WWE Royal Rumble

[CapeCrusader]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjjlmyVzRpA[/youtube]

Winners

1988 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan
1989 - Big John Studd
1990 - Hulk Hogan
1991 - Hulk Hogan
1992 - Ric Flair
1993 - Yokozuna
1994 - Bret Hart and Lex Luger
1995 - Shawn Michaels
1996 - Shawn Michaels
1997 - Stone Cold Steve Austin
1998 - Stone Cold Steve Austin
1999 - Vince McMahon
2000 - The Rock
2001 - Stone Cold Steve Austin
2002 - Triple H
2003 - Brock Lesnar
2004 - Chris Benoit
2005 - Batista
2006 - Rey Mysterio
2007 - The Undertaker
2008 - John Cena
2009 - Randy Orton
2010 - Edge
2011 - Alberto Del Rio

[Celtics_Champs]

Favorite PPV. Even if it wasn't a good card I'd still buy it. Love the rumble match.

[SpReEfOrAlL]

think there will be any surprise entrants in the rumble this year? If there is, I dont think it will be an impactful one. Just one to get the fans pumped up and then get tossed a minute later. How long is Rey Mysterio supposed to be out?

Batista is done with that ridiculous movie and his even more ridiculous MMA career right? Maybe he comes back.

[pduh01]

I am guessing two wrestlers may make their return from injury, one of them as you mention Rey Mysterio Jr but not sure if he is ready to go then, another wrestler which I am not sure if he is ready to go either is Christian.

I could see some legends do a one time deal someone like Hacksaw Jim Duggan,Sgt Slaughter, or someone else.

[Vandal Savage]

I hope Orton doesnt win it.

[Stanford]

I wouldn't mind Orton winning if it meant a Bryan-Orton match at WM. Bryan is having great matches after great match as champ, and he's having to face guys more than twice his size, almost no time, and screwed up finishes. Give him someone versatile to work with and some time at the biggest ppv of the year, and I think we'll be in for a classic.

[CapeCrusader]

I normally enjoy the rumble regardless, just cuz of the rumble match itself. But the card isn't too bad.

[kdawg32086]

This new look for Kane is like an Abyss ripoff...

[sh00n]

Best time of the year, I can't wait. I think Jericho wins it, personally. Or he goes **** and eliminates himself.

I wouldn't mind Ziggler entering and winning it.

[wtfbosh]

I hope Orton doesnt win it.

Ditto. Orton had some good matches last year with Christian and Ziggler, but I'm not a fan of him at all. He works way too slow and deliberate for my liking. He wasn't an eventful champion either...rather they gamble the dice on Bryan vs Henry for WM.

But it's either going to be him or Jericho winning this thing. I hope Jericho wins it without even eliminating anyone. It would be awesome if there was just three guys left and two guys eliminate themselves over the top rope by accident and Jericho comes out, turns on his jacket and wins the royal rumble.

[Shemy]

was hoping they do a fatal 4 way for the SD Title @ WM Barrett/Rhodes-Bryan-Christian-Orton

but they are doing the PPV this year so I guess not

Im expecting Orton to return win the rumble, Barret wins the title @ EC, and we got a triple threat match between Orton, Barret, and Bryan

[skbucks1985]

I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that Bryan-Orton would be a better match than Bryan-Henry. If they go with Bryan-Orton when we look at what the likely card is, that's going to be one of the primary candidates for match of the night along with the likely Jericho-Punk, whatever match Taker is in and if they go with a MITB match that'll likely feature some of the company's better in-ring wrestlers.

I'm a fan of Orton, but Orton's going to have a high profile match at Mania anyway. If he's the rumble winner and he faces Bryan that's a star-making opportunity for Bryan. If he has a great match with Orton, regardless of the result, he can enter that very elite upper echelon. Even if he beats Henry it'll be an average-above average match and I think it could be a Miz-type situation where once he loses he could easily slip back to the upper mid-card.

[Rich Rane]

For the 4 announced matches so far...

