Well, what's more exciting? The new year or the start of the road to WrestleMania. I will definitely take WrestleMania. At least it will be over in 4 months. Unlike the torture we will endure for the rest of the year.

The Royal Rumble. On of the greatest wrestling PPV's that is put on every year. But I do miss Starrcade. This years Rumble should be a doozy. At the time of this writing only 23 out of the 30 participants have been named. I personally have always found battle royals to be kind of boring. But, the Rumble is different. It's a great concept that has been stolen by virtually every other wrestling organization in one way, shape, or form since it's inception 23 years ago. Let's get to the rundown and my predictions.

The card should start out with the ECW championship. Jack Swaggar vs. Matt Hardy. Don't expect a title change. Even though Jack Swagger isn't ready to have gold around his waist, I don't see it going back to Hardy. Everyone knows that Vince has made the ECW the proving ground for the young wrestlers coming up. Which I think is great. No matter how much I miss the old ECW. But it's great to see the young, fresh new blood getting a chance to work a WWE size audience and get the nationwide television exposure. Unfortunately only a few wrestlers have actually been able to run with the torch that they have been given. With Swagger being the first one to actually win the ECW gold. As far as Matt goes, I would expect him to be going back to Smackdown to help with Jeff's troubles. I think the WWE has a lot bigger plans for Matt then being the ECW champ.

The women's champion, Beth Phoenix is putting her belt on the line against Melina. It's should be called the bombshell battle. Both of these Divas are not only gorgeous, but are also fantastic wrestlers. They are two of the few Divas that actually have the ultimate combination. There are way to many divas that are fun to look at, but can't wrestle their way out of a paper bag. I am actually looking forward to this match. I know I'm normally pretty critical about women wrestlers, but these 2 women are above and beyond what you normally see in a women's match. I think Beth will keep her belt which will lead to plenty of good rematches in the future.

John Cena vs. JBL w/Shawn Michaels in his corner should be a war. Cena is a great champion, but the odds are really stacked against him. There is no way that JBL could ever beat Cena on his own. But with the "Show Stopper" as his new employee it completely changes everything. I wouldn't be surprised to see JBL walk out with the belt. His last title run. It will last a few months until Michaels comes to his senses and causes JBL to lose the belt at a future PPV.

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge match should be the match of the night. I totally expect to see Christian make his long awaited debut. He will help Edge win back the title. Possibly even bring back Tomko. But I kind of doubt that. At least at this point. You will find out that Christian has been the one responsible for all the hell that Jeff has gone through in these last couple of months. It will be a war. Any match that Hardy and Edge have been in together have been tremendous. Both these guys hold nothing back and know how to steel the show. They have been doing it since they were in bottom of the card tag team matches. As fans we have watched these guys grow and develop over the last ten years. And now they are at the top of their game and it's great to see.

Now to the Royal Rumble itself. So many great names are in it. From giants like The Great Khali, Mark Henry, and the Big Show. Fantastic high flyers like Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio. Monsters like Kane and Vladimir Kozlov. And all around great wrestlers like HHH, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton. But don't forget all the wrestlers I didn't mention. The Rumble is always full of surprises. I wouldn't be surprised to see DH Smith, Senshi (Low-Ki), or Evan Borne become surprise entrants in the Rumble. But when all the dust settles I am predicting that this years winner is going to be...The Undertaker. This will get him his automatic, and well deserved, title shot at WrestleMania 25. By then Shawn Michaels can win the gold from JBL and we can have a huge WrestleMania main event. Mr. WrestleMania vs. the undefeated streak of the Taker.

Now that the predictions are out of the way, let's get to the opinion section. For starters, what the hell is up with Hulk Hogan. It is being reported that a yellow Mustang drove up to the parking lot at Florida Championship Wrestling's headquarters in Tampa at 6:00 p.m. just before scheduled show on Jan 22. The car pulled up near the steps to the arena where the fans hang out and the driver rolled down the window to reveal himself as Hulk Hogan. Hogan told the fans to "find someone in there for him to wrestle" and that he would be back. Hogan drove off and never came back.

Does this idiot just have nothing better to do with his time? Or his ego so big that he has to seek out wrestling fans that are minding their own business just to make himself feel better. Who the hell wants to watch you wrestle anyway Hogan. You haven't been able to pull off a good match since 1985. And even then it was iffy. Besides the only fight you should be interested in is if your gold digging, cradle robbing, ex wife will let you have your gardener back.

Finally I want to talk a little about Vince McMahon. Anyone who saw Raw last week can't argue that Vince will do anything for wrestling and for the WWE. He took a pretty stiff punt from Orton. It's being reported that Vince even got busted open the hard way because of it. Apparently Orton's laces cut Vince's head above his left ear. Vince has devoted his life, heart, and soul to this business. A lot of people don't like Vince because he is a very tough businessman and a lot of fans find it hard to differentiate from wrestling shows and the real wrestling business. Plus a lot of TNA fans seem to hate Vince. For no other reason then he is the "enemy". Well, for all you Vince haters out there, just remember that pro wrestling would not be a shell of what it is now if it wasn't for him.

I know this is a wrestling column, but politics seem to be the magic word on everyone's tongue. Earlier this week we welcomed a new president to the White House. I openly admit to being a liberal republican. And am very openly against Barack Obama. As the LA Times referrers to him as the "Lucky Negro". (Their words not mine) I am not going to try to predict the future and say he is going to be a better or worse president then those of the past. I am curious to see what happens. I will say that I hope and pray all the terrorists that he wants to release from prison don't make any of your family members their next victims. It is a shame that the United States feels that being popular is more important then being safe.

Take care everyone. Please feel free to send any and all comments and complaints my way. Stay cool.