The picking portion is easy: I took Seattle to beat Denver in this year's Super Bowl before the first game of the season kicked off, and I'm not breaking from that one week away, especially since both are at home.
Now to the challenging part!
Ok, so the favorites of each conference are in this year's title game, which means they probably all have to sit toward the top of the card in WWE. Orton really fits with the Denver Broncos style this year.
Since about SummerSlam, Orton has been pegged as 'the guy' in WWE. The Authority backs him and he has the championship pedigree to produce a consistent, high-level product.
On the other hand, he has routinely just wanted to show off and not really be tested. Nonetheless, when push came to shove, the "Apex Predator" has maintained his position on top.
This is very much a Broncos thing. Elway in the luxury box watching his hand-chosen quarterback lead him to the promised land, and despite all the failures of the Broncos in some spots, they haven't given up their top seed position and have gotten to where they're supposed to.
I really felt like this was a simple one. Now to a more difficult selection.
Some of you probably expected John Cena because he's Bostonian and has a history of success at the top. This is all true.
But New England hasn't won a title and held it for a while. Big Show hasn't consistently been champion either, in spite of all the time he spends near the top of the card.
And think about it, while Big Show has struggled through multiple injuries and a slew of really bizarre booking decisions (the month of crying, running over a Diva), he's actually managed to keep himself out there in prominent positions. He main evented a show a few months ago and will be at the Royal Rumble in a match with Brock Lesnar.
Likewise, the Patriots have lost countless receivers and tight ends and yet have stayed in the picture as a running/defensive team. And in both situations, you can attribute it to their most notable factor: Big Show's height and New England's coaching.
The Pats really have been the NFL's Big Show this year.
A sweeping majority of you probably expected Bryan to be connected to the Seahawks because of his Washington roots, and he would fit pretty well there too.
The reason I went with Bryan as a 49er is because they've both been shoved down, and people have attempted to dismiss them as a solid product that has no bearing on the major title scene.
And they've each forced their acknowledgement.
Anyone remember the early weeks of this season when the 49ers were losing games and people were questioning if Colin Kaepernick was anywhere near as good as he looked in the Super Bowl the year before? Heck, even I said they'd miss the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Nonetheless, here they are.
As for Daniel Bryan, how often has a decision been made with him this year where fans assumed he'd get shoved down the card. Being the sacrificial lamb to Kane after Hell No broke up, losing to Randy Orton after winning the WWE title, getting screwed by HBK, joining the Wyatt Family, and countless other moments were supposed to be the death knell of the character.
And yet here he is, in my view the favorite to win the Royal Rumble if his concussion heals up by then.
You can say it was planned or you can say it's the will of the people, but in San Fran and D-Bry's cases, they are just. that. good.
There's no other way to describe these two entities except: Best in the World.
Even if they haven't been the talk of their respective sports, with major stories going around with new stars and such, the focus is never far from Seattle or Punk. They're always lingering in the back of everyone's mind as a big deal who could be back any minute.
Remember when focus was going to the Saints as an unbeatable force? Remember when they went to Seattle on Monday Night Football? Yeah, that's what Seattle is: a buzzsaw that you don't notice until you are standing right in front of it.
Even throughout Daniel Bryan's battle for the WWE title, what was CM Punk doing? Having nonstop great promos with Paul Heyman. Even when he was doing something as mundane as facing Curtis Axel, you had to stop and see what might develop in the feud between a top wrestler and a non-wrestler.
This is what Punk's been doing right for months now: Making the non-title scene interesting. He hasn't been up for a title shot in months, and yet he's still a focus.
Meanwhile, Seattle has never won a title, but no matter how cold they can be at times, they're still nearly unbeatable in their Thunderdome of a building, and they remain the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl when all is said and done.
These are all indicative of the best competitors at what they do.
And much like the four superstars I mentioned, no matter how much you don't buy their chances at the moment, it's only a matter of time before they're back in the title picture again.
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