With the Royal Rumble upon us, it's that time of the year when almost every superstar has a chance at making history, as 30 men will fight in the rumble for a main event opportunity at WrestleMania. Everyone wants to carry maximum momentum heading into the rumble, and here's what we can expect from them in this week's shows:

RAW (Thursday 6:30 pm/ 10:30 pm IST):

CM Punk's WWE Championship is in serious jeopardy going into the Royal Rumble, where he defends the title against Dolph Ziggler. The conspicuous presence of Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger in Ziggler's corner was bad enough, and now John Lauranitis (who has some serious issues with Punk) has taken up the mantle of special guest referee for the match. The Second City Saviour will however have a chance to level the playing field when he faces Jack Swagger on Raw, and if he wins, Swagger and Guerrero will be banned from ringside in the WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble.

Even with the Royal Rumble just around the corner, the WWE Universe has been kept busy with some serious issues which must be resolved much sooner than the big Pay-Per-View. With that in mind, here's what lies in store for the fans in India this week's:

RAW (Thursday 6: 30 pm/ 10:30 pm IST):

Kane took his animosity with John Cena to unprecedented heights when he tried to pull Zack Ryder beneath the ring, 'into the depths of hell' as he put it himself. Kane's attempts at making Cena 'embrace the hate' have been unsuccessful so far, and it will be interesting to see to what extent the Big Red Monster is willing to go before Cena finally breaks and accepts the fact that his Cenation has deserted him. But Cena will be having his hands full as he faces Dolph Ziggler in a singles match in the main event, and he will have to keep watching his back if he wants to focus on his game, and try to get some of his old fan base back.

The new year is upon us, and the WWE Universe is all set for a new beginning as it gets ready for the first major Pay-Per-View extravaganza of the year, the annual Royal Rumble. With that in mind, her's what lies in store for the fans in India this week:

RAW (Thursday 2:30 pm/ 10:30 pm IST):

For the past couple of months, a series of cryptic videos has been appearing on the Raw Titantron, signaling that something big was about to happen, that a major superstar is about to make his reurn to the roster. The videos suggested that this person's return would 'change the world of wrestling as we know it'. The wait will finally be over on this week's edition on Raw, and the WWE Universe can't wait to find out the answer to this enigma.

The WWE gets set to welcome the new year with some really exciting wrestling action, and the WWE Universe is in for a wild ride. Here's what to expect if you are one of the thousands of eager fans in India:

Raw (Thursday 3 pm IST):

CM Punk seems to have taken his fight against authority to the next level, with his repeated mocking of John Lauranitis finally earning him the wrath of the Interim Raw General Manager on the Slammy Awards edition of Raw. This week, the WWE Champion has promised to call Lauranitis out, with the intentions of challenging him to a match, and it will be interesting to see how the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations handles this situation, seeing how desperate he is to beat some respect into the Second City Saviour.