WWE 2012 Royal Rumble - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

[ULTRASTARZZ]

Some observations about the past Royal Rumble matches that we certainly might see in next year's match:

1) Based on his history, The Miz is not a thriving Superstar in the Royal Rumble PPV. He was eliminated in 7 seconds by The Great Khali in 2007, eliminated by Hornswoggle in 2008, appeared in 78 seconds in 2009, and lasted only 17 seconds in 2010. He did defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton in 2011, but only with help from The New Nexus and Alex Riley. With a possible bout with CM Punk for the WWE Title or another run at the Rumble bout, will The Miz finally put up a strong performance?

2) From 2003 onwards, the runner-up of the Royal Rumble match will eliminate the 3rd place finisher, then be eliminated by the eventual winner (except in 2006 and 2011):

(2003) Kane <- The Undertaker <- Brock Lesnar
(2004) Kurt Angle <- The Big Show <- Chris Benoit
(2005) Edge <- John Cena (and Batista) <- Batista
(2007) Edge <- Shawn Michaels <- The Undertaker
(2008) Batista <- Triple H <- John Cena
(2009) Cody Rhodes <- Triple H <- Randy Orton
(2010) Batista <- John Cena <- Edge

In 2011, Wade Barrett was eliminated by Randy Orton, who would then get tossed out by Alberto del Rio. Santino Marella was the runner-up, but taking things into consideration, essentially the same case can be applied.

For the 2012 rendition, will we be able to foresight the next winner (even for only a couple of seconds away) using the same pattern?

3) Unless Kane claims a WWE Championship match, the 2012 Rumble bout will be his record 16th straight appearance in the match. But who is next in line with the most appearances among the active roster? Triple H and The Big Show, who have appeared in 8 Rumble matches each. If The Undertaker is considered active, he will be the next in line with 10 matches.

How about consecutive appearances? Among the current WWE Superstars, CM Punk has made 5 straight Rumble bouts from 2007 to 2011. And unless he loses his WWE Title in the PPV and appears later in the match, it looks like the streak will be snapped. The next one in line will be Mark Henry, who seems unlikely to challenge Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at the PPV, with 4 straight matches.

4) The youth movement in the WWE has been very evident in the past three Royal Rumble matches. A total of 28 people made their first appearances, with most of those Superstars (and a Diva) playing significant roles in the current WWE. The following made their Royal Rumble debuts in the last three bouts:

2009: Vladimir Kozlov (gone), Ted DiBiase, Mike Knox (gone), Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth (not really young but still), The Brian Kendrick (gone), Dolph Ziggler
2010: Evan Bourne, Beth Phoenix (unlikely to reappear), Zack Ryder, Drew McIntyre, Yoshi Tatsu, Jack Swagger
2011: Daniel Bryan, Justin Gabriel, Husky Harris, Michael McGillicutty, David Otunga, Tyler Reks, Mason Ryan, Tyson Kidd, Heath Slater, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Alex Riley, Ezekiel Jackson, Alberto del Rio (winner)

However, with a lack of new faces in the WWE in the past year, will anybody make a good first impression in the Rumble match?

5) The past four Royal Rumble winners have lost at WrestleMania (John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, Alberto del Rio); three of them are future Hall of Famers. Since the brand extension, 6 of the last 9 winners have come from SmackDown (Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker, Edge, Alberto del Rio). Will the 2012 winner come from SmackDown and suffer the same fate as the last 4 winners?

6) To keep the audiences excited, the 1st, 2nd, and final entrants of the Rumble matches have been big names. For instance, here is a list from the last 10 Rumble matches:

2002: Rikishi, Goldust, Booker T
2003: Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker
2004: Chris Benoit (winner), Randy Orton, Goldberg
2005: Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Ric Flair
2006: Triple H, Rey Mysterio (winner), Randy Orton
2007: Ric Flair, Finlay, The Undertaker (winner)
2008: The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, John Cena (winner)
2009: Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, The Big Show
2010: Dolph Ziggler, Evan Bourne, Batista
2011: CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kane

Guaranteed a big name will start out and finish the Royal Rumble match, who will be bound to follow in their footsteps and put up a great showing?

