Royal Rumble 2012: John Laurinaitis Will Ruin CM Punk-Dolph Ziggler Match

The WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler at the Royal Rumble has all the makings of a classic match, but there is one variable that will prevent it from being so.

That is, John Laurinaitis acting as special guest referee.

Saying that Punk and Ziggler are currently the WWE's top two workers certainly wouldn't be a stretch, so it would seem like a given that these two competitors will shine on Sunday. While the wrestling portion of the match is sure to be entertaining, all signs point to the interim Raw general manager attempting to screw Punk in some way.

That much was teased for a few weeks before Mick Foley goaded Laurinaitis into admitting that his intention was to get the title away from Punk. That being said, Laurinaitis backtracked on the latest installment of Raw and said that he was simply speaking out of anger. Punk proceeded to deliver a GTS to Laurinaitis, though, which means Laurinaitis will obviously be out for revenge.

Ultimately, I don't think Laurinaitis will succeed, but he will find a way to mar the finish of a match that should resolve itself on its own volition. When the match starts to heat up, I expect Laurinaitis to start favoring Ziggler. At this point, I think Foley will make an appearance, stop Laurinaitis and help Punk retain.

It's still possible for the match to be good even with a lame finish, but I think it would be so much more enjoyable without any interference or gimmicks of any kind. When you have two fantastic athletes and in-ring storytellers like Punk and Ziggler, a traditional singles match is clearly the way to go.

Truth be told, it isn't a stretch to say that a normal match between Punk and Ziggler for the title has the potential to be a match-of-the-year candidate. It isn't often that you can go into a match with those types of expectations, but this would be one of those rare cases.

Instead, it looks as if a talentless hack like Laurinaitis is going to get in the way. Maybe Laurinaitis will surprise everyone and call the match right down the middle like he proclaimed on Monday, but what would be the point of having him do that? The only explanation would be good behavior in anticipation of his performance review by Triple H the next night.

The person who I feel will be hurt the most by Laurinaitis' involvement is Ziggler, who I fully expect to lose. However, if he were to lose a clean, well-wrestled match in which he looks like Punk's equal, it would do a lot more for him than losing despite having the benefit of a crooked referee.

Ziggler has beaten Punk four consecutive times (all of them controversial) and scored the final blow leading up to the pay-per-view as he Zig Zagged Punk in the final segment of Raw. With Ziggler continually getting the best of Punk and the odds stacked in Ziggler's favor thanks to Laurinaitis, the result is a bit too obvious.

Punk overcame being handcuffed at TLC, so I doubt he'll have any trouble beating Ziggler despite Laurinaitis' presence. Punk might come out of the match looking strong, but I think a regular match would have accomplished the same thing.

I'm looking forward to the wrestling aspect of the match, but I expect a lame ending to ruin what should be a great one.