The Road to WrestleMania begins tonight with the 2011 Royal Rumble, live from the TD Garden in Boston. The Rumble has annually been the second biggest show of the year, and this year should be no different. Despite that, buyrates have been dropping across the board for WWE, and the Royal Rumble has been no different. Vince McMahon wanted to do something to dry and generate increased interest for this year's show, so the Rumble match itself was expanded from 30 to 40 entrants. WWE has used the marketing line of The Biggest Rumble in History. Yeah, that is true, but sometimes less is more, and that is likely the case here since the extra 10 entrants are just going to be people who have no legitimate chance at winning. Plus, it can add more clutter to the match which could take away from it.
WWE had five weeks to build to tonight's show, but of course they really didn't do much until the past 14 days. I don't feel much buzz around either of the title matches. I'll get more into that later. But of course, the Royal Rumble PPV isn't sold on the title matches. It is sold on the Rumble match itself. I'd say they've done a so-so job of building the match. There has been some good, and some not so good. There does seem to be a lot of buzz on the internet for tonight's show, but we know that internet buzz does not necessarily generate into buys.
The last thing I want to talk about before we get to the card is the order of tonight's matches. You would think the Rumble match itself would go on last, but that hasn't always been the case. Assuming the title matches go on before the Rumble, there is always the possibility of the loser (or winner even) entering the Rumble match. The reason I say winner is because there had been rumors months ago of a title unification match at WrestleMania this year. Those rumors have died down, but you never know. If a champion were to win the Rumble, he could then challenge the other champion at WrestleMania to a title unification match. I don't think it will happen, but you never know.
Natayla (c) vs LayCool - 2 on 1 Handicapped Match for the WWE Divas Championship
Here's the throwaway match on tonight's card that will probably go between the two other title matches. Last year at the Rumble, it was LayCool making fun of Mickie James' weight. This year, it's Natalya. I just can't believe they continue these angles with Linda likely making another run at Congress. Anyway, this is a handicapped match. I'm not sure why, but I do expect Natalya to retain.
Prediction: Natalya - Retains WWE Divas Title
Edge (c) vs Dolph Ziggler (w/ Vickie Guerrero) - World Heavyweight Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler may be the #1 contender, but he has been the biggest jobber in WWE over the past two weeks. He's been speared, RKO'd, and buried over and over and over again. He lost cleanly to Randy Orton. He's been speared and pinned by Edge. The booking is completely illogical and inexplicable. Yes, if he goes on to win the title tonight, WWE can say, "See, no one saw it coming." But all that the booking over the past two weeks does is make Ziggler look like an undeserving champion, and we already have that gimmick with The Miz. After losing a tag team match on Friday between he and Miz against Edge and Orton via the spear, Vickie Guerrero banned the spear for tonight's match. If Edge uses the spear, he will not only lose the match, but also lose the title. All this stipulation does is either let Ziggler win the belt through a loophole, or have Edge once again beat Ziggler, but not even need his signature move to get the victory. Ziggler is more than capable of having good matches, so I expect a good match here, but I just think WWE once again blew their shot to elevate a promising young star, win or lose. I think Edge wins, just because they've buried Ziggler too much (so of course that leaves the opportunity for WWE to "shock" me). However, if Ziggler loses here and goes into the Rumble match, I think he has a very, very good chance of winning the Rumble.
Prediction: Edge - Retains World Heavyweight Title
The Miz (c) (w/ Alex Riley) vs Randy Orton - WWE Championship Match
Many of us were excited for the possibility of a new title match at tonight's Rumble after John Morrison won a #1 contender's match back in December. However, he cashed that shot in on Raw a month ago. He and Miz had a great match, but unfortunately, that was the last we heard from Morrison. Randy Orton became the #1 contender, and once again gets to headline a PPV, and once again most likely give us a boring main event match.
While The Miz may be booked a little stronger than Dolph Ziggler, it's not by much, especially with him being the champion. The Miz has been running scared from Randy Orton week after week. Yes, he did lay him out two weeks ago on Raw, but that was only after a match with the help of Alex Riley. WWE has done The Miz no help to get him over as champion. Fans already don't take him seriously as a tough guy. Cena constantly mocks and jokes about him as champion. And Orton has him running scared week after week. It would be so refreshing to see WWE book a strong heel champion. I honestly cannot remember the last time this happened (don't say Kane).
