Royal Rumble WWE must be on fumes right here

[C.M. Shaddix]

Alright guys so Roman is defending his WWE title in the rumble match, as much as it's supposed to sound awesome this is actually a big let down for me in confidence with WWE. If they are making the main event feud in WWE the rumble match and not planning on pushing anyone else for the wrestlemania title match at the moment then this means WWE has NO ideas for the rumble and they will just have a super Reigns retain in the rumble match to survive another ppv. As much as they make Reigns a good guy nowadays this is just the perfect moment to make us all hate him again because we want new blood rising in the rumble to face him for the belt in WM32. He's gonna defy almost the whole WWE roster single handed (along with some help from Usos and Ambrose maybe) and just make him look too strong.

This.. this stip for the rumble is just awful...

 

[CM Punk]

what? they'll probably have Reigns lose it by getting the league of nation eliminate him and he'll have another big Mania moment.

 

[Prince Bálor]

If Reigns retains, then we are in for another Royal Rumble Rebellion. Although, having the Rumble in Reigns' homestate of Florida should prevent "Royal Rumble Rebellion III: Return of the Rioting" from happening, but we'll see.

They could also have Reigns drop the title. How? ENTER SHENANIGANS! I say either Bork or Trips win. DB coming back and finally winning is a wet dream, so yeah, Bork or Trips winning is more likely.

 

[The GOAT]

I actually think Reigns being forced to defend the title in the Rumble is a pretty cool idea. I've been wanting to see a Rumble match for the championship again, and while I'd of preferred if it was for a vacant championship, I'm still sort of amped up about the idea.

I wouldn't assume so easily that Reigns is simply gonna survive 29 other men and retain the title. Sure, that could happen, but I think a more likely scenario is that HHH enters himself at #30 (or even more unfairly, at #31...) as a surprise entrant and awards himself an easy victory for the title, leading to Reigns vs HHH for the belt at either Fast Lane or (more likely) at Wrestlemania.

On the other hand, Cena vs Undertaker has been rumored to happen at this year's Wrestlemania for awhile and is currently one of the biggest matches that WWE has never done before on PPV, and putting the title in their match would actually provide them with a logical reason to face off (since without the Streak or without one of them being a heel, their match would feel a little thrown together otherwise) while Reigns/HHH happens as a non-title bout (perhaps one that centers around The Authority's power being on the line instead.) One of them could win the title. If Taker is on the way out, this could be one last moment of glory for him. If Cena wins the title, he becomes only the second person in history to win the WWE Title in a Rumble match - the other person being Ric Flair, of course - and doing so would also at the same time tie Flair's historical record for the most cumulative number of world championships as well. Cena would also tie Steve Austin for the most Rumble match victories period, as far as other records go.

Of course, there's also the chance of Daniel Bryan making a surprise return and and finally winning a Rumble to reclaim the gold that he never officially lost, but I have no idea who he would defend the title against at Mania. Bryan vs Lesnar is a pipe dream. Bryan vs Sheamus? Meh.

Any way you slice it, you're looking at an potentially awesome Rumble match either way - Cena, Lesnar, Taker and/or HHH possibly, Reigns, Ambrose, the Wyatt Family, Owens, Jericho, The New Day (interested to see what spot they come up with for how Kofi barely survives elimination this year), The League Of Nations, Big Show, Ryback, Kane, etc.

 

[Mr. Roman Empire]

Ya know I was really turning the corner and starting to appreciate Roman Reigns as champion, but they just took it too far with this booking. Royal Rumble is special because it gives the winner an opportunity to challenge for the title at Wrestlemania, but now they are just cutting to the chase, and it bugs me. WWE is just a giant Roman Reigns lover fest and it's really getting out of hand.

If Roman wins, then this will be an easy way for HHH to challenge him at Wrestlemania, which is what will probably end up happening since WWE is going for the worst and most obvious booking decisions. That way they can keep the belt off of HHH and keep him from winning the rumble.

The only person I can see winning is Lesnar, but even that seems like a long shot now. It will probably come down to Reigns and Lesnar (maybe Cena too). And if Lesnar wins, Reigns will make his rematch clause be at Wrestlemania, but that doesn't seem likely anymore.

