1. The 30-Superstar Royal Rumble Match
With 30/1 odds, picking a winner here is tricky. In saying that, the list of realistic winners is much shorter. We can narrow it down to - Batista, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk or Roman Reigns. I can't really see past those guys. Batista has a very valid case for winning. He is a genuine main event draw who has just gave WWE there highest Raw rating in 10 months. He is money, ultimately what WWE is all about. Orton vs Batista for the championship has a marquee ring to it, with a nice bit of history on the side. It makes a lot of sense for WWE to do that match. However, with Batista so newly back is he really going to be hot shot into this spot ... or is Daniel Bryan going to find his last year of graft rewarded. Bryan is hugely popular in the arenas, but is it just that people like his ring style and chanting his call - will they actually shell out money to watch him in the main event role? The answer was a resounding NO last year. Vince McMahon in particular was upset by the Summerslam buyrate. Then again, Vince is also said to be one of Bryan's biggest fans right now. Punk and Reigns are a bit more of the outsider variety. Punk in the number 1 spot could be about to enjoy the HBK / Mysterio ride to become the ultimate achiever. Winning the Rumble sets up Punk vs Orton, authority vs anti-authority. It makes a lot of sense. The rumours of a Punk vs Hunter Mania bout is the only thing that is taking me away from predicting Punk as winner. Roman Reigns would be another great choice. The Rumble should be all about creating a new main event star, so in many ways, Reigns stands to benefit more than any other man with the Rumble win. The Wrestling Observer had the big man as a favourite in a recent newsletter and we know that WWE have big plans for him this year. However, I am going to play it very safe with the odds against me ... Dave Batista is going to win the Royal Rumble. It seems the safest bet for a good Wrestlemania buyrate, so I expect Vince and Co will go with this. They know Batista is a main event star and Dave played this role so well in 2005 ... The Animal hunting down The Viper to Wrestlemania 30 has money written all over it.
The Royal Rumble Winner : Dave Batista