The Royal Rumble Is Here!

As everyone who is a wrestling fan knows by now, tonight is the night Roman Reigns defends his WWE World Heavyweight title against 29 other men in the Royal Rumble match. The WWE got something right this time, creating a lot of rumor and speculation about who is going to come out on top and be crowned the new WWE champion. What makes this match so crazy is that we don't even know exactly who might appear in the Rumble, so it is hard to say who is going to take home the biggest prize in the wrestling business. What I am going to do in this post is look a few possibilities of what MIGHT happen.

TRIPLE H: The Game hasn't been in a match since he defeated Sting last year at Wrestlemania. I think there is a huge chance that he will enter the Rumble and take his revenge on Roman Reigns for his attack a couple months ago. The fact he hasn't appeared at all on Raw since means his return is going to be a big deal and the Rumble makes sense. Also, this might be his last Wrestlemania and if the Game is coming to an end, it would be best for business if he put over the new champion with his final match. The  Game is nothing if not a worker, and he'll work a great run to put Reigns over. This theory makes the most sense based on what they've been doing story wise with Roman and Vince.

DANIEL BRYAN: Here is how it is with Bryan; if he does not return in the Rumble, his career is officially finished in the WWE. If he can't come back now, there is no point in him coming back at all until after Wrestlemania. I don't know the truth of what is going on with him and WWE staff, but this is the time it makes the most sense to come back. He's still on Total Divas, right? So it isn't over yet. But it might be come Monday morning.

AJ STYLES: AJ, or perhaps any of the other new hires, might make an appearance in the Rumble. They won't be given a WM shot so early, but they might start off a new feud with a mid-card talent to build up to a WM appearance. I can see AJ coming in and facing Dolph Ziggler, who seems to be the guy who puts people ever, especially since Tyler Breeze is in the dog house with Vince for leaving a RAW taping early. Either way, him and his crew are coming, its only a matter of when they will appear.

THE ROCK: One thing people are missing here is that Roman Reigns is not technically "alone". His family has worked for Vince for generations and he has cousins everywhere. The Usos have a title match that very night but that doesn't mean they aren't going to be in the Rumble. There have been rumors of the Rock appearing at Wrestlemania. The WWE and the Rock desperately want to reverse the negative showing at the last Rumble that Reigns won, so it is entirely possible that halfway through the Rumble, the most electrifying name in sports entertainment is going to come to the aid of his brother-in-arms, Roman Reigns. Not only would this create a huge story within the Rumble itself but it would be a huge surprise to see the Rock come in to lend a hand. Hell, there are a ton of Samoans who could come to his aid, imagine all of them taking a stand at once?!?

JOSH BREDL: Why is this guy here? Because they are putting him in the Rumble. After calling the Social Outcasts "Social Jobbers" and pissing off Bull Dempsey and Kevin Owens, he was explicitly told by Stardust he would be changing in the hallway and was not welcome backstage. Look for him to take a huge amount of real hits in the Rumble this year. Another Blue Meanie moment, perhaps?

BROCK LESNAR: The chances of Brock Lesnar winning the Royal Rumble are about the same as Kofi Kingston, although for entirely different reasons. Brock doesn't need the Rumble, or the WWE title to sell him to crowds. People love watching the Beast take people to Suplex City, it doesn't matter what the main event roster looks like, Brock is a monster all of his own. The question here is who does the WWE think needs a Beast Push? My money is on Bray Wyatt, but I'd love to see Owens lose his match for the title and take it out on Brock at the Rumble. Imagine Brock getting right up after a pop-up power bomb? Those kinds of feuds are what WWE highlight reels are made of. Owens has had his title shots, but he hasn't shed enough blood in a WWE ring to get the title. A match with Brock could set Owens up for the return of a babyface Seth Rollins.

The Royal Rumble is a perfect opportunity to reboot the story lines for the season finale. Let's see what they do with it!

Seth Rollins: #4 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

Image credit: WWE.com. 

He dominated the main event picture in WWE from Wrestlemania all the way to the early parts of November when an injury derailed his run as The Authority's chosen champion. Yet Seth Rollins still only comes in fourth among his peers on the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015.

This does nothing to downplay Seth's accomplishments. I have personally been a fan of his for years, dating back to the days when he was a young up-and-comer named Tyler Black working a bunch of Iowa and Illinois independents. He put on some great matches even then, before his friendship with Jimmy Jacobs landed him a job first with Wrestling Society X and then with Ring of Honor. Tyler Black would become ROH champion, but I honestly thought he had peaked there even when he signed with WWE. I didn't imagine my fellow Iowan would reach the level of success he has today.