7) The Royal Rumble match winner has usually had a major storyline going for him that gives us a hint of a shot at prevailing and headlining WrestleMania:

2002: Triple H had just returned from a nasty quad injury, and is the favorite because The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin have received shots at Chris Jericho and the Undisputed Championship.
2003: Brock Lesnar was being pushed as the next big thing, and has fought for his spot in the Rumble match by defeating The Big Show.
2004: Chris Benoit and John Cena have to battle for their Rumble appearances after angering then-SmackDown GM Paul Heyman.
2005: Evolution has been dominating RAW for years, but the cracks have showed up. With Randy Orton gone, Batista was seen as the other "future" Superstar who will leave the group. But before he eventually did, he failed to deny Randy Orton a match against Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship.
2006: Rey Mysterio just lost his best friend Eddie Guerrero. Already very popular and always pushed as an underdog, the next logical step seemed to be an unlikely Rumble victory.
2007: The Undertaker has never won the Royal Rumble match, and in what is billed as the "most star-studded match in history", The Phenom looks to capitalize on a grueling series of battles with Mr. Kennedy.
2008: John Cena has been sidelined with a pectoral muscle injury and abruptly ended the longest WWE Championship reign of the decade. The face of the company looked to seek revenge on Randy Orton, who was the main catalyst in losing his title.
2009: Randy Orton made the biggest statement of the year, kicking Mr. McMahon in the head. With Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase under his wing, the newly-rechristened The Viper looks to slither his way to WrestleMania.
2010: Edge and Chris Jericho have just begun a partnership, but an injury will end his run. As Chris Jericho began to verbally assault the sidelined star, Edge looks to come back with a vengeance ... and a surprise.
2011: Alberto del Rio has just made his WWE debut, and began talks of his destiny to become a World Champion. Who knew his simple arrogant talk will become a reality?

Based on these cases, I am going to bet on WADE BARRETT as the 2012 Royal Rumble winner. The Barrett Barrage has been rampaging Randy Orton and SmackDown for months now, with the ultimate goal of becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. Barrett's last World Title match occurred a year ago at Survivor Series, when he was defeated by ... Randy Orton. How fitting that an impressive performance for the former leader of the Nexus and the Corre will cement his credibility as a singles Superstar and go to WrestleMania against ... Daniel Bryan? One-night partners, future rivals.

If you would like to comment, please feel free to do so. No irrelevant or unnecessary remarks, though.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Kinda finding something because you want to don't you think?

Sure it's a little interesting, but WWE doesn't book based on some sort of mathematical pattern. they book based on story. Of course the winner will have some sort of story. They aren't going to resign Billy Kidman and have him be a surprise entrant and win the rumble.

Point 6 is sort of a given, I would assume that every 5-7 guys are big names too. They will probably also have a running story or 3 in the match.

The winner probably will come from Smackdown because the raw guys already have enough exposure and are in general more over to begin with and so the story and the wrestler don't need as much of a push.

The first point is REALLY making something out of nothing. How can you even make a correlation out of that?

 

[WORD-LIFE-16]

Cody rhodes will win the rumble this year and face randy Orton who will win the world championship at elimination chamber. I predict this is what will happen, Rhodes will be one ofthe youngest rumble winners in history. Rhodes loses to Orton at Wrestlemania 28. Not wade Barrett he is not ready,unless they wanted it to be Barrett vs Orton at Wrestlemania for the world championship.

 

[Skinsley]

I have been saying for a while now that the RR winner will be a Heel that will go after the Smackdown WH title. I think Barrett has a shot at being the winner but also think he is more likely to have an Orton Feud match during the PPV instead.

Well done for the lengthy post OP, it was a good read and had some interesting facts.
All of which can help with the guessing and anticipation of the eventual winner but none of them a straight forward formula.... after all the Royal Rumble although scripted... is still pretty random. Anyone who gueses..... is indeed just guessing and speculating.

