As we edge closer to the Royal Rumble, here is just a handful of mistakes that the WWE will want to avoid making at this year’s event.
They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that rings true for this year’s Royal Rumble – which has migrated into the historic Alamodome in San Antonio. On top of that, the deck is stacked not only with top tier matches, but a mouth-watering list of talent set to take part in the Rumble, and even more so rumored to join the fray.
John Cena preps to take on AJ Styles once again, this time with the intention of tying “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair’s legendary record of sixteen WWE Championship reigns in what is sure to be a showstopper regardless of the result.
Kevin Owens will have to go it alone against Roman Reigns, as the WWE Universal Championship won’t be the only thing hanging in the balance when the two square off. Chris Jericho will be suspended high above the ring in a shark cage, virtually eliminating any possibility of Y2J interfering in the match.
The Undertaker, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar are just a handful of big names confirmed to participate in the Rumble – which arguably remains more unpredictable than ever before – and with Kenny Omega, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor all being discussed as potential surprise entrants, you can bet that no matter what happens, the roof is going to blow off the building on more than one occasion on Sunday night.
There’s no denying that this year’s Rumble event has the potential to be one of the best in recent years, but in fairness, that’s not exactly saying much.
Over the last few years, the Royal Rumble event has often left fans feeling less enthused about WrestleMania season than they were going into it.
Whether it was John Cena’s overly predictable win in 2013, Daniel Bryan’s absence from the eponymous match type in 2014 that led to Batista’s victory, or the force-feeding of Roman Reigns down the fans’ throats the following two years, the fans have left the building feeling bitter far too often.
And given the sheer stature of this year’s event, that’s a stigma that the WWE isn’t going to want continuing into its fifth straight year. That said, there are a number of things that could take place at the Rumble that may set a few fans on edge.
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5. Reverting Back to Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
The impending clash between Bayley and Charlotte is bound to be a monumental match that will propel Bayley way up the ranks – as long as it’s allowed to be.
Charlotte currently holds a record that very few WWE Superstars ever accomplish. She has been in the company for a year and a half now, as a member of the main roster, and has yet to suffer any sort of defeat on Pay-Per-View – amassing a streak that might someday be used to put over somebody in desperate need of a good rub.
At this point, it almost always seems like a safe bet to go all in on Charlotte retaining her championship whenever the match is taking place on PPV, and that’s more than likely to continue past Royal Rumble and into WrestleMania season, which is more than acceptable considering her unparalleled ability as a heel champion.
Bayley doesn’t need to win this match in order to reap the benefits. A strong showing will put her miles ahead of where she’s been these past few months while the title has been flip-flopping between Charlotte and Sasha Banks. The real mistake WWE needs to avoid, however, is how they proceed if Charlotte retains her title.
As you can probably tell, the WWE’s use of its female division on the Raw roster has been lackluster to say the very least, when you consider the fact that Bayley and Sasha Banks have essentially been the only babyfaces put to any use since the draft.
The biggest mistake WWE can make here is having Bayley fade back into obscurity in favour of a renewed rivalry between Sasha and Charlotte into ‘Mania.
With a bit of luck, we’ll be staring at a Fatal Four-Way when the time comes – with Nia Jax in the mix, but if they want us to maintain any shred of interest in the division heading into it, keep the majority focus away from Sasha coming back to the title picture – unless of course they go ahead with Bayley as the new champ.
It’s been done to death, and continuing to describe it as a legendary feud won’t hide the fact that they’re wasting what once was an impressive women’s roster.
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4. Rich Swann Puts Neville’s Momentum to Rest
Ever since his re-emergence at Roadblock: End of the Line, Neville has stepped forward as the WWE cruiserweight division’s most impressive heel performer.
He’s always been known for his immense athletic ability – exemplified through his use of awe-inspiring maneuvers such as the Red Arrow and the Phoenix Splash from the middle rope – but until now, he’s been nothing more than a clean-cut babyface character with virtually no impact on the weekly narrative of the WWE product.
