Shore's WWE Royal Rumble Preview and Predictions: John Cena vs. Kane, CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler with John Laurinaitis as special ref for the WWE Title, Who will win the 2012 Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania 28?

By Chris Shore

The following predictions are made with no inside knowledge of planned finishes. In other words, I am guessing based upon what has been shown on TV.

John Cena vs. Kane: This match has been getting the majority of the push when you consider how much it has been covered on Smackdown as well as Raw. The story has suffered from the beginning with questionable booking decisions and tragic visuals, but it has gotten marginally better, with this week only hampered by some of the worst acting I have ever seen from John Cena and Eve. Nevertheless, the story underneath is solid and worthy of some praise. I think we see a Cena win here, but a win that comes about from something that requires Cena to "embrace the hate." A Cena DQ loss for the same reason is also a real possibility here too.

Prediction: John Cena wins but in a non-babyface way.

Mark Henry vs. Big Show vs, Daniel Bryan in a steel cage for the World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry's injuries notwithstanding, this should be a good match. Big Show and Mark Henry have shown they can have entertaining matches together, and the addition of Bryan into the mix assures enough of a break from the two big man that the match doesn't falter. I have no doubt Bryan retains, probably escaping while Henry and Show go at it. What I don't know is if we will see the 95 pound little girl in a training bra (AJ), and if we do, how she will act. A lot still to tell in this storyline.

Prediction: Daniel Bryan retains the World Heavyweight Championship.

Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk with Special Guest Referee John Laurinaitis for the WWE Championship: This is the match you pay for besides the Rumble. Dolph Ziggler is the best seller in WWE right now, and CM Punk is...well, CM Punk. Ziggler is not ready for the title, yet. This is his first step on that path, so look for Punk to retain here. That's the easy part. The question is, what will Johnny Ace do in the match. The threat of Triple H coming back on Monday presents an interesting wrinkle. My guess is he's biased through the whole match, but begrudgingly counts the pinfall at the end.

Prediction: CM Punk retains the WWE Championship

The Royal Rumble: This years Rumble has more questions than ever heading in. I'm not so sure that's entirely a good thing. I like the foreshadowing done by both Chris Jericho's one line promo on Raw, and the vague "For the first time ever, every WWE Superstar is eligible to enter the Rumble," (two lines, by the way, that I think are ultimately connected). But there is always a certain amount of fun in figuring out how many spaces are left and what that might mean for surprise entrants. Speaking of surprise entrants, I do think "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, who recently canceled his scheduled appearances for this weekend, will show. And I would also put money on Booker T coming out of the booth.

The Rumble should spin several stories out. Look for Wade Barrett and Randy Orton to continue their feud, as well as Hunico and Ted DiBiase. I expect we'll see the plans for Cody Rhodes start to materialize, as well as what's next for Dolph Ziggler on Raw. I do expect at least one woman to get involved, and I expect her to be whoever the girl was in the Jericho vignettes. I think this also leads to Jericho winning the Rumble, and a much greater explanation of his story coming the next night on Raw.

Prediction: Chris Jericho wins the 2012 Royal Rumble with help of some kind.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com or tweet me @TheShoreSlant with whatever is on your mind.

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