It's that time of year again in World Wrestling Entertainment. The typically boring month, in the wrestling sense, of December is over. The new year is here, the wrestlers are refreshed from their break, the writing team's ideas are in place (or so we hope) and the push to the year's best two events begin. Sorry No Way out fans (the three of you), I'm talking about the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. I think every wrestling fan knows that the first three months of the calendar year tend to the best in WWE. The push to Summerslam is generally good, but then things slow down to end the year. Personally, at the end of 2005, I was really losing interest with the product largely because they seemed to lack direction with a lot of the talent. Now, just because the Rumble is around the corner and WrestleMania is a couple of months away my interest is renewed. After that who knows, but I'd guess the apathy returns. I guess it's up to WWE to change my mind.

This column will look at the two current World Champions, the other titles in the company and also focus in on the Royal Rumble match. Then at the end I'll try to wrap it up in a nice little bow with some of the matches that I think we will be seeing at WrestleMania 22 this year in Chicago. For those wondering, there are NO Smackdown spoilers in here.

Two New Champions: Where are they Headed?

Raw's WWE Champion Edge won the title in a manner that had people interested in the WWE title for the first time in many months. It's not that John Cena was necessarily a bad champion, it's just that he had become boring. Fans were growing tired of him as champion, they were booing him and they were telling WWE basically that they didn't want him to be champion anymore. I like the title switch. I like how it was done and I like how Edge snuck in to win it because it gets over his whiny heel, lucky to be there type of act. It works.

The title picture has now become an interesting one because of this title switch. Three weeks ago everybody would have told you that Cena vs. HHH would be going down at WrestleMania for the WWE title that Cena had. Now there's a question as to if that will happen. Call it a hunch or a guess or whatever, but I think it's still happening. There are a couple of reasons. There's a reason they have kept Cena and HHH apart for so long. That's why HHH was out of the Elimination Chamber match. They wanted their first match (on TV anyway since they have worked house shows) to be as fresh as possible. It can still happen. We know that Cena vs. Edge is going down at the Rumble and in my opinion Cena's getting that belt back. A reason why I believe that is not just because Cena vs. HHH is the biggest "money" match on Raw, but also because Edge is carrying Cena's title. Isn't that peculiar? Considering that belt was made specifically for Cena you would think that once he lost the title they'd bring back the old WWE title for the new champion to carry. But no, Edge has Cena's belt. Maybe I'm reaching. Maybe I'm grasping at straws. I just think it's something worth mentioning. Of course the bad thing about this sudden title switch is that it would only give Edge a three week title reign and I think he deserves more than that.

To summarize all of this, I think Cena wins back the title at the Royal Rumble and faces Triple H at WrestleMania 22 although I won't say if HHH wins the Rumble. Keep reading for that prediction. Then again, Edge could retain and they could go for a triple threat at Mania, but it certainly wouldn't be a match that had the magic of WrestleMania 20 with Benoit winning in the end.

Then there's Smackdown's World Champion Kurt Angle. This week on Raw we learned that Angle's Raw contract expired on January 1st, he signed with Smackdown after Batista got hurt and took advantage of that by becoming the new World Champion. Is it the most logical thing? No, probably not, but it's better than some random trade. Now we're under the impression that Angle will be on Smackdown full time. While I don't recall any of the announcers on Monday saying that it was his time on Raw, that is what I will go with. Frankly, Smackdown needs somebody the caliber of Angle, so I like the move.

Now the question is what role will Kurt play? Will he continue to be the cocky heel that he's been for the majority of his career or will he simply slide into Batista's spot as the top babyface on the brand? Based on the aftermath of his match with Shawn Michaels I will assume it's the latter. And why not? The crowds are always cheering Angle even if WWE tries to do every trick in the book to make them boo the man. They know his talent and they cheer him for it. The thing with Angle is he can play either role and play it well. He is the closest thing to a tweener (heel and face) in the business today.

The original plan for Wrestle, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which I trust implicitly, was Batista against Randy Orton. Obviously with Batista being out of action until the summer that plan is gone. What about Angle vs. Orton? Seems like a good fit to me. While I believe they might have wrestled when Orton first came up to Smackdown, I don't recall them going at it with Orton being an established star. When Orton was on Raw, Angle was on Smackdown. When Orton was on Smackdown, Angle was on Raw. Now that Angle is back on Smackdown it seems like the perfect time to do that match and there's no better place for it than WrestleMania.

There is a wildcard, though. His name is Rey Mysterio. I don’t think a better story could be told at WrestleMania this year except for the ultimate underdog Rey Mysterio winning the Royal Rumble, earning his title shot and winning the World Title. I don't care about how long a reign he would have, but that would be a huge moment and one that the guy deserves. I just don't see it happening because they need Angle to be a babyface. I'll modify my prediction, though. I think it'll be Angle defending against Orton and Mysterio at WrestleMania.

