The Katz Files
My Royal Rumble Notebook
The Kingfish Arnie Katz analyzes events that took place at Royal Rumble, the first step on the expressway to WrestleMania.

Another reason they say it so often is that it’s true. The Royal Rumble to Elimination Chamber to WrestleMania path is a lockstep march to the “grandest stage” and the grandest payday of the year it represents for WWE.

The Return of Edge
The appearance of the Rated R Superstar at Rumble probably wasn’t a shock to many viewers, but it certainly injected some additional excitement.

It’s clever in its way, too. It puts Edge back in front of the cameras, where they can build him up for WM, but he can actually continue his recuperation and rehab without the strain of heavy workload.

Of course, fans with memory may recall a very similar angle that brought John Cena to Royal Rumble on the way to main eventing at WrestleMania. Some of the script seemed like a word-by-word lift, but that’s probably because they had to describe essentially the same situation, the same set of facts, as in that Cena angle.

That said, it’s great to have Edge back in the show. He has both an excellent sense of humor and stomach-churning intensity, not always the easiest combination.

Who Will Main Event at WrestleMania?
Edge won the Rumble match, which means he’ll compete for a title at WM 26.

Ah, but who will Edge fight? On RAWE, he postponed the announcement of his decision until after Elimination Chamber. That’s a sure sign that WWE will inject swerves and switches between now and the Big Day.

The bookers have made it look like Edge will either go against Undertaker to recapture the top Smackdown belt or confront Sheamus with the RAW title at stake.

I don’t think Edge will fight either of them. If I were the booker, you could make that “definitely won’t fight either of them,” because WWE has a much more attractive alternative available for Edge.

The Rated R Superstar doesn’t have any history with Sheamus, whose WWE career has proceeded in Edge’s absence. He has major history with Undertaker, but Taker’s WM winning streak will probably continue and Edge shouldn’t Rest in Peace in his first major match after the long lay-off.

Did you notice that absolutely no one mentioned WWE’s third major title – the ECW Championship.

That really makes so much sense for WWE and for the overall quality, excitement and marketability of this year’s WrestleMania.

First and foremost, Edge-Christian has genuine sizzle. These guys have a tremendous back-story and a clash between them would have gigantic fan appeal/ It’s even legitimate in the sense that Christian is more or less a babyface and Edge is more or less a heel.

They could even book it as a match that leads to a reconciliation, such as a time-limit draw, and use it as a springboard for a few tag team tilts, perhaps against DX.

Edge-Christian would also allow Shawn Michaels, possibly after winning an Elimination Chamber match, to fight Undertaker at WrestleMania. That’s a glamour match, especially after last year.

Kingfish’s Side Note: Wouldn’t Michaels-Undertaker be a great retirement match for both men?

This scheme would also allow WWE to do any of several tempting matches around the RAW title. They might even resort to a Cena-Sheamus-Triple H-Orton four-way dance.

Another Kingfish Side-Note: How come they never mention that being #2 in the Rumble match is exactly the same as being #1?

That’s all for today, but I’ll be back Monday with another installment of the Internet’s fastest-rising pro wrestling column. I hope you’ll come back then and, please, tell your friends about the column, too.

– Arnie Katz
Executive Editor
Crossfire4@cox.net
(2/3/10)