WWE Royal Rumble 2012: 13 Bold Predictions for the Upcoming PPV

The Royal Rumble is finally almost here.

After months of debating who will win the Royal Rumble match and what the WrestleMania card will look like, the road to the WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the year officially kicks off in just three days.

The WWE and World Heavyweight Championships will be on the line this Sunday, as will a spot in a World title match at WrestleMania 28 and John Cena's ability to rise above hate.

We should be treated to a wildly entertaining pay-per-view, one that could be full of plenty of surprises.

Realistically, I have no idea what we'll see in St. Louis on Sunday, but that's not going to prevent me from guessing.

Here are 13 bold predictions for the 2012 Royal Rumble.

13. The Return of Layla

The Divas division needs some help like the Bella Twins need acting lessons.

And by help, I don't mean that Kelly Kelly needs to be pushed again or that Alicia Fox needs to continue to botch three moves per match.

I mean that the division needs someone to return and save it from being completely useless. Someone like Layla.

While I'd ideally like to see Kharma come back ASAP, I assume she's still pregnant and will be out for a while. Therefore, Layla is the next best option.

She recently hinted that she'd be coming back soon, and we all know that the WWE could use her.

On a whim, I'll say that Layla returns this Sunday. Lords know she's needed right now.

12. Drew McIntyre Will Be Eliminated in One Second

Drew McIntyre is the 2012 version of MVP.

In 2008, MVP went on that five-month long losing streak in which he looked like a complete idiot and didn't benefit from it whatsoever.

Now McIntyre is doing basically the exact same thing. He's constantly being embarrassed by the likes of Teddy Long and Santino Marella, yet he's still sticking around and getting matches every week.

It's likely that McIntyre's losing streak, like with MVP, is leading to a baby face turn, but that's probably not going to officially happen for a while.

So, to keep McIntyre looking like a joke, I think we'll see him tie Santino's record for the quickest elimination in Royal Rumble history by lasting just one second in the match.

Just a hunch on my part.

11. Alberto Del Rio and Christian Return During the Royal Rumble Match

It's pretty much a given that at least one missing WWE star will return during the Royal Rumble match.

We just have to figure out which one(s) it will be.

There are actually a ton of candidates to make their triumphant returns, from Triple H, to The Undertaker, to Rey Mysterio, to Sin Cara.

But the two likeliest—at least in my opinion—candidates are Christian and Alberto Del Rio.

ADR has been out of action for roughly a month, and the timetable for his return from injury is four to six weeks. Meanwhile, Christian has been sidelined for roughly two-and-a-half months with a high ankle sprain and seems poised to return in the near future.

If any two current WWE stars return this Sunday, I think it'll be those two.

10. The Miz Well Be the First to Enter and the First Eliminated

I'm torn on how The Miz will perform in the 30-Man Royal Rumble match.

Part me of feels like he could last all the way to the end (though, he won't win it), and then another part of me thinks that The Miz will have a completely forgettable performance.

I'm going to go with the latter, though.

As we learned on Monday's Raw, The Miz is the No. 1 entrant in the Royal Rumble, so I could see a situation where he's the first to enter and the first to be eliminated.

I don't see The Miz in line for any major singles match at WrestleMania 28, and it could be funny to see him completely lose his cool if he is eliminated by the No. 2 entrant, especially if it's R-Truth.

9. Either Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose Will Make His WWE Debut

We learned earlier this week why Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have yet to debut on the main roster.

From F4Wonline.com (via WrestleZone.com):

"

Top FCW stars Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have impressed WWE officials according to F4Wonline.com, and the report claims they both have spots on the main roster but have not been called up yet.

The reason they haven't been called up by now is because Triple H has said that he wants no new talents brought up from FCW unless the creative team has a solid storyline for them to debut with and a strong gimmick. Officials are very high on Ambrose and while they feel that Rollins has some areas to work on, he's considered right up there with Ambrose.

"

I don't see why either of these stars couldn't debut during the Royal Rumble match.

You could have one of them (likely Ambrose) debut when there's only a couple of competitors in the match, eliminate all of them and then cut a promo introducing himself to the crowd.

It could do wonders for Ambrose or Rollins to have a memorable performance in the Royal Rumble and then start a feud with one of the guys he eliminates from the match.

While this could go a number of different ways, the idea is to book both Rollins and Ambrose like a big deal from the start, and hopefully, the crowd will instantly view them as big-time players in the WWE.

8. Chris Jericho Enters at No. 30

Unless some major star from the past (who we don't know about and is coming back full time) returns on Sunday, then I can think of no wrestler who would be a better fit at the No. 30 spot than Chris Jericho.

The fans have been on the edge of their seats for everything Y2J has done since he's come back, so just imagine how loud the ovation will be if he is the last entrant in the Royal Rumble match.

He can do his entire over-the-top baby face ring entrance, get the crowd into it and then eliminate a few wrestlers near the end of the match.

Jericho will have the fans eating out of the palm of his hand if he comes in at No. 30, which is precisely why I think that's what will happen.

