By Pete Barrington and Sean Favager
(The W is Silent…)
Sean and Pete (pictured above) take a break from the “Comic Asylum” this week to bring you their Royal Rumble predictions.
Ok a wrestling post on a comic book website. You must think we have lost our minds. The world’s gone crazy, cats and dogs are in fact living together… Nope none of that has happened yet but this is all happening on, let’s say a trial basis for the time being and see where it goes. What I have found over the past year on my twitter feed is that the huge sports entertainment vehicle WWE and Comic Book fans seem to go hand in hand. Call me sad but its two things I myself & Pete are quite passionate about and it seems A LOT of my followers and people I interact with on a daily basis feel the same way. Myself & Pete have now been huge WWF/E fans now for 20+ years now. So within that we have seen the highs and lows (by lows we mean Mae Young giving birth TWICE… Katie Vick… Max Moon… You get the point) so between us we know a little about a lot. So as you may have guessed with the title this is the Comic Asylums sister blog and we hope you enjoy our thoughts and predictions on this Sundays Royal Rumble 2013 PPV.
WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH.
ANTONIO CESARO (C) VS. THE MIZ (PRE SHOW)
Sean: Its strange to me this match is not on the main card. WWE seem to be trying to build the Miz up to be a big face especially the segment with Ric Flair and his now use of the figure four leg lock. But hey we all understand how lower tier championships mean nothing nowadays. In my opinion this could be a great 15 minute match, the Miz can go in the ring and Cesaro is turning out to be one hell of a wrestler and a great heel. To me this match can go either way but I think Antonio Cesaro picks up the win and continues with his anti-American gimmick. Cesaro will move up the roster by the end of the year but for now I am enjoying him in his mid-card role.
Sean’s Prediction: Antonio Cesaro….
Pete: Is there anyone in the current roster that has more potential that Antonio Cesaro? I don’t think so; the guy has kind of come out of nowhere and is clearly destined for big things. You can put him in with someone like Daniel Bryan and he has high quality technical ability and the next week, he is in with Ryback and he doesn’t come out looking weak, with that said, I don’t like him, don’t know why but I just don’t and I know he is going to be around for years! Maybe it is because he’s so good at being heel that he’s done a number on me. The Miz is having a transition period right now, the change from heel to face was badly needed as he was getting very stale but the change isn’t quite working right now, he is the same character but fighting bad guys instead of good, nothing has changed in his promos or attitude. Bringing in Flair and passing the Figure Four leg lock only works in the moment and he will need a lot more to be a successful face going forward.
Pete’s Prediction: Antonio Cesaro….
WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH.
TEAM HELL NO (C) VS. RHODES SCHOLARS.
Sean: Over the past few months the most entertaining people on WWE television have been the unlikely tag team of Daniel Bryan & Kane. It all started with the stupidest idea of anger management which really pissed off a lot of Daniel Bryan fans, but this has worked so well in showing people that there is soooo much more to Daniel Bryan then just a very, very good wrestler. Every time these two guys are on camera I am literally crying with laughter and you can see the pair are trying their best not to laugh too. It is obvious they are enjoying what they are doing and when that happens you have classic TV. I really don’t want to see the end of this tag team but I think at the Rumble the cracks begin to show. Rhodes Scholars just like Team Hell No have been a breath of fresh air on WWE TV. Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes are two soon to be main eventers and pairing them together to build each other’s characters is a stroke of beauty. It is no lie Cody has been just floating there in the mid card for a while now, nothing seemed to click. In walks Damien Sandow and boom that spark shines. My prediction here is the cracks show between Kane & Daniel Bryan leading Rhodes Scholars to pick up the win and the Tag Team Titles, hopefully (fingers crossed) to go on to then feud with the returning New Age Outlaws. (The D-O-Double G & Mr Ass have been wrestling house shows so surely it’s a sign of things to come.
Sean’s Prediction: Rhodes Scholars….
