Royal Rumble 2009 Preview and Predictions

It's the first pay-per-view of the year for World Wrestling Entertainment (W.W.E.) and one that I am really looking forward to. If Wrestlemania is the SuperBowl, then the Royal Rumble can be compared to "N.F.L. Championship Sunday." 'Mania and the SB have the hype and the pomp and circumstance but don't always live up to the ballyhoo, whereas, the Rumble/Championship Sunday continuously deliver the goods. This year's RR is even further intriguing to me because the matches outside of the actual rumble match are very solid. Let's have a look:

E.C.W. Champion Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy
Readers of this blog know how much of a fan I am of Jack Swagger and that I believe he is going to be a big star someday, so I am very much looking forward to the Swagger-Hardy match and I predict it will open the show. The story heading into this match is that Hardy is claiming the Swagger title win a couple of weeks ago was a fluke and that Hardy will take his championship back. I think this match is a good way to get Swagger, Hardy and E.C.W. onto the pay-per-view and I also don't believe that they will take the title off of Swagger so quickly. Expect the "All-American American" to retain the gold.

World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. JBL
John Cena vs. JBL = been there, done that. But throw the whole Shawn Michaels-as-JBL employee into the mix and we've got some solid intrigue. There will come a point in this match where Michaels will have to decide if he wants to cheat for JBL and cost Cena the belt, or if he wants to end his "employment" with John Bradshaw Layfield. There's no way in my mind that Cena isn't going to Wrestlemania as World Champ, so I expect Michaels to no longer be employed by JBL after Sunday night.

W.W.E. Women's Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Melina
Santino Marella and Rosa Mendes will somehow cost Phoenix her title to Melina, leading to a breakup of "Glamarella" and an end to Rosa stalking Phoenix (the new version of Mickie stalking Trish). As champion, Melina will go on to feud with Candice Michelle, who is in the process of turning heel.

W.W.E. Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Edge
I'm not certain how this match will play out. Everyone is expecting Christian to show up and cost Hardy the title. But I think they will let Jeff Hardy go into Wrestlemania with the title. They took a chance giving Hardy the belt and I think they will let him carry the title for a while. Christian may show up and interfere, but somehow I think Hardy goes home as champion.

Royal Rumble Match
Only a couple of days before the big event and the W.W.E. has named 21 of the 30 wrestlers that will be in the Rumble. Hopefully, those remaining nine spots won't be filled with The Boogeyman and DJ Gabriel. The other question is will Randy Orton be suspended from the Rumble because of what he did on Monday Night Raw to Vince McMahon? My first choice to win is Chris Jericho, however, I think that Stephanie McMahon will allow Orton to compete in the match with the angle being that her father is injured and unable to make decisions. This will set up Stephanie eventually joining the second-generation faction "Legacy" after Vince says that Stephanie betrayed him with her decision to allow Randy Orton to kick him in the head without any consequence.

Enjoy the above "Tribute to the Royal Rumble" video above.