Fastlane Reigns vs. Bryan

[Prince Bálor]

It's going to be a great match, that's for sure.

However, I'm unsure whether they'll go with Reigns or they'll roll with the DQ/Count-out ending or whatever to set up the triple-threat at Mania. I'm completely cool with both Reigns beating Bryan, as well as the triple-threat happening at Mania.

 

[The GOAT]

Really don't care who wins at this point. And I'm not even sure if that's the result of being excited at the different main event possibilities for Mania or if it's just a general feeling of apathy on my part towards the whole storyline (I'm leaning towards it being the latter.)

If Bryan wins, cool. We get to see Lesnar vs Bryan, which is guaranteed to be a better match than what Lesnar vs Reigns would have been. But irregardless of how that turns out, the main thing I wanted for Bryan this year was his Rumble moment. He's already had his Wrestlemania moment, and obviously I have no issue with him having another, but the one big thing that was really missing from his resume was a victory in the Royal Rumble match and they've already ruined that this year, for the second time in a row.

If Reigns wins, cool. We get a new main event superstar, but the general reactions Reigns has been receiving so far coupled with the fact that obnoxious Bryan marks seem determined to turn almost everyone who takes what they perceive to be Bryan's spot heel would probably mean that at best, Reigns will end up being Cena 2.0 (loved/hated by almost equal parts of the audience), and at worst, will be forced to turn heel shortly after Mania. Not that a heel Roman Reigns would be the worst thing in the world, but I see plenty to get out of him as a babyface.

All and all, we're likely getting a triple threat, which I don't really care for, but it honestly seems like the most viable option at this point, unfortunately.

 

[Prince Bálor]

I'm wondering what'll happen if/when Bryan actually wins the Rumble. It'd be funny if the crowd turned their back on him.

 

[The GOAT]

Life is full of ironies and WWE fans can be fickle as fuck, so it honestly wouldn't surprise me. Stranger things have happened. Dean Ambrose or a returning CM Punk are the only people I could see causing that type of scenario to happen momentarily, though (well, Ambrose isn't quite at that level yet, but with the right booking and push, he could be.)

All you'd really have to do is take a guy whom the fans really love, book him on a linear path over a several month period where winning the Rumble and then the championship at Wrestlemania seems like the obvious endgame, but then have him lose and give it to someone who doesn't really need it instead. If this happened to a guy like Ambrose after the fans had already gotten their "Bryan or Nobody" outlook out of their system, I could see there being more than a few boos. The fans were always behind Bret Hart, but if he had never turned heel and never left for WCW and then ended up winning the '98 Royal Rumble over Austin, then a lot of fans would have almost certainly booed him. I mean, that IS what ended up happening anyway - the fans chose Austin over Bret, it just came about in a different way.

 

[C.M. Shaddix]

It should be good, as long as both superstars do work for this match. I mean if Bryan carries out the match and Reigns just goes Cena and wins that ain't good. If Reigns does some good spots and wins then I will give him some props going into Wrestlemania. But I think Bryan should win, the dude hasn't had a decent long title reign out of his 3 because of injuries and damn storylines. Would Reigns and Lesnar actually work a good Wresltemania match? I think Bryan and Lesnar would be interesting, I don't know how much interesting stuff Brock has in his pocket. Either way this should be a good match for a filler ppv but both results can end in a questionable WM match.

 

[Prince Bálor]

It should be good, as long as both superstars do work for this match. I mean if Bryan carries out the match and Reigns just goes Cena and wins that ain't good. If Reigns does some good spots and wins then I will give him some props going into Wrestlemania. But I think Bryan should win, the dude hasn't had a decent long title reign out of his 3 because of injuries and damn storylines. Would Reigns and Lesnar actually work a good Wresltemania match? I think Bryan and Lesnar would be interesting, I don't know how much interesting stuff Brock has in his pocket. Either way this should be a good match for a filler ppv but both results can end in a questionable WM match.

Being a huge DB fan, I can't say I wouldn't love it if Bryan won. At the same time, it wouldn't be fair to have Reigns lose, b/c he's the legitimate Rumble winner.
But, if DB does end up winning, which I don't think it's going to happen, it'd make Reigns look so freakin' dumb.
Reigns had no business putting his #1 contendership spot on the line, other than "LOL, I'm a babyface. Gotta do what's right and prove myself to the fans", neither did the Authority had the power to put Reigns in this position, as they'd mentioned in that backstage segment after that whole RR controversy thing was addressed.

About the match though, there's no doubt in my mind Bryan will carry Reigns to a superb performance. I cannot wait to see how they decide to finish it. Will it be Reigns winning or will it be a DQ/count-out finish that would lead to a triple-threat at Mania? Both options would sit well with me... I'm pumped for this!