I have CM Punk retaining against Ziggler, WWE actually continuing Cena's slow heel turn and completely going crazy on Kane and then Kane returning to normal the next Raw (they have to promote that Guiness World Record somehow), Daniel Bryan retaining against Mark Henry and Big Show, and Jericho winning the Rumble, being the only winner not having to eliminate another wrestler as the last two wrestlers eliminate themselves before he comes in at the 30 spot.

[CapeCrusader]

If they get the fan reaction they are looking for before Rumble, then Jericho winning the Rumble will be priceless.

[Celtics_Champs]

Last year I felt like they had del rio win it to propel him as the next big superstar. Unfortunately they thought he wasn't ready, he lost at wm, and they did it again with mitb.

I wonder if they take the same route with a young superstar. Maybe Rhodes or Ziggler or Barrett.

Should be Jericho though. This storyline has to lead up to a Jericho win and promo. The only way it would work if he were to lose would be him getting number 30 with 5 guys in there he comes in and they throw him over the top. He gets on the mic and cuts a whiny promo while the match is still going on circa 97/98.

[skbucks1985]

I'd make a slight modification to the Jericho idea. Have him be number 30 and have him do his really long entrance full of taking slapping hands with everyone, taking pictures, etc. and while that's going on the two in the ring get eliminated. Have it be two babyfaces, Sheamus and Orton maybe. And after they're out of the ring they see Jericho acting like an idiot and chase him and he runs into the ring to escape and this is where they announce him as the Rumble winner.

The one thing, is that Jericho is now starting to finally get some heat. When he left Bryan and Punk that was the first time where it seemed like a significant majority of the crowd was booing him.

[CapeCrusader]

Last year I felt like they had del rio win it to propel him as the next big superstar. Unfortunately they thought he wasn't ready, he lost at wm, and they did it again with mitb.

I wonder if they take the same route with a young superstar. Maybe Rhodes or Ziggler or Barrett.

Should be Jericho though. This storyline has to lead up to a Jericho win and promo. The only way it would work if he were to lose would be him getting number 30 with 5 guys in there he comes in and they throw him over the top. He gets on the mic and cuts a whiny promo while the match is still going on circa 97/98.

I dunno if Ziggler will even be in it, since he has his title shot that night. But If they did it with Rhodes/Ziggler/Barrett then it work smoothly. All three have been built up properly. Del Rio imo has been rushed. Before Del Rio winning the belt, all I remember is his feud with Mysterio. A guy like Del Rio should of won the IC or US title before propelling him to the WWE title(like Ziggler and Rhodes).

But if Jericho doesn't win, I hope it's somebody we don't expect to win (but of course deserves the title shot). Sorta like Benoit rumble year, I dunno about anyone else but I never expected him to win it that year.

[Cliff Levingston]

The Rumble has become a bit of a status symbol for the biggest wrestlers the WWE has to offer, and really, Del Rio was the only departure from that in a long, long time. Before him, the winners were:

Edge
Orton
Cena
Taker
Mysterio
Batista
Benoit
Lesnar
HHH
Austin
Rock

Before that, it was Austin twice, HBK twice and McMahon once. Before that: Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Yokozuna, Ric Flair and Hogan (2x). You could argue that Benoit and Mysterio weren't huge names at the time, but in general, that's how it goes; the biggest names win it.

Going by that, it makes a lot of sense for Jericho to win as he's yet to secure a victory. There's really not another accomplished wrestler that you can point to in this year's rumble that "deserves" it more than he does. Jericho has been a main event level talent for a long time, so they'll probably put that feather in his cap this year. Considering the way he's coming back and the likely Punk/Jericho match for the title at WM, it only makes sense.

[skbucks1985]

^^^ That sounds about right. That's why most people will pick Jericho or Orton to win the rumble. The one thing I would say is that because this WM is Cena-Rock they could take a risk and have a winner who isn't a veteran in the main event scene. I don't think they will because WWE's booking team seems pretty risk-averse. But if there was ever a year to have someone like Barrett or Rhodes win it and be put in a prime spot at Mania, this would be the year.

[TheKingofSting]

Jericho needs to keep trolling us until the Rumble at least!