A Wade Barrett win would please me.... but I am expecting a total shock that barely anyone here has predicted.

 

[ULTRASTARZZ]

I will still bet on WADE BARRETT to win the Royal Rumble. Despite the randomness of the Royal Rumble match, it is bound to be subjected to patterns.

 

[Twocenter]

I think Sheamus will win the Royal Rumble this year. He has been booked as a monster face and has won most of his matches. Similarly, he has not had any good feud recently. I don't think he has a good chance of getting a good match at Wrestlemania unless he is facing The Undertaker( 5% chance of happening) as per his recent bookings. There has been talks about Sheamus being in the World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania as well. Taking this into consideration, Sheamus will win the Royal Rumble this year.

Just my two cents.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

With John Cena already being scheduled to face The Rock at Wrestlemania 28, I don't think there's any reason ta have him in that match. I mean, what's the point? IMO a match against Kane would be much better.

What's your opinions?

 

[Kenneth]

Hard to choose.

He did say that he would like to have the WWE Title when he faced The Rock so maybe he could win the Rumble then win the title at the next PPV instead of having the match at Wrestlemania.

Kane always chucks a bunch of people out of the ring at the Royal Rumble maybe he'll do that again this year.

Or it'll be Cena V Kane but what would be the outcome of that match? I don't know it's hard to tell where WWE are going with this.

 

[sheldonator90]

Personally, i think Cena will be in the Rumble, he said the match with The Rock will be for the championship so this is 'his chance' for it, but with the story with Kane and how that's panning out. i see Cena coming in to the rumble (with the "Cena sucks" chant from the crowd) and absolutely dominate until Kane enters and then it will be a brawl between the two, Kane dominating Cena trying to bring out his 'dark side'. At some point everything will frustrate Cena, the chants, his chance for the championship slipping away, he'll just explode, destroying and eliminating Kane and then Cena being the last elimination in the match, setting up a match between Cena and Kane at Elimination Chamber

 

[ProudJericholic]

Hard to choose.

He did say that he would like to have the WWE Title when he faced The Rock so maybe he could win the Rumble then win the title at the next PPV instead of having the match at Wrestlemania.

Kane always chucks a bunch of people out of the ring at the Royal Rumble maybe he'll do that again this year.

Or it'll be Cena V Kane but what would be the outcome of that match? I don't know it's hard to tell where WWE are going with this.

I agree with your idea about Kane.

Why not have Cena in the rumble? Just like you said, Kenneth, continue the feud by having Kane throw out Cena.

IMO, I don't think there would be enough build for a kane/cena match at RR, but hey, that was WWE does, not build matches. Cena should be in the match, just for the pop. If they want him to be their top babyface, he should be in the final four at least.

But, he should be in the rumble nonetheless, there's no reason for him not to be in it.

 

[thunt41]

what if 1/2/12 is Batista....now hear me out. Batista returns and is a force to be reckoned with...dominates everyone in his path....Daniel Bryan retains at RR and somehow wins at Elimination Chamber...there's already a "twitter debate" about Batista's feelings towards Bryan. Batista wins the rumble and you have the overplayed underdog v. monster semi-main event at Mania....With Smackdown in some Deep water with Injuries they could make a strong pitch to Batista that if he resigns they'll have him go over at mania something he hasn't done since the fill in match against Umaga at 24 and his only true main event win against Triple H at 21...

What about Rey Mysterio? I don't want this to happen but he could be a surprise return and have a Mysterio v. Bryan match at Mania...with WWE wanting to break the all time masks record what better way than to promote him in the world heavyweight title match?

Could Also see the Miz winning it. Vince seems to really like the Miz and this could be a great way to push him a little more...

 

[sharu7]

One of the top guys should win, I don't know why all of you want someone to win so it pushes them to main-event status...NO.

Royal Rumble winners should be Main-Eventers or Upper Mid-Carders that are credible.

Before when Austin won the rumble 3 times, no one had a problem, now that Orton is going to win in his hometown, the rumble win should go to someone who needs it?
LOL Wtf?