As for the match itself, I don't have exceptionally high hopes. Neither man is a great worker. Neither man has much charisma in the ring. The only finish I would rule out is a clean win by The Miz because we know WWE has to do everything possible to protect Randy Orton. I'm going to go out on a limb and call for a DQ finish. Riley or someone else gets involved, getting The Miz disqualified, giving Orton the win but Miz keeping the belt. It's a crap finish, but on a card with the Rumble, I can see something like this happening.
Prediction: Randy Orton vs DQ - The Miz Retains the WWE Championship
The 2011 Royal Rumble Match
I'm hoping the image above isn't a sign of things to come. Cena has to be the odds on favorite going in, but it just seems too simple and predictable. However, terrible 4th quarter results and a dropping stock, Vince may want to get Cena back into the main event picture as quickly as possible to try and turn things around.
The plan is to have each of the 40 entrants come to the ring every 90 seconds. However, with past Rumbles, the announced duration between entrants often varies, many times being rushed. Having 40 entrants in the Rumble allows for a few things. First, it means there is a very good chance that the ring gets very crowded, more than other years. Second, WWE has been pushing Kane holding the record of eliminating 11 participants in one Rumble. By having 40 entrants this year, I expect that record to be broken. Even though Kane holds the record, when most people talk about domination in the Rumble, they talk about Diesel. So if someone is going on a run of eliminations tonight, it could very well be stopped by......
The last thing to note is that we often get a pretty good idea of where guys sit in the eyes of WWE by how they perform in the Rumble. Who lasts 30 minutes? Who lasts 30 seconds? Who eliminates 7 guys? Who eliminations no one? Always interesting to keep an eye on.
Below is the announced list of entrants from WWE.com. 34 names are announced, so that leaves six remaining spots. Who will fill those spots? HHH? Jerry Lawler? Michael Cole? One or both of the rumored former champions? A goofy comedy entrant? I will break down the chances of each listed entrant and give my prediction on their percentage chance of winning.
Alberto Del Rio
Rumble experience: None
-One of the favorites going in. He has given numerous promos (in fact, it has basically been the same promo) saying it is his destiny to win the Royal Rumble. I would love to see him win, but I just have a feeling he doesn't get the job done.
Odds of winning: 19%
Big Show
Rumble experience: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010
-The bark is mightier than the bite here. He's treated as a threat because of his size, but The Big Show is never a legitimate contender to win the match and headline WrestleMania
Odds of winning: 1%
Chris Masters
Rumble experience: 2006, 2007, 2010
-I always forget he's on the roster. Doesn't say much for him winning.
Odds of winning: 0%
CM Punk
Rumble experience: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
-With the help of The Nexus, he's a legitimate threat to win tonight. He's by far the top heel in WWE, so having him headline WrestleMania makes sense. I could see Punk winning tonight, Cena winning the title at Elimination Chamber, and Cena vs Punk headlining WrestleMania.
Odds of winning: 21%
Daniel Bryan
Rumble experience: None
-He won't win, but I'm at least praying they give him a strong showing in the match. I think there is a very good chance he lasts longer than anyone else in the match.
Odds of winning: 1%
Darren Young
Rumble experience: None
-I'm surprised he's still employed.
Odds of winning: 0%
David Hart Smith
Rumble experience: None
-I expect a future endeavor soon.
Odds of winning: 0%
David Otunga
Rumble experience: None
-He won't win, but he could play a large role in Punk winning (or losing) the Rumble.
Odds of winning: 0%
Drew McIntyre
Rumble experience: 2010
-He's in an absolutely idiotic storyline with Kelly Kelly, but he has to be considered a dark horse.
Odds of winning: 2%
Ezekiel Jackson
Rumble experience: None
-He may go on a nice elimination run to help get him over as a monster, but he's not winning.
Odds of winning: 0%
Heath Slater
Rumble experience: None
-If he won, I would stop watching WWE.
Odds of winning: 0%
Husky Harris
Rumble experience: None
-On Monday, he showed serious signs of doubt about Punk winning tonight. That possible distension could lead to an angle tonight. He won't win, but he's one to watch.
Odds of winning: 0%
Jack Swagger
Rumble experience: 2010
-It's a real shame how he went from champion to joke. I'll give him a better than 0% chance, but I really don't see him anywhere near the top of the card at WrestleMania.
Odds of winning: 0.5%
John Cena
Rumble experience: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008 (winner), 2010
-He's the odds on favorite to me to win the Rumble tonight. The plans have been on the books of a Cena vs Miz match at Mania, and while that can always change, it's always a pretty good bet that Cena will headline WrestleMania.
