WWE Royal Rumble Predictions

I'm once again joined by David here at Wrestleblogger World Headquarters to provide our predictions for this weekend's WWE Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View. On to the picks...

WWE Championship
Edge (C) v. John Cena
I Say: The day after NYR, I came to the conclusion that Edge's title win was done for two reasons. The first reason being for the surprise factor. The second being that they wanted to test the waters and see what the fan reaction would be with Edge as WWE Champion to see if they had a potential long-tern main-eventer - Just like they did with Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. Now that the experiment is done I think that they will put the belt back on Cena at the Royal Rumble. Edge is using Cena's spinner belt so it's pretty obvious that Edge isn't going to keep the belt. I also don't see the WWE having Edge in the main event at Wrestlemania as WWE Champion. It's just not going to happen. Cena's main-evented Wrestlemania as the challenger once before and this year he's going to main-event again...This time as champion. Ric Flair's involvement is pretty much guaranteed.
David Says: John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle (C) v. Mark Henry
I Say: I don't see any possible way for Mark Henry to win the title. Even though Henry has been in the WWE for almost 10 years, I still consider him to relatively 'green'. He really hasn't had as much experience as a 10 year WWE veteran should have. While I am just throwing out a ballpark figure, I would say that he has been out of action for around 60% of his WWE contract. I could be wrong. While Henry could beat Angle, it'll probably be by DQ or something. Henry is not getting the title. I'm picking Angle though. I'm also expecting to see Kurt Angle get legitimately injured during the match due to Mark Henry's sloppy in-ring style. By the way, I hate the fact that they are turning Angle face. Guys like Angle are best as heels.
David Says: Kurt Angle

JBL v. Boogeyman
I Say: This could in fact be the hardest match to predict. They need to keep JBL somewhere around main-event status, but on the other hand they need to start establishing Boogeyman as a wrestler and not just a spectacle. Therefore, I'm going out on a limb and picking the Boogeyman to win. Most likely by countout when JBL runs away from the Boogeyman or something like that to get counted out on purpose.
David Says: JBL

Ashley v. Mickie James w/Trish Stratus as Guest Referee
I Say: I wouldn't be surprised to see Trish turn heel and help Mickie win, but that would leave Ashley's character in the middle of nowhere all alone so I don't see this happening. I would say that Mickie goes to pin Ashley and Trish makes the 3 count after some hesitation (which Mickie notices and later questions Trish about). That way they can continue with the whole tension between Mickie and Trish & Ashley. Either way, I see Mickie winning.
David Says: Ashley

*It should be noted that David hasn't heard of or seen either Ashley or Mickie ever.

30-Man Royal Rumble Match
I Say: The likely main-event at Wrestlemania for the WWE Title is going to be Cena defending the title versus Triple H. Therefore I am picking Triple H to win the Rumble. It's been a long, long time since Triple H has main evented a PPV and I don't see that streak continuing past Wrestlemania. Also, Pat Patterson as always is booking the Royal Rumble and he has publicly 'predicted' that Triple H would win and it's a little hard to disagree with the guy thats actually laying out the match. However, if Triple H doesn't win I see Randy Orton possibly winning. I also could imagine a scenario where Booker T wins the Rumble only to have Randy Orton cash in his favor and take the title shot away from Booker, but if the favor that Booker T owes Orton does in fact come into play it could be something as trivial as the two of them trading entry numbers enabling Orton to enter later or Booker T eliminating himself on purpose at Orton's request. Look for Vince to cause Shawn Michaels to lose the match somehow. There is also rumoured to be a surprise entrant this year, so it should be interesting who it turns out being - I hope it's a good choice and not someone like the returning Charlie Haas (nothing against Haas, I'm actually a big fan of his).
David Says: Big Show

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