Randy Orton Wins 2017 Royal Rumble

I had said that this year's Royal Rumble was more unpredictable than the last few years. And Randy Orton  winning the Royal Rumble match was not something I even brought up. Yes, I saw the rumors and betting sites saying he was the likely winner. But how is something worth predicting when you are going by what sources are supposedly saying?

A lot of fans are just happy that it was not Roman Reigns, who was the big surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. This was a really disappointing Rumble match in terms of surprise appearances. A lot of fans are also unhappy about how the match was booked overall. This will definitely not go down as one of the best Royal Rumbles.

How about Orton winning his second Royal Rumble? I am a Randy Orton fan, but even I am not too thrilled about this. I was just more excited to see other individuals get the big push that felt like they deserved it more. There were some part-timers that looked like they could use this win to create a great title feud for Wrestlemania. I am thinking about Goldberg and The Undertaker. This is one year where a part-timer main-eventing Wrestlemania might have been okay. Miz had been developing some momentum in the last few months. Winning the Royal Rumble would have been huge for him. He has his credibility back. Randy Orton just did not need it or deserve it.

There are two feud possibilities for Orton at Wrestlemania. The obvious one is him feuding against the new WWE Champion, John Cena. These two have gone at it multiple times over the years in title matches. They have never faced each other in a singles match at Wrestlemania. But how many people really care about this feud? Even though these two have been the top two guys of the company for a decade now, this isn't like Austin vs. The Rock. A lot of fans could have watched those two feud forever.

The other option is the continuation of the feud Orton has going on right now, and dirtsheets have penciled in as what will happen. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship. Wyatt wins the title at Elimination Chamber. This is another option that is just not good. I was a fan of this feud at one time. That feels like a long time ago. At a time with so many sour storylines and bringing up real-life situations, this was a feud that just played off of both men's gimmicks. But then the WWE got too fancy and tried to do too much. They took a feud that could have lasted just 2 to 4 months and turned it into a storyline that will last half a year or longer. This feud doesn't deserve to be main-eventing Wrestlemania, and it likely won't. Even though these two main-evented a Smackdown PPV a few months ago, they shouldn't have. This is an upper-midcard feud.

And that is what Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble feels like. It feels like an upper-midcarder won it. It feels the same way as when Sheamus won it years ago. When you have so many other guys with more momentum to them than Randy Orton, his win last night just doesn't feel as big. I just don't know if they can create something as epic for Randy Orton as they could have with certain other guys. As I said, his rivalry with Cena isn't as epic as Austin/Rock, and his feud with Bray Wyatt has turned into an example of the WWE trying to do too much.

As of right now, I am not too excited for this year's Wrestlemania. There is still a lot of time for feuds to fall into place, but the WWE killed a lot of epic possibilities already. And some of the other likely matches don't feel that epic. I wonder if the WWE will realize this and panic and try something big.

Previewing The 2017 Royal Rumble Match

This is one of the most unpredictable Royal Rumble matches in a while. Last year, Roman Reigns had to defend the WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble match. He had destroyed Triple H a while before that. It was obvious what feud was coming. And the WWE went the predictable route of Triple H winning the 2016 Royal Rumble. The year before that, the WWE was showing signs of giving Roman Reigns the big push. People could see it coming, and the WWE did what they expected. Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble. And in 2014, Batista made his triumphant return. We all know how that turned out.

One of the reasons the 2017 Royal Rumble match is more unpredictable than the last three years is that the WWE is back to having two top titles. Even if you want to argue that the WWE is telegraphing what the Wrestlemania title match will be for one brand, what about the other brand? There are now two Wrestlemania title matches to build, and which one will involve the Royal Rumble winner this Sunday?

Even before Raw ended this week with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker in the ring, I was going to say that these three look like the "Big 3" right now. I am not just talking about their size. These are the top part-timers being featured right now that will be in the Royal Rumble match. These were three names I just had to look at.

I'll start with Lesnar. He is probably the least likely to win the Royal Rumble match of the three. Do they really want to do Reigns vs. Lesnar again? That sounds like something they might want to do, but I don't see them doing it here.

Goldberg is pretty likely to get a title match. He just returned to the WWE a few months ago. Promotions typically like to give titles to people that have some hype around them. TNA (Impact Wrestling) usually gives former WWE guys title reigns when they come over. Even independent promotions have been known to put titles on former WWE guys. They have that notoriety. While Goldberg is still hot and the WWE doesn't look interested in booking him as poorly as they did Sting, I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the Royal Rumble and headlines Wrestlemania.

And then there is The Undertaker. He doesn't have many years left and one more title reign before he does retire would be fitting. I could see him facing John Cena at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship. But does he need the Royal Rumble victory to get this match?

The problem with these three guys is that they are all part-timers. What about the guys on the full-time roster? I should at least mention a few names. I'll go with Seth Rollins for Raw and Miz for Smackdown.

I have seen some fans say that the WWE will pull some kind of swerve and Seth Rollins will find himself in the Royal Rumble match and win it. He has shown an obsession with title matches. Even more than being worried about Triple H. More than likely, Seth Rollins will find some way to get into the Royal Rumble match, but then Triple H will screw him out of it. Or maybe Stephanie will screw Rollins, cause him to go crazy, and Triple H will have to come back to protect his wife. Either way, I don't see Seth Rollins winning this Royal Rumble.

Why bring up The Miz? After that promo he gave against Daniel Bryan a few months ago, his value rose. People were expecting big things with him. Nothing really happened. The time just wasn't right. Is the time right now? A Royal Rumble victory would be huge for him. If AJ Styles ends up turning face in the near future, the WWE will need a top heel. Miz could be groomed to take that place.

Of the names I brought up, I am going to go with The Undertaker winning the Royal Rumble. He should get one more title win before he retires and a Royal Rumble win would just be a classic way to set up his final title win at Wrestlemania. As for Goldberg, he could find some other way into the title picture on Raw. The Undertaker will go after Smackdown's title.

Let me go back to that segment on Raw I mentioned. I noticed the fans were pretty flat for most of it. Maybe they were wondering why Goldberg's head was bleeding. The Undertaker appearing got a nice pop.

Point is, the ring contained the WWE's top 3 part-timers that will be in the Royal Rumble. They are not paid what they are paid and pushed and hyped the way they are pushed and hyped just to get a great reaction from the crowd. These guys are counted on to be draws. Short of putting The Rock in the Royal Rumble, the WWE has put together a big Royal Rumble match this year. Looking at certain indicators, I would say they are underachieving.

Start with ratings. It is bad enough that Raw has not seen a great ratings boost. This week's Raw, the last Raw heading into a big PPV, only say about 20,000 more viewers from the previous week, averaging 3,292,000. With so many big guns being pulled out, you should expect better.

Look at the Royal Rumble itself. It is still not sold out. I remember a time when WWE PPVs would sell out so quickly it would leave me shocked. These days, WWE PPVs, even the big ones, can't get sold out two days before the event, and that is leaving me shocked. The Royal Rumble is one of the WWE's biggest PPVs. It features 3 big part-timers. It also features guys like John Cena and AJ Styles. And it still has a lot of floor seats available. It isn't like they have 100,000 seats to fill.

