The 2015 Royal Rumble Looms.. What Could Happen?

By @MichelleLee905

Daniel Bryan has made his triumphant return to WWE.

After being out of action since May, Bryan has announced that he will be participating is this year’s Royal Rumble match. For fans, he is the obvious favorite to win considering his circumstances.This news itself made me wonder, what are the best possible stories that could be told leading up to Wrestlemania 31?

Daniel Bryan winning the Royal Rumble is a classic tale of redemption. He is a fan made Superstar, and has always risen above any challenge placed in front of him. His storyline over the past couple of years with The Authority was entertaining, and a perfect example of a “Mighty Mouse” type of character.

After his neck injury, Bryan was forced to vacate his WWE World title, which is a perfect segway to putting him back in to the main event picture immediately. The only question is, is the top spot that he had at the time he was injured still feasible for him to have now? Is it realistic?

With great storylines attached to faces such as Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, and Ryback, it may be tough to squeeze Bryan into that top bracket at the moment.
One of my observations is that wrestling fans always want WWE to take a risk and give younger talent a chance to succeed at the main event level. They are tired of seeing what seems to be the same match-ups repeatedly. In that sense, Daniel Bryan winning the Rumble seems to be a repeat of last year’s WM30 main event, and that isn’t exactly what fans usually want.

With that being said, there is immense value in Daniel Bryan being in the main event scene. Let’s go ahead and say he does win the Rumble and is the main event of WM31. His possible competitors and the storylines that could go along with them would easily be able to continue the “Road to Redemption” feel of his return.

Bryan vs. Lesnar would be a tale of Mighty Mouse vs. Monster. Both have completely opposite in ring styles, characters, and the list goes on and on. This feud could also incorporate the storyline of The Authority always screwing Bryan over, with Lesnar being the Authority’s chosen monster. Many fans would also be elated to see Bryan, who was the top guy when he was injured, take the championship belt off of the seemingly never present Lesnar.Another plus is that it would be easy to transition and phase Lesnar out of WWE. The rumors of his contract being up after WM and him going back to UFC are very prevalent, and this would be an easy way to get rid of him so to speak. Lesnar would be so embarrassed having lost to a guy like Bryan, he would give up and walk out of the company all together.

Bryan vs. Cena would easily be a showing of two future legends. They are both at the top of the food chain in WWE, with Bryan sometimes exceeding Cena. With ongoing fan resentment towards Cena always prevalent, a battle with Bryan could be what finally knocks him off of the top of the mountain. Bryan, who seems to be the underdog in most matches/feuds, could become the new face of the company. This could be used to start phasing out the 37 year old Cena to a smaller on screen role. The biggest obstacle that would prevent this from happening is the fact that WWE seriously frowns upon pitting “babyface” characters against each other.

Bryan vs. Rollins, well, would essentially be a wrestling clinic. Both men are amazing mat technicians, have similar styles, move sets, and they are around the same size. The match itself would be a pleasure for any wrestling fan to watch, but they story that could be paired with it would be an even better treat. Rollins is The Authority’s golden boy, and given Bryan’s history with the Authority, this story could write itself with no issues. It could also elevate Rollins even farther up the ladder, and really establish him as monster heel, which seems to be the journey WWE is taking him on.
Now, let’s go ahead and address the obvious, Roman Reigns. He has been the favorite to win this year’s Rumble ever since his stellar showing last year, breaking Kane’s record with 12 eliminations. With the last two competitors left in that match being Batista and Reigns, fans desperately wanted Reigns to win, thus having a fresh, new face being propelled to the top. When Batista won, fans were outraged, and the rest of his short run in the company was tarnished.

Fast forward to now. The Shield is no more, and Reigns has been left to establish himself as a singles competitor. As we all know, that has been a major struggle. With lackluster mic skills that weren’t noticed previously during his time in The Shield, and limited in ring ability, fans have quickly realized that the Samoan powerhouse isn’t all that he was hyped up to be.

