If John Cena vs the Undertaker has truly been nixed from WrestleMania, then this could actually very profound effects on the outcomes of the Rumble matches.
I don't presume to actually know what WWE's plans were and can only cite things that I hear on the rumor sites as rumors. But if the idea was Cena wins the belt against AJ and Taker wins the Rumble to face Cena, it seems that this plan is not going to happen. This, of course, would explain partly why Taker showed up on RAW. His WrestleMania opponent might be a Raw guy.
Regardless, this throws a lot more up in the air than would first seem. It makes the result of the AJ and Cena match more ambiguous. That's a comfort, knowing that since Roman lost the US title to Jericho that Roman is likely going to win the Universal title at the Rumble. So Jericho and KO will likely fight for the US title at WrestleMania. Blech.
Anyway, this begs the question who will win between AJ and Cena and who will win the Rumble.
My Rumble winner before was undefined. I thought Strowman might stand a chance. I also thought Taker did. But now, I don't think either of these guys will.
I don't have an answer for Cena vs Styles. I still think Cena's 16th world title should come at Mania. But as for now, I am thinking Samoa Joe might end up winning the Rumble. If Cena wins the World Title and the plans for Cena vs Taker are dropped, Cena defending against Joe might be the freshest and most interesting match for Cena. If AJ retains, then we get AJ and Joe. We've had AJ and Joe many times, but the majority of times we've had it, it's been pretty awesome.
So why might WWE go with AJ and Joe as opposed to Cena vs Taker? Well, I think that answer is pretty obvious. It provides a cushion for them to do whatever they want with Roman Reigns. They can have Reigns vs Strowman, which a lot of people don't want to see. But they can try to appease the people who don't want to see it by having AJ vs Joe, which is a much smarkier match. That way, they can try to ease some of the animosity away from Roman's inevitable victory.
I know that everyone says the brand split was done to get better ratings for Smackdown. I also think it was done so that WWE could promote Roman as the face of one of the brands, while trying to keep the other fans by giving them an alternative World Champion. I honestly think that with the direction both Raw and Smackdown have gone, this seems pretty likely.
Anyhow, what do you think? Do you think them nixing this match has a huge effect as to who wins the Rumble and if so, who do you think will win now?
I don't presume to actually know what WWE's plans were and can only cite things that I hear on the rumor sites as rumors. But if the idea was Cena wins the belt against AJ and Taker wins the Rumble to face Cena, it seems that this plan is not going to happen. This, of course, would explain partly why Taker showed up on RAW. His WrestleMania opponent might be a Raw guy.
Regardless, this throws a lot more up in the air than would first seem. It makes the result of the AJ and Cena match more ambiguous. That's a comfort, knowing that since Roman lost the US title to Jericho that Roman is likely going to win the Universal title at the Rumble. So Jericho and KO will likely fight for the US title at WrestleMania. Blech.
Anyway, this begs the question who will win between AJ and Cena and who will win the Rumble.
My Rumble winner before was undefined. I thought Strowman might stand a chance. I also thought Taker did. But now, I don't think either of these guys will.
I don't have an answer for Cena vs Styles. I still think Cena's 16th world title should come at Mania. But as for now, I am thinking Samoa Joe might end up winning the Rumble. If Cena wins the World Title and the plans for Cena vs Taker are dropped, Cena defending against Joe might be the freshest and most interesting match for Cena. If AJ retains, then we get AJ and Joe. We've had AJ and Joe many times, but the majority of times we've had it, it's been pretty awesome.
So why might WWE go with AJ and Joe as opposed to Cena vs Taker? Well, I think that answer is pretty obvious. It provides a cushion for them to do whatever they want with Roman Reigns. They can have Reigns vs Strowman, which a lot of people don't want to see. But they can try to appease the people who don't want to see it by having AJ vs Joe, which is a much smarkier match. That way, they can try to ease some of the animosity away from Roman's inevitable victory.
I know that everyone says the brand split was done to get better ratings for Smackdown. I also think it was done so that WWE could promote Roman as the face of one of the brands, while trying to keep the other fans by giving them an alternative World Champion. I honestly think that with the direction both Raw and Smackdown have gone, this seems pretty likely.
Anyhow, what do you think? Do you think them nixing this match has a huge effect as to who wins the Rumble and if so, who do you think will win now?