I am not saying they should fire Goldberg, Lesnar, and Taker. But relying on them obviously is not getting the job done. Ratings are not great. The WWE is struggling to sell tickets. You can't say no one goes to any events anymore. I mentioned in the past that ratings for the NFL were down this past season. Looking at a chart, I noticed attendance actually improved this same past season, so it isn't that people stopped caring. What does the WWE do when they're draws stop being draws?

Previewing The Royal Rumble 2017 Undercard Matches

I talked about Raw's women's matches yesterday. Smackdown has since added a women's tag match, but it is really just filler, lumping together the various feuds they are developing there, so I'm not going to go back to talk about that. Today is about the men's matches at the Royal Rumble, outside of the actual Royal Rumble match. I will get to that on Friday.

Sheamus & Cesaro defend the Raw Tag Team Titles against Gallows & Anderson. And the WWE is highlighting that there will be two refs for this match. There are just times when the WWE tries to get too fancy. It is nice that they are trying to develop a storyline for a title feud that goes beyond just the titles, but this is a pretty dumb story. It is based on a story of clumsy officiating. You had an awkward ending to a match a few weeks ago between these two teams, and that has led to this rematch with two refs. The awkward ending you had to Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker at Summerslam a few years ago was one thing. But the WWE needs to realize that they didn't strike gold with angles like this.

If you can ignore the ref drama, there are two teams fighting for the tag titles. Sheamus and Cesaro just really got the reign started. Anderson & Gallows still don't feel like they deserve a title run. I will say the titles stay with Cesaro and Sheamus.

Not everyone that gets a title reign is being groomed to be a star. Some people are given title reigns so they can drop the belt to the person the WWE intends to be a star. Some people are given title reigns just for the sake of filler, such as when a star is injured and the WWE is just killing time until they return. When I look at the cruiserweight division, I don't think the WWE is trying to make stars at all. None of the three men that have held the title so far look like stars. It looks like the WWE is just going through the motions with everyone. I won't say too much about that here. Maybe another day.

The Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line between Rich Swann and Neville. Neville turned heel and is getting the best push he has gotten on the main roster. He was on the main roster before the cruiserweight division returned. He has had his ups and downs, including an injury and coming back to not much of a response from the fans. But he is at least refreshed by this heel turn. Given what I just said about the WWE not developing stars in this division, I don't think they will have a problem taking the title off Rich Swann and putting it on Neville. But will it happen here? I will say the title change happens.



Onto the World Championship matches. For Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens, the match will be No DQ. Oh, and Chris Jericho will be locked in a shark cage above the ring. Here is the WWE just going too goofy again. I'm surprised they are not forcing Chris Jericho to also dress up as La Luchadora. Why not? He wore a mask a couple months ago to screw Seth Rollins. I am sure they can work the angle in there somehow. The WWE definitely should do more to make the atmosphere more fun, but there are just some ideas that are really stupid. They can ruin a storyline or hurt the performers themselves. There was a serious, strong storyline with Seth Rollins for a while, and that was good. But then the WWE couldn't sustain it and Seth started acting goofy at points, losing his edge. That storyline between Seth Rollins and Triple H, which I will talk about another day, has definitely lost value. As for individuals not working out when they get a goofy angle, remember Gallows & Anderson trying to be comedians? That flopped.


Chris Jericho being locked in a cage is bad enough. And then suspending it above the ring? I know this kind of thing is not unheard of, but it still seems dumb. Why not just say Jericho will get fired if he gets involved in any way? He has a title now. Why not say he will be stripped of the title? Why not say Kevin Owens will be stripped of HIS title if Chris Jericho even thinks about getting involved? Face it, Jericho is still likely to find a way to get involved anyway. They just wanted to come up with a goofy angle for this feud. In some cases, it could be a distraction.




If people watching this Sunday can direct their attention a few feet below Chris Jericho, they might see a match going on for Raw's top title. I cannot picture Kevin Owens heading into Wrestlemania as Universal Champion. I can picture him facing Chris Jericho for the United States Championship, which will be a feud featuring their friendship finally coming to an end. For that to happen, Owens must lose the Universal Championship. Losing it to Reigns at the Royal Rumble just makes sense. They can have their rematch next month, where Jericho will inadvertently screw Owens and set their feud up. Roman Reigns then moves on to a bigger opponent for Wrestlemania.

John Cena faces AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. Cena needs one more World title win to tie Ric Flair's record. He has had multiple opportunities to do it over the last few years. It is going to happen sooner or later.

Before considering the match, look at the feud between AJ Styles and John Cena. It has been the same complaining and self-righteousness you have seen a lot over the years with John Cena. It caused some buzz when CM Punk did it. It didn't draw, but it created buzz with smarks. And smarks are once again eating this stuff up. They have done it multiple times now. It isn't fresh anymore. It isn't entertaining. It isn't helping the WWE's numbers. If anything, I am getting to the point where I am ready to say that all this is laziness on the part of the WWE. They cannot come up with entertaining storylines, so they just look at smarks and base their promos and storylines off of what they want to hear. And they keep rehashing the same thing. There might be a different variation here and there, but it is all pretty much the same thing. There is a reason the Nexus angle led to a better ratings bump than the summer angle of CM Punk dropping pipebombs and walking out on the company. The Nexus angle did not even lead to any of the members becoming as big a star as CM Punk ended up, ignoring Daniel Bryan, who was kicked out of the group early. The Nexus angle was pure kayfabe, rookies going crazy and trying to take over. CM Punk's angle was based on reality, his issues with not being pushed better. AJ Styles is definitely following in the path of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, another guy that got a big push involving real issues of the company not wanting to push him better. But the whole storyline just doesn't work as well here. AJ Styles has not been held back like other guys have been for years in the WWE. John Cena has not been pushed as annoyingly as he has in the past. A lot of these promos with Styles and Cena is just beating a dead horse. They are not really saying anything new to spark interest.

As for the match, the outcome might not matter. Smackdown has already announced an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. I don't think John Cena will have to wait much longer for his next title run. But I think AJ Styles will retain at the Royal Rumble. Cena can then win it inside the Elimination Chamber.

Previewing The Royal Rumble 2017 Women's Matches

Charlotte finally faces someone over Raw's Women's Championship at a PPV that's not named Sasha Banks. She defends the title against Bayley at the Royal Rumble.

Let's talk about Bayley. She debuted at a time Sasha Banks was taking some time off. Her push got screwed up when Sasha Banks came back. They looked like they were going to push her again, but then they once again went back to Sasha Banks. But here it is, Bayley getting a title feud on the main roster.

I see a lot of criticism for Bayley. For one thing, a lot of fans don't like some of her promos. Well, a lot of these women, including the highly-praised top women's wrestling talent coming out of NXT, are not that great on the mic. Charlotte often seems robotic with some of her promos. Fans, and the WWE, just have to realize that not everyone is the same. That may sound obvious, but you have to put that idea into practice. Bayley may not be the type of performer that can cut certain promos or handle certain storylines. It just doesn't fit her character. But her character does have potential. She's someone little kids can like. She has a friendly personality. Whether she ever develops greater depth or not, you just have to find storylines and angles that work for her. It is the old idea of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It can really ruin Bayley if they just take her and just try to make her into something she is not.

