Credit: WWE.com
WWE Roadblock 2016 might provide an early start to the Road to WrestleMania. The WWE has interesting matches revolving around championships and more.
The Road to WrestleMania has usually taken place right around the annual Royal Rumble. That has been the tradition since the annual 30-man battle royal has sent a superstar to the main event of WrestleMania. However, there’s a good chance the Road to WrestleMania will start a little earlier with WWE Roadblock 2016.
While it might not be a traditional pay-per-view event, the WWE Network exclusive could still be a very interesting night for a number of reasons. The main event features Roman Reigns challenging Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship. There’s going to be a lot of attention regarding who leaves with the title. The picture for WrestleMania 33 could be a lot different than what many though fans thought a few weeks ago.
There’s also the rivalry between Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship. The belt has traded hands multiple times between the two superstars. Their rivalry dates back to the beginning of the Divas Revolution in WWE. The WWE could always give Charlotte a fourth title-reign and ends Banks’ run in less than a month again. But hopefully their story has a final chapter at WWE Roadblock.
Then there’s a match between Seth Rollins and Chris Jericho that will likely not be a long feud. It’s a match that provides some depth to the card. But it could also lead to the beginning of a WrestleMania storyline involving Triple H and his turn against Rollins.
Those are the three main matches to keep an eye on during WWE Roadblock 2016. The following are three bold predictions for each of them.
Credit: WWE.com
3. Triple H Attacks Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins may the decision to call out Triple H on Monday Night Raw a few weeks ago. However, he seems to be in the middle of a feud with not only his Roadblock opponent Chris Jericho. He’s also wanting another opportunity at Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship. While the latter makes sense, the WWE is leaving a lot of options open for Rollins moving forward.
The most likely path is that the WWE is going to build towards Rollins facing Triple H at WrestleMania. The Game will likely want to put Rollins on notice sooner rather than later. A significant impact would be to attack Rollins shortly after the match with Jericho. The reason for that is to allow the two superstars to have a match that ends cleanly. That allows Rollins to continue being built as a face in the company.
Triple H would then come out of nowhere with a sledgehammer. The attack would then allow for Rollins to be too injured to compete in the Royal Rumble match. It would be a significant heel move that keeps Rollins away from an opportunity to be in the WrestleMania main event.
It would be a different way of starting the feud considering that most WrestleMania feuds are first established in January. Having it begin at Roadblock would be a nice twist for a change.
Credit: WWE.com
2. Sasha Banks Successfully Defends the Raw Women’s Championship
The WWE Raw Women’s Championship has only been held by two women, dating back to when it was created as the new WWE Women’s Championship. It was a great move to replace the Divas Championship. Charlotte Flair has been an impressive champion for most of 2016. However, one superstar who deserves a lengthy title run is Sasha Banks.
Banks has held the Raw Women’s Championship on two occasions already. But both reigns were less than a month each. Banks first won the title during an episode of Raw back in July. That championship reign lasted only 27 days before Charlotte reclaimed the title at SummerSlam.
That title reign for Charlotte lasted just a little bit longer before Banks reclaimed the title on an October episode of Raw. She was fully recovered from a back injury suffered during her first championship win. Many fans thought she would have a lengthy run on the second time around. Again, her reign lasted just 27 days before losing in the first women’s Hell in a Cell match.
The third time should be the charm for Banks and she will hopefully be the Raw Women’s Champion for a while. Too many short reigns doesn’t really help the respect that a championship has.
Credit: WWE.com
1. Roman Reigns Defeats Kevin Owens
Roman Reigns was supposed to be the top man in the WWE for the past few years. They even tried to push him despite the fans being strongly against it. Some of the criticism is a little unfair since Reigns has improved greatly in the last year. He’s not the same wrestler that was being forced down everyone’s throats leading up to WrestleMania 32.
There is some concern that the WWE is going to put Reigns into the main event spotlight again. It would be understandable to see the WWE make a change in this instance. From the perspective of the WWE, the ratings have been declining sharply while Owens has been the WWE Universal Champion. That’s not to say Owens is the reason for the fall in the ratings. It’s just how the WWE will likely look his title reign.
It is going to be a decent match and it could actually lead to a number of different options for WrestleMania 33. There’s a good chance that the first ever WWE Universal Champion could be returning soon, according to a specific superstar’s post on social media.
15 weeks since surgery
Day 106 of rehabilitation
Getting stronger every day
Ps: Wonderful to see @roderickstrong at the PC everyday pic.twitter.com/56uCBtmLNG— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) December 6, 2016
This could allow for the WWE to have Balor and Reigns in a rematch from their tournament final match before SummerSlam. There’s also the caveat of Owens wanting to utilize a rematch clause for the championship.
Depending on what happens in the next few months, the WWE could be considering a triple threat option. Reigns winning the title would be the first step in putting together a very interesting main event for WrestleMania 33.
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