Pete: Daniel Bryan and Kane need to lose these belts, and quickly! Here’s why! They were two of the standout performers in the back end of 2012, but for their comedy timing, not wrestling! Bryan is one of the most gifted ‘wrestlers’ to come through the ranks in a long time and needs to showcase his talents in the ring, not in time filler segments between matches. Kane on the other hand has been consistently one of the top guys for 15 years and fully deserved this last run, but I feel, and this may be controversial, but give him one last big match (Undertaker at Mania, possibly?!) and wish him best in his future endeavours. Rhodes and Sandow are is some sense a tag team of convenience as they’re singles runs have not gone as planned, Sandow not so much as he is still relatively new to the scene and its typical WWE formula to put new guys in a team/stable before releasing them. Rhodes however has seemed to be on the cusp of a major push for a while now but WWE just hasn’t pulled the trigger for whatever reason. A run with the tag belts will do good for Sandow and Rhodes now they have been given a renewed spotlight by Team Hell No, so for that reason…… (Facial hair & belts go well together)
Pete’s Prediction: Rhodes Scholars….
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH (LAST MAN STANDING).
ALBERTO DEL RIO (C) VS. THE BIG SHOW.
Sean: If you asked me a couple months ago if I wanted to see this match my response wouldn’t have been positive. It is strange what can happen in a couple of months though. Big Show ends up having three… Yes THREE 4 out of 5 star wrestling matches with Sheamus and Berty goes and turns face. Oh how the WWE can surprise you now and then. Big Show over the past few months has finally become the giant they predicted he would be and has really been dominant in the WHC picture. Del Rio’s bad guy routines become old fast so he had to change up and it really worked. He comes across as a better wrestler because of this so it was only destiny (pardon the pun) that these two collided. It all started when Big Show picked on Ricardo being the big bully he is, but this back fired as Del Rio made the save got the title shot and beat the Big Show in a Last Man Standing match and won the WHC title. This was a huge shock as it all happened so fast but it seems to have worked so well with Big Show chasing Berty. This being said how I see this panning out is total destruction that neither men make the 10 count meaning Alberto Del Rio keeps the Championship but… It is a huge BUT! Dolph Ziggler finally gets to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and walks away the new World Heavyweight Champion!
Sean’s Prediction: Double Count out Alberto Del Rio retains. Dolph Ziggler cashes in….
Pete: Alberttoooooooooooo Del Rioooooooooooooooooo! This one is going to be short and sweet, Alberto Del Rio has been a massive pain in my arse, I just did not see the appeal for the last 2 years, his wrestling was just O.K. as was his promo work and the only good thing about him was he ring announcer. I was hoping the 3 PPV losses to Sheamus in a row would see him fall out of obscurity, but then something weird happened. He saved his friend from The Shield and he was a good guy, then went on to beat a giant and is arguably better now in the last few weeks as he ever was in the 2 years previous. I am officially a Del Rio fan! Big Show has had the 12 months of his career but I don’t see him coming back from another Last Man Standing defeat and after this one I see him being a face again within 3 months and leaving not long after. Shame but age catches us all up!
Pete’s Prediction: Alberto Del Rio….
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH.
CM PUNK (C) VS. THE ROCK.
Sean: The match up many men will argue should be the main event at this year’s Wrestlemania (myself included) is Punk & Rock. Since the Rock made his recent return the build-up to this match has been on fire. Two of the best promo men in the business to date and they have been stepping up to give our ears multiple eargasims. I would pay the fee alone to see these guys trade insults on the microphone for twenty minutes they are that good, but at the Royal Rumble the microphones take a backseat. What I expect here is a Match of the Year candidate. Nobody in the WWE is as hungry as CM Punk to solidify his title of ‘Best in the World’, and nobody is as good as the Rock and the electricity he brings to the ring. The audience live and at home watching are really going to be the winners here. I guess I have to pick though my heart really wants CM Punk to retain but my head is telling me The Rock picks up the win to eventually go on to face John Cena at Wrestlemania. $$$ talk and Vince listens.
Sean’s Prediction: The Rock….