 

[alexb]

Ok, let’s try to break this down:

Fact: When Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble last year the response was very negative (to say the least and putting it politely) so one would think that the WWE learned their lesson, right? I mean, yeah, it is the WWE we are talking about and a lot of times the word “logic” seems to be missing from their vocabulary but let’s assume they wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Fact: Triple HHH is still nowhere to be seen ever since TLC and this I think strengthens my initial take right after that PPV, where I shared my idea that perhaps the Game is perhaps the number 1 candidate to win the Rumble and go on to face Roman Reigns.

Having just watched RAW a couple of hours ago, there was a point where I thought Triple H was actually going to show up, when Reigns pushed Vince McMahon on to Stephanie and knocked them both down. For a second I thought to myself “here he comes” but as we all saw that never happened. Instead, WWE chose to continue to keep HHH out of the picture, in my opinion only to make the surprise (if one can call it that anyway) entry at the Rumble look more legit.

Now, as far as the big announcement made, adding the title itself in the Royal Rumble match, one would argue it would have made a bit more sense if the belt was vacant to begin with. I mean, for all of Roman’s actions ever since winning the belt (laying his hands on HHH and Vince in particular), one would think that a more severe punishment would be more appropriate rather than just having him defend it on RAW with silly stipulations (that is actually why I thought they would go with the stripping angle).
So, does this make the Royal Rumble as predictable as it gets? I mean, given the circumstances, it would be easy to rush and say Roman Reigns will win it but keep in mind the first fact I mentioned above. Granted, it could happen but I doubt it and I don’t think WWE will become so lame in this situation.

Nevertheless, there aren’t many options.

I mentioned a couple of month’s back that we should expect a Cena vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania and as of now, those rumors are getting louder. Quite frankly, it’s the only match that makes sense because who else is there in the current roster that Taker can face anyway? Therefore, the one way to make this happen is have Cena eliminate Taker during the Rumble and set up the Mania match.

Moving on, Cena could be a potential winner at the Rumble, however there’s still his feud with ADR and then there’s the obvious push of Roman Reigns so I don’t think it would make much sense to put the belt on Cena right now. Think about it. Wouldn’t this serve as a conflict in regards to what the WWE’s main goal is with Reigns?

Could they surprise us, say, with Kevin Owens? That could be an idea I guess but rather a farfetched one for now and the timing just doesn’t feel right.

Bray Wyatt? That could have been another good idea but there hasn’t been any kind of hint towards that direction and it’s probably too late to do so at this time so highly unlikely.

Daniel Bryan? Everyone, including me, would love to see DB back in the picture but again (and aside from whether he’s cleared or not), wouldn’t such a return kill Roman Reigns’s momentum that WWE have been so desperate to build?

So the way I see it, aside from Roman Reigns, it only comes down to two other options, either Triple H or Brock Lesnar which would eventually lead us to either Roman Reigns vs HHH or Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Amongst the two, I am personally leaning towards the latter mostly because I feel they still might go with HHH vs Rock and if that were the case, it would surely be shaping up a good card for Wrestlemania. Should I go just a step further? If not competing in any match, why not add Stone Cold Steve Austin as a guest referee in the HHH vs Rock match?

Ok, got a little off topic there in the end but all in all, we definetely should expect HHH as a late entry and something like Cena, HHH, Bray Wyatt, the Undertaker, Lesnar and Roman Reigns being the final 6 perhaps to go at it. Cena eliminates the Undertaker, Wyatt eliminates Cena, Lesnar eliminates Wyatt and then there were 3. After that, make your pick...


P.S. With Jericho back, should we also expect a IC title match at Wrestlemania, Ambrose vs Y2J?

 

[Jacob Fox]

My feelings about this are slightly more complex than I am trying to make them seem. In a way this is actually very similar to the 1992 Royal Rumble... whoever wins this match wins the championship, just like in 92. Only difference is that the title isn't vacant. But really other than the fact that Roman is champion, it still works the same way. But I do agree The GOAT that I would prefer it being vacant.

The reason this idea grates on my nerves is that is just REALLY seems like it's a way to put Reigns over. I know it might not be. Maybe he won't win. But are we going to have 4 title changes in a two month period of time? I dunno. Seems kind of unlikely to me.

The reason it seems like it's inevitable is because it was the Royal Rumble two years ago that Reigns first started his path to his eventual world title reign. Then there was the whole idea last year of having Lesnar defeat Undertaker, destroy Cena and seem invincible, only to be beaten by Reigns and possibly making Reigns an instant star in the process. Well, that didn't happen. But that doesn't mean that WWE won't look for another way for this to happen. They REALLY still want to sell Reigns on us, then what could put him over more than putting him in a match where the probability of him winning is 1/30... something only done by Ric Flair and Randy Savage who won the WCW World Title in World War III with a probability of 1/60...all in all, great company to be in.

