The last two Royal Rumbles have been terrible. The Royal Rumble isn't supposed to be a popularity contest, but the WWE just made decisions that were definitely not popular with the vocal fans. And those vocal fans let the WWE hear it and definitely made things look bad.
Will that happen again this year? I do not think so. First of all, Daniel Bryan, the man many fans wanted to see possibly win the Rumble match in the last two years, has not been cleared to compete. I doubt fans will be going crazy in anticipation of him. Moreover, there is no one as hot as he was right now, so you don't have to worry about fans rebelling if that person gets tossed out to soon. You also have the fact that this is an intriguing Royal Rumble match this year with the WWE Championship on the line. With the odds so against Roman Reigns, who is still in the process of winning over his haters, it is likely he will lose. That should make angry smarks happy.
Moving on to the possible candidates to win the title, let's at least look at Roman Reigns to start out. He is the guy currently holding the title and he is the new centerpiece. But that does not mean he will retain here. He won the Royal Rumble just last year. It is unlikely he wins two in a row. He will also be the #1 entrant. The odds are just too against him. I have seen some fans groan that Reigns will retain. I think they are just being pessimistic. Austin and Cena, two other centerpieces, were put in certain situations where their back was to the wall and did not overcome. They would eventually usually still get the title back, and that is what you can expect with Reigns. He will lose the title and win it back at Wrestlemania as part of his first successful Wrestlemania moment as the centerpiece. And those groaning fans need to realize that Roman Reigns will still be the centerpiece regardless of who wins this Sunday.
Looking at the list of potential new WWE Champions, should the title change happen, Brock Lesnar has to be at the top. It isn't just because he is pushed as such a dominant guy. The WWE went with Reigns vs. Lesnar last year for Wrestlemania. That got spoiled and the WWE continued to work on Roman Reigns. They have since pulled the trigger on Reigns as the new top star. They would definitely want to revisit this feud now. The Rock beat John Cena at Wrestlemania in a match that was supposed to be once in a lifetime. The WWE ended up doing it again one year later. Cena won the rematch, which also happened to be for the WWE Championship that time around. I would not be surprised to see Roman Reigns overcome the beast he did not beat at Wrestlemania last year at this year's Wrestlemania, and get his title back in doing so.
There is Triple H. He is on no one's radar, officially. He is not in the Royal Rumble. The WWE has not teased that he will be in the match. And yet, it would not be shocking to see him get involved. Roman Reigns attacked him a few weeks ago and he has been out since. He will want revenge. Triple H being in the Royal Rumble would be a shocker many fans probably expected would happen. At the very least, you might see him run out and try to screw Reigns out of the match. The WWE would definitely want to have some kind of feud between Roman Reigns and Triple H. Whether that is for Fast Lane or Wrestlemania is the question.
How about The Wyatts? Specifically, Bray Wyatt. He has looked strong the week heading into the PPV. Is that just a red herring to get fans thinking he stands more of a chance than he does? Are they actually building up to Brock Lesnar vs. The Wyatts? Or is this just to make the group look strong heading into the match and have Lesnar have his revenge there by decimating them? I'm expecting the last option. History shows The Wyatts only look strong to usually put over someone else. When I said the WWE should push them better, I meant separate to the main angle going on. That is how you create creative depth. They deserve their own top angle. A feud with Ryback isn't it. Let's see what happens with them after Sunday, but I am not expecting Bray Wyatt to win the title. I also doubt his henchmen do it.
Let's look a little more at some unlikely possibilities. AJ Styles is looming. Many anticipate his debut to come after the Royal Rumble. If he should debut at the PPV, should he win the Royal Rumble? That would be a big way to debut. Not only does he win the Royal Rumble, he wins the WWE Championship. I do not think he is likely to start so high. There are too many other priorities, even with the injuries right now. Roman Reigns potentially could be feuding against either Brock Lesnar or Triple in the coming months, possibly both. And the title will be involved in that story. To just insert AJ Styles in that would ruin the potential storylines already there. AJ Styles is likely to get a feud against someone like Jericho.
The most unlikely possibility of all that fans would love to see is Daniel Bryan in this match. He may not be cleared by the WWE, but he thinks he's ready to go. Will the WWE have a change of heart and put him in this match? Will they go so far as to put the title on him and give him that Rumble win he's never had? I do not think that would be the end of Roman Reigns being pushed as the centerpiece, but it might go a long way in pleasing smarks. There is a lot to be said about this possibility, but why bother if it is not likely?
Consider how the match should play out. Specifically, if Roman Reigns is #1 and not likely to win, when should he be tossed out? Stamina in a match like this matters. If the WWE exposes Roman Reigns too much and he irritates fans with his performance, that can be a setback in his getting over. He got cheered by just destroying people. It is unlikely the WWE just has him beat everyone up the entire Rumble match. They can run some angle where he is out of the match unofficially for a good portion of it. For example, have him chase after Vince McMahon ten minutes into the match and not show up again until the final minutes. It would be a cheap trick, but something they might do if they want him in there that long. Or they can just have him eliminated in the middle of the match. Would it ruin the story? It might create suspense that the fans are guaranteed a new WWE Champion. Just as good.
One more thing I want to say about this whole situation. This is how The Authority should have been for years. Vince and Stephanie are just evil. They are out to screw Roman Reigns. That is their main focus. The Authority with Triple H and Stephanie has just not been a strong heel group. They would regularly play with tension within the group. Most of the time, it would not even go anywhere. If the WWE was writing the current storyline the same way they have in recent years, Vince and Stephanie probably would have started turning on each other last week. It is just inconsistent storytelling. It can be confusing to fans. Moving forward, Triple H and Stephanie should be that focused on screwing their face enemies or helping their heel allies.
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