Caleb Baldwin – Social Suplex’s Impact Wrestling reviewer.

Jeremy Donovan – Editor-in-Chief for Social Suplex and co-host of Keepin’ It Strong Style on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.

Rich Latta – Columnist for Lords of Pain and Social Suplex, and host of One Nation Radio on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.

Brian “Clive” Kinsella – Social Suplex’s 205 Live Reviewer and co-host of the Ricky & Clive Wrestling Show on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.

Tom Gambardella – Social Suplex’s NXT reviewer

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton (Chairs Match)

Rich: I always wanted to see Rey Mysterio return to WWE and wrestle someone he feuded with 12 years ago in a chairs match. I swear to God. Pick: Randy Orton

Jeremy:  Honestly I think this one could go either way, but I’m going to go with Rey. Pick: Rey Mysterio

Clive: What Rich said 👆 (Rey Mysterio for the W).  Pick: Rey Mysterio

Tom: Smackdown’s got enough heels rn, I’ll say Rey goes over. Just let this be the end of the feud please. Pick: Rey Mysterio

Caleb: This feud has been dominated by Randy Orton lately, so I’ll take the little man here. Pick: Rey Mysterio

R-Truth & Carmella vs. Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox (Finals of MMC Season 2

Rich: I didn’t watch one second of this tournament that has replaced more members than The Temptations and Menudo. The entire concept has exposed the WWE injury rate, and lack of planning as both injuries and protection from falls were why most people were pulled. Hence we’re left with these 4 geeks. I’ll take Jinder and Alicia. Pick: Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

Jeremy: The Mixed Match Challenge is a complete joke. I can’t believe the number 30 spots are  going to be wasted on one of these teams. I’m going with Jinder and Alicia because that would generate heat and we all know how much this company loves heat. Pick: Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

Clive: Mahal & Fox to win. Purely so R-Truth mistakenly comes down at #30 also for the laughs. Pick: Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

Tom: Look I’m gonna be honest, the idea of either Jinder Mahal or R-Truth being the 30th entrant in a Royal Rumble feels like a mistake…Then again, so does the idea of Carmella or Alicia Fox being the 30th entrant in the women’s rumble. Who booked this nonsense?! I’ll say Jinder and Alicia win for the same reasons Jeremy mentioned. Pick: Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

Caleb: WHO CARES?! Pick: Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox I guess. 

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander

Rich: Cedric is back for his rematch! Everyone excited? I guess not. Maybe THE LEGEND ARIYA DAIVARI will interrupt. 205 Live is slowly getting dissolved. Free Mustafa Ali. Pick: Buddy Murphy

Jeremy: This should be a good little match. We’re still early in Buddy Murphy’s reign so I’m expecting him to retain. Pick: Buddy Murphy

Clive: I’m fantasy booking Cedric retaining in a triple threat vs Murphy & Ali at the Rumble, so Murphy will retain here. Pick: Buddy Murphy

Tom: I think it’s a little too early for Buddy to lose the title, so I’ll say he retains here. I think there’ll be some kind of dusty finish to keep the feud going, but Buddy Murphy’s walking out with the belt. Pick: Buddy Murphy

Caleb: Buddy’s title run is good for at least another three months. Pick: Buddy Murphy

Elias vs. Bobby Lashley (Ladder Match)

Rich: This pairing stinks no matter what alignment it’s in. This is an unofficial, “On A Pole Match.” I’ve maintained we’re currently watching WCW with WWE programming of late, and here is another example. Elias can’t wrestle well enough to be a nongiant babyface in this era, and Lashley’s return has been summarized by the double ankle hold to quote James. This could be a worst match of the year candidate. Pick: Elias

Jeremy: This is so dumb. In matches like these the babyface tends to retrieve the weapon, but then the heel snatches the weapon from the babyface and uses it to win. I’m pretty sure this match will follow the same formula. Pick: Bobby Lashley

Clive: Lashley will win this one, probably convincingly. Hopefully neither wrestler picks up “A-Minor” injury (thanks folks, I’m here all week). Pick: Bobby Lashley

Tom: So we’ve got a ladder match. But if you climb the ladder and get the thing that’s hanging from it you DON’T win, you just get to use that thing as a weapon. And the thing is a guitar, which is gonna shatter after one hit. So we’re gonna have a heatless match building up to a guitar hit that probably gets NO reaction. I think Elias wins but my God am I not excited to watch this. Pick: Elias 

Caleb: Vince Russo booked this shit but was told he couldn’t use a pole. Pick: Bobby Lashley folks, my man!

