2008 Royal Rumble

                                                WWE presents The Royal Rumble.  This PPV is perhaps the best wrestling PPV put on all year as the Royal Rumble match is hard to screw up (although it's been done before)  the sheer unpredictibility of the match itself makes it the most unique match in the industry today.  Here are my thoughts on the card...

Chris Jericho vs. JBL:  This match will be interesting to see as it marks the in ring return of JBL.  It'll be seen if the power of JBL can counter the ring rust that JBL has to have by be being absent from competition for so long.  I believe the speed and stamina of Jericho will prevail.

 Winner: Chris Jericho.

MVP vs. Ric Flair:  This match pits the athletic MVP vs. the wily veteren, The Nature Boy Ric Flair.  This match is fairly predictable as Flair is on his fairwell tour and he probably will not lose until Wrestlemania.  Formulamatic victory for The Nature Boy.

Winner:  Ric Flair

Ray Mysterio vs. Edge (World Heavyweight Championship Match):  This match is the most unpredactable match of the night next to the Rumble match itself.  Mysterio has been on a roll of late while the champion is stumbling into the PPV.  Usually when this occurs, the champion prevails.  Watch for outside interference to turn the tide to Edge's favor.

Winner:  Edge.

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship Match):  This match has my vote for most entertaining match of the night.  When both of these superstars are on their game, they can put together matches with the best of them.  The only question is whether or not both men will bring their A game to the Rumble.  Hardy is due to break through the glass ceiling the WWE has erected over his head and capture some heavyweight gold.

Winner: Jeff Hardy

The Royal Rumble Match:  30 of the best WWE superstars will be entering the Royal Rumble Match for a chance to challenge for the winner's choice of Heavyweight Titles at Wrestlemania. Winning the Rumble is a good measure of who will win a title at Wrestlemania as 72% of the Rumble winners go on to Wrestlemania to win the title. The participants that are officially entered so far are: 

 Umaga, Snitsky, Hardcore Holly, The Miz, John Morrison, Hornswoggle, Mick Foley, Batista, Undertaker, Kane, Jamie Noble, Finlay, Cody Rhodes, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, Santino Marella, Shawn Michaels, Mark Henry, The Great Khali, Mr. Kennedy,  HHH,  Tommy Dreamer, Big Daddy V, and  Chuck Palumbo.  There are 24 confirmed entries as of this writing. The WWE is known for bringing in suprize entries, but none of them ever win, so we'll throw them out.  The biggest advantage in this match is size, so the favorites are Undertaker, Kane, Khali, Big Daddy V, and Mark Henry.  Typically though, the winner is already an established main eventer or has a big fan following.   I'm going to go outside the box and pick a winner that has never won the Rumble and deserves to go onto Wrestlemania for a title shot.

Winner: Kane

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