Royal Rumble 2012 Predictions: CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitis Will Hog Spotlight

The lineup for WWE Royal Rumble 2012 has barely been set, but this much we know: the next chapter of the CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitis feud will be written at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

What becomes of Punk's pugnacious relationship with the artist formerly known as Johnny Ace remains to be seen—much as their rivalry has been all along.

Punk's contrariness with regard to his bosses has come off as little more than petulance at times. Of course, Vince McMahon is and always will be an easy and effective foil—so long as he's still able to step into the ring to swap vitriol with his biggest stars.

Punk's Triple H conflict, though, wasn't nearly as compelling or "king-making" for Punk, even though it didn't exactly cost him anything with the fans.

"The Voice of the Voiceless" hardly let Triple H get a word in edgewise when he came on as one of McMahon's middle managers before ripping him.

This despite Triple H's tremendous popularity among the fans, which, in turn, stemmed from his days as a star wrestler in his own right.

And now comes Laurinaitis, whom Punk has gone out of his way to antagonize (not that Johnny Ace hasn't deserved it).

Rather, Laurinaitis has been cast all too quickly into the tired mold of employee-employer feud that's been put into practice time and again over the years. Laurinaitis has some unpopular decisions on his record and is clearly out to cost Punk his title.

The question is, what, exactly, is Laurinaitis' motive? Did Punk push Laurinaitis to this point, or has the interim general manager had it out for Punk all along?

The answer to that query figures to be the big reveal a week from Sunda—as soon as Dolph Ziggler, the man Punk is actually scheduled to fight, steps, or is tossed, out of the way.

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