It just seems like they are trying to work off this strategy that a monumental accomplishment will automatically make people like the guy. But I think it will have the opposite effect. In a Royal Rumble PPV, we always get two main events: a title match and a battle royal. If one of the main events doesn't go the way we want it to, we have another chance to be happy. But in this instance, it's completely all or nothing.

Eh, I dunno. I feel like i am all over the place on this one. I just don't think it is a good idea. I hope they prove me wrong but if the Royal Rumble ends and all we have is Reigns as champ and nothing else official lined up for the Road to Wrestlemania, I will be sorely disappointed in the Rumble (my favorite event each year) for the third year in a row.... and i really don't want that.

 

[Snowman1]

Ok, let’s try to break this down:

Fact: When Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble last year the response was very negative (to say the least and putting it politely) so one would think that the WWE learned their lesson, right? I mean, yeah, it is the WWE we are talking about and a lot of times the word “logic” seems to be missing from their vocabulary but let’s assume they wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Fact: Triple HHH is still nowhere to be seen ever since TLC and this I think strengthens my initial take right after that PPV, where I shared my idea that perhaps the Game is perhaps the number 1 candidate to win the Rumble and go on to face Roman Reigns.

Having just watched RAW a couple of hours ago, there was a point where I thought Triple H was actually going to show up, when Reigns pushed Vince McMahon on to Stephanie and knocked them both down. For a second I thought to myself “here he comes” but as we all saw that never happened. Instead, WWE chose to continue to keep HHH out of the picture, in my opinion only to make the surprise (if one can call it that anyway) entry at the Rumble look more legit.

Now, as far as the big announcement made, adding the title itself in the Royal Rumble match, one would argue it would have made a bit more sense if the belt was vacant to begin with. I mean, for all of Roman’s actions ever since winning the belt (laying his hands on HHH and Vince in particular), one would think that a more severe punishment would be more appropriate rather than just having him defend it on RAW with silly stipulations (that is actually why I thought they would go with the stripping angle).
So, does this make the Royal Rumble as predictable as it gets? I mean, given the circumstances, it would be easy to rush and say Roman Reigns will win it but keep in mind the first fact I mentioned above. Granted, it could happen but I doubt it and I don’t think WWE will become so lame in this situation.

Nevertheless, there aren’t many options.

I mentioned a couple of month’s back that we should expect a Cena vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania and as of now, those rumors are getting louder. Quite frankly, it’s the only match that makes sense because who else is there in the current roster that Taker can face anyway? Therefore, the one way to make this happen is have Cena eliminate Taker during the Rumble and set up the Mania match.

Moving on, Cena could be a potential winner at the Rumble, however there’s still his feud with ADR and then there’s the obvious push of Roman Reigns so I don’t think it would make much sense to put the belt on Cena right now. Think about it. Wouldn’t this serve as a conflict in regards to what the WWE’s main goal is with Reigns?

Could they surprise us, say, with Kevin Owens? That could be an idea I guess but rather a farfetched one for now and the timing just doesn’t feel right.

Bray Wyatt? That could have been another good idea but there hasn’t been any kind of hint towards that direction and it’s probably too late to do so at this time so highly unlikely.

Daniel Bryan? Everyone, including me, would love to see DB back in the picture but again (and aside from whether he’s cleared or not), wouldn’t such a return kill Roman Reigns’s momentum that WWE have been so desperate to build?

So the way I see it, aside from Roman Reigns, it only comes down to two other options, either Triple H or Brock Lesnar which would eventually lead us to either Roman Reigns vs HHH or Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Amongst the two, I am personally leaning towards the latter mostly because I feel they still might go with HHH vs Rock and if that were the case, it would surely be shaping up a good card for Wrestlemania. Should I go just a step further? If not competing in any match, why not add Stone Cold Steve Austin as a guest referee in the HHH vs Rock match?

Ok, got a little off topic there in the end but all in all, we definetely should expect HHH as a late entry and something like Cena, HHH, Bray Wyatt, the Undertaker, Lesnar and Roman Reigns being the final 6 perhaps to go at it. Cena eliminates the Undertaker, Wyatt eliminates Cena, Lesnar eliminates Wyatt and then there were 3. After that, make your pick...


