WWE is Ready to Rumble in 2009

Jack Swagger, the undefeated new ECW champion, faces Matt Hardy in a rematch for the title.

Hardy had about a four-month reign atop WWE's third brand before Swagger earned a title shot, and Jack won.

With all the build-up of the Hardy's having such bad luck and Swagger's interference from SD! a few nights ago, Matt will be fighting for something more than just pride.

Unfortunately, it seems WWE is determined to make this guy look good, and that means bad news for Matt tonight. Swagger will retain.

Melina has returned for a prolonged absence and immediately pushed herself into the title picture. Her mouth has gotten her in trouble over the past few weeks with Beth Phoenix, however.

Add to that Phoenix's "biggest fan," Milena Rouka (aka Rosa Mendes) and it appears the A-Lister will have a tough task tonight.

But Melina has experience on her side, and knows what she's doing. I see Melina defeating the Glamazon, but not ending her five-month reign as Women's Champion.

At least Mendes will save Beth's title, but a DQ is still a DQ, so we'll see how Beth feels about Mendes after tonight.

John Cena is champ again and facing his arch-rival, JBL, yet one more time. Matches with JBL in the past have made his career and hurt his career, and I for one am not anxious to see another fight between them.

However, JBL is a great heel, which is probably why Vince keeps going back to him to raise Cena's fan quotient every so often.

This match is made a bit more interesting with the addition of Shawn Michaels in the corner of the challenger.

HBK will probably do the bidding of his employer, but Cena always seems to find a way, whether he's against one or five other opponents. Cena will do it again tonight.

We will come full circle from the shot above...and let me go on record right now and say this will be the match of the night.

Jeff Hardy finally got his WWE Title, but with his recent troubles, I understand how hesitant Vince is to keep it on him too long. One more strike, and Jeff is fired.

Which is unfortunate, given he is a much better choice in terms of quality in the ring than John Cena is.

Regardless, jumping to storyline reasons, Jeff has been in one mishap after another, and the mystery man behind it all is thought to be Edge.

I disagree. I think a man he considers his "brother" is on his way back to WWE, and will be there tonight to cost Jeff Hardy the gold en route to a WM showdown between the two.

It's the most exciting hour of action all year. That's the tagline, and more often than not, it's also the truth. 23 entrants (21 on WWE.com, two more added on NoDQ.com) have been announced, but that leaves seven spots open.

If you asked me, I think Umaga, Kennedy, a few legends, Goldust and perhaps the mystery attacker could fill in the remaining spots.

I wouldn't be surprised if Manu/Sim Snuka or a heel loser in one of the World Title matches joined the fray in desperation either.

So help me God, if Batista pulls a Cena, I'll be very upset. But I doubt it.

I predict the 2009 Royal Rumble will be won by... Randy Orton.

Of course, I could be wrong. There are a ton of stars this year, Undertaker, Orton, Triple H, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Vladimir Kozlov...all of which have a case to win the big battle royal.

The winner goes to WM 25, held this year in Houston. But something else has caught my eye.

Looking back over 20 years, I counted 9 HOFers and 11 more future HOFers who seem to draw the worst numbers (1-5) in the Rumble matches.

Will that trend continue for the big names this year?? Who will be coming at No. 27, the most successful entry??

All these questions will be answered starting at 8 p.m. EST, 5 Pacific. I know a lot of you are going to join us fans for Royal Rumble, the first step on the road to WrestleMania. I, for one, can't wait.