The time is finally here for one of the most exciting events and matches of the year. It's time for the 2016 Royal Rumble.
Booking Decisions The WWE Needs For Successful Royal Rumble
The WWE has been struggling with injuries and the creative direction isn't very crisp right now, but there's always automatic excitement for the Rumble Match.
Here are our predictions for the 2016 Royal Rumble. To view this article in slideshow form, CLICK START at the top right of this page.
Best Rumble Match Winners In WWE History
Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: The Dudley Boyz vs. The Ascension vs. Mark Henry & Jack Swagger vs. Darren Young & Damien Sandow (pre-show)
This will be a fun way to kick things off before the actual event goes live. With The Ascension and The Dudleyz being the only natural teams here and the former basically being jobbers, the winner seems obvious.
The Pick: The Dudley Boyz
Bubba Ray made a shocking return to the WWE at last year's event:
WWE United States Championship Match: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Kalisto
The WWE drudged up a fun little storyline by having Kalisto surprisingly dethrone Del Rio only for the "Essence of Excellence" to win the gold right back. It's unlikely the WWE will play hot potato with the title and give it back to Kalisto, and if it wants to get the League of Nations over, keeping Del Rio strong is the way to go.
The Pick: Alberto Del Rio
ADR won the Rumble in 2011:
WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Day (c) vs. The Usos
This has been a fun tag team feud, even if the WWE made the match official with very little time before the event. The New Day has been an entertaining trio, and it doesn't seem like it's the right time to take the belts off of them just yet. The WWE should build up another team to finally take down the heel triad at WrestleMania.
The Pick: The New Day
Bam Bam Bigelow sparked a war with former NFL great Lawrence Taylor after a tag bout in '95:
WWE Intercontinental Championship Last Man Standing: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Though the Last Man Standing stipulation can tend to be boring with guys staying down for unruly lengths of time, the rules should lend themselves to a great match between "The Lunatic Fringe" and the WWE's resident prize fighter. This feud has definitely spiced up the midcard, and hopefully the two Superstars can put on a good show and then have a strong showing in the Rumble Match itself.
A winner is hard to predict as Ambrose just took the belt at TLC, but the WWE could get some more length out of this feud, possibly through WrestleMania, if it has Owens win it back here. Either way, a long-term feud between stars the caliber of these two will do wonders for the midcard belt.
The Pick: Dean Ambrose
Roddy Piper won his only singles title in the WWE when he captured the IC belt at the '92 Rumble:
WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Becky Lynch
This has been an interesting feud and has finally showcased the "Lass Kicker" as a breakout babyface in the Divas division, but will the WWE crown her on Sunday? Charlotte has shown a lot of potential, but the WWE may have rushed the belt on her and the company relies too heavily on Ric Flair to keep her over.
A winner is a tough call in this case, because the WWE likes having Flair around to brag about his daughter, and without the belt, the heat could disappear. If Lynch wins, she has a plethora of heels to feud with, which includes maintaining her rivalry with Charlotte as well as Paige, Sasha Banks and a returning Nikki Bella.
The Pick: Becky Lynch
WWE Diva Chyna battled Chris Jericho and Hardcore Holly over the IC Championship in 2000:
30-Man Royal Rumble Match For The WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Desperate times call for desperate measures as this is the first time ever that the WWE has had a champion defend the belt against 29 other opponents in the Rumble Match. This was likely done as a last-ditch attempt to spike ratings leading up to the show and also to make Fastlane in February more important by determining the No. 1 contender for WrestleMania there.
It's an unnecessary move by the WWE, and the only other time the title was put on the line in the Rumble Match itself was in 1992 when the belt was vacant. There's no way Sunday's show will live up to Ric Flair's crowning moment given the myriad injuries plaguing the company right now.
The stipulation does add an element of unpredictability to the proceedings, but the consensus favorites to win the match are Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Reigns is the No. 1 entrant, but given how hard the WWE has pushed him at past Rumbles, he could very well join Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels as the only men in history to win from the first draw.
The ironic part is the very on-screen character who is desperate to get the belt off of him, Vince McMahon, is the backstage muscle behind his mega push. In 2014, Reigns eclipsed Kane's record by tossing 12 men in a single Rumble Match. Last year, he won it all despite the WWE Universe being firmly against him.
One can never count out Reigns winning, but a popular theory is that Triple H will return from his hiatus to cost him the match. "The Game" was even a favorite to win as a surprise entrant, which is also very possible.
The WWE likes to swerve its audience, so it also wouldn't be shocking if guys like Randy Orton or Daniel Bryan returned from injury to win it all -- though "The Beard" is rarely ever pushed and the WWE may not risk putting the title on him given his injury history.
As for Lesnar, the ending of RAW seems to hint that he'll be tied up with The Wyatt Family heading into WrestleMania, so it's hard to see the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tied up to that feud. There is also the slight hope that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will get involved to set up one final match for the "Texas Rattlesnake" at WrestleMania.
Still, "The Beast" is always a possibility as the victor.
The Wyatt Family looked very strong to close RAW and the WWE should make them look good in this Rumble Match, but usually those who stand tall to end the go-home show don't emerge victorious at the actual event. Other wild cards in the midst include the likes of Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler.
In the end, it seems that either a surprise entrant, Reigns or Lesnar will stand tall, and with Reigns being No. 1 and "The Beast" being unstoppable, it's hard to bet against Paul Heyman's client.
The Pick: Brock Lesnar
Lesnar won the Rumble Match in 2003
Ric Flair won the only other Rumble Match -- highly regarded as the best ever -- that was for the WWE Championship in '92
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