Another criticism I have seen brought up is that Bayley doesn't have that same magic she had down in NXT. People say she was so over in NXT. They say she had the greatest underdog story in women's wrestling. The WWE may think that the could just redo the same kind of things they did down there for her. But it isn't working. I am not surprised. I have seen it before that something that looks so amazing down in NXT comes to the main roster and loses that luster, even if the WWE does try to feature it prominently. But this criticism is more on the WWE than Bayley. They cannot take it for granted that something successful in NXT will carry over on the main roster. And they should be terrified if that ever becomes the norm. NXT only gets a fraction of the audience the main roster gets. Do they want Raw only getting a million viewers or less? Do they want live events featuring main roster talent to get a crowd of 300? Do they want to only appeal to smarks? Put the proper work in on the main roster.

Who wins this match? Charlotte. Not only does Bayley not look like she's ready, but I doubt the WWE ruins Charlotte's undefeated PPV streak here. It's not a draw. I doubt the person that gets the "rub" by ending the streak will really benefit. It is just a means of hyping up Charlotte. End it at Wrestlemania. End it against an opponent that has been developed better. Whatever the case, it is not likely to end here.

Further down the card, Sasha Banks takes on Nia Jax. As I have said before, in the previous era, it would be rare to see someone that was just used to put over the centerpiece in the women's division still get a proper feud after she has been rotated out. I am not talking about a periphery angle. I mean a female wrestler feuding with another female wrestler in a legitimate feud that will go to a PPV. I cannot think of one example of a credible jobber getting a proper feud like this once during the diva era off the top of my head. Sasha Banks fans should not be complaining about Sasha Banks getting something to do.

One of the problems with this feud is that Bayley already beat Nia Jax a few weeks ago in a singles match. Nia Jax isn't undefeated on the main roster anymore. If she still was, that would make this feud seem even more important. Can Sasha Banks hand Nia Jax her first official loss on the main roster? Of course, they couldn't really help it. The roster lacks depth. If they wanted to have a #1 contender's match, there aren't a lot of credible options for Bayley to go over available. You have to take into account injuries and other angles the WWE has going on. In the old days, the WWE might just do a battle royal to decide the #1 contender. Bayley eliminating Nia Jax to win that would not be the same as beating her in a singles match. Nia Jax would still be undefeated in singles matches. But it is hard to book properly when you don't have a lot to work with. Because of that, this feud loses some of its luster. Sasha Banks still has to beat a destructive monster, but people have already seen that the monster is beatable.

Who wins? It comes down to how long the WWE wants to prolong this. And the WWE has shown that they do love prolonging things these days. This is a feud for Sasha Banks to win, but the WWE might extend this feud beyond the Royal Rumble. If they do, Nia Jax would win at the Royal Rumble and Sasha would win the feud later on. That is what I will go with.

Roman Reigns Continues Against Kevin Owens

The Universal Championship match between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns obviously did not end cleanly and decisively last Sunday. That means Reigns will get a rematch at the Royal Rumble next month. They are also trying to make it more interesting by putting Jericho in a cage so he can't interfere like he usually does.

There is one problem. Roman Reigns is still the United States Champion. I don't like it when titles get hijacked. I didn't like New Day's long reign that recently ended. I didn't like the title being stuck between Charlotte and Sasha Banks for almost half the year, although that has also come to an end. Roman Reigns getting one title opportunity against Kevin Owens while still being United States Champion is nothing to get too upset over. It is better than the endless title matches Seth Rollins has gotten. It created an interesting feud. Would Roman Reigns end up holding two titles? But prolonging it becomes problematic. Other people could be chasing after the United States Championship in this time Reigns is feuding for a more important title.

Of course, the WWE can have Reigns lose the title in the coming weeks due to interference from Kevin Owens. It adds a little heat to the feud and gets the title off Reigns. Chris Jericho might seem like the obvious choice, but it really does not need to be him. Pick another heel. Braun Strowman? Rusev doesn't need the title back right now. There are other heels on Raw, although some of them may lack credibility. People said a few months ago that Raw won the draft. Maybe in terms of numbers, but questionable in terms of quality. When it comes to midcard heels, they need to do some work. Maybe getting the midcard title off a main-eventer and putting it on a midcarder would help.

John Cena winning the United States Championship last year was refreshing. Even smarks, his biggest critics, liked it. Why hasn't this title reign for Roman Reigns worked out anyway like that? I think one of the biggest differences is that you did not have the brand split last year. Rosters are limited now. Seth Rollins has been getting endless title matches. Who takes his place that has the credibility to go after the title? It would have been nice if the WWE took a chance on a midcarder, like Cesaro, but not too shocking that they did not. Even in terms of just looking at Roman Reigns and the United States Championship, the brand split hurts the number of free challengers he can have. Last year, Cena was having title matches with a variety of guys. Right now, as I just pointed out, you have a lot of midcarders already tied up with something or just lacking credibility. Does anyone want to see Jinder Mahal get a shot at Roman Reigns? Roman Reigns is needed to give the Universal Championship scene someone new. The heel midcard pool isn't too great. Brand split just hurts the depth. The WWE needs to make better use of the roster. Just signing guys is not the answer, especially if they are not handled right.

Sasha Banks Gets Added Back Into The Mix

Charlotte retained the Diva's Championship at the Royal Rumble. The WWE wasted no time in transitioning to the next program for Charlotte. Sasha Banks made her presence felt. At the same time, it does not feel like Becky Lynch is entirely out of the picture.

I said a while ago that the WWE could develop an elaborate storyline between Becky and Charlotte. One of the things they would need to do is get more people involved. I even suggested Sasha Banks get a title shot prior to Becky eventually winning the title at Wrestlemania. Can the WWE be building towards that? I doubt it. I have no confidence in the WWE to do this right.

Sasha Banks is getting more focus, and wrestling fans will love that. She has not actually turned face. She is just being featured better. Some people have said that being a part of a stable has held her back. If the WWE wants to hold Sasha back, she doesn't need to be in a stable. Will her current push be about building her to be a star? Or will she be a supporting player in a storyline meant to eventually put over Becky Lynch? Or are both just there to put over Charlotte in the end? Is everything just filler until Nikki Bella returns or the WWE  finds her replacement as centerpiece?

I said I had no confidence in the WWE to develop a great elaborate storyline here. I have a feeling this is just more quantity over quality. This is the WWE just trying to feature a lot of divas and not being able to do it efficiently. Everyone remembers the 3-way stable war from last year. That was a mess. Even before Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch debuted on that Raw, the WWE was building a 3-way feud. Naomi had turned heel on Paige and started feuding against The Bellas. The Bellas turned face for a while. When Paige returned, she didn't exactly act all friendly towards Nikki Bella. And adding more bodies just made things messier. You then had Paige turning on everyone and going solo. Natalya popped back up. Charlotte turned on Becky. Team Bella is still around, going from heel to face whenever the WWE decides it. The WWE just cannot push all these women well. It doesn't even feel like some women are being pushed. Natalya and Paige are just there. Their feud against Team Bella is filler.

