The Sports Brief with Besse and Keefe: January 2017

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Who to Watch in the Royal Rumble

The WWE returns to the Alamo Dome for the first time in 20 years bringing us the Royal Rumble. Unlike these past two years where Roman Reigns and Triple H won in the least shocking way possible, the 2017 field is wide open. WWE brought in guys like the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Goldberg to bolster the entry list and looking at the 22 confirmed entries and reading about the possibilities for the 8 surprise spots, there are literally so many feasible directions that the WWE could go in. To make things easier, I'm just going to break down who I think are the 5 most realistic winners for tonight's Rumble.
I also covered the rest of the card here.

5. Samoa Joe/Finn Balor

One of these guys are coming out tonight and whichever one it is is guaranteed to make a huge splash. Balor is obviously a bit of a long shot because he is still working his way back from the injury that cost him the Universal Title, but if he were to enter the Rumble he is immediately a serious contender for obvious reasons.
Samoa Joe is in the same boat as Balor was before his call up. He's done everything there is to do on NXT and is too good to not become a huge factor on the main roster. He's fought everywhere and is an indie legend waiting for his shot on the big stage.
If either of these guys come out, don't be shocked if they spend most of the fight in the ring.

4. Chris Jericho

This is likely one of Jericho's last full time runs with the company and you are literally blind if you don't see the Wrestlemania showdown between him and Kevin Owens coming. I guess Jericho's fate in this match really comes down to whether or not Kevin Owens can defeat Roman Reigns earlier in the night.
If Y2J does win, the angle of Owens trying to convince him to go after the Smackdown title could be hilarious. These two are definitely fighting at Mania so why not put some gold on the line? It would be sweet, just like Butterfingers. Speaking of which.. my Besse's Be Bolder Prediction Brought to You by Butterfinger is something along the lines of Jericho being stuck in the shark cage after the Universal Championship match and that lasting until mid rumble. Then he finally gets out, comes in fresh, and wills his way to a victory........

3. Braun Strowman

Duh, this guy is a fucking animal. He is in search of a new angle and why not make it his first title chase?

2. The Undertaker

The Undertaker isn't here to be another entry in this match. He is in search of his Wrestlemania opponent and whether that comes from his elimination or his victory, tonight is the night that we find out his role in The Grandest Stage of Them All.

1. Randy Orton

You heard it here first, this is my official pick to win the Royal Rumble. My second bold prediction of the night is that Orton wins the Rumble, securing his spot in the main event of Wrestlemania (of course, the main event before the main event of Lesnar and Goldberg) and then Bray Wyatt finally wins the title at Elimination Chamber to set up the true rivalry that we've been waiting on ever since Orton joined the Wyatts.
He has been slowly moving up the rankings for betting odds and I can only believe that there is a true reason for it.
ALSO, if this exact scenario happens but in reverse (like, Wyatt wins) I'm counting it as a win for me.

Goldberg and Lesnar seem like obvious favorites to win but they are 100% eliminating each other and continuing their rivalry so it isn't even worth mentioning.

Other Things to Watch

The returns of HBK and Kurt Angle.
Rey Mysterio making an appearance?
How does Kofi Kingston avoid elimination this year?

Let's see how tonight goes. I have high hopes.

WWE Royal Rumble Match Card Preview

We have a TON on the card tonight so let's get right into it. I'm splitting this into two blogs, one for the regular matches and one for the Rumble itself because I have some serious thoughts on that one.

Main Card

Cesaro & Sheamus (c) vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows -- Raw Tag Team Championships

Anderson and Gallows must have the most unbelievable patience to be in the spot that they are right now. After their title chase against The New Day they pretty much had their credibility stripped away from them by way of terrible comedy based around sexual humor but have found themselves back in the title scene.
The only problem is Cesaro and Sheamus spent too much time building up to this title run starting with the best of 7 series, to the championship win, to slowly working their way towards a friendship. And at this point in time, stripping the titles away from them would just make all of that seem like a waste. I guess a loss could bring them closer together if that was the direction that Creative wanted. Or it could jump start another feud between the two, but I think we've all had enough of that.
I feel like I've said this a million times but I'll say it again.. Gallows and Anderson will win the titles eventually, just not today.