P.S. With Jericho back, should we also expect a IC title match at Wrestlemania, Ambrose vs Y2J?

Ironically, been wondering exactly how it would turn out if DB won. Can see some fans looking at Roman getting screwed out of his spot and saying 'Ya know... I like Bryan and all, but this is kinda bullshit..." But you'd have to carefully get Roman out of the rumble match. It's dangerous as can be to have him WIN, but have him do well and maybe have Triple H and Lesnar form an unholy alliance and Reigns goes off and beats the hell out of Triple H, Brock, hell even Heyman with a chair. Destroy barricades, REALLY fuck shit up, do twice the damage of TLC after like CenaWinsLOL or whatever

Will check out Raw later and come back with more info.

 

[C.M. Shaddix]

If Reigns retains, then we are in for another Royal Rumble Rebellion. Although, having the Rumble in Reigns' homestate of Florida should prevent "Royal Rumble Rebellion III: Return of the Rioting" from happening, but we'll see.

They could also have Reigns drop the title. How? ENTER SHENANIGANS! I say either Bork or Trips win. DB coming back and finally winning is a wet dream, so yeah, Bork or Trips winning is more likely.

Insert my mug shot meme response here, I think I should start using different pics each week now, I'll work on a fantasy booking compromise for this later .

 

[Neptune]

Alright guys so Roman is defending his WWE title in the rumble match, as much as it's supposed to sound awesome this is actually a big let down for me in confidence with WWE. If they are making the main event feud in WWE the rumble match and not planning on pushing anyone else for the wrestlemania title match at the moment then this means WWE has NO ideas for the rumble and they will just have a super Reigns retain in the rumble match to survive another ppv. As much as they make Reigns a good guy nowadays this is just the perfect moment to make us all hate him again because we want new blood rising in the rumble to face him for the belt in WM32. He's gonna defy almost the whole WWE roster single handed (along with some help from Usos and Ambrose maybe) and just make him look too strong.

This.. this stip for the rumble is just awful...

It's beginning to look a lot like Cenamas, everywhere we go....

 

[WarMachine1]

I still can't believe they managed to fuck this up.

It was so easy to book this shit right, Reigns over HHH and have Lesnar win the Rumble match. Bam. Mania is set the crowd goes home happy, but noooooooooo, they pull this shit here a double edge sword that does nothing but put Reigns right back potentially where he was last year, in a spot where people could and probably will resent him for the booking.

What's wrong with Reigns defending the title in a regular one on one match at the Rumble and then retaining at WrestleMania?

And nobody else should be winning this thing for Mania purposes, if Reigns is there guy and face of the future then he needed to retain the title at the Rumble and beat the Rumble winner at Mania, plain and simple.

 

[Neptune]

I still can't believe they managed to fuck this up.

It was so easy to book this shit right, Reigns over HHH and have Lesnar win the Rumble match. Bam. Mania is set the crowd goes home happy, but noooooooooo, they pull this shit here a double edge sword that does nothing but put Reigns right back potentially where he was last year, in a spot where people could and probably will resent him for the booking.

What's wrong with Reigns defending the title in a regular one on one match at the Rumble and then retaining at WrestleMania?

And nobody else should be winning this thing for Mania purposes, if Reigns is there guy and face of the future then he needed to retain the title at the Rumble and beat the Rumble winner at Mania, plain and simple.

It just seems like they are over thinking things to me.

 

[C.M. Shaddix]

It just seems like they are over thinking things to me.

No they aren't, they have no ideas for the royal Rumble obviously. Unless this is how Trips gets the belt and they want Reigns winning a title at mania rather than defending it.

 

[Neptune]

No they aren't, they have no ideas for the royal Rumble obviously. Unless this is how Trips gets the belt and they want Reigns winning a title at mania rather than defending it.

HHH is going to win the rumble, I am almost 100% certain of this. Specially because he hasn't shown his face yet.

And they have ideas but as I said, they are over thinking them. It is like they have 4 choices and can't decide so each Raw leading up to the PPV is going to suffer.

 

[Mr. Roman Empire]

HHH is going to win the rumble, I am almost 100% certain of this. Specially because he hasn't shown his face yet.

And they have ideas but as I said, they are over thinking them. It is like they have 4 choices and can't decide so each Raw leading up to the PPV is going to suffer.

I think Roman is going to win the rumble and keep his title/ Then Triple H challenges him for Wrestlemania. That way HHH doesn't win the rumble or the title.