2013 has come to an end and the new year has begun. January means the build up to the Royal Rumble and the start of the road to WrestleMania. Not only is it the beginning of the year, it’s the biggest part of WWE’s year.
The first Pay-Per-View is the Royal Rumble, headlined by the royal rumble match. As much as I would love to see someone like CM Punk or Daniel Bryan win, I believe that Batista is returning to win. That would set a match at WrestleMania for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Batista and Orton, who I see defeating Cena at the Rumble. It would be the returning animal attempting to stop the “chosen” face of the WWE. With the history of Evolution, this could be an interesting feud. I see Batista winning an having a short title run, similar to The Rock’s last year.
As for the leader of the authority, I see Triple H eventually returning to the ring facing CM Punk. The beginning of this was teased during the championship ascension ceremony when Triple H and Punk had minor physicality. Punk’s character is anti-authority and he could easily stand up to Triple H trying to stack the deck against him. The authority, mainly Triple H will eventually need to be stopped from tyranny, and Punk’s just the guy to do that.
As far as the posterboy John Cena goes, I don’t see him winning the title again, at least in the early part of the year. I see him reaching the point where he’s “above the title” so to speak. He gains nothing by winning the title anymore. Even though I don’t see him winning the title, he’ll still be in the main event. I’m guessing it will be similar to 2012, where no matter who he’s facing, his match will main event pay-per-views, while the championship feud becomes secondary. John Cena is the number one guy, so whether or not he’s in the title picture or not, he’s still going to be the main focus.
Unfortunately, I also see the burial Daniel Bryan continuing. WWE just can’t stand when somebody gets more over than Cena. It happened with Punk, Ryback, and now Bryan. By having him join the Wyatt family, he is being pushed down the card and turned heel. The fans may still be behind him, but if not done to create a big moment of momentum, this could permanently destroy Bryan’s chances of ever being a superstar. Just for random kicks, enjoy the following.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsESZMBJhXw[/youtube]
I’ll be back again in around six months time to give similar predictions for the later part of the year. Until then, enjoy the first half
-Nick