Adding to this downward spiral is the fact that he was missing in action for 3 months with a hernia injury. Other stars quickly filled the void in his absence, leaving him to become an afterthought. The momentum that his character had before he was injured just simply is no longer there. Reigns is also becoming a story of, “too fast, too soon”. Fans are upset that although he is majorly lacking in skills, and not improving in any aspect, he is being pushed to the top for no apparent reason.
Most recently, his feud with the Big Show has been a seemingly better fit for him. It has been engaging and is a great opportunity for them to tweak Reigns character until something works. Big Show isn’t quite a main eventer, yet he is still affiliated with The Authority, so everything ties in well to Reigns previous storylines.
The thought of Reigns having to do battle with Lesnar is a scary thought. Never mind Heyman annihilating him in promos, the in ring work would be awful. Reigns still depends on the other, more experienced person, to carry the match. Lesnar is barely a wrestler. His gimmick is to be a monster, a real fighter. Reigns gimmick is to be a superhero. The two simply don’t mesh.

Reigns vs. Cena would be two superheroes doing battle, which is appealing to the younger audience, but smart fans see no value in this story for the product or either competitor. Again, this would be near impossible given the fact that both are “babyface” characters.

Reigns vs. Rollins would be a safe bet. There is a level of trust and comfort between them in the ring. As a result, their matches against each other are very exciting to watch. Neither competitor looks bad or weak in this circumstance. Rollins has proven himself to be worthy of main event tier competitors and storylines, thus he can easily take a step down and make Reigns look strong. The question here is, would this knock Rollins character and momentum down to a lower level than he is capable of performing at? I think so.

Whether he is the favorite to win, the next face of the company, whatever the case may be, Reigns is just not ready. He is lacking in passion in my eyes, and fans can see right through that.
The improvement may be slowly coming along, but there is no way that he would be a believable championship contender at this stage in his career. Their best bet would be to book him in a program that elevates him, maybe something like being the first man to pin Rusev, but not to thrust him into a spot that he hasn’t earned yet.

Another person I could see in this picture is Dolph Ziggler. Similar to Bryan, he is a fan made superstar. Earlier in the year, when he wasn’t in any storyline of substance, fans even went as far to start a #PushZiggler movement on Twitter. His hard work, dedication, and passion for the business are evident in any match he is in, really in anything he does. Ziggler is arguably one of the best wrestlers in WWE today. He is charismatic, and turns up the drama in any match he is in with his over the top style of selling.

Most fans feel as if Ziggler made the Intercontinental Championship the most relevant belt in the company, considering the absence of the World Heavyweight Championship and the man who possesses it, Brock Lesnar. His storylines have been meaningful, his matches have been stellar, and he has quickly become one of the most popular superstars in WWE.

At Survivor Series, Ziggler was the last man standing on Team Cena. Sting came out and put Ziggler’s arm over Rollins, who was on Team Authority, for the win. John Cena, being the mega star that he is, was an afterthought when that match was over. Dolph Ziggler truly did what his tagline says he does, he stole the show. That’s pretty tough to do when standing in the ring with a legend that is making his long awaited WWE debut after countless years.

Ziggler losing the title on Raw to a returning Bad News Barrett made me wonder. Is he dropping the title so he could move up to the next level? It surely seems that way. After losing his title and being fired by The Authority on Raw, the level of sympathy he has garnered from fans is at an all time high.

How can one of the best, hardest working men in WWE be fired? I’d love to see this play out with Dolph coming back at the Rumble, and attacking Cena during the championship match. In my opinion, Ziggler does his best work as a heel. That could set up so many possibilities for a Cena vs. Ziggler program in the future.

If they don’t go that route, it could become too similar to the story of Daniel Bryan. Good guy, hard worker, fan made, etc. Authority tortures him ad nauseum until he finally overcomes the odds. Would fans welcome another underdog story? Or is that one of the basics formulas of professional wrestling? It would be interesting to see nonetheless.
I have very high hopes for this Royal Rumble. After the mess WWE found themselves in last year with Batista winning the Royal Rumble match, leading them to change the WM main event, I think that they, quite simply, want to get it right.

Reports being leaked this week say that the Royal Rumble winner has not been chosen yet. I believe this is because they just want to make fans happy, and tell the best possible story they can with whoever they choose. Whether they choose one of the men I’ve outlined above, or someone else, one thing is for sure, this will be an interesting and entertaining road to Wrestlemainia.