What can the WWE do to clean things up? Either do a better job with these secondary feuds or push some of these women better in the periphery. The WWE has never really been good with secondary diva feuds. When you see two divas feuding with each other away from the main feud, it is usually just filler. None of those divas are going anywhere. One of them sometimes ends up being the next woman rotated into the primary feud. Natalya and Naomi had a feud last year. Naomi eventually went on to get that push I had just mentioned after AJ Lee retired. Nothing much from her since. Team B.A.D. could have gotten a good periphery angle by teaming them with New Day. Some might say that would be a waste of Sasha's wrestling talent. Getting over is more important that wrestling every night. Sasha Banks being over with smarks does not mean she has A-tier overness. Besides, an angle with New Day does not mean Sasha cannot eventually win the Diva's Championship.

Instead, Sasha is involved in a messy diva division. The WWE has a few divas on their hands that they might want to be pushing right now. How will they clean this picture up?

AJ Styles Makes Raw Debut

AJ Styles made his official Raw debut last night, one night after his Royal Rumble appearance. It was a win against Chris Jericho. Chris Jericho being the first guy to lose to AJ Styles was probably a safer bet than Triple H winning the Rumble.

Overall, I would say it was a lackluster debut for AJ Styles. I am not saying the match wasn't solid. But there is no big hype or angle with his debut. He just debuted at the Royal Rumble and is now just a member of the WWE roster.

The WWE cannot be dumb enough to think that their entire audience knows AJ Styles and got hyped over him just because of talk on the Internet. The commentators did a good job of putting Styles over, but the WWE cannot get lazy from the standpoint of how they actually push him. This guy is not a huge star. He is a talented wrestler that never got to work for a company that ever became a serious threat to the WWE. A lot of viewers will not care. You can say the WWE has The Rock and Brock Lesnar to draw in those fans, but is the WWE doing a good job creating the next generation of stars? AJ Styles only has a small window to be developed to be a star. He is no "kid" in the business anymore.

Let me look at AJ Styles himself from Raw. He obviously knows how to wrestle. But he needs to show more personality. I am sure it will eventually come. I remember when Paige debuted a few years ago. She seemed a little awkward at first. But she's definitely found her confidence since then. I am sure that happens to a lot of people. I would always be awkward when I started a new job. Once I got into the groove of things, I was fine. For AJ Styles, it really isn't about nervousness causing sloppy matches. He needs to show some charisma. I have seen some of his TNA stuff. I know he has a personality. A dry face role is not going to help him get over with the wider audience.

Let me go back to Jericho. Look back at his debut. That was a great debut. The WWE hyped up to it. He debuted by interrupting The Rock. He gave a great promo. He even refers to himself as a "charismatic showman" in that promo. He just looked like a guy ready to be a real star with that debut. I was not even a fan of Jericho at that time, but I can say in retrospect that it was a great debut. The WWE handled it well and Jericho handled his end very well.

Some people have said AJ Styles is not that great on the mic. Regardless, I think the WWE could have handled his debut much better. He needs some kind of real angle and purpose to make him stand out. Without that, he will flounder. If reports of AJ Styles being paid a lot by the WWE are true, they are not going to get the most out of their investment if they do not step it up with him.

This just reminds me of the diva revolution. Internet fans caused this uproar over the state of the diva division. That led to longer matches and eventually three NXT female wrestlers debuting on one night. And what followed was a flop. Match quality really did not improve that much. None of these women became very over through their work on the main roster. And it has even been irritating to some fans at times. Just because some fans were screaming for this on Twitter does not mean all the fans are equally as sold on it. The WWE had to have done more to make those meaningless matches back then mean more. It was more hype than substance. That is what I feel right now with AJ Styles. Just because wrestling fans and Internet fans are so excited about this guy does not mean he is already sold to the wider audience. The WWE has to put more work into him or he will flop.

Triple H Wins Royal Rumble 2016

Triple H won his second Royal Rumble last night. In the process, he won his 14th World Championship. It came down to him and Dean Ambrose, who had retained his Intercontinental Championship earlier in the night. Since Triple H was one of the likely candidates to win this match, this outcome is not shocking, even though he was not announced for the match prior to Sunday. People just saw it coming.

The feud they will be going with for Wrestlemania is obvious. Triple H and Roman Reigns have had issues for a while now. That branched into Vince McMahon specifically targeting Roman Reigns. His son-in-law is the man that takes the title off him. You can talk about the WWE being predictable, but would you want an obvious feud to sit right there and for them not to do it? The only other feud that was there for Roman Reigns was Brock Lesnar, and that one is not going to happen. Any other option would likely not have had the seeds already planted like Triple H vs. Roman Reigns.

I have seen some mixed reactions from fans about Triple H winning. It's 2016 and this guy is WWE Champion again? On the other side of that, there are fans glad that it was anyone but Roman Reigns. The WWE is going to use other top stars to work with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania as they continue his centerpiece push. You are going to see him work with the likes of Triple H, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar. Cena is injured. Reigns worked with Lesnar last year and will likely do it again down the line. Triple H is the guy this year. If you dislike Triple H winning the title, just realize that it is mainly for the benefit of Roman Reigns in the end. Not much of a comfort for some fans.

How about Roman Reigns in the Royal Rumble? Something I brought up when previewing the Royal Rumble match last week was how the WWE might handle Roman Reigns during this long match. He wasn't the last guy tossed out of the ring, but he was just as close to being the last guy. How did he handle being in the match that long? Well, he didn't. They ran an injury angle to take him out for much of the match and had him return later. It is not surprising that they would take him out for a while.

I do not think they handled the situation right. I said that I might go the route of Reigns doing something like chasing after Vince to the back. It would still serve the same purpose, but it would be handled differently. This guy won over his haters last month by being violent and intense and attacking authority figures fans disliked. He's not the guy that overcomes odds. Reigns obviously has not solidified an A+ connection with the fans. And a trick like what the WWE pulled last night will not help. Casual fans might buy that Roman Reigns is a fighter for being taken out of the match and refusing to quit. But smarks are going to read it as a lame attempt to keep Roman Reigns fresh because he can't handle being out there for the entire match. I am not saying my way of doing it would have won fans over, but it would at least fit what first got him cheered by those that were against him. Luckily, he didn't actually win. If he had, this Royal Rumble might have been another mess, despite a certain someone making his WWE debut last night.

Previewing The 2016 Royal Rumble Match

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.

Previewing Royal Rumble 2016 Undercard Title Matches

There was a title change at TLC last month. I feel like there will be another one at the Royal Rumble this year. And I don't mean just the WWE Championship. Every title is on the line this Sunday. I already talked about the Diva's Championship match. I will talk about the Rumble match, where the WWE Championship will be on the line, on Friday. How about those other titles?

