Josh Fox’s Predictions
Shawn Michaels vs. Edge
Winner – Edge
Even though Shawn Michales is the overall favorite, Ege needs to win this match to justify his heel turn and keep his push going.
Casket Match – Undertaker vs. Heidenreich
Winner – Heidenrich
This being the Undertaker’s specialty match would lead one to believe that he would win, But if you think back on the Casket Matches that took place on the Royal Rumble card Taker has fallen vitim to losses, and he also lost his last specialty match The Buried Alive. So if you ask me Heidenrich has a good chance at winning.
Triple Threat (WWE Championship) – JBL vs. Angle vs. Show
Winner – JBL
I really haven’t watched Smackdown lately but I believe JBL will carry the title until Wrestlemania.
World Championship – Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Winner – Triple H
Let’ss ee shall I name all of the reasons Triple H is going to win? Let’s see, He’s a Mcmahon, He has an ego almost as big as his swelled head, The writers don’t know any better, and I smell a screwjob coming from a mile and a half away. Let’s also not forget my prediction noted below.
. The Royal Rumble Match
Winner – BatistaThe big man is nearing a huge face turn and his time is just about here in my eyes, I think we are looking at the next Champion.
Keenan Graeme’s Predictions
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Edge
WHO WILL WIN – Shawn Michaels
WHO SHOULD WIN – Edge
ANALYSIS – It really boils down to this question: Who
needs the momentum more, heading into Wrestlemania?
Edge. While I personally like Michaels better, I
don’t see him really doing much this year. He’s out
of the World title picture, he’s beyond the I-C belt,
and really, his main purpose on RAW is to provide
depth and to make Triple H look good. Assuming the
writers have something significant in store for Edge
heading into the spring, he desperately needs this win
to restore some of the momentum he’s rapidly losing.
Even so, I doubt the WWE will book him to go over.
Shawn doesn’t just job to anybody, nor should he, lest
he end up like Ric Flair. Still, the time is now to
give Edge the push he deserves.
2. Casket Match – Undertaker vs. Heidenreich
WHO WILL WIN – Heidenreich
WHO SHOULD WIN – Undertaker
ANALYSIS – Let’s see now, Undertaker has established
total dominance over his opponent, he has a
stipulation that favors him, and his opponent is so
scared of the Deadman’s intimidation techniques that
he has no chance whatsoever of winning. Nine times
out of ten, this always means an Undertaker loss; plus
Undy is 0-2 in Rumble casket matches. The
conventional thinking is that Undertaker should do the
job to elevate the younger talent; this would be a
foolish idea, though, unless there is a push in store
for big John in the near future. He has a great deal
of potential, but so far, he hasn’t shown a lot of
promise inside that ring; this is not the time to
elevate him. On the other hand, this rivalry has gone
on far too long, has been too one-sided and it is
beginning to lull me to sleep with its lack of
creativity; therefore I expect the WWE to unleash a
surprise of some sort on us. Could Kane become
involved? If so, will he help his brother since they
are both faces now? The last two casket matches at
the Rumble, in 94 and 98, both involved huge swerves;
expect more of the same this year.
3. Triple Threat (WWE Championship) – JBL vs. Angle
vs. Show
WHO WILL WIN – John Bradshaw Layfield
WHO SHOULD WIN – John Bradshaw Layfield
ANALYSIS – All signs point to a Cena/JBL title match
at the big extravaganza, and all of next month’s
advertisements show Layfield and a barbed-wire cage
for No Way Out; On top of that, Bradshaw’s been in
control of the belt this long, they might as well let
him ride out his title reign into Mania; that will
make the man who knocks him off look that much more
dominant. While Angle vs. Cena would make a much
better match at Mania, there will be plenty of time
for them to lock horns later in the year; While I will
personally root for Angle to take the title, I realize
that it would make very little sense to do that at
this time. If the WWE is serious about elevating
Cena, it would make no sense to give Show the belt
either. Here’s to another JBL title win, and the
continuing downward spiral of the WWE championship’s
prestige.
4. World Championship – Triple H vs. Randy Orton
WHO WILL WIN – Triple H
WHO SHOULD WIN – Randy Orton
ANALYSIS – I recently laid out a plausible scenario as
to how this feud should progress into Wrestlemania.
Trips should drop the strap to Orton, fight Batista at
Mania, and Orton can defend his belt against a red-hot
Edge. This way, the WWE has an extra marquee match to
promote. I really don’t see HHH dropping the title so
soon after winning it back, however. Trips has been
involved in the title match at Mania the last 3 years,
and 4 out of the last 5, so look for that streak to
continue. The question is who will Trips face at
Mania if he wins? The Orton feud will be old hat by
then, but do you see Batista seriously challenging for
the World title just yet? A triple threat match with
all three men is possible, but do you really see that
as a decent Wrestlemania main event? The best
decision the brass can make this Sunday is to give
Orton the title and see what he can do.