A lot of that success must be given to the WWE developmental program. While it has not always been perfect, Tyler Black went in a spot master with limited charisma. Seth Rollins came out a man with some still impressive moves, but with a flow in storytelling and the ability to work the microphone.

The Shield honed him into a main event superstar (as it has also done for Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose) and he became the first man to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at Wrestlemania, where he won Brock Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight title by pinning Roman Reigns. He went on an incredibly successful streak as he retained the title against Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Sting and Kane.

The only hindrance to his run was often his alignment with The Authority, which led to a few too many long winded Raw openings and extended promos about very little. But he still kept the WWE ship afloat while John Cena spent most of the year in the midcard ranks and he did it with a flare that showed he had what it takes to remain a main event player in WWE for years to come. He did so well, two respondents rated him as the best wrestler of the year. Mike Gordon said Rollins is the “Best heel in the business. Always a joy to watch in the ring, no matter who he's facing. ”

But it is John Morgan Neal who perhaps summed up his pluses and minuses in 2015 perfectly: “Many complain about how he was booked but that is WWE's issue and affects everyone right now. But the fact remains he was the top dog and carried the company on his back for most of this year.”

And while he enters 2016 on the injured list, he continues to be an ambassador for WWE and an influence on a new generation of young wrestlers as he helps The Black & Brave Academy, the wrestling school (and crossfit program) he runs with long time independent tag team partner Marek Brave. Already the first of his students, Connor Braxton and Eli Machete are making waves in the Midwest with over half a dozen other young talents following after them. Even if he was never to step into a WWE ring again, I expect Seth Rollins would still have a bright future in professional wrestling.

NXT Advent Calendar Day 13: Six NXT veterans explode at Elimination Chamber 2014

The Wyatt Family came into their own in NXT (after a much weaker run with just Wyatt and WWE footnote Eli Cottonwood in FCW) while The Shield dominated the earliest days of the promotions, albeit as singles competitors. When both factions made it to the main roster, they quickly gained a name for themselves. But it wasn't until the teams started to battle one another that the potential of the two units started to shine. While they went at each other on several occasions, it would be at the 2014 edition of Elimination Chamber that they would have their best contest, an epic battle that received a "This is awesome" chant before the match ever began. It would also serve to cement Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose as babyfaces leading into Wrestlemania XXX and their subsequent battles with Evolution.


Shield vs Wyatt family (720p) by aleem771
All six NXT veterans involved in the battle have become WWE pay-per-view regulars and that shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

NXT Advent Calendar Day 5: The 5 count

Big E floated around WWE developmental literally for years. He started with the company way back in 2009 but waited for three years before he debuted on main WWE television. But during the earliest days of NXT as a brand on its own, he quickly became one of the promotion's most beloved talents.

Big E in NXT.

We all know about Big E's natural charisma but it was an ingenious but simple gimmick that really got him over with the Florida fans. Because Big E was so dominant in his matches, he declared the referees should count until five before they counted a pinfall after his finisher.

NXT Advent Calendar Day 2: The Shield debut

I don't think it can be underestimated how important this moment was to the future of WWE. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns are clearly three of the superstars that would take the promotion to the next level. They both spent their share of time in FCW (where they had their only match featuring all three against one another) but it is in NXT they came into their own.

The skull masks didn't last long, but they were cool. Image credit: Wikipedia.

Seth Rollins was the very first NXT champion while Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns both had significant places on the development brand's roster before they made the leap to WWE during Survivor Series 2012. They interrupted the triple threat match where CM Punk defended his title against Ryback and John Cena. Ryback became the first victim of their dreaded triple powerbomb in a moment that shook the foundation of WWE.

A weird thrown together match that might main event Wrestlemania

Before NXT, WWE had Florida Championship Wrestling. Shown on one local cable network in that state, it was famous for getting regularly streamed online to fans wanting to see the indie stars signed to its brand and the upcoming talent that might be the future of WWE. Tons of stars worked there, from Daniel Bryan to Seth Rollins to Big E to Alberto Del Rio.

But one three way match was particularly intriguing as three men that would grow to know each other well were thrown together in a battle despite having limited history with one another.

Seth Rollins was one of those men. Dean Ambrose was another. The third was Roman Leakee, who had recently dropped his first name, but would gain it back when he took the new last name Reigns on his WWE debut.

Before there was The Shield, check out three growing stars in action below.

The Shield battles... Xavier Woods, Neville and Corey Graves(?)

NXT was a lot of fun even before it became a wholesale brand in its own right. Let's take a look back to the final days of Corey Graves as an in-ring competitor where he and his tag team partner Neville teamed with lovable good guy Xavier Woods to take on the return of The Shield to the developmental brand.

