It’s a cold and windy night here in England, and on this night, I have thought long and hard (insert Quagmire joke here) about the outcome to the Royal Rumble main event. This match is a sign that WWE is firmly behind Seth Rollins and his future, but is it a sign that he is ready to represent the company as the World Heavyweight Champion?
What it comes down too is the possible main event of Wrestlemania. The most important question you need to ask is, who will win the Royal Rumble? And who will be the World Heavyweight Champion going into Wrestlemania? Let’s break it down now.
We have some confirmed names for the Rumble, and it is largely assumed that WWE will always pick one of the wrestlers announced early: Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Rusev, Bray Wyatt, Bad News Barrett, Dean Ambrose, Goldust, Stardust, Kane, and Big Show.
Assuming isn’t always the best way to decide something, but it makes logical sense that WWE would choose one of their up-and-coming stars this year. After last years controversial Rumble, with Batista claiming his second Royal Rumble win over much more deserving talent, it’s hard to imagine WWE screwing this up again.
Looking through the names, you have to assume that any of those wrestlers would end up in a match involving Brock Lesnar and/or John Cena. There are many possible matchups, but we have to remember that WWE is looking to sell Wrestlemania with this main event. They need a big draw, and they proved in previous years, they don’t mind bringing someone like The Rock back to bring in the money.
I have seen speculation over Roman Reigns winning the Rumble. Although Roman Reigns is known for eliminating many wrestlers from such matches, he isn’t over enough to appear in a main event at Wrestlemania. He needs a lot of work before he is to be considered for such an accomplishment. Roman Reigns winning would mean these possible matches: Reigns vs Lesnar, Reigns vs Cena, Reigns vs Rollins, Reigns vs Lesnar vs Cena, and Reigns vs Cena vs Rollins.
It’s safe to assume that WWE wants Brock Lesnar in the title picture this year. If this is his last appearance in WWE, they would look for Lesnar to put someone over (or at least be involved). I have to stress, Brock Lesnar is not confirmed to be leaving yet, he could decide to stay on with WWE and end up victorius at Wrestlemania. I cannot see Lesnar or Cena putting Reigns over yet, so I politely decline this possibility.
Moving on, we have Rusev and Bray Wyatt. Both men are doing really well at maintaining their characters, and they definitely do have a future, but they should be in the mid-card for Wrestlemania, not in the main event. Like Reigns, they just ain’t ready for it yet. They need more time to get over as bad guys, and I think WWE already has a heat magnet in Brock Lesnar, so they are not needed for the main event.
Dean Ambrose is a wild card. His popularity has peaked this year, and he has wrestled in a number of high-profile feuds. He is on the cliff to stardom now, I firmly believe it’s a matter of time. For things to come together for him, he needs to find something for the casual fans to relate too and want to tell their friends about. Ambrose would fit into the main event, but is he ready to take on someone like Lesnar or Cena in the main event? Eh, I just don’t know. Possible, but unlikely from my perspective.
There is only one name on the list I can firmly rely on to come out victorious. After the Royal Rumble last year, WWE will want to apologize for the last time by giving Daniel Bryan his first Royal Rumble victory. He hasn’t been back for very long, but he could appear later in the match and the crowd will go nuts for it. The fans seriously wanted Bryan to come out as #30 last year, and if he does it this year, expect the roof to blow off the building. Daniel Bryan going back to the Wrestlemania main event is the only logical choice for WWE seen as Lesnar and Cena are not in the Rumble. He is majorly over, and the fans want to see his return to the top. They know that Bryan was robbed of his title because of the neck injury, and all they want is to see him with the title again.
I thought about this a lot, and I kept coming back to Daniel Bryan. Ambrose is a possibility, but I feel if Ambrose was to go over Bryan, the crowd in attendance will be vocal about the decision. Daniel Bryan is a legend in the making, and the fans are making that clear.
Now we know (almost) who will win the Royal Rumble, we can speculate over who will face him. We have Lesnar, Cena and Rollins in the mix, and Rollins’ briefcase. He has held the briefcase since the summer, so he still has time to cash it in. Putting Rollins into the triple threat has teased a possible double switch, and I think WWE wanted to make this as obvious as possible to trick us into thinking it will definitely happen.
Personally I don’t think it will happen. I believe WWE are testing the waters with Seth Rollins at the moment, and he is there to throw a curve ball. Having Rollins cash in at the Royal Rumble will guarantee a triple threat match. Let’s go through some examples:
- Cena pins Lesnar. Lesnar ambushes and destroys Cena. Rollins takes advantage and cashes in. This would create Bryan vs Cena vs Rollins at Wrestlemania. (If Lesnar stops Rollins during his cash-in, Lesnar and Rollins would have a singles match at Mania, and Bryan would go over Cena)
- Lesnar pins Cena. Lesnar would be injured during the match, and Rollins would take advantage of it and cash in on Lesnar. Sounds very unlikely that Lesnar would lose like that going into Wrestlemania.
- Rollins losing the match to Cena would set up Bryan vs Lesnar vs Cena at Wrestlemania. Rollins would be unable to cash in.
With the above examples, WWE has to decide whether Lesnar would put Rollins over (highly unlikely), or to have the main event without Lesnar (highly unlikely). This is why I cannot buy a double switch happening at the Royal Rumble. Rollins will wait til after Wrestlemania, and will likely cash in on Bryan or Cena. Having Rollins cash in on Bryan after his return to glory would give Rollins some major heat which will help his title reign. Having Rollins cash in on Cena would have a mixed reaction, and likely have the crowd cheering Rollins for taking the title off Cena.
Ok, so you made it this far. So what do I think is going to happen? As much as I hate to say it, I think an altercation between Lesnar and Rollins will help Cena to win the title once again. WWE has a habit of giving Cena the title before, or at Wrestlemania in some fashion. I think Cena would be the right choice to lose the title at Wrestlemania … to Daniel Bryan. Cena has put Bryan over before, so I can see John Cena putting Daniel Bryan over again, but you know, this match is likely to involve Brock Lesnar as well. A triple threat match between Cena, Bryan and Lesnar is the most likely main event from my perspective. Just like at last year’s Wrestlemania, Bryan will come out on top against two of WWE’s biggest veterans.
I can see Lesnar dominating a good portion of the match, Cena taking a lot of the damage, and Bryan doing hit and runs. It would be interesting to see how Bryan and Lesnar work together, and it could be reminiscent of Angle vs Lesnar. The main reason I think WWE won’t set up Bryan vs Cena or Bryan vs Lesnar is because we have 1) seen Bryan vs Cena before, and 2) Lesnar vs Bryan has no history, and they have never wrestled before. It would make a good David vs Goliath story though. I can’t see Lesnar putting Bryan over in a singles match.
At the end of the day, it depends on Brock Lesnar’s future. If Lesnar decides he wants to stay on with WWE before his contract is up, WWE could decide to keep the title on Lesnar and try to get more dates out of him. It depends on whether they want to focus on Lesnar or Daniel Bryan going forward, and I want to believe that Vince wants to push Bryan to the sky when he can, instead of settling on someone like Lesnar who works less often. At the end of my thought process, I settled on my choice for main event of Wrestlemania, and it should be Brock Lesnar vs John Cena vs Daniel Bryan.
Which direction is WWE going? Will they make the double switch at the Royal Rumble? Or will they cut Rollins out completely? Will Roman Reigns or Ambrose win the Rumble instead of Bryan? And at the end of it all, will we see Lesnar or John Cena as the champion after Wrestlemania? Or will the fans get what they want, seeing Daniel Bryan victorious once more at Wrestlemania?
So many questions, and all we can do is wait. Thanks for reading!