The Usos get another shot at the tag titles. They were my pick to win the titles from New Day at TLC. That didn't happen. I will stick with them. New Day has held the tag titles for a long time now. It looked like Sin Cara and Kalisto would have gotten the push The Usos are getting. Sin Cara got injured. Kalisto recently ended up winning the United States Championship briefly. How likely is it that the original plan would have been for him to get his hands on the tag titles? Circumstances led to him getting a different push. If the WWE still feels it is time to get the titles off New Day, The Usos are right there.

Speaking of Kalisto and the United States Championship, he gets a rematch against Alberto Del Rio. Would the title really go from Alberto Del Rio to Kalisto to Alberto Del Rio to Kalisto in the span of a few weeks? You don't see that kind of booking often. I do not expect to see it here. If the WWE wants to groom Kalisto to be the new Rey Mysterio, like many fans believe, they need to treat him as a better priority than they have. It goes beyond title reigns. I will say Alberto Del Rio retains.

And then there's Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens. Dean Ambrose was the one that ended up winning a title at TLC last month. He won the Intercontinental Championship. The fact that this match is "Last Man Standing" rules just makes it better. These two can go. This seems like the type of match that can bring out the best in them. As for the winner, I did not expect them to end the title run of Kevin Owens so soon. Will they end the title run of Dean Ambrose so soon? If you are a believer of the "momentum rule" of the WWE, the person looking good heading into a PPV usually ends up losing. Dean Ambrose has the momentum after what you will see happen on Smackdown. I do not feel the WWE follows that rule as much as they used to. Dean Ambrose should retain here.

Becky Lynch Vs. Charlotte For Royal Rumble 2016

Not surprisingly, the WWE is having a rematch between Becky Lynch and Charlotte for the Diva's Championship at the Royal Rumble. Tension started even while Charlotte was still feuding with Paige. Charlotte officially turned heel by turning on Becky. Ric Flair officially sided with his daughter as her manager. He was the one that agreed to the rematch on Raw this week. Will that be the start of the breakup of the father-daughter pairing? Let's see if the WWE is ready to go in that direction.

Who wins this Sunday? I have said before that the WWE should make this into an elaborate feud. That would mean extending it to Wrestlemania and letting Becky win there. It is not likely that the WWE would develop something great like that for the divas. Either way, Charlotte is my pick to win at the Royal Rumble.

What reason would the WWE have for giving Becky Lynch the title? Obviously, title reigns aren't always simply awards for a job well done. Some people win them because the company wants to build them to be stars. Some people win them so they can drop it off to the person being built to be a star. Some people win them more as a "placeholder" or filler role. If the WWE did decide to give Becky the title now, I think it would be just to drop it to a heel they eventually want to put over. Becky Lynch is not someone I believe they would groom as a star. But would that heel she would put over be Nikki Bella or Charlotte?

Another issue in the diva division recently was the lack of face divas. Becky Lynch was pretty much it. The WWE has some divas playing tweener roles. Natalya popped back up as a face on Raw this week. And Paige was with her, as a face. That is just dumb. Paige had taken Natalya out a few months ago. Paige had said harsh things about various divas. Do you want to make her look like a hated heel? Do you even know what you are doing? Sudden turns is a tactic the WWE has used in the diva division in recent years, so it is not surprising that they would do it here. Nevertheless, it is poor character development.

I have said, if the WWE wanted to run an elaborate storyline with Becky Lynch and Charlotte, Paige would be a supporting player to utilize. She was part of a group with them. Have her return as a heel. She would be a bit of a tweener in this role. She would be against both Becky Lynch, a face, and Charlotte, a heel. Have her criticize and put down both. But build the story so she gradually sides with Becky and eventually turns face like that. Do a face turn that actually makes sense. Not "Total Divas" sense. I am talking about kayfabe sense. That is character development that would also further a storyline heading towards Wrestlemania. Obviously, the WWE is doing nothing like that.

Roman Reigns Vs. The World At Royal Rumble 2016

Roman Reigns found a way to overcome the odds on Raw this week. But Vince McMahon had another trick up his sleeve. Roman Reigns must now defend the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. And he'll be defending against 29 other men in the Royal Rumble match.

Even John Cena has never been put in this position. These are some huge odds to overcome. And I do not think Roman Reigns will be overcoming them. It is not just because he just won the Royal Rumble last year. This is about building to a bigger feud for Wrestlemania. Roman Reigns will lose the title at the Royal Rumble, have to run through some obstacles in the weeks after, and regain it at Wrestlemania.

Some fans might be hesitant to buy into this scenario. Why would they have him drop the title so soon? His first reign lasted a few minutes. His second one is now only going to last a few weeks? As the centerpiece, Roman Reigns will get a lot of title reigns sent his way. I have seen fans say that Triple H, John Cena, and Trish Stratus had a stranglehold on the main titles available to them. That is what it means to be pushed as the centerpiece. The company wants to push certain individuals more often in the title scene than others. It isn't really so much about backstage politics. But something else that also matters is Wrestlemania moments. Reigns was on his way to getting that last year, when he could have beaten Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania, but the WWE went in a different direction. Reigns climbing back up to the top at Wrestlemania this year is a story the WWE might very well like to tell. And if you are looking for a title reign that will last a few months for Roman Reigns, it might start there. Triple H, John Cena, and Trish Stratus all had at least one title reign that lasted at least close to a year. Numerous title reigns. Lengthy title reigns. Wrestlemania moments. As long as Roman Reigns is the centerpiece, these are the kind of things that will come his way.

Overall, I like the decision to have the Royal Rumble match be for the title this year. That shakes things up. That makes things more interesting. I will not speculate now on the winner, but it does feel likely that there will be a title change. Who wins? Brock Lesnar? John Cena? Triple H? You can imagine the WWE thinking about Roman Reigns going against any of those guys as worthy of Wrestlemania. And Reigns will get a big rub from beating any of those three for the title at Wrestlemania. You also have to consider scenarios of how Vince McMahon might try to screw Reigns to make sure he loses. What obstacles will Reigns have to face leading up to Wrestlemania. The WWE has the potential to do things that might actually draw for them in the coming weeks and months.

What Do You Do With Ziggler?

Dolph Ziggler moved on from his feud with Tyler Breeze and found himself a part of the feud between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens. It is a title feud. The Intercontinental Championship is involved. But it is unlikely Dolph Ziggler will win the belt from Ambrose, who just won the title himself.

It just feels like the WWE really didn't have anything for Ziggler and plugged him with Ambrose and Owens. Should they have continued his feud with Tyler Breeze? I don't think so. It just doesn't feel like that feud was going anywhere interesting. A feud with Alberto Del Rio? I think that would have been a good option. That would have been a title feud. These two have a history. Ziggler would also be feuding with a member of a top stable right now. That would elevate him better than this Intercontinental Championship feud. Even if it is leading to main events on Smackdown, it is still just a midcard feud. A feud with Alberto Del Rio and the rest of his buddies would have been bigger, if done right.