Pete: Personally I think this match will go on last but let us say for argument sake that this is the penultimate match on the card (If it is in this spot, then expect a filler match in between this and the rumble itself). There’s not a lot I can say about this match that hasn’t been talked about or speculated over ever since Raw 1000 when the Rock announced he will be in this match and Punk went all heel on us. The big question of this match is all about The Shield, will they interfere? Are they working with Punk? Personally I think they will keep people guessing all the way through to Mania but as for this match, I only see one outcome. The near falls will be immense and I am guessing we will see at least 3 Rock Bottoms, 2 Go To Sleeps, 1 Ref bump and a partridge in a pear tree but I see “PUNK RETAINS, PUNK RETAINS… GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY PUNK RETAINS!!”
Pete’s Prediction: CM Punk….
THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH.
WINNER RECIEVES CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH OF THEIR CHOICE AT WRESTLEMANIA.
Sean: 30 men enter and only 1 can be victorious. Yes it’s the greatest match in the history of wrestling. Every single living being on planet earth knows about the Royal Rumble it is this big. It is an event that no matter what me and the lads all get together to sink some beers maybe smoke the odd funny cigarette and cheer on our favourites. Every year you kind of have your favourite going in but this year there are a lot of big names in this Royal Rumble. I think it is being played out that John Cena is going in to win to get the rematch at Wrestlemania with the Rock. It makes sense but I think it is way too easy for us to see that’s why I am going to be crazy and play out what I think might just happen. We know Dolph Ziggler has the choice of either 1 or 2 spot, but as I stated above I think he cashes in and retains that being said. To carry on with her revenge Vickie Guerrero lets Dolph Ziggler compete in the match and has to put the WHC on the line. So now the Royal Rumble winner becomes the World Heavy Weight Champion. With the odds stacked up on the newly crowned WHC, Dolph Ziggler somehow overcomes them and wins the 2013 Royal Rumble.
Sean’s Prediction: Dolph Ziggler….
Pete: So you have your Wrestlemania moments and your Steel Cages and what have you but the one match that is predictably unpredictable is the Rumble Match itself. There have been many winners both expected and not. There has been many stand out moments and quite a few controversial finishes in its history but the match itself cannot be bettered in terms of potential to create new stars and push mid card talent right into the top tier of the business. It’s a match I love and a match that also annoys me the same amount. This year, as with all years, the build-up has shown us that anyone can win and if the laws of physics are applied then it should be the tallest, strongest one in there but physics and WWE often don’t mix well. This year, we are to think that it’s potentially going to be one of 4 guys. These are Ryback, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus. If the winner is not one of these 4 then one of 2 things have happened, 1) WWE throws us a massive swerve ball because they think we know too much so fuck us essentially, or 2) Randy Orton has naked pictures of Vince and is threatening to release them! The obvious talk at the moment is Rock – Cena 2 for the belt at Mania, so one of them would have to hold it after Elimination Chamber in February, now that doesn’t necessarily mean that Cena wins this one because let’s be honest, Cena is going to be in the chamber match anyway, as will The Rock by all accounts so I can easily see one of the other 3 winning here. Sheamus because they need another top face behind John Cena. Ryback because they are pushing him hard and Dolph Ziggler because he would be the first to hold the MITB briefcase and walk into Mania main event as well. But with all that aside, the person that will be pointing to that Wrestlemania sign at the end of the night will be….
Pete’s Prediction: John Cena….
So there you have it folks. Two very different opinions on what should be a very good pay per view. As we all know anything can and will happen at the Royal Rumble so feel free to share your predictions below in the little comments box there and let’s talk some wRasslin….
You can follow Sean on Twitter at @seanfav1 and Pete on Twitter at @pete_the_red or catch them on the official Comic Asylum account @Comic_Asylum
Posted on January 26th, 2013
Category: NEWS & VIEWS, THE WRASSLIN’ ASYLUM
Tags: CM Punk, John Cena, Pete Barrington, Royal Rumble 2013, Sean Favager, The Rock, The Wrasslin' Asylum, WWE, WWF