It’s for that reason why, when the company started introducing more cruiserweights with similar ability to Neville, that few people noticed his absence – leading Neville to turn on those who used to chant his name because he’d quickly transformed from “the man that gravity forgot” to “the man that the WWE Universe forgot”.
Although Rich Swann has been on top of his game since capturing the title, Neville is on the verge of a breakthrough that could be huge for the division.
As a long-established name with a new attitude that could give anyone on the WWE roster a run for their money, Neville makes the most sense to represent the division and prove himself as the true “King of the Cruiserweights”. A loss to Swann at the Royal Rumble would be a huge blow to Neville’s new momentum and could undo a lot of the work that’s been done to redeem his wasted potential in 2016.
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3. Chris Jericho is the Real MVP in the Championship Match
It seems like an eternity ago that Kevin Owens finally received his moment of gratification in the WWE, when he defeated Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big Cass to become the second-ever WWE Universal Championship back in August.
Owens had stepped forward throughout the previous year and a half to stake his claim as one of the single-most entertaining members of the WWE roster, putting on impeccable matches and delivering exquisite promos with each performance.
However, since reaching the brass ring and proclaiming Monday Night Raw as “The Kevin Owens Show”, there has been one constant always backing Owens up and, quite frankly, making him look like he can’t get the job done by himself – Chris Jericho.
The developing relationship of Team Kevin & Chris has made for some of the most consistently hilarious segments over the last half-year, but it’s allowed Owens’ credibility as a singles competitor to slowly diminish – seeing as how he always looks like he’s on the verge of losing the championship until Jericho rears his head.
It’s been the same story at Clash of Champions, Hell in a Cell and Roadblock: End of the Line; Chris Jericho steals the main event regardless of his position on the card, and it’s very likely to happen again at the Royal Rumble.
Acknowledging the ridiculousness of Jericho’s constant interference, Mick Foley has opted to suspend Chris Jericho in a shark cage above the ring during Kevin Owens’ title defense against Roman Reigns at the Rumble, and while this will surely make for some funny moments, it would actually be more rewarding for Kevin Owens to take this opportunity to prove himself as a worthy champion without Jericho by his side.
It feels like we have been gearing up to see Jericho and Owens’ relationship implode for a while now – potentially resulting in a match for the championship if we’re lucky enough – and if we’re going to get that with Jericho as the babyface and Owens as the heel, then “The Prizefighter” will need to have momentum on his side.
His rivalry with Sami Zayn was based on Owens believing himself better than his former best friend, but he won’t be able to keep that reasoning to betray Jericho if the statistics show that Owens’ only victories came as a result of Y2J.
Of course, being trapped in a shark cage doesn’t render Chris Jericho useless – just watch The Authors of Pain vs. TM-61 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto and you’ll see that it’s very easy to smuggle in a weapon. But by and large, Owens is in desperate need of a strong solo performance without Jericho hogging the limelight, especially considering he’ll have plenty of time to do so later in the Royal Rumble match.
WWE.com
2. The Goldberg-Lesnar Feud Trumps All Others in Royal Rumble
The events that unfolded in the main event of Survivor Series last November got everyone chomping at the bit to see the next chapter of Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar.
“The Beast”, once thought to be unstoppable, was shaken to his very core when Goldberg made short work of him in his first match in over twelve years. It was arguably the most shocking upset, ironically in fact, since Brock Lesnar laid waste to The Undertaker’s unprecedented 21-0 streak at WrestleMania just two years prior.
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Now, heading into the Royal Rumble match, we have received confirmation that both Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will be competing for the opportunity to headline WrestleMania. Out of all the potential encounters put forward by thirty of the world’s finest competitors next Sunday, the real mouth-watering clash is the inevitable brawl between Goldberg and Lesnar – no matter what order they enter in.
The playing field has been set for these men to go to war, and whether it’s a one-sided affair or an evenly spread fight, it’s bound to blow the roof off the Alomodome.