Look ahead a month. The Royal Rumble is coming up. Is Ziggler a favorite to win there? At the 2015 Royal Rumble, some fans said that the mess wasn't just about Daniel Bryan losing and Roman Reigns winning. Ziggler was supposedly a guy they were pulling for and it was upsetting when he lost. I doubt fans will be in too much of an uproar if Ziggler loses again. If the WWE does want to give the win to someone with some credibility that no one really expects to win, it might be Ziggler. It can be an underdog win. I doubt it happens. It will be interesting to see what they do choose to do with Ziggler for Wrestlemania season. He had the opportunity to leave the company this year. He stuck around. Was it just for the money? Or is some kind of big push in his future? Better than he is getting recently would be nice.

I will probably skip blogging for Christmas. If you regularly read my blog, don't expect anything. Merry Christmas!

John Cena Will Be Coming Back

John Cena took some time off from the WWE for an outside project. The WWE would be hypocrites if they still had him give self-righteous speeches about always being there and the company being his life. I'm sure he'll be singing that tune again one day. Regardless, what might happen once he does return?

The last time he was seen in the WWE, he had just lost his United States Championship to Alberto Del Rio. The obvious push for Cena when he returns would be to give him his rematch. But would he regain the title? I doubt it. It is probably time for him to move on. There might not even be an actual feud here. Just have Cena vs. Del Rio on an episode of Raw. Have Del Rio's new friends help him retain.

Would that lead to John Cena feuding with The League of Nations? He has had feuds with the members of the stable already. If he is going to feud with the group, he would need allies. Would he be siding with Roman Reigns, who has issues with Sheamus? Regardless of who stands by him, I can picture Cena feuding with the stable, especially if the WWE is not ready to put him in a WWE Championship feud again.

What if they are looking for Cena to get into the title mix? He is advertised for the Royal Rumble. He has won the Rumble match twice already. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania is definitely a match you can see happening. There is still a lot of time for the WWE to decide and more names that can be in the Royal Rumble that could legitimately win, but John Cena is an early favorite.

Daniel Bryan Gets Another Shot To Headline Wrestlemania

It was not hard to predict that Roman Reigns might be in for a rough time during this push. He is limited in the ring, was in line for a big push, and was going to be pushed ahead of certain wrestlers vocal fans love. That is a recipe for disaster. Of course, I did not think the reaction would be that horrible. Looking at how fans reacted at the Royal Rumble and immediately after, I was ready to say I was wrong about that. This week, it looks like the fans have mellowed down a little. Roman Reigns is not the most hated man in the WWE. It is not as bad as it was for Batista last year. I think there might even be a good amount of fans who want him to get this push and not Daniel Bryan. But I am not going to change my tune every week. I'll just wait until Fast Lane is closer to give my final thoughts on how the fans seem to be reacting.

Daniel Bryan won a match to earn the right to face Roman Reigns to decide who will face Brock Lesnar for the title at Wrestlemania. This is like last year all over again. If Daniel Bryan had just been booked to win this year's Royal Rumble, that would be one thing. Sure, let him go on to face Lesnar. But to have him possibly get there by the same kind of story you had last year just annoys me. Blame the WWE booking, not Daniel Bryan or the fans.

I am not going to predict right now who wins this match. I will say that there are two different ways the WWE can use this match. First, if the fan reactions continue to be extremely one-sided for the sake of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns is getting crushed, the WWE can use this match as an easy way to change things. Second, if the WWE is bent on pushing Roman Reigns, they could use this match to really put him over.

Let me look at the first possibility. Last year, it was a match with Triple H at Wrestlemania that propelled Daniel Bryan to the main event later that night. This year, it could be happening at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns. I would say this is a chance for the WWE to legitimately pay attention to the fans. If the fan support remains as insane as it was last year, you pretty much have to put Daniel Bryan in. If it does not? Stick with Reigns. I have said before that he does have fans. He is over. He just doesn't have the kind of overness that Daniel Bryan has. But if the Daniel Bryan fans cannot really make as big a scene as they did back then, why should the WWE go down the same path with Daniel Bryan two years in a row? If the fans want him that badly, give him the push. If enough fans still support Roman Reigns, let him have this match to himself. But the WWE actually has to pay attention to how fans are reacting.

The second option involves the WWE already making up their minds. Roman Reigns is getting Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania and Daniel Bryan will do something else. The match at Fast Lane will just be meant to put Reigns over. I have seen some fans say that Roman Reigns putting on an amazing performance might warm him up to those fans that are against him. Who better to help him look amazing than Daniel Bryan? If Roman Reigns is putting on a monster performance against Daniel Bryan, the smarks will cheer him out of respect. Just keep in mind that John Cena, despite not being an amazing in-ring performer, frequently is involved in some great matches. He can get those kind of fans to respect him during a great match at times. Problem is, it doesn't last. He still continues to get those mixed reactions. True overness isn't just about getting a good reaction on one night or after doing one certain thing fans like. It is that consistent connection with the fans. Putting on the match of the night at Fast Lane may help Roman Reigns earn a few respect points, but it does not mean he will have A+ overness.

One of the things mentioned on Raw was that Daniel Bryan never lost his World title and should have had a title shot coming. Instead, they brought him back and booked him into the Royal Rumble match. And we all know how that worked out. That is actually a good point. Instead of people debating how the Rumble match could have gone down to appease Daniel Bryan fans and help Roman Reigns connect with those fans better, why didn't they work him into the WWE title match that night? It was already going to be a multi-man match. Would one more person have hurt it? Considering that one more person happens to be Daniel Bryan, I do not think it would hurt. He gets his rematch, might help the match be even more exciting, gets to go at it with Brock Lesnar, even though it is not the same as a singles match, and you probably shut down that issue with no problem. Brock Lesnar would still retain. No one would complain because Daniel Bryan gets a title match at the Royal Rumble, which is better than competing in the Royal Rumble match just to earn a title match and being eliminated. You could have even had The Authority force Daniel Bryan to beat someone like Kane to get into that title match, just to make the road seem more difficult. Further his underdog character. It really might have been smarter to not put him in the story with Roman Reigns. 

Royal Rumble 2015 Aftermath

Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble. Put those two things together, you have your Wrestlemania main event, as of now.

Of course, there is a lot more to the story than that. Daniel Bryan was eliminated early in the Royal Rumble. Fans did not like that. Roman Reigns was treated like a bad guy. The Rock made a special appearance to help Roman Reigns and give him a little rub. Even that could not appease the fans.

To start with, the WWE made a terrible mistake by eliminating Daniel Bryan as early as they did. That just soured the fans for the rest of the match. If you are not going to have Daniel Bryan win for whatever reason, that's one thing. To eliminate him so early and not even let him be part of the final four is something else.

Roman Reigns, a man that supposedly had more fan support just one month ago than Daniel Bryan to win the "Superstar of the Year" Slammy, did not get a very good reaction last night. He is looking like the new Batista. Time will tell whether or not they turn him heel. The crowd was obviously killer last night and smark-minded. Other crowds are less likely to be like that, but things are still not looking good for Roman Reigns.