 

[Oracular Spectacular]

WINNER-Prediction
Ok I have been thinking of this for a while and who I wouldn't be surprised to see win based on storyline/current push/WM Match

1. Chris Jericho- Now this could totally be ruined if he isnt the the major reveal on the first Raw of the year. But I think a Punk/Jericho match would sell. The only thing I have problems with is how are they going to get Jericho over as a heel. Returning superstars of Jericho's quality will always get a big crowd reaction(If you recall Punk mentioning his name a few months back got a pop) Jericho needs to establish himself as a super heel immediately. Then come Rumble time have him draw a lucky late number and eliminate a super babyface(Zack Ryder) to win it all

2. Triple H- UGHHHHHHH I know. I don;t want to see it either but It really wouldn't surprise me. HHH Wins the Rumble and Challenges Bryan(Though a Heel HHH vs Face Byran would really elevate Bryan) but HHH being HHH It wouldn't surprise me to see him win.

3. John Cena- Cena wins, and wrestles two matches, I vomit.

WINNERS-THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE
1 Wade Barett- Barrett vs Bryan feud would be fantastic...but wouldn't draw for WM. Which Is why it't under this section, though It is the most likely of the candidates to happen out of this list, I can only hope WWE continues to please me and does this.

2. Dolph Ziggler- Ziggler vs Pu...Nope Bryan. Sure Ziggles can wrestle anyone but I want to see the Ziggler vs Bryan rematch. These guys have fantastic chemistry and I want to see it.

3. CM Punk(As Champ)- Q: Why? A: It's never been done
Punk Enters at somthing like 25 after Jericho has already entered. He takes out Jericho and wins just to prove he is the "Best in the World" You can still get your Jericho vs Punk WM match, but just in a unique and different way.

Surprise Entrants- predictions

1. Goldust- Goldy comes in and takes out Cody to set up the Brother vs Brother feud....Now for a side note with Dustin returning on SD it wouldn't surprise me that he is an announced competitor.

2. Kevin Nash- Nash returns from injury at the Rumble and eliminates somone to set up a shitty Mania match....uggghhh

3. Undertaker- HHH Is in the ring, dong hits Taker eliminates him.....he doesn't even have to be in the match....because we all know he isn't wrestling till Mania

4. I could see someone showing up for a one-shot like , DDP(still in shape), MVP(still has a relationship with the WWE), Road Dogg/Billy Gunn(Both have mended their bridges) Batista, Bobby Lashley, Rikishi, (Instert Living ex-WWE or WCW worker)

Who I Want To see

1. Colt Cabana- Lemme ask you this, Have you ever heard chants for an Indy worker? I want to see Cabana enter at number 2 and just see the pop he gets. (I would mark the fuck out just to hear "Boom Boom.....Colt Cabana....Boom Boom)

2. Dean Ambrose- Ok now this would be tricky. Early into the rumble(lets say entrant 8) Unfamiliar music comes on while there are maybe 2 people in the ring at the time and Ambrose debuts and cuts a promo on his way to the ring. Maybe even have him continue cutting the promo for like 3 minutes. With his mic skills It would make a really interesting Rumble moment.

3- The Mid-Card Mafia- Have Reks and Hawkins come out at like Entrant 10 and clear the ring, cut a promo and leave.

 

[Late Train]

People I could see winning the 2012 Royal Rumble are

Wade Barrett due to the large push he has been getting recently with his Barrett Barrage. Him and Bryan could do a really good World Title match for Mania and with The Rock and Cena, Undertaker going 20-0 and the possibility of Jericho returning to face Punk, WWE can risk having a World Title Match between two up and comers.

Randy Orton if his injury isn't too severe (WWE.com has said a few weeks out of action). Randy Orton could return as a Suprise Entrant and win in his Hometown. I'm sure most of the fans would love this. I wouldn't though personally but won't be surprised if this did happen.

Chris Jericho (if he returns) could win the Rumble to prove why he is the true best in the world and challenge Punk for the WWE title. It's possible but then again Jericho dosen't need to win to make this possible rivalry worth watching.

