2010 Royal Rumble

With the ridiculous mass of top talent entering this years Royal Rumble this years Rumble match seems to be the most star-studded ever. And, well we all know that that's a line that is overplayed every year - it only merits mentioning because this year the title fits since the last time we had a plethora of top viable Rumble winner probables was in 2008.

Back in November - literally right after Survivor Series - I instantly made a list of the 30 WWE Superstars I thought would be in the 2010 Royal Rumble. The outcome? I got 23 correct. Those that I thought would be in the Rumble but aren't are: David Hart Smith, Tyson Kid, William Regal, Sheamus, Vance Archer, Rey Mysterio, Ezekiel Jackson. Since John Cena was champion at the time I thought he'd be defending the title and not in the Rumble.

Let's look at the hierarchy of talent officially announced into this year's Royal Rumble ...remember, there's still 2 spots open as only 28 have been announced*.

Main Eventers: Batista, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Shawn Michaels -- 5
Upper Mid Carders: Kane, Big Show, CM Punk - 3
Midcarders: Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Drew McIntyre, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Ted Dibiase, Matt Hardy, R-Truth, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Finlay, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler, Carlito -- 16
Low Carders: Vladimir Koslov, Santino Marella, Yoshi Tatsu, Evan Bourne, -- 4

Anyone of those 16 mid Carders are ready to be pushed to the next level and a huge victory at the Royal Rumble would elevate them to the main event spot at Wrestle Mania. But, then again there are the top dogs - the Main Eventers - all who are claiming victory. The only one that has yet to win a Rumble is the man that is "the best at what [he does]," Chris Jericho. Jericho is in the right position out of everyone to walk out as the Rumble victor. He is the only Smackdown guy that can win it for the brand as I really do not see Batista walking out as the #1 contender. Batista seems primed for a rematch against Rey Mysterio at Wrestle Mania. CM Punk has been dropped from his status as top star after getting teamed with Luke Gallows. And well, Kane looks to be a shoe in for the Money In The Bank match yet again.

With that said I took a shot at possible order of entry for this year's Royal Rumble match. Again, with such a star studded Rumble it only makes sense to start the event with a bang alá 2008 when Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were the first two competitors. From there things would get a bit slower bringing in some of the younger talent that's looking to make a name for themselves. Also, mixing in some talent that are still green but are shining.
1 Batista
2 John Cena
3 Vladimir Koslov
4 Cody Rhodes
5 Zack Ryder
6 Mark Henry
7 John Morrison
8 Kane
9 Santino Marella
10 Kofi Kingston
11 Dolph Ziggler
12 CM Punk
13 Finlay
14 MVP
15 Chris Jericho
16 Surprise #1 (Booker T)
17 Yoshi Tatsu
18 Triple H
19 Big Show
20 Drew McIntyre
21 Shelton Benjamin
22 Carlito
23 Ted Dibiase
24 Evan Bourne
25 Matt Hardy
26 Surprise #2 (Edge)
27 Shawn Michaels
28 R-Truth
29 Jack Swagger
30 The Miz

* - source: Wrestling Figures Board Forum

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Alex Avila
Avila Productions
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