7. Dolph Ziggler Will Defeat CM Punk with the Help of John Laurinaitis

At the end of Monday's Raw, John Laurinaitis found out that he would have a formal job evaluation on next week's Raw because of some of his actions as the interim Raw general manager.

That's left many to believe that Laurinaitis will not screw over CM Punk when he serves as the special guest referee for Punk's WWE Championship match against Dolph Ziggler on Sunday.

On the contrary, my friends. Laurinaitis will still cost Punk the WWE title.

All Laurinaitis has to do is the same thing he's done in the past, and that is cost Punk a match against Ziggler without making it look like he's intentionally doing it.

Maybe Vickie Guerrero jumps up on the apron, Laurinaitis confronts her, Punk gets into it with Laurinaitis and then that allows Ziggler to sneak up on Punk, hit his finisher and get the victory.

I know many are banking on Punk walking out of St. Louis as WWE Champion, but I'm thinking that Ziggler actually will.

6. John Laurinaitis and Chris Jericho Will Eliminate CM Punk from Royal Rumble

Whether he wins or loses the WWE Championship match, I'd still expect to see CM Punk participate in the Royal Rumble match.

The WWE is pushing that everyone, including champions, will be involved in the Rumble, so no matter what, Punk will be in it.

Too bad he won't win it.

The beef between Punk and John Laurinaitis is far from over, and I look for Laurinaitis (possibly as an actual Rumble entrant) to eliminate Punk from the Royal Rumble match...with the help of Chris Jericho.

This will both lay down the foundation for a Punk/Jericho feud and keep the Punk/Laurinaitis feud hotter than ever.

5. Brodus Clay Will Break Kane's Record for Most Eliminations in a Royal Rumble

When you think about it, it's kind of crazy that Kane actually eliminated a whopping 11 competitors in a single Royal Rumble match.

Considering there are only 30 entrants in the bout, that's pretty ridiculous.

Although many fans think that it's a record that will never fall, I think having Brodus Clay break it would be a great way to get him even more over than he already is.

It's certainly not unfeasible to see a 6'7", 375-pound behemoth destroy everyone in his path, and that's exactly what Clay could do on Sunday.

Have him eliminate five or more lower-card workers, a few mid-carders and a few main-eventers, and the job is done.

This could go a long way in establishing Clay as both a comedy character and someone who's an actual threat.

4. The Final Four Will Be: CM Punk, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Chris Jericho

We have absolutely no way of knowing who the final competitors in the Royal Rumble match will be, but we can probably come pretty close to predicting them based on current storylines and booking.

I've got CM Punk here because, whether he wins or loses the WWE Championship match, I think he'll play a huge part in the Rumble to further his feud with John Laurinaitis.

Sheamus is here because he's been booked like an unstoppable baby face over the last several months, and it's rare that you see him take a clean loss. He'll be there at the end and likely only get eliminated in some fluke manner.

Then, of course, I've got Orton and Jericho here because they are the runaway favorites to win the match.

Since I've got Jericho entering at No. 30 and because Orton is competing in his hometown (not to mention the fact that Orton punted Jericho in the head to write him off of TV in 2010), expect both men to be around at the end and for a major showdown between the two.

3. Sheamus Will Win the Royal Rumble Match

Yeah, I went there.

I know that most Internet wrestling fans seem to think that either Chris Jericho or Randy Orton is going to win the 30-Man Royal Rumble match, but I just don't see it that way.

Too easy. Too predictable. Too obvious.

Barring any unforeseen return, though, the list of possible winners is still relatively short, so I'm going to go with another favorite as my Rumble winner: The Celtic Warrior, Sheamus.

I know there's no perfect matchup lined up for Sheamus if he wins it, but since The Rock vs. John Cena and The Undertaker defending "The Streak" will be the two biggest WrestleMania matches, I think the WWE can take a chance on its Royal Rumble winner this year.

And that chance will be taken on none other than The Great White.

2. A Major Star from the Past Returns (for More Than Just a One-off Appearance)

The great thing about the Royal Rumble match is that wrestlers will show up who you haven't seen in the WWE in years.

Some may come back for a one-off appearance, but others may actually be returning full time.

So what if a major name from the past returns this year for more than just one random appearance? What if he returns full time?

Although I will admit that the chances of this happening are highly unlikely, I'm never going to completely dismiss it as a possibility.

We may be watching the Royal Rumble on Sunday and have our jaws hit the floor when someone like Batista or Brock Lesnar returns to the WWE.

Hey, you never know.

1. John Cena Will "Embrace the Hate"

When John Cena started feuding with Kane, we wanted it to result in some sort of change to Cena's character.

And change is exactly what we've gotten.

Though Cena is undoubtedly still a baby face, he's shown some very hellish tendencies for two straight weeks now.

On last week's Raw, he beat the holy hell out of Jack Swagger and showed some great intensity in the process, and on this week's Raw, he slapped the microphone out of Josh Mathews' hand and then made his little angry face at the camera.

Cena hasn't officially "embraced the hate" just yet.

But this Sunday at the Royal Rumble, he finally will.