5. The Royal Rumble Match
WHO WILL WIN – John Cena
WHO SHOULD WIN – Edge
ANALYSIS – On the Smackdown side, only Cena has a
decent chance of winning the rumble. Over on the RAW
ledger, you have Edge, Batista, Michaels, and Benoit
being the favorites. Since Shawn and Chris don’t seem
to factor into the World title picture for the time
being, we’re left with Edge and Batista as possible
winners. In reality, neither brand really needs the
Rumble to insert their top guys into the title
picture, but since Batista is already so integrated
into the HHH/Orton situation, this would be a perfect
opportunity for Smackdown to elevate Cena into the WWE
title picture. For me, though, the perfect scenario
has Edge gaining the victory. A win over Michaels,
and a rumble victory would give Edge a tremendous
amount of heat heading into Mania and would make him a
viable contender to the World title if Orton should
happen to be in possession of it. Remember, it was
Edge who beat Randy last year at Vengeance, so he’d
have a lot of credibility as Orton’s challenger. Of
course, all of this would hinge on Orton defeating
Triple H. If Trips walks out of Rumble with the
title, I see Cena taking the win and beginning his
ascent to the next level.
Lou Corsaro’s Predictions
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Edge
Who will win: Edge
Who should win: Edge
Analysis: This was one of those feuds that was supposed to culminate at WM21. I don’t know if it will go that far, but it will probably continue for a while. Edge needs a big win to gain momentum, especially since he’s not taking the Royal Rumble.
2. Casket Match – Undertaker vs. Heidenreich
Who will win: Undertaker
Who should win: Heidenreich
Analysis: My excitement for this match is so minimal, I’ll probably take a nap while it’s on. How many times do I need to see these guys wrestle? Bottom line: If they want Heidenreich to get over, it’s not going to be by continuously jobbing to Undertaker.
3. Triple Threat (WWE Championship) – JBL vs. Angle vs. Show
Who will win: JBL
Who should win: JBL
Analysis: At this point, it makes little sense to take the strap off JBL before WM21. Why create a potentially transitional champ when you don’t have to? In any case, JBL and Big Show likely move on to the barbed-wire, steel cage match at No Way out.
4. World Championship – Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Who will win: Triple H
Who should win: Randy Orton
Analysis: I was really tempted to put Orton’s name under the “who will win” column, but it’s hard to bet against Trips. I would think it’s still possible for Orton to win and create a Trips-Batista-Orton match at WM21, but I doubt it will happen with Orton as champ.
5. The Royal Rumble Match
Who will win: John Cena
Who should win: Batista
Analysis: Wow, am I excited to FINALLY have an unpredictable Royal Rumble! After a couple years of slam dunk winners months before the event even started, we have some genuine possibilities here. Aside from Cena and Batista, I would also include Edge among the contenders. More than likely, though, Edge and Michaels will cancel each other out. I say Cena only because I think WWE is still mulling over a Trips-Orton-Batista triple threat at WM21, and having Batista win the Rumble would mean a similar storyline to last year. Cena, meanwhile, is not a bad choice, since it appears they want him to be champ and winning the Rumble would put some buzz around a character they are trying very hard to sell to the public. I would prefer to see them go all the way with Batista and make him a true stud, but I can’t complain either way.
Eddie T.’s Predictions
Edge vs. Michaels
Winner: Edge
Thoughts: They have no other choice but to give Edge the win here. I can also see him lose via DQ, but that would NOT be good for his character. If he loses to Michaels, then he’s all but burried.
Casket Match
Winner: Undertaker
Thoughts: The way the card is built right now, there can be an interference in every match. WWE wants to escape that possibility. I would say the best thing to do here is have ‘Taker defeat Heidenreich clean, and then have Snitsky come out…
JBL vs. Kurt Angle vs. Big Show
Winner: This one’s obvious – JBL
Thoughts: They have to make sure that JBL wins, and that he pins Kurt Angle. He can’t pin Big Show at this point in time due to the No Way Out PPV match between the two. This will also be a good time for HBK or a potential WrestleMania opponent for Angle to interfere.
Orton vs. Triple H
Winner: Triple H
Thoughts: It’s vital for Batista to help Triple H win here, so the Evolution break-up storyline can continue. Man, what’s of interferences on this show! Of course, Triple H MUST win here, and keep strong for WrestleMania.
Royal Rumble Match
Winner: Batista
Thoughts: It’s down to Batista or Cena. They should make some of their midcarders come out strong here, in order to build more characters on the two shows. Let’s see if they do! It should be a great night for Batista regardless, and I’m expecting him to eliminate tons of people.