The Rock returned to help Roman Reigns. The Rock! And he still got booed. That goes back to what I was talking about with rubs. When certain wrestlers get over, some fans like to look back and see who gave them a rub. It doesn't always work like that. Some wrestlers get over because they simply went out there and did a great enough job being something the fans enjoyed seeing. There are few wrestlers alive more over than The Rock. And even he could not save Roman Reigns last night. That moment, that rub, could have helped Roman Reigns to elevate a bit to The Rock's level or at least nullify some of that negative reaction. In theory, that is how it is supposed to work. In reality, good luck with that.

As it stands, it is Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. Lesnar will likely hold the title into Wrestlemania. Will Reigns hold onto his title shot? Will Daniel Bryan be added, again? I do not think the WWE can do the same thing they did last year. And Roman Reigns really is not deserving of this big push. Maybe next year, but not now. The WWE has really worked themselves into a hole. Luckily, they can just lean on other matches on the card. Triple H vs. Sting should be a good feud. Cena will likely be left out of the title scene. Tossing him into Reigns vs. Lesnar will not make fans happy.

Let me go back a decade. Remember this gem?

Talk about forcing something? That was back when they were starting to really push Batista hard. They were turning him face, in addition to building up his credibility. He would win the Royal Rumble, win the title, and mow over Triple H a few times. He did get over. He does have the credibility. Back then, many fans would say this Batista push was a success. Go back to last year. What went wrong? Batista was a product of the WWE. He did not have a natural connection with the fans when he was first being pushed hard a decade ago. When he returned last year, there was another guy on the roster that was a lot hotter than him and had a natural connection with the fans. That would be Daniel Bryan. And he is still hot.

Roman Reigns is following in the path of Batista. They are forcing him. And he might not even get that period of success connecting with the fans during this big push that Batista got back then. I have seen some fans point out that Roman Reigns actually got a good reaction at the Royal Rumble last year. Yeah, it was either him or Batista. But as the WWE has continued to force him, while mistreating certain others, his connection with the fans will be hurt. Just like the WWE ultimately deserves blame for the issues with John Cena, I blame them for the 2015 Royal Rumble fiasco, not Roman Reigns.

Previewing The 2015 Royal Rumble Match

The WWE has done a pretty good job developing up to the Royal Rumble match. You even have a little bit of guys having to earn their way into the match. Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan experienced some of that. The first two got in. Rowan did not. I have seen some fans chuckle at that. Some feel bad or shocked about it. I even saw one suggestion that Rowan will come out and cost Harper the Rumble match to set up a feud. As I said before, Rowan is a guy that will eventually be lost in the shuffle. That push he has gotten in recent months was more out of lack of depth than anything else. Even then, he was more a supporting player than someone being groomed to be a star. There is no need to shed a tear for him here. You can't hand the faces all the momentum. Have to give the heels something now and then. And Rowan was just not a priority and took the bullet in this instance.

Who wins the Royal Rumble? You can talk about returns and surprise entrants, but I am just going to talk about 3 guys already active on the roster and their chances to win it.

First, there is Roman Reigns. He was the likely candidate to win for the longest while. The fact that the WWE has been consistent in grooming him to be a star further supports the idea that it could be him. They have been doing a lot of things here and there to make him seem like a big deal. But is he ready? People can talk about his wrestling ability and mic skills, but how well the fans are connecting to him is what matters. He has fans, but he also has his critics that will let their voices be heard. There are likely to be many smarks at the event this Sunday. Those are the type of fans likely to boo Reigns. Their voice counts, but they are not the only ones that matter. Of course, the Royal Rumble is not some popularity contest. It is about setting up a storyline and feud for Wrestlemania, in addition to handing someone a big piece of hype. Roman Reigns remains a likely candidate in that regard.

Daniel Bryan has said that he wants to face Brock Lesnar. It is a bit of a dream match for him. Can you have that without the title involved? Lesnar loses the title, Daniel Bryan does not win the Rumble, and the two face in a non-title match. That works. Daniel Bryan does not need to be in the title match at Wrestlemania two years in a row. Of course, many might say that he should have won the Royal Rumble last year. Will they give it to him this year to make up for that? You also have the negative reaction that the WWE received over their treatment of Daniel Bryan last year. This year, I do not think fans are that hot over the subject. Daniel Bryan is still over, but I do not think the fans are as riled up. Regardless, in comparison to Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan might be the better option. He has more credibility and a match between him and Lesnar might be more interesting.

Let me bring up someone that might not be that likely. How about Dolph Ziggler? A few months ago, they were doing certain things with him that made him look like an A+ player at times. He won the match for his team at Survivor Series. I will be the first person to say never make too much out of one moment, but there you have one big moment. I am not suggesting they were grooming him for a big push, but I have seen some fans bring him up as a likely candidate to win. I think it would be refreshing. Everyone talking about Reigns and Daniel Bryan, as if this is a two-man race, but it would be nice to see someone else that fans like and is a good worker get the big push. Roman Reigns can use more time and Daniel Bryan does not need this push again so soon. In this regard, Dolph Ziggler would be a good option.

Who do I think is likely to win the Royal Rumble? I will go with the WWE booking Roman Reigns to win it. They dared to book Batista to win it last year. I do not think they have learned their lesson since then. They are still trying hard to make stars out of whom they want to be stars and are not opening up the playing field for others. If they are serious about Roman Reigns, a Royal Rumble victory for him is likely.

Let me go back to what I talked about a few days ago about the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. It seems that recent cheating scandal has really taken off. Let me make my stance clear. I am not saying taking shortcuts and doing unethical things is good. I am saying I understand why it is done and people might allow it in some certain situations if it leads to great success. Being so determined to succeed might be seen as admirable. You can view it as the old philosophy of the ends justifying the means. It is Machiavellian to some degree.

Look at the WWE. Look at Vince McMahon. There are certain controversies over some of the things he does with his company. I already mentioned the Daniel Bryan issue. Look at the diva division. You want to talk about the ends justifying the means? What happens when you are no longer attaining desirable results and you are still pushing those questionable means? The system that makes the diva division what it is was never great. It did lead to the division being golden for roughly half a decade, but the fatal flaws in the system have led to the dark age you now have. And the system still stands, even though the WWE does not seem to have the gas to run it properly. It is a system that does not give all its workers equal opportunities to earn a better career, picks whom the stars will be, and often relies on women that are not great wrestlers. When it was working out under Trish Stratus as centerpiece, the ends were justifying the means. Things were golden. How about when the ends stopped justifying the means? The women being pushed to be centerpiece after Trish flopped. The most over diva is a credible jobber that got over on her own. No way there was any lying going on in that situation with Mickie James, right? Machiavelli was above that? After years of continuing to force the same system, they have dug themselves a deep hole that they may never get out of. When the ends stop justifying the means, you lose the protection of that philosophy. What excuse do you give next as to why you are still pushing that failing, corrupt system? It is no longer a decision based on success. It is a decision based on ego. It is based on what you personally want.