Last year at this time it was obvious that Batista would beat HHH for his title and Cena would beat JBL for his title. This year the obvious has been thrown out the window due to injuries and crowd reactions. In some ways the unknown nature of the current title scenes is for the better, but in other ways it makes you worry about where the company is headed. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though. I think they have an idea of where this is going. Once the Rumble is over, I think we'll know.

The Other Titles: Do They Even Matter?

Since the Women's Title is in the best shape I might as well start there. Now I know some might say that belt has some credibility issues considering Trish missed four months of time and still got to be champion. Fine, it's not perfect. But she's held the belt for a full calendar year, is as credible as a champion could be in a division with less than ten people and elevates just about everybody around her. The current storyline with Mickie James is going along at the perfect pace. It may be slow for some, but this is a WrestleMania match right here and frankly they should take some time. After their better than average match at New Year's Revolution and with all indications looking towards Mickie turning heel on Trish very soon I'm looking forward to good things at WrestleMania. How about a fifteen minute women's title match at WrestleMania? I wouldn't mind that all. I don't know if the ladies have ever got that much time for a match before. They deserve it.

The Intercontinental Title on Raw right now has basically gone to shit again after the likes of Benjamin and Carlito did elevate it. Nothing against Ric Flair as champion because I think it was a cool idea initially, but when you barely defend the belt at all it loses credibility. Why did he have to have the belt when he feuded with HHH? It was obvious Hunter had no interest in it, so why not move it to somebody else (like maybe Rob Conway for example) that could benefit from having the belt. Last year the belt wasn't defended at WrestleMania (Benjamin had it as part of the ladder match) and this year it could be the same.

The same can be said for Smackdown's United States Title. While the Booker/Benoit best of seven series was a great idea especially after the first four strong matches, Booker got a groin injury, then they had Orton replace Benoit for the last three matches as Orton won the belt for Booker. The idea, I'm guessing, was to have the seventh match at the Royal Rumble, but with Booker being out the plans were changed and they rushed the last three matches on three consecutive weeks of Smackdown, never having Benoit pin Orton despite "winning" twice against him. Now the status of the title is in question. Booker should be ready to work again in a couple weeks time, but where the title goes from there is something I am concerned about.

The Tag Team Titles on Raw are merely props for two singles wrestlers in Big Show and Kane. I usually hate it when bookers get too lazy to book actual tag teams to titles and instead do the short term, "super" tag team idea. They didn't defend the belt at New Year's Revolution, they probably won't at the Royal Rumble and who knows what they will do after that. Point being, the belts are being wasted away on these guys. I have nothing against Big Show or Kane as talents. I generally like both, but the dominant team concept tends to get old fast. This team is no exception.

Meanwhile, Smackdown's Tag Team Titles are in better shape than Raw's simply because they are on the company's best tag team, MNM. Thing is, can you think of a babyface tag team for them to feud against as the year goes ahead? They already dispatched the Mexicools and aside from them the only other babyface tag team on the roster is the duo of Paul London and Brian Kendrick. While I think those two could be like the Rockers or the Hardy's in terms of the excitement they have in the ring, it's obvious that WWE only thinks of them as job guys used to put over debuting heel tag teams. That leads me to my next point. Why keep debuting heel tag teams like The Dicks and Gymini when you have no babyface teams for them to feud with? I don't understand the logic. Hey WWE: You NEED babyface tag teams. A tag team resurgence could help a hurting show like Smackdown.

Then there's the Cruiserweight Title on Smackdown. Kid Kash is the champion. He has no feud. He will have no feud. It's WWE. They just don't care about their cruisers. What more needs to be said? Nothing, so I'm done.

I hate to be negative, but man, I miss when the secondary titles meant something more than they do now.

The Rumble Match: Key Participants

To this point only a few people have been announced, but since we know what matches are probably happening at the Royal Rumble (and no, I didn't read Smackdown spoilers this week, so please remember that before you complain to me about something) we can figure out who's in the Rumble. What I've got here are a list of the contenders, as well as other significant players in the Rumble, and my thoughts on each:

Randy Orton: I think there's a very good chance for him to win the Rumble. He's been very protected booking wise over the past several months. His only pinfall loss in that long stretch of time was against the Undertaker at Armageddon in the Cell match. When he lost twice to Benoit it was by DQ both times and he was never made to look him. They're protecting him for a reason. He's a big time favorite to win the Rumble and is my pick to win it.

Triple H: Obviously another Rumble favorite, HHH is likely to be in the WWE title match come WrestleMania. Of course he doesn't HAVE to win the Rumble to get that title shot, but if a heel is going to break the babyface streak of wins then he's a good choice.

Rey Mysterio: Tell me who wouldn't enjoy seeing this guy win the Rumble? Sure, you'll have those that will complain that it's "too fake" for the smallest guy to win the Rumble, but this is wrestling. It can happen.

I honestly think the list of potential winners ends with those three. What's interesting is that two of those three are heels and in the last six Rumbles babyfaces have ended up winning it (Batista, Benoit, Lesnar, HHH, Austin, Rock), so it could be an interesting change of pace to put a heel over in the end. Still, there are some other intriguing people that are likely going to be in the Rumble.