Of course, only in NXT could these three men go fifteen minutes with the hottest thing in wrestling at the time. Even now on the main roster, it seems unlikely any of the men would be allowed to be competitive against Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose or Roman Reigns.


Adrian Neville, Xavier Woods and Corey Graves vs The Shield by AndresGuilherme

How I'd Book Sting

I came back to watching wrestling at the same time it was announced that Sting would join the WWE. Since then I've tried to familiarize myself with his history and his greatest matches. I've known who Sting was since the 80's, when he seemed like a younger, less cool version of Hulk Hogan. When Hogan went to WCW, I watched Sting in a few matches during that era but that was it. The only time I can say I was a Sting fan was early on when he started his whole "Crow" gimmick and the NWO was formed. Most of those matches were incredibly disappointing. Sting's matches never had grit, they always seemed to end in someone interfering. When Sting joined the NWO/Wolfpack with Kevin Nash, he was at his peek as far as being entertaining went.

I've always been a WWE fan first and a wrestling fan second. As I've gotten older I've come to appreciate the talent that exists outside the WWE universe, but back when I was a kid they were always the #1 wrestling company. Sting was the perfect person to represent WCW because he was, at least in my eyes, a perfect representation of what WCW stood for: Second Rate Wrestling. He had the ability to fire up the crowd, but not as good as Hogan. He had style and flair, but not as much as Randy Savage. In other words Sting always seemed like a B-level player who just wasn't able to convince me that he was a legend in the making.

While watching a DVD of his greatest matches, I realized that there were many flaws: For one, he got dragged into some of the worst storylines in WCW history. Secondly, his matches rarely ended with a bang, often his finish would be an old-fashioned roll-up pin or something similar, I am not even sure when he started doing the Stinger Drop or the Sharpshooter but I am pretty certain it wasn't for years into his career. It always seemed as if there was someone better than Sting, no matter how hard he tried. His mic skills weren't very good and his in-ring style was traditional but without style. Without Rick Flair to put him over, I am not sure how far Sting would have gotten on his own.

But hey, let's give the guy some credit for such a long career without Vince McMahon's help.

So how do you bring this guy into the WWE and actually make it relevant and entertaining? Well TNA fans already got a glimpse into what Sting can do, as the Joker-inspired Insane Icon.

With the Authority in charge, everything on the WWE seems very organized and controlled. This hasn't hurt the storytelling, but eventually order breeds boredom. Throwing Dean Ambrose into the championship mix was a good start, but bringing the Insane Icon into the WWE would be absolutely nuts.

All it would take would be one more pay-per-view match against Triple H. Sting loses the match and starts to go nuts. Week after week he starts acting more and more unpredictable until one day. . the WWE network is hijacked. Stephanie McMahon is missing. And Sting appears, still thinking its 1995, still thinking WCW has a chance. He can work his way through the roster, painting the faces of those he defeats, laughing and dancing like a maniac until . . the Big Event. Perhaps the final match against Triple H, or the return of the Undertaker. . . you could take it in any direction. Throw Stardust in as a groupie and you'll have a storyline that can carry Sting into retirement.

Imagine an Insane Sting forcing Rick Flair and Hulk Hogan to fight. . . beating them and tossing them back into the ring like a lunatic referee. Or sitting front row at NXT. . . there is no limit to how far it could go. Hell if they buy the broadcast rights from TNA, they can show the first appearance of the Insane Icon on the WWE network. The WWE has an incredible production team, if they released the TNA stuff through their media channels, both companies would make a LOT of money. There is no reason for the WWE NOT to help smaller companies when it works in their favor, not when it will make them money and cross-merchandise their product. TNA might not want the help in production and distribution, out of some kind of weird sense of individuality, but you can always work around that. I'd easily watch the Insane Icon take on the Wyatt family, or the Authority, or the SHIELD reunited just to put down the Stinger. . .

Now is the only time this gimmick would work. Hell, imagine Sting against Brock Lesnar, the insane one taunting, teasing and manipulating Brock, the least funny guy in the WWE roster. It's magic, just waiting to happen. He's the craziest character in their roster right now and the timing couldn't be better. If Sting waits too long, he's not going to be able to come back in any real capacity, fans have a lot of wrestling to watch that's really good right now and if he isn't back in the ring soon, he will be forgotten. One great storyline at the end of his character could be his final legacy, because let's face it, he still owes us one for that Robocop debacle.

Wrestlemania 31 and the Art of Losing

I recently read somewhere that Triple H has the most losses at Wrestlemania, which I think currently stands at 10. If I'd have known that before Wrestlemania 31, I probably wouldn't have been so surprised by Sting's loss. One of the talents that makes Triple H a legend, one of his greatest skills, is the ability to lose strategically.