Finn Bálor vs. Drew McIntyre

Rich: One of these guys was a superstar in NXT that was the biggest the draw the promotion may have ever had, and the first Universal Champion. The other is a tall above average wrestler with long hair and an incredible physique having his first singles match since coming back to the main roster. You saw the word tall right. Pick: Drew McIntyre

Jeremy: I am hoping they make this match somewhat competitive . Unfortunatley I don’t think that will be the case. I expect Balor to get boldozered and domainated by McIntyre. Pick: Drew McIntyre

Clive: I’m not sure Balor will actually be fit to fight. So expecting a replacement and a win for McIntyre. Pick: Drew McIntyre 

Tom: Look I want Finn to be more than a midcard babyface. I want him to do bigger things than put over bigger dudes. But that’s not happening here…Drew is clearly the one that management sees as a star, and I expect him to get the win here. Silver lining? It’ll probably be one of the longer matches on the card, so Finn should get something in. Pick: Drew McIntyre 

Caleb: Sorry Finn, Drew is the one that has the eye of the booker. Pick: Drew McIntyre

Natalya vs. Ruby Riott (Tables Match)

Rich: This company is going to have Natalya lose a match she dedicated to her father. That’s just in their character traits. Can you tell I think this show is gonna stink? Pick: Ruby Riott

Jeremy: I’m not the biggest fan of exploiting a death for feuds, especially a bottom of the card feud like this. After Ruby’s comments on Monday, Nattie needs to win. Pick: Natalya

Clive: The Laws of Physics will win, and there will be a failed table spot. Ruby Riott to win and finally give her Squad some credibility. Pick: Ruby Riott

Tom: Ooh boy, the “hey your dad died” feud. This should probably end with Natty putting Ruby Riott through a table, but I don’t think it will. In fact I think the more likely ending is Ruby Riott and either Sarah Logan or Liv Morgan hitting a Hart attack to win the mat, because HEEL HEAT, DAMMIT! Pick: Ruby Riott

Caleb: The sadist in me would love to see Natalya go through the table with a fathead version of her dead father, but surely that wouldn’t happen, right? Pick: Natalya

The Bar vs. The New Day vs. The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match)

Rich: This should have been a TLC match so they could clean the up the one thing The Dudleys, Edge and Christian & The Hardys have left to hold on to. I’ll take ALL these modern teams over those ones. Pick: The Usos

Jeremy: If given enough time, this match could easily steal the show. The Usos haven’t be featured as much as they were last year and I think it would be great to put the belts on them here. Pick: The Usos

Clive: Too many comedy segments over the last few months have rendered this boring for me. Bludgeon Bros will interrupt and make it a no contest. If not, Usos for the win. Pick: The Usos

Tom: I think the Usos pick up the win here, but I don’t think The Bar get pinned. Pick: The Usos

Caleb: I’d be happy with any of these three teams winning, but I suspect they want to continue to run some combination of two of the three teams next month so I’ll pick a pair of new champions. Pick: The Uso Twins

SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (Triple Threat TLC Match)

Rich: There is no such thing as someone being better chasing the belt than they are being champion. There are only weak challengers Caleb. Luckily, we don’t have those here. I’m itching to see The Man whoop some ass after she’s been out since before Survivor Series. Charlotte has been really intense lately, and even Asuka feels like she has signs of life. I’ll take Becky retaining and they can figure the rest out later. Pick: Becky Lynch

Jeremy: I would love for The Man to retain here. However if they’re going to pull the trigger on the Becky/Ronda match at Mania then Becky has to drop that title before the women’s Rumble. Then Becky can win the Rumble and challenge Ronda for the Raw title at Mania. Asuka should win this match and they should do Asuka vs Charlotte WM rematch with the roles reversed. Pick: Asuka

Clive: I think the SD women’s division needs to not be a two horse race anymore. Asuka for a win to freshen things up. Pick: Asuka

Tom: Jeremy said it perfectly, if Becky vs Ronda is happening at Mania we’ve gotta get the belt off her. And since I want Becky vs Ronda to happen at Mania, I’ll say Asuka wins here. Pick: Asuka

Caleb: As much as we all love THE MAN, I get the sense that she’s better at chasing than she is at leading, and hell, she can’t face Ronda in April if she still has the SmackDown title. Pick: Charlotte for the 69th time

Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax

Rich: This pairing shocked us in June at MITB. Does lightning strike twice? I’m really unsure. If it’s me I’m having Ronda destroy Tamina before the match begins earlier in the show, then destroy Nia Jax. Pick: Ronda Rousey

Jeremy: I don’t Ronda will be the losing that title anytime soon. Ronda will break the arm of the facebreaker. Pick: Ronda Rousey

Clive: Rousey win retain. She won’t be losing Amy title soon this close to Mania season. Pick: Ronda Rousey

Tom: C’mon now, you really don’t think Ronda’s losing any time soon, do you? Rousey wins, and by God I hope it’s a short match. Pick: Ronda Rousey

Caleb: Ronda easy. Maybe they’ll be done with the “facebreaker” soon. Pick: Ronda Rousey

Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin (Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match)

Rich: I hope Strowman kills Corbin in 10 Seconds. They wouldn’t be advertising it this much if it wasn’t happening. Or you know, Shane McMahon could win this match or something. Pick: Braun Strowman

Jeremy: Braun needs to squash this geek as quickly as possible. I’m so over with the amount of Baron Corbin has been featured on the show. He’s not good. Put him in a box and send him back to the performance center. Pick: Braun Strowman

Clive: Why is this even a thing? Not sure how it will happen with Braun injured, but Corbin will lose.  Pick: Braun Strowman

Tom: This is a weird one, because if Braun wins he gets Lesnar at the rumble, and does anyone want to see Braun vs Brock again? We’ve seen that WWE doesn’t want Braun to be the guy to beat Brock, and yet they’re really gonna send him out there to eat a pin again. Braun wins, only because Corbin winning might cause the arena to burn down. Pick: Braun Strowman

Caleb: Braun Strowman. At some point Baron Corbin will have Strowman dead to rights (thanks to interference from Corbin’s buddies) and Corbin will make Slater count the three but he won’t do it. From there expect faces like Balor, Elias, and Ziggler to come to the ring and even the odds. I’m getting off track. Pick: Braun Strowman

Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Rich: FINALLY. These two can get in the ring and save this terrible feud WWE has crafted around them. It’s been going on since October 22nd, and we might have 2 or 3 things that don’t have to get in the bin regarding this feud. I do trust these guys as wrestlers, I’ll take Ambrose. Pick: Dean Ambrose

Jeremy: This feud has been luke warm for me. In order to get the ball rolling Ambrose needs to win the title here. Pick: Dean Ambrose

Clive: As a mark for both, I’m disappointed with where this feud has gone. Should be a good match though. Pick: Dean Ambrose

Tom: I think Seth is gonna be in the Universal title picture sometime soon, so I’ll say Ambrose wins and takes the IC belt. This feud should have been AWESOME, it should’ve been the best thing on the main roster this year, and yet it’s just flat as hell. Let Ambrose win, and let both guys be done with this feud that WWE clearly doesn’t know how to book. Pick: Dean Ambrose

Caleb: I suspect Seth is going to move up from this feud after the Royal Rumble, but I’ll take Seth retaining here. Pick: Seth Rollins

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles

Rich: I’m on high alert for a DQ finish. WWE has botched enough “dream style” matches this year. Instead of this being the first time these guys locked up, its the 4th, and it’s not at a big 4. Fuckery ensues as I rage about how THE BEST BABYFACE OF THE CENTURY ASKED TO TURN HEEL BECAUSE THEY BLEW ALL THE MOMENTUM OF HIS MIRACLE COMEBACK WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BEEN A CONSPIRACY THE WHOLE TIME TO GET R——. Let me stop. Bryan retains. Pick: AJ Styles  

Jeremy: Since this is one of the only matches that doesn’t have a stipulation, I’m expecting a DQ finish here. Pick: AJ Styles

Clive: Daniel Bryan to retain. Too early in his rein to drop it so soon. Pick: Daniel Bryan

Tom: Smackdown had to bring Mustafa Ali up from 205 Live this week because they don’t have enough babyfaces…so if AJ falls out of the title picture, who in the blue hell steps up to challenge Bryan? I think Bryan retains in a dusty finish, just so we can keep this feud going through the rumble. Pick: Daniel Bryan

Caleb: The title run of the grunge eco warrior has just begun, surely it can’t end here. Pick: The New Daniel Bryan