The Ultimate Guide to The Royal Rumble 2010 - Version One

The next WWE PPV is the one best suited to predictions.  It's the Royal Rumble!  There is no other show in wrestling history that provides so many interesting items to predict.  Sure, some shows allow for very in-depth predictions - a Traditional Survivor Series match lets you pick the total number of survivors, who the survivors will be, and how many eliminations wrestlers will earn in the match.  An Elimination Chamber gives you the chance to pick the order of the entrants, the order of eliminations, and again, how many eliminations wrestlers will earn in the match.

But those matches pale in comarison to the sheer amount of data that comes from the Royal Rumble match.  And in the case of the Rumble, every bit of data is truly fun to track!

Below you will find version one of what I consider the Ultimate Guide to the 2010 Royal Rumble.  We've asked numerous questions about the Rumble match so far.  While some of the questions were asked long ago, and thus some of the answers are outside of the realm of possibility now, that's okay - once the official Royal Rumble 2010 prediction game opens, many of the same questions will be asked.  But of course, the ones predicted months in advance carry with them a large number of points.

Let's kick it off with the big one:

(WWE) Royal Rumble 2010: Who will win the Rumble? (6 months early)
This question ended on 07/26/2009

-- 35 points for correct answer

Overall Percentages:
Edge: 18.95%
Batista: 9.86%
John Morrison: 8.78%
Triple H: 7.09%
Jeff Hardy: 6.78%
Shawn Michaels: 6.16%
Undertaker: 6.01%
MVP: 4.62%
Chris Jericho: 4.47%
John Cena: 4.16%
Christian: 3.39%
CM Punk: 3.39%
Ted DiBiase Jr: 3.08%
Randy Orton: 2.31%
Anyone else: 2.31%
Kane: 1.23%
Evan Bourne: 1.08%
Big Show: 0.92%
Jack Swagger: 0.77%
The Miz: 0.77%
Matt Hardy: 0.62%
Kofi Kingston: 0.46%
Mark Henry: 0.46%
Rey Mysterio: 0.46%
Tommy Dreamer: 0.31%
Vladimir Kozlov: 0.31%
Carlito: 0.15%
Cody Rhodes: 0.15%
Dolph Ziggler: 0.15%
Ezekiel Jackson: 0.15%
R-Truth: 0.15%
Ricky Ortiz: 0.15%
The Great Khali: 0.15%
William Regal: 0.15%

While two of the front-runners, Edge and Jeff Hardy, are extremely unlikely at this point, it's always interesting to see who everyone thought would have won back in July.

And really, second only to who actually wins the main event spot at WrestleMania, the Rumble is well-known for having unannounced entrants.  Many times, these entrants are huge surprises and hearing their music upon entrance pops just about every fan in existence!

(WWE) Royal Rumble 2010: Will there be any surprise entrants?
This question ended on 12/04/2009

-- 5 points per correct answer, -5 per incorrect answer, 5 bonus points for all correct with no incorrect
-- 4-Down Note: "Choose any of the wrestlers listed that you think will be a surprise entrant to the Royal Rumble match. To count as a surprise, they must not be announced before the beginning of the PPV officially by WWE. You will lose points for any wrong answers, so choose wisely. Pick "None of the above" if you think none of the listed wrestlers will appear, but do not choose a wrestler along with "None of the above" or you will end up with no points. (your points will bottom out at 0 points, there is no chance of receiving negative points)  Once this question has closed, if WWE announces that any of the options will officially take part in the match, you will not be penalized for your choice. If all of your choices end up being officially announced, your answer will automatically change to "None of the above.""

Overall Percentages:
Edge: 45.22%
Booker T: 19.32%
None of the above: 18.01%
Jeff Hardy: 10.88%
Rob Van Dam: 10.51%
Ricky Steamboat: 8.63%
Bryan Danielson: 7.13%
Umaga: 6.19%
Mr. Kennedy: 3.38%
Roddy Piper: 3.38%
The Ultimate Warrior: 2.44%
Stone Cold Steve Austin: 2.25%
Sting: 1.69%
JBL: 1.31%
Ric Flair: 0.94%
Randy Savage: 0.94%
Hulk Hogan: 0.56%

Again, many of the choices are no longer possible (Hulk Hogan, Jeff Hardy, and sadly Umaga - even sadder in that it sounds like he would have been a likely surprise), but still fun to see what fans would like to see.  (and nice to see Hogan pulled up the rear - and that was before we knew he was involved with TNA!)