Wrestlemania 31 was the greatest wrestling pay-per-view I've ever seen. The main event match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns was one of the most realistic matches I can recall since the days of Mick Foley. It was as rough a match as your going to get from the PG era of wrestling and it worked so well because of who lost, not who won. We all know wrestling is fake, the entertainment for us old fans is in seeing who puts over the other guy best. Wrestlers play characters, usually characters with big egos, so seeing which wrestler is going to swallow his pride and take the loss is part of the entertainment. Before I watched Wrestlemania 31, I went back and watched 30, the year of Daniel Bryan and I knew once I'd finished it that Roman Reigns was not going to win the title. Wrestlemania 30 was the year of the underdog, the chances that the WWE would repeat the same type of story the following year was very slim.
Strangely, I'd never actually seen anyone cash in a Money in the Bank case. As much as I hated the idea, I felt it was going to happen. What other possibility was there? Once Brock Lesnar announced he was going to stay with the WWE, Roman's chances went up in smoke. That's not a bad thing, a lot of people felt he wasn't ready for it, I personally think his in-ring moves need a bit of work but I genuinely like the guy. It was painful to watch him give so much of himself in his match against Brock only to lose it all in the last couple of minutes. But that is what wrestling is all about, not just the art of combat but the art of losing as well. I'm sure it was a lot easier for Brock Lesnar to lose, with his new contract locked up tight, but Roman was so close to the ultimate prize and opportunities like that, even in a sport with a fixed winner, is a rare thing. Which brings me back to Triple H and the history of losing at Wrestlemania.

Great matches are made of up two things: A winner and a loser. But it is a precarious perch to be on; win too much and you put yourself out of the game, lose too much and you lose the support of the fans. That is why every match needs to be a good story and why every match needs to be the most important match of a  wrestler's career; because you can never tell for certain when you might get another one. The reason WCW fell apart was because nobody wanted to lose, everybody joined the NWO and there was no one left to put the NWO over. Any time they had a big competition, every time two giants met in a WCW ring, somehow there was never a clear winner or loser. They would pull out every angle they could to avoid a clear 1,2,3, victory. Nobody would put anyone else over and so young talent never got a chance to develop. Vince McMahon always had the brains to think ahead and Triple H is an even better creative director than Vince because Triple H understands better than Vince how to build a champion. Vince McMahon knows how to build superstars, but he doesn't know how to maintain them over time, at least not as well as Triple H.

Which brings us to Wrestlemania 31. Every match was exceptional and in every match, a story was told. Cena finally triumphed over Rusev, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar fought a hard match and a new Intercontinental Champion was crowned. In fact the only person who didn't shine at WM31 was Dean Ambrose, who took a bad slam through a ladder and left the six man IC title match. Nice to see Dean is back on track and fighting it out for the WWE World Championship.

Triple H holds the record for Wrestlemania losses. Big Show has never won a Wrestlemania match. Yet both men are titans of the sport, mainly because of the fact they aren't scared to take one for the team. When Triple H loses, its always in a grueling, physical competition where both men give all they have to conquer the other. Same applies to Big Show, when he is beaten it is to make his opponent look stronger, to give the other wrestler and edge and a future. If no one is willing to take a loss, then no one can win a victory. Every time Triple H lost, it was for the fans, every time any wrestler takes a loss it is for us, the viewer, the audience, the WWE universe.

Wrestlemania 31 was a grandiose spectacle that hit all the right notes and gave fans everything they asked for. The title match was one of the most entertaining matches I've ever seen and even though both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar were forced to take a loss to Seth Rollins, they still gave it everything they had. That right there is what defines a champion. Roman's got time for another shot, so does Brock. This is Seth Rollins era and both men put him over, and continue to put him over, every week because that is the story that WWE thinks we'll enjoy the most. But here is something to think about:

What if the Triple H is setting himself and the Authority up for a loss at Payback? What if Seth Rollins has been lying this whole time and Payback sees the reformation of The Shield? If the Shield reforms and takes out Randy Orton, they will have every WWE superstar on the roster after that title. Now that would be one hell of a swerve, wouldn't it? It's been a long time since anyone screwed the people in charge, its been a long time since we saw a Stone Cold style rebellion, maybe Triple H is taking the ultimate fall to put over not one, but three superstars?

Can't wait to see what happens this Sunday at Payback.

Next week I'll be posting a Payback run-down with some thoughts on Extreme Rules and my thoughts on Daniel Bryan. Cheers!

(EDIT): I am currently pushing a social media campaign to have Daniel Bryan as the manager for the Bella Twins! Use the hashtag #maledivas and let the WWE know that even if he can't wrestle, he can still be a force in the WWE, helping his wife Brie Bella take out those damn Amazons!