stands triumphant over Bray Wyatt. What more could you ask for?
The mic-work has also been spectacular over the course of this rivalry, particularly from Bray Wyatt, who cut a really eerie, awesome promo on Raw this week. He said some really interesting stuff, like how the WWE Universe only look up to Daniel Bryan because they chose to kneel. His promos make you hang on every word, and this week was no different.
I don’t see this rivalry continuing past the Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View, but if it does, it will be implemented into the Elimination Chamber Match next month. Since Bryan decided against being a member of the Wyatt Family, he needs to show us that it wasn’t all for nothing. I would like to see Daniel Bryan win this match and then enter the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant, but you never know. I’ll get to that more in a bit… For now, I’m content with Daniel Bryan overcoming Bray Wyatt and moving on to bigger and better things, hopefully involving the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar
While I wish this feud had gone on longer (and with way more than just two encounters between Show and Lesnar), I like the direction they went in with this feud. Since his return in 2012, this is the first time we have seen Brock Lesnar physically outmatched. He has been man-handled twice this month, and it really added to the appeal of this rivalry.
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I have, so it’s a pity they didn’t go the extra mile and extend it with more face-offs and promos between the two. It would’ve been more compelling had they made it more personal, rather than solely based around Big Show being Lesnar’s most visually intimidating opponent in years. Brock’s aggression about being tossed around like a rag doll has been extremely believable, so it’ll be interesting to see him channel that aggression to overcome the Giant.
The only bad thing about this match is the predictability factor, but regardless of that, I’m expecting a really entertaining match. It should be an all-out brawl from start to finish, and I’m looking forward to seeing these guys square off one-on-one for the first time in about a decade.
In terms of a winner, it’s got to be Brock Lesnar. He has a very big Road to WrestleMania ahead of him, no matter what role he plays at the event in April, and he needs this victory for a momentum boost as he gets closer and closer to a potential WWE World Heavyweight Championship within the next couple of months.
Expect Brock Lesnar to hit Big Show with an incredible F-5 to bag his first win of 2014, and finally prove himself as the most dominant force in the WWE.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Once again, we’re being subjected to an old match with mediocre build-up and no interest factor. Yippee. To be completely honest, I don’t think anyone cares about the result of this match. And no, it’s not because John Cena and Randy Orton are in it.
It’s because the build-up has been generic, reused, regurgitated bullshit. Cena’s Dad got involved, Orton ran out of the building through the crowd, there was a week where Cena and Orton were both at a different show…
The storyline has been way too sloppy, and the match has been seen a thousand times, so there’s nothing to look forward to there. Maybe Brock Lesnar will come out after the match and attack the winner, but other than that, I don’t see myself being interested in this bout.
Last year, the WWE Championship Match took preference over the Royal Rumble because The Rock was involved. If that happens this year, then the show is not going to end on a high note, which the Rumble always should. I can’t see any reason for the WWE to put the strap back on John Cena (unless it’s to get closer to 16 Championship reigns), so Randy Orton is the clear winner here.
I don’t know how they’re going to handle a potential Championship match against Brock Lesnar, but if I had to guess, it’ll be Orton, Lesnar, Cena, Batista, Bryan and Wyatt in the Elimination Chamber Match next month. That’s the only way I see WWE having two heels like Orton and Lesnar face off on PPV.
I don’t think I have much more to say here. John Cena and Randy Orton have had a less-than-stellar rivalry to say the very least, and I look forward to it coming to an end.
Winner and still WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton
2014 Royal Rumble Match
The Royal Rumble Match is always the most exciting, (sometimes) unpredictable match on the WWE calendar, and when that time comes around, you can’t help but get caught up in the speculation of it all. This year’s match is wide open as far as I’m concerned. A certain ‘Animal’ may be the favourite to win, but you never know what’s going to happen!
In terms of surprise entrants, I think we could see the likes of Sheamus, Evan Bourne, Christian and Rob Van Dam. I’d love to see all four of them come back full-time soon, so hopefully I get my wish this Sunday. There is one surprise Superstar that I want to enter the match, and that’s Daniel Bryan. No, he’s not returning and he’s not a Legend (yet), but he’s the most over Superstar in the WWE, and he deserves to be in the main event at WrestleMania (or at least the opportunity to do so).
Quite frankly, there are four guys that I think truly have the strongest chances of winning the Royal Rumble, and they are Batista, Roman Reigns, CM Punk and hopefully Daniel Bryan. If I had things my way, they’d be the final four participants, so keep an eye out.
As much as everyone thinks (or fears) that Batista is going to win, I’m hoping that doesn’t happen. It’s too obvious, and let’s face it, the guy doesn’t deserve it. He may be great and all, and I’m happy he’s back, but a Batista Bomb to Alberto Del Rio and a crappy promo do not permit you to claim the highest peak on the WWE Mountain, and get a Championship Match in the main event at WrestleMania XXX. It’s just not right.
Roman Reigns has a strong chance, and if the World Heavyweight Championship was still in independent circulation I’d pick him to win, but he’s not going to compete in one of the biggest matches of the year just yet. The main event scene is already packed with guys like Bryan, Orton, Cena and Batista, so adding Reigns would just cause him to get lost in the shuffle.
I see CM Punk facing Triple H at WrestleMania, so I’ll go ahead and assume that after lasting from #1 all the way to #30 (maybe even beating Rey Mysterio’s record), Punk will get eliminated either by Triple H or one of his henchmen (probably Kane) before he can pull off a victory.
That leaves Daniel Bryan. No, he’s not confirmed to be in the Royal Rumble Match as of yet, but think of the pop he’d get if he came out as one of the mid-to-late numbers! Gary and I were talking about unlucky number 14 the other day, so maybe Daniel Bryan can come in and ruin the unlucky legend of the number, by winning the whole damn thing. As risky as it may be, especially with all of the epic bonus points on offer with the SLTD Predictions League (available for entry this weekend), I’m going to go with Daniel Bryan for the win. He deserves to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion more than anyone else, and what better way to win it back than at the Grandest Stage of them all, WrestleMania?
Winner: Daniel Bryan
That’s it, folks! If you enjoyed this article, please give it a like on Facebook, Tweet and Retweet the links and leave your Comments down below. They’re always read and I appreciate feedback, so let me know your thoughts!
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Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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