So then we get to the more standard Rumble questions.  First up, the final four.  It's always great to see who the final four end up.

(WWE) Royal Rumble 2010: Who will be final four wrestlers after all entrants have entered the ring?
This question ends on 01/02/2010

-- 0 points per correct answer, no incorrect answers allowed to score points.
-- 4-Down Note: "You may select as many "Surprise Entrants" as you would like - but make sure who you are thinking of is not already presented as a choice. Choose the "Surprise Entrants" in order - if you only pick one, go with the one marked "(1)". Do not pick "(1)" and "(4)" as you would not earn points even if there are two surprises in the end - pick "(1)" and "(2)" in that case. You can pick all four, but that's at your own risk."

Overall Percentages:
Randy Orton: 42.65%
Edge: 32.35%
Chris Jericho: 30.88%
Triple H: 26.47%
CM Punk: 23.53%
John Morrison: 23.53%
Kofi Kingston: 20.59%
Shawn Michaels: 20.59%
John Cena: 19.12%
Surprise Entrant (1): 14.71%
Batista: 13.24%
Big Show: 13.24%
Kane: 11.76%
Sheamus: 5.88%
Undertaker: 5.88%
Christian: 4.41%
Rey Mysterio: 4.41%
Drew McIntyre: 2.94%
Jack Swagger: 2.94%
Luke Gallows: 2.94%
The Miz: 2.94%
Evan Bourne: 1.47%
Ezekiel Jackson: 1.47%
Mark Henry: 1.47%
Matt Hardy: 1.47%
MVP: 1.47%
Paul Burchill: 1.47%
R-Truth: 1.47%
Santino Marella: 1.47%
Ted DiBiase Jr: 1.47%
Vance Archer: 1.47%
Surprise Entrant (2): 1.47%
Surprise Entrant (3): 1.47%
Surprise Entrant (4): 1.47%

And then, who gets to draw #1?  In recent years, it's a solid worker who WWE can trust to direct the match almost to the very end.

(WWE) Royal Rumble 2010: Who will be the person who enters as #1?
This question ends on 01/02/2010

-- 10 points for correct answer

Overall Percentages:
CM Punk: 15.49%
Chris Jericho: 9.86%
Randy Orton: 8.45%
John Morrison: 5.63%
R-Truth: 4.23%
Shelton Benjamin: 4.23%
The Miz: 4.23%
Chavo Guerrero: 2.82%
Drew McIntyre: 2.82%
Evan Bourne: 2.82%
John Cena: 2.82%
Kane: 2.82%
Kofi Kingston: 2.82%
Vladimir Kozlov: 2.82%
Zack Ryder: 2.82%
Anyone else: 2.82%
Batista: 1.41%
Big Show: 1.41%
Carlito: 1.41%
Christian: 1.41%
Cody Rhodes: 1.41%
Eric Escobar: 1.41%
Ezekiel Jackson: 1.41%
Hurricane Helms: 1.41%
Jack Swagger: 1.41%
Matt Hardy: 1.41%
Mike Knox: 1.41%
Rey Mysterio: 1.41%
Shawn Michaels: 1.41%
Ted DiBiase Jr: 1.41%
The Great Khali: 1.41%
Yoshi Tatsu: 1.41%

And the coveted #30 spot.  Reserved usually for a big surprise (John Cena, for instance), or for a monster that the announcers can push as there being no chance anyone can take out since he's fresh AND monstrous.

(WWE) Royal Rumble 2010: Who will be the person who enters as #30?
This question ends on 01/02/2010

-- 10 points for correct answer

Overall Percentages:
Edge: 36.84%
CM Punk: 11.84%
Randy Orton: 9.21%
Anyone else: 9.21%
Batista: 3.95%
Shawn Michaels: 3.95%
The Miz: 3.95%
Big Show: 2.63%
Hurricane Helms: 2.63%
John Morrison: 2.63%
Kane: 2.63%
Santino Marella: 2.63%
Ted DiBiase Jr: 2.63%
Triple H: 2.63%
Drew McIntyre: 1.32%
Rey Mysterio: 1.32%

Many of these questions were just opened up last night.  Make sure to cast your vote!  There's nothing better than you and a friend making your picks and then seeing who's right - and with this site, you have the chance to PROVE you called it ahead of time!

I'll be posting back with another version of our Ultimate Guide to the Royal Rumble as the show grows nearer.  Have an idea for a question you'd like us to ask?  Send it in!