Odds of winning: 25%
John Morrison
Rumble experience: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
-He was the #1 contender for the title to start 2011. Unfortunately, he's fallen off the map since his loss to Miz. The reports are Vince doesn't think too highly of Morrison because he's not a legitimate tough guy, but fans are still strongly behind him and I have to give him a shot at winning tonight.
Odds of winning: 3%
JTG
Rumble experience: 2009, 2010
-Another person I see getting future endeavored tonight.
Odds of winning: 0%
Justin Gabriel
Rumble experience: None
-He just doesn't fit in The Core. Hopefully he breaks from the group in the near future and is pushed as a babyface.
Odds of winning: 0%
Kane
Rumble experience: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
-If he hadn't had such an awful title run, I would give him better odds of winning, but WWE cannot not him in the main event at Mania after the awful title matches he had in 2010.
Odds of winning: 1%
Kofi Kingston
Rumble experience: 2009, 2010
-Like Morrison, he's a guy who is over huge with the fans, but WWE won't fully get behind him. I give him a small shot at winning.
Odds of winning: 3%
Mark Henry
Rumble experience: 1998, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010
-Well if you look at how Henry eliminated everyone Raw two weeks ago, including Sheamus, you would make him the odds on favorite to win tonight. But fortunately, that won't happen.
Odds of winning: 0%
Mason Ryan
Rumble experience: None
-Our first time getting to see Ryan in the ring. You have to imagine they put him over strong here, likely getting quite a few eliminations. You can also guarantee that he and Punk will be in the ring together, with Ryan providing protection for Punk. I'll give him a very slight shot at winning, because you never know if WWE really wants to make a new monster.
Odds of winning: 1%
Michael McGillicutty
Rumble experience: None
-He's a geek. Not winning.
Odds of winning: 0%
Primo
Rumble experience: None
-Nope.
Odds of winning: 0%
R-Truth
Rumble experience: 2009, 2010
-We can only pray he is future endeavored.
Odds of winning: 0%
Rey Mysterio
Rumble experience: 2003, 2005, 2006 (winner), 2009
-Mysterio hasn't done much as of late, but he's always a contender. They could build to an Edge vs Mysterio or Mysterio vs Del Rio match at Mania for the title, so I will give him a slight chance of winning.
Odds of winning: 3%
Santino Marella
Rumble experience: 2008, 2009
-A title holder in WWE has never had less of a chance of winning the Rumble.
Odds of winning: 0%
Sheamus
Rumble experience: None
-The King of the Ring was the worst thing that could have happened to Sheamus's career. He needs to drop the stupid costume and gimmick immediately. He has a small chance of winning, but it isn't likely. The more likely scenario is a former king (now there are two possible options) gets involved and causes Sheamus's elimination.
Odds of winning: 1%
Ted DiBiase
Rumble experience: 2009, 2010
-They've buried him to the point that you actually think he has a chance now.
Odds of winning: 0.5%
Tyson Kidd
Rumble experience: None
-I expect him to be future endeavored this year.
Odds of winning: 0%
Vladimir Kozlov
Rumble experience: 2009
-He's got a better shot than Santino, but not by much.
Odds of winning: 0%
Wade Barrett
Rumble experience: None
-An interesting choice. He's not a favorite to win like Cena or Punk, but he also have a better chance than someone like Morrison or Kofi. We'll see what role The Core plays for him. The only reason I'm not giving him a larger chance of victory is because the plan is for Barrett vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania, and that isn't going to be for the title.
Odds of winning: 10%
William Regal
Rumble experience: 2001, 2009
-He may last for a while to regulate things in the ring, but he won't win.
-Odds of winning: 0%
Yoshi Tatsu
Rumble experience: 2010
-It's funny that he's still over, but he's got no shot at winning.
Odds of winning: 0%
Zack Ryder
Rumble experience: 2010
-He may tie Santino's record of 1 second in the Rumble.
Odds of winning: 0%
I will give the remaining 8% to one of the six unannounced participants. HHH? Jericho? Batista? Sting? Someone who lost (or won) early in the show? We'll just have to wait and see.
So my Top 3 Odds to win are:
1) John Cena
2) CM Punk
3) Alberto Del Rio
I will update the NTWT Royal Rumble Pool Spreadsheet as the show goes on tonight. I hope everyone has a lot of fun with it, and good luck!