After a glorious Royal Rumble, the first post-Rumble Raw started us down the road to WrestleMania. And boy do they have a lot of work to do. There’s no real money match this year and I’m going to guess that the buy rate is going to be way down.

Based on the Rumble and tonight’s Raw, I think they’ve done a decent job so far in the build. If I would grade their job right now, I’d probably give it a B to a B-.

After last night’s show, a few match-ups seemed like a done deal. It looks like Randy Orton will inherit the force of Nexus and face CM Punk. This is totally fine, though John Cena and Punk would’ve had way more heat. It looks like Alberto Del Rio will take his title shot against Edge, which is probably the best for him unless they somehow take the belt off Edge and put it on Rey, but I think if they do that, you would give away the result at WrestleMania. And lastly, it looks like John Cena will be facing The Miz.

For what they have on the table, none of those matches aren’t can’t-miss, but they are all solid match-ups. I can’t give them too much of the benefit of the doubt because if they’d build Miz up as a real champion, the match with Cena would be much stronger. And there are other guys like Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Jack Swagger, and Sheamus who they’ve completely dropped the ball on pushing and they should be peaking now, but aren’t.
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The Royal Rumble is my favorite event of the year, for many of the reasons Don Cameron wrote in the preview he posted today.

It’s also the favorite of my kids because you can actually have a fun little game with your own Royal Rumble pools. My kids like picking numbers and giving us wrestlers to root for.

There are only three matches outside of the big rumble match, which is a good thing, except for the fact that a 40 man rumble could take a bit long.

I’m here with a mighty crew who will give their picks.

And here we go:

1. Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ed: Edge
Don: Ziggler
Jeremy: Edge
Young Randall: Edge
Brian: Edge
JJ: Edge
Brandon: Ziggler
GG: Edge

The match started out really slowly, but picked up. The best spot early on was Ziggler going for the Fame Asser and getting turned into a power bomb for a two count. Ziggler threw a legit impressive standing drop kick. He then hit the Fame Asser for a quick count after Edge had his sharp-shooter like submission, the Edgecater.

Ziggler went for the sleeper and Edge turned it into an Edgecution, but Vickie interfered. Kelly Kelly came out and slapped Vickie around and Ziggler hit the zig zag for a really strong two-count.

This has turned into a really good match. Ziggler got the sleeper, but they knocked the ref out. He hit a stunner-like move on Ziggler and without the referee, he set up for the spear. He hit it and then pretended to be knocked out himself when the referee came to. He then hit an Unprettier for the win. Word to Christian.

Ziggler brought the goods tonight and this was Edge’s best match in a long time.

Winner: Edge

2. Randy Orton vs. The Miz
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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
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Nash has dark hair and is in Boston. Word is that Booker T will be there too.