After all the pomp and circumstance of last month, with the New Years celebration and Raws twentieth birthday, its finally time to lock in on the Royal Rumble this Sunday. Possibly the WWEs most exciting event, the mad grab for titles of late will take a backseat as thirty of the WWEs superstars will take to the ring with the hope of punching a ticket to the WrestleMania main event. The Rumble will also feature one of the most anticipated matches in recent memory as The Peoples Champion, The Rock, will make his return to the ring after a ten month hiatus, challenging the enigmatic and adored CM Punk for his WWE Title. Whatever happens in Phoenix this Sunday, the WWE fans are sure to be in for a thrilling ride. With that in mind, its time to make some bold predictions about the card that will almost certainly be incorrect. Nevertheless, here are my Royal Rumble predictions...
Team Hell No vs. Team Rhodes Scholars (WWE Unified Tag Team Championship)
Its been a long time since a tag team rivalry has been allowed to build over the course of three months, but the tensions between Team Hell No and Team Rhodes Scholars ever since the duo of Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes scored a disqualification victory over the champions, failing to take the belts though they appeared to be the superior team. A rematch was further delayed by a botched back drop by Kane, putting Rhodes on the shelf for a month. Rhodes Scholars finally found a way to pick up their lost momentum in December however, putting Sin Cara through a table to secure their status as the number one contenders, finally earning a Royal Rumble rematch while simultaneously becoming some of the most entertaining heels in the WWE. On the other side of the match are Daniel Bryan and Kane, two very dissimilar personalities that found a way to gel into one of the most entertaining tag teams in recent memory. Their trials in anger management before their Night of Champions victory were often the best promos on Raw at the time, and the two carried their dysfunction over into some brilliantly worked matches over the next few months. Once they evolved into a cohesive unit in December (with a little help from a Shield beating or two), Bryan and Kane proved that they could remain just as entertaining as a true partnership. Unfortunately for the Tag Team Champions, I dont see this match swinging their way. Sandow and Rhodes have become two of the WWEs young darlings. In particular, Damien Sandow is one of the most natural heels in recent memory. Gaining heat from a crowd exudes from his very being, as his officious nature and condescension have made him both reviled and respected over the course of his young career. More than that, it feels as though Daniel Bryan and Kane are both poised to move on with their careers. The two grew together in their anger management, and their graduation this past week on Raw seems symbolic that this team is headed for its natural catharsis. Its been one...Hell of a ride.
Winners: Team Rhodes Scholars (New Champions)