WWE Royal Rumble 2014: Titles Most Likely to Change Hands at Event

WWE TLC is in the books, and for many fans it more than lived up to expectations.  The Shield versus CM Punk and Daniel Bryan versus The Wyatt Family both delivered in exciting, dynamic matches.  We saw the tag team titles defended in a Fatal 4-Way that provided all the adrenaline that fans knew it would.  And of course, Randy Orton won the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

While this pay-per-view was not exactly WrestleMania caliber, I believe that it redeemed the company after a string of lackluster events.  But now that it's over, fans are ready to move on to January 26's Royal Rumble.

The Rumble will be WWE's first event of 2014, and in many ways it could define the year.  The reason for that is because WrestleMania season will officially begin at the Rumble.  So the more action we see at the Royal Rumble could mean more drama for Mania next year.

Part of that excitement will surely center on the company's champions who should be booked at the Rumble.  The only question is, which titleholders could find themselves on the losing side at WWE's first event of 2014?

AJ Lee's Divas Championship

AJ Lee recently found herself at the center of some controversy when she reportedly hurled insults at NBC reporter Michelle Beadle.  While Beadle has confirmed the incident online, the truth is that WWE fans know very little at this point of what exactly happened to make the Divas champ snap.

Many fans believed that the incident would lead to Lee losing her title to Natalya at TLC. This did not happen, of course, but could the Royal Rumble be a different story?

I for one do not know just how much of a factor AJ's off-camera issue will have on a potential title change, but I do believe that it will happen at the Rumble.  And the biggest reason for that is the surging popularity of the Divas Division.

Since Total Divas premiered, fans have been more interested in the women of WWE than ever before. However while much of the interest lies in the drama that unfolds on a weekly basis between the girls, the truth is that the focus on the matches themselves has not quite been there.

The Divas are getting on TV more, there is no doubt about that.  But much of the time there are no long-lasting implications for them other than the occasional contender's match.  But that could change at the Royal Rumble.

And I feel that of all the Divas who should take the belt from AJ, Brie Bella is the best candidate.  She may not be the popular choice for some fans, but she has grown in the ring. At this point she is one of the hardest-working women in the company.  And putting the belt on her would immediately put more spotlight on the Divas division, mostly because AJ is not featured on the program.

AJ may indeed be the total opposite of the traditional WWE Diva, and for that she does have respect from fans that prefer the blue collar mentality to the glamorous Hollywood aspect.  But the combination of a growing negative reputation along with the rising popularity of Total Divas, may spell the end for AJ's run as Divas champion.

Dean Ambrose's United States Championship

Internal strife is beginning to develop within The Shield.  It has been brewing over the past several weeks, and it recently came to a head at TLC.

What began as just a sideways glance from Roman Reigns, and some cocky arrogance from Dean Ambrose, led to a huge miscalculation at TLC.  And that misstep cost The Shield a win over CM Punk.  It was a match that they should have won; they had the numbers and all the momentum going in.

But when Roman accidentally hit Dean with a huge spear, it was game over for The Hounds of Justice. And I believe this is only the beginning.

Right now, there is not a true top contender for Dean's United States title.  But I believe that doesn't matter in the slightest.  I think that he could drop the championship at the Rumble, and I believe it will be because of his teammates in The Shield.

This is how partnerships dissolve in professional wrestling.  All it takes is one mistake, one incident to cause a rift that just cannot be repaired.  In the case of The Shield, that rift is small at the moment. But if Roman or Seth Rollins were to cost Dean the U.S. Championship, then all bets are off for WWE's most dominant faction.

Truth be told, Dean does not even necessarily have to lose as the result of interference gone awry.  The fact is that a clean loss would be more than enough to perhaps set off the time bomb that is currently ticking between Ambrose and Reigns.  After all, it would be Roman's first opportunity to point the finger back at his Shield teammate.

And that could lead to not only the end of The Shield, it could lead to all-out war.

The Rhodes Brothers' WWE tag team titles

This is a tough one, because I for one do not want to see Cody and Goldust lose the championships.  

Since they began tagging together and then won the titles, Dustin and Cody have been nothing but good for the tag team division.  They have brought out the best in the other duos and have even caused the formation of new teams.  

Chief among those new teams is Big Show and Rey Mysterio.  

The two veteran WWE stars have already defeated The Rhodes Brothers, which means that they will most likely get a tag team title shot.  And that title shot could come at the Royal Rumble.

While I don't necessarily  believe that Cody and Goldust should lose, the fact is that the tag division is swimming with talent.  With that being the case, The Rhodes Brothers should not credibly remain tag champs in the long term.

Curtis Axel and Ryback, Big Show and Mysterio, The Usos, The Real Americans, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, the list just keeps going.  With all of these tag teams vying for the gold, the fact is that no one should be surprised if the Rhodes boys fall and lose the championships.

At first glance, I would have believed that Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro would become the new champs.  But since then, Rey and Big Show appear to be the team to beat in WWE.  I for one would not be surprised at all if Show and Rey were to succeed where other teams have failed and become the new WWE tag team champs at the Royal Rumble.