Prediction: Cesaro & Sheamus retain

Becky Lynch, Naomi & Nikki Bella vs. Alexa Bliss, Natalya & Micki James

The classic "throw a bunch of feuds into one tag team match and see where it goes," gotta love it.
We have the never ending Total Divas battle of Nikki vs. Natalya, Naomi and Alexa Bliss following up on their heated exchange, and Becky Lynch trying to right the ship after Micki James cost her the match against Alexa Bliss.
Naturally, the heels should win to build some credibility, but I think Naomi will pin Alexa Bliss to start moving closer to a title shot. Micki James is probably the superstar to really keep an eye on tho, because she is such a wild card and I could easily see her already turning on her teammates this early into her return.

Prediction: Becky Lynch, Naomi & Nikki Bella

Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

As good as the matches have been, I'm not ready for Round 27 of Flair vs. Banks. We need more legitimacy in the women's division and the only way to do that is to put over some of the superstars waiting in the wings. Nia Jax is a fucking monster and she has been beating the shit out of Sasha lately. In my opinion, this match should be a wash and Nia Jax should continue to climb the rankings with her first true win in the WWE.

Prediction: Nia Jax

Rich Swann (c) vs. Neville -- Cruiserweight Championship

Rich Swann has done well as the champ. He's given good matches and done well in his segments, but the cruiserweight has been missing something.. at least until Neville returned and turned on his friend, cementing himself as an official heel. Neville has been ignored for too long but with the new weight class it's time for him to win a championship and thrive for a while. I think Swann vs. Neville will continue on and provide us with plenty of entertainment watching the two best wrestlers in the division (fuck TJ Perkins) fight over the belt. But Neville's time is definitely now barring any ridiculous turns.

Prediction: Neville

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley -- Raw Women's Championship

Much like Sami Zayn, Bayley will play the underdog for most of her career with the WWE. She's a great wrestler whose wins and losses will never lose her fans. But Charlotte is just better and she also does not lose at PPVs. Bayley isn't ready to become the champ and doing so would erase all of this work to build up sympathy for her. Easy pick.

Prediction: Charlotte retains

Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns -- Universal Championship

As much as I love Kevin Owens, it's hard to ignore the fact that he was legitimately gifted the championship and has yet to have a true convincing win as champion ever since he became best friends Chris Jericho. Reigns and Owens have fought numerous times and Reigns has clearly had the upper hand only to have wins snatched away from him with outside interference from Y2J. But this time around, Jericho will be locked in a shark cage suspended above the ring. This stipulation suggests that Reigns will finally get Owens back, but I have a rule for myself to not pick Roman if I don't have to. I'm not ready for Owens' run to be over but I am ready to move on from this feud and start building towards Jericho vs. Owens at Mania. Owens should get this win to prove that he doesn't need help to be a champ. BUT I'm not opposed to Jericho snaking his way out of the cage to help him out, but I feel like an Owens win will end this feud and move us in a different direction.

Prediction: Kevin Owens retains

AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena -- WWE Championship

This match is already the match of the year. Cena is back and it's time for him to get a win over Styles in singles competition. These two have yet to put up a dud in the ring in my eyes, and despite this being the Royal Rumble (which will be incredible this year), this is THE match. What's been so refreshing about this rivalry is Cena finally dropping his act as the good boy and not holding back with his words to Styles comparing their journeys to the main event in the WWE.
AJ Styles is probably the better pick to win this one just because I think he is currently the best wrestler in the company both in the ring and on the mic. But Cena has to catch Flair eventually and having him lose another one to AJ Styles would kind of be the nail in the coffin for him with this and with nobody else really too deserving of the belt, I think Cena finally gets that win back.

Prediction: John Cena

Now onto the Rumble...