Undertaker: I guess he'll be in the Rumble, if he wants to work that day. He's always a threat and with Angle as World Champion it could happen. Both have said in interviews over the years they wanted to have a WrestleMania match together, so who knows. It's not THAT far fetched.

Rob Van Dam: Smackdown could really use a hot babyface right now like RVD, but I'm assuming he'll just stay on Raw. Hopefully he makes a big splash at the Rumble and that he gets the biggest push of his career this year.

Kane: I don't think he has a chance to win, but I just have to ask: Is it in his contract to push him REALLY hard as an odds on favorite for the three weeks before the Rumble even though everybody knows there is no chance in hell that he is going to win?

Big Show: Same as Kane and just like Kane he has finished second before. He's not winning, though.

Bobby Lashley: Does he have a chance to win? I doubt it. He's still too green. However, he could be the guy that eliminates 7 or 8 guys and makes the biggest impression as the most dominant guy in the match. Either that or he'll lose in unconvincing fashion as he did at Survivor Series even though WWE thinks he was impressive in that match.

Chris Masters: Like Lashley, a strong candidate to be the "eliminates the most people in the match" guy.

There are others that will play an interesting role in the match, but it's pointless to go over everybody. These are the nine to keep an eye on.

The Projected Card for WrestleMania 22

This is not necessarily what I want to see. It's just what I think will happen or in some cases what I think would be interesting matchups that would fit well on this card.

John Cena vs. Triple H for the WWE Title: Maybe it's not a dream match, but it's the biggest money match they could put together this year save for the Hogan/Austin match that is not happening. If this doesn't happen and Edge is still champion then this will be a triple threat match.

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Title: Fresh matchup with Angle taking Batista's spot basically. Mysterio has worked very well with both and the intrigue of the ultimate underdog winning at WrestleMania is a story too delicious to pass up.

Vince McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels: Do I want to see it? No, not really. Why? Because Vince McMahon, a grandfather in his sixties, should not be wrestling. Simple as that. And no, Bret Hart won't be back despite every damn trick WWE tries to pull to make you think he will. He lives in Italy. He has said no to WWE a lot. He'll say no again. Will this stop fans from thinking he will be there? Of course not.

Undertaker vs. Chris Benoit: Just an idea on my part. Undertaker's career is winding down and he probably doesn't want to be in more bad feuds and matches. So why not put him against Benoit? Maybe Benoit could turn heel to set it up. It would be interesting to see how well they do and again, it's a fresh matchup.

Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair: Would be a nice Legends match to have on the card. While I don't think the bad blood is as bad as some think, the promos to set this up would be gold and I think the fans would really enjoy it. Even with both men as babyfaces, it would still work well. Foley is probably wrestling on this card.

Rob Van Dam vs. Carlito: Seems like they got a ready made angle from the 2005 draft lottery.

Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James for the Women's Title: I imagine Mickie would be full heel by this point and maybe going into this match as the champion.

You'll notice no Hogan, Austin or Rock on there. I don't think Rock will be wrestling. He's filming a movie starting in March and while he could appear at the show to do a promo (he's said he would like to do that), I don't see any match happening. Austin's probably not working either since there is little to report on the proposed Austin-Hogan match. I think Vince wants it, Hogan wants it, but Austin doesn't. That leaves Hogan without an opponent. Could be a current veteran like Undertaker or Flair even though those have been done before. I wouldn't even mind JBL vs. Hogan, to be honest. I just don't want Hogan to be THE focus of the show. That's all.

As I've said previously, once the Rumble PPV is over the lineup for WrestleMania will become more clear. I could be right on some or I could be way off. Frankly, I hope I'm a little of both. I don't want it to be predictable. Predictable is boring.

And Finally…

I nearly got tickets for WrestleMania 22 in Chicago. I haven't been to one since WrestleMania VI in Toronto 16 years ago. As the event draws closer I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about it. Last year's show had me giddy to see Angle vs. Michaels for the first time ever. The year before had the triumph of one of my all time favorites, Chris Benoit. The year before that gave us Angle vs. Lesnar for the first time, plus Austin vs. Rock last time, HBK's WrestleMania return and a solid card surrounding that. This year I don't know what can hook me. Actually, that's a bit of a lie. The one thing that could really draw me in would be Rey Mysterio holding the World Title at the end of the night. That's something I'd really enjoy. Will it happen? Like I've said throughout this column, I have no idea.

What I do know is that I'm excited about the unpredictability of the Rumble and I'm excited about what could happen at WrestleMania. I don't know if either will be good, but I'm remaining optimistic because in recent years they have both been good shows. I need good shows to restore my faith in this company. So please, WWE, don't screw it up.

All feedback is welcome, so please send it along and I will get back to you.

Smell ya later,
John C. - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
Contact me via MSN: oratoryjohn@hotmail.com (Don't email me there, though.)

Visit My Archives to view past columns over the years like this 2004 Royal Rumble recap.