Dolph Ziggler... it's possible he could win and choose to face Smackdown's World Champion Daniel Bryan to another really really good wrestling match (like Bragging Rights 2010) but this time on the grand stage of Wrestlemania and like I said with Barrett, with all the big matches, WWE can afford to risk a World Title Match between two Up and Comers. OK so this is the least likely scenario but I can dream.

Either way this should be another really good Royal Rumble match although I would've have personally have perfered kept at 40 men.

 

[berlinbrawler]

By now I think it's clear that Sheamus is going to win it. He is the only one who has already cut multiple promos that he is going to win the Rumble. He is obviously slated to win it.

Too bad. I was rooting for Cody Rhodes to win it. Sheamus is ok, but Cody would be great.

 

[The Ram]

Now if my dream doesnt come true and kane doesnt win the royal rumble after being in it more than any one, having the second most eliminations, having the most eliminations in one match and eliminating the person who had the shortest tyme in a royal rumble match then I want a returning jericho to win. I dont want jericho to return on 1/2/12 I would rather him return at the rumble with a countdown just like his debut and like he returned last time. For me that would be cool since he used to do the count down anyways. Then after he wins (if he does win) I want him to go against punk and have an epic match assuming punk will have the title til mania. But if kane nor jericho win then I dont care who wins. Just like last year I have no idea who might win, it could be sheamus or it could be anybody. I will be fine with anybody unless I hate them like I did ADR last year when he won.

 

[Walker456]

Hey guys basically it's as the thread is titled Royal Rumble predictions. I'm going with Sheamus to win the Rumble this year how about you guys ?

 

[Grimy Grizzly]

Tho I like both of those picks I don't feel they need it, I only hope that WWE gives that Rumble win to someone that needs it yet can also capitalize off it I'm not sure who that is but I would like to see Drew Mac get it possibly Barrett but like I said before I don't think Barret needs it he's been doing really well in his push as of late....just my thoughts at the time.....

 

[Walker456]

Barrett is a good choice. I read somewhere Ortan was going to win but now he is out , it's not going to happen which I'm glad about we need a fresh face to win the rumble and main event maina this year.

 

[jsn_since89]

Jericho if the 1.2.12 is him...hope it builds up a good feud between him & Punk for mania!
However, I'm all for the element of surprise which I feel the company lacks these days & would like to see someone (as stated above) who could capitalize on it big time; like a Barrett or a McIntyre (I can dream!) I like the idea of Sheamus as well!!

How about even a KANE victory?!

 

[Simply "Phenominal" V2]

I was going with Orton, but now im thinking Kane, Sheamus, Wade Barrett or The Undertaker, but ultimately im thinking its Wade Barretts year to win

 

[Steve-O-Matt]

Tho I like both of those picks I don't feel they need it, I only hope that WWE gives that Rumble win to someone that needs it yet can also capitalize off it I'm not sure who that is but I would like to see Drew Mac get it possibly Barrett but like I said before I don't think Barret needs it he's been doing really well in his push as of late....just my thoughts at the time.....

I see your point, but I have to disagree, at the moment Wade hasn't got much to connect his name with and in my opinion the Royal Rumble is perfect for him. I don't want him to ever be King of the Ring, because you know they're just gonna make be over the top with it, whereas the Royal Rumble fits him nicely.

 

[theonerandom]

I'm going to go with Cody Rhodes, they've been pushing him recently and I think he'll be in the top 4 along with Wade Barrett, Kane, and Jericho (if he's the returning person)

 

[greginator5000]

Now don't bash me for this but I want John Cena to win. That way at wrestlemania the match would be a triple threat match. John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. The Rock. But I don't think that will happen. So my logical guess is Dolph Ziggler.

 

[thegeo015]

i think it will be either undertaker, or sheamus.
undertaker because it would make his last wrestlemania match alittle more special.
and sheamus because he is the best face on smackdown right now, and is getting a decent push.

for a a 3rd pick it'd be barret, just because hes getting such a big push.