Let me make up one hypothetical situation. Let's say I have a rich uncle I never knew about and he left me a sports franchise. I am obviously not in a position to manage it myself. I have to hire people to do it. When it came to my options for general manager of the actual team, let's say my only options are Bill Belichick or Vince McMahon. Both have experience running things. Both have had success. Both have also done questionable things that might hurt their image. But I have to choose one of these guys to run my team. Whom do I pick? I would go with Belichick. Even if he does get involved in questionable things, success is his goal. For me, the main thing about Vince McMahon is that he will force something even if it is not succeeding. Success has to be your goal, not simply having things your way. And you cannot stop being efficient when you start not getting your way. That is not strong leadership. If I did make the mistake of hiring Vince McMahon and he put his ego ahead of success of the franchise, he would be fired.

Previewing The Royal Rumble 2015 WWE Championship Match

A few months ago, it seemed the title match you would be getting this month would be between just John Cena and Brock Lesnar. It was a good idea to add a third performer into this match. As for the decision to make it Seth Rollins, I already talked about that. I will not complain about that.

As far as feud development goes, there was a point where it seemed the two heels would be on the same side. That would make the story of the match kind of obvious. They start out working together to beat down Cena. One little slip up somewhere or greed on the part of Seth Rollins leads to the alliance falling apart and everyone fighting each other. The WWE could have gone in that direction. I am glad they didn't. Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar are not buddies. Seth Rollins, despite having the briefcase, wants to win the title this Sunday. Should be a good match.

Who wins? It should not be Seth Rollins. He is being groomed to be a star and just being in this kind of match is huge. He has the briefcase. He can cash in later on. And he does not need to cash in right after the match at the Royal Rumble. That leaves Brock Lesnar and John Cena. Brock Lesnar should retain. After everything they did with him last year, Lesnar finally losing the title is a Wrestlemania moment. I have heard some rumors about Lesnar not staying after the Royal Rumble. Regardless of that situation, I am expecting Brock to retain.

A lot of fans have said that Seth Rollins was only put in this match to take the fall so Cena can regain the title without actually pinning Brock. Let me talk about that possible match outcome. The possibility of Lesnar losing the title in that kind of situation did cross my mind months ago. Now that it is a reality that it could happen, I do not think it should. I think it is a cheap way out. After everything they did for this guy last year, how can you not use him to put anyone over before he leaves? They invested a ton into him. It was good to cause some buzz when he beat The Undertaker and crushed Cena for the title. But nothing lasting. Using him to help really put over someone else would make all those big wins mean more. If you do not get all you can out of Brock Lesnar, you should start to wonder if doing all that for him was worth it. There is no changing the past, although that does seem to happen in pro wrestling at times. Anyway, Lesnar does not need protecting. It's not like he's a full-timer, anyway.

Seth Rollins Gets Added Into The Mix

Seth Rollins has been placed into the Royal Rumble WWE Championship match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. Fans are already speculating that Seth is only in there to get pinned by Cena so he can win back the title without beating Lesnar. I am not going to talk about match outcome today. Plenty of time left until I should give my final preview for that match. Right now, I just want to talk about the decision to make it a triple-threat match and adding in Seth Rollins.

Since winning the title from John Cena, Brock Lesnar has not feuded against anyone but John Cena. And these two had feuded against each other even before 2014. This is definitely a waste of Lesnar. Cena had already won a match to get another shot at Lesnar and retained his right to face Lesnar recently in a match against Seth Rollins. He is definitely facing Lesnar. That being the case, I think it was a great decision to make this a triple-threat match. Even if Cena has to be in the title hunt, get another fresh body in there. It might even help to make this match more competitive than the previous two encounters between Cena and Lesnar. In those matches, the story they were trying to tell ruined match quality. Most fans loved Cena getting squashed in the first encounter, but many disliked the cheap finish in the second. The match at the Royal Rumble should be a better match. Adding in a third guy might help that.

But did it have to be Seth Rollins? This guy has a briefcase that guarantees him a title match whenever he wants it. He is unofficially a part of every WWE Championship match as long as he has the briefcase and it is still valid. He already tried to cash in the last time Cena and Lesnar went at it. And now, while still having Money in the Bank, he is officially a part of a WWE Championship match. Seems like a waste. They could have given that spot to someone else. Not only is there no shortage of men, but there is no shortage of men with the credibility to be put in this kind of match. No one says you have to force a lower-midcarder into this situation.

Let's look at some of the pros to Seth Rollins being in this match. First, his style will obviously add to the quality of the match. Second, there is a good storyline reason for him to be in there. Beyond that, if he was not in the match, what would he have to do at the Royal Rumble? Enter the Royal Rumble match? There is obviously no rule against that, but it would be a waste. Of course, he could demand to be entered with the intent of making sure Roman Reigns does not win, or some similar reason. He could "have the night off" and just do backstage segments and tease whether or not he would cash in on the winner of Cena/Brock. I think it is better to have him wrestle. And even this match is a good idea. I sometimes point out that putting someone in World title feuds is a good way of developing their credibility. Regardless of whether they win or lose, they get elevated to that level. All that remains is whether or not the WWE will be consistent with them after that point. For some guys, it is obvious they are just jobbers to the centerpiece. In the case of Seth Rollins, this is a star they are developing. This kind of match will help him.

Even though I just defended the decision to put Seth Rollins in this match, who are some other guys that might have been added in? First of all, heel or face? The Authority is back and doing their usual thing. They are being vindictive towards the faces that took them out of power. Why would they reward one of their enemies? Moreover, they would try to screw Cena further. It would only make sense to add a heel in this match. The Authority does have other henchmen than Seth Rollins. Doing a little reshuffling, they could have added Big Show. Reward him for defecting. Kane is still around. If you really want to screw John Cena and make sure he does not regain the title, it might be more believable to add in a big brute than someone like Seth Rollins. Regardless, just making it a triple-threat match is good. And Seth Rollins is still a choice I can understand.

What Happens When Randy Orton Returns?

Instead of speculating what might happen should someone the WWE wants to be a star does not return, let's speculate what might happen when someone the WWE wants to be a top star does return. I am not talking about AJ Lee. I mean Randy Orton.

The last time Orton was on Raw, he was in the midst of turning face and was getting taken out by the The Authority. You might have an obvious return feud right there, but The Authority has disbanded. Another reason I feel they should not have broken up the group when they did, in addition to the impact it has had on the development of Seth Rollins. Face Orton vs. The Authority would have been great. It wouldn't be the first time Randy Orton broke off from a stable led by Triple H and feuded against them, but Randy Orton now is better than Randy Orton in 2004.

You still have some remnants of the stable. Orton can come back for the Royal Rumble and start a feud with Kane. After going over him in February, they start a feud between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins. That will lead to a match between the two at Wrestlemania. I just think these feuds would mean more if Triple H was also involved. That is not going to happen.

There is another option that is not likely to happen. How about Orton vs. Brock Lesnar for Fast Lane? If Brock Lesnar retains and the WWE decides to have someone else get a title shot other than Cena, Orton vs. Lesnar would be good. Lesnar would obviously win, but this is about creating some fresh matches against other top stars for Lesnar. Orton could still move on to a feud with Seth Rollins after. I just think the WWE is more likely to go with Kane as Orton's return feud. Build him up to Seth Rollins. But a feud against Lesnar might have been more exciting.