On Jan. 30th, 2011, the WWE hosted their annual Royal Rumble event. The rules were simple: forty superstars enter the ring at sixty second intervals and do whatever it takes to throw each other over the top rope until there is only one remaining. The winner would then get the chance to headline Wrestlemania and contend for any championship title of his choice.
Traditionally, the Royal Rumble only featured thirty superstars. This year, the slots increased to forty. Half the fun of the match is actually guessing who would make an appearance. Returning faces and surprise entrants usually dominate the highlight reels even more than the face of winner.
However, this year, Alberto Del Rio, more internationally known as Dos Caras, Jr., shocked the world by winning the Royal Rumble despite being with the company for less than a year. After eliminating Randy Orton, one of the top contenders of the match, Del Rio eliminated Santino Marella to win his first Royal Rumble crown.
Del Rio later went on to announce that he will compete for the World Heavyweight Championship, with the current titleholder being Edge. But Edge might not remain champion for long because on Feb. 20th, the title is up for grabs in the six-man elimination chamber. By the end of the night, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, or Wade Barrett could be holding the championship gold.
Still, Del Rio seems to have made his issue with Edge personal, decking him in the face on national television during a taping of Monday Night RAW.
With Edge set to defend his title against the World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE Champion, the Miz, still does not have a contender for his title at Wrestlemania. However, while Edge defending his title in the elimination chamber, the Miz will be defending his title against WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “the King” Lawler. A second elimination chamber match will determine who will face the winner of the Miz vs. the King.
Everyone is wondering who the Undertaker will be facing this year. For eighteen Wrestlemania’s, the Undertaker has won every single match at the grandest stage of them all. Last year, he forced Shawn Michaels into retirement b beating him in a five star classic matchup. But the list of people to have not felt the wrath of the Undertaker grows short. Only the newest stars on the WWE roster has not had the crap kicked out of them by the Undertaker. Stars such as Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, Wade Barrett and his Corre, among others who are either too insignificant or simply not up to the Undertaker’s status.
There has also been a lot of speculations about what role the New Nexus and the Corre will be playing at Wrestlemania. Both factions have been developing power since their creation; with the Corre recruiting Ezekiel Jackson and the New Nexus recruiting the giant Ryan Mason. The two factions might have bad blood with each other, but they certainly have the rest of the regular roster to watch out for as well. CM Punk and the New Nexus are feuding with John Cena. Who knows how that might go down, especially since Cena and Punk will both participate together in the elimination chamber.
One thing is certain: the road to Wrestlemania has yet to smooth out.