That being said, we do need to remember the work that’s been put into making this one of the most unpredictable Royal Rumble matches in WWE history.
It’s so hard to call a winner, in fact – even with the bookies’ favourites heavily swaying the general consensus – that we’re not even going to hazard a guess in this piece regarding who’s going to win it all. But again, that unpredictability doesn’t happen overnight – the WWE has been utilising its brands to add a tonne of depth to this year’s Rumble that we perhaps haven’t seen in previous years.
Braun Strowman has been a one-man wrecking crew since his arrival on Monday Night Raw – recently going so far as to decimate Sami Zayn on a number of occasions to step right in front as the favorite to be the last man standing.
Dolph Ziggler’s inability to win “the big one” has whittled his morality down to the point where he’s turning on everyone – even Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Speaking of frustrations, The Miz’s issues with SmackDown Live management are about to reach their boiling point. Being held down by Daniel Bryan, Renee Young and the senior officials, not to mention his peers, has caused The Miz to lose the Intercontinental Championship – just in time for a push perhaps?
The Wyatt Family is on the fritz, with Harper and Orton’s inability to get along preventing the trio from moving forward as a unit ahead of WrestleMania season.
Seth Rollins is in desperate need of Triple H to take notice, and a strong performance in the Royal Rumble match is sure to turn the head of “The Cerebral Assassin”.
The progression, and in some cases, the conclusion of each of these narratives and more await us when the bell rings on January 29, so although Goldberg and Brock Lesnar may be the poster feud for this event, it would be a mistake for any of these story threads to suffer as a result of their imminent encounter.
There’s about an hour of time to work with here, and if it’s done correctly, this could wind up being one of the most story-driven and rewarding Royal Rumbles since the concept was ushered in – provided the rest of the roster isn’t steamrolled by Goldberg and Lesnar before it has the chance.
Credit: WWE.com
1. Roman Reigns Wins the WWE Universal Championship
So here we stand, looking down a long, albeit hopefully gratifying road to WrestleMania as we gear up for the Royal Rumble – and Roman Reigns is once again right at the frontlines with a chance to waltz into Orlando as the headliner.
If Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens in San Antonio, the odds will lean heavily in favor of “The Big Dog” closing out the 33rd annual Showcase of the Immortals in April – and although it will be the first time he actually enters a WrestleMania main event with the championship in tow, it still feels like we’ve done this dance before.
For the last two years in a row, Reigns has entered the Royal Rumble with big implications already foreshadowing his high-profile role at the big event just three months later. This year, Reigns finds himself with the opportunity to go to WrestleMania already as “The Guy”, whom the winner of the Royal Rumble match could potentially opt towards facing with the lights on bright.
If the last two years are anything to go by, this is a very bad idea.
If you thought Roman Reigns got heat before, wait until they up the ante and shift the Rumble into a building of 72,000 fans. You can edit footage after the fact – hell, you can even try to mute the live crowd reaction if needs be – but there is still going to be no escaping the overwhelming chorus of boos that awaits Reigns as he attempts to capture the WWE Universal Championship from Kevin Owens.
It’s not something the WWE isn’t going to heavily consider, however, and that’s the annoying thing. The Roman Reigns experiment might be about to continue for its third year, and the reaction has remained the same throughout.
It’s over. It’s done. Try something new.
Unless they intend on having Reigns turn heel, there’s no earthly reason to justify finishing off yet another WrestleMania with the hero being booed out of the arena.
Make no mistake; Roman Reigns is going to win the WWE Universal Championship at some stage, but history has proven that WrestleMania is just not the ideal place for it to happen if you don’t want people to reign down upon the event.
Surely a non-title mid-card clash with a behemoth like Braun Strowman would be enough to hold them over while the real built-up feud between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho can actually deliver something special without much backlash. There is plenty of potential heading into WrestleMania season – it would be wise not to sully that sense of excitement with another forced Roman Reigns championship match.
