As a result of the victory, the Authority was stripped of power and removed from television. Thanks to Vince McMahon, John Cena was given the power to bring the Authority back or to keep them out of power. Just a month later, Seth Rollins knocked out Christian and, with the help of the Big Show, held the injured Edge's neck over the Money in the Bank briefcase and threatened to cripple the Rated-R Superstar if John Cena did not bring back the Authority. Cena gave in, and then all of Dolph Ziggler's hard work was rendered meaningless.
On the next episode of Monday Night Raw, the Authority held a John Cena Appreciation Night, during which they fired Ryback, Erick Rowan, and Dolph Ziggler, leaving a dejected Cena standing in the ring with the fired superstars. So now, with the Royal Rumble fast approaching, the over-arching storyline in January 2015 is the same that it was in January 2014, except that Batista isn't here.
Frankly, the truth is that the product stinks. So I put some thought into some different ideas about fantasy booking
The Royal Rumble's Final Four
One of the biggest things about the Royal Rumble is to pay attention to the final four wrestlers left in the match. This is, more often than not, an indication of who WWE plans to push in the coming year. Given the storylines the company has been pushing lately, the final four for this year’s event may seem obvious.
Roman Reigns has been anointed by the WWE as the next big thing in wrestling. Problem is, his promo work is sub-par. He can work with almost anyone, although he’s still learning the babyface style, which in WWE means getting his butt handed to him for 90% of the match before executing a comeback of epic proportions and winning. John Cena is a master of this. Cena can, seemingly, be beaten within an inch of his life and then come back and win. Go ahead and chalk Reigns up as a final four participant.
The next man up, obviously, is Daniel Bryan. Bryan’s return from injury has been a feel-good story so far. Having him reach the final level of the Rumble would whip the fans into a frenzy.
So we have two babyfaces in the final four…who’s next? To get the requisite heel into the final four, we turn to Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds has been on a steady rise since the summer. He’s scored victories, albeit dirty, over Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan in the last month. Wyatt would be a great choice for the final four, and it would set him up for a major heel push headed into WrestleMania season.
The final member of the Final Four is a fan favorite: Dolph Ziggler. The Show-off is probably the best ‘seller’ in the company, and can make anyone look good in the ring. Reaching the final four would set Ziggler up for a steady rise in 2015, leading to a big match at WrestleMania.
The End of the Rumble
Last year’s Royal Rumble was a debacle of near-biblical proportions for the WWE. The intention for Batista to win the Rumble was made clear from the day Batista returned to the company. Once Daniel Bryan did not enter the Rumble, the fans turned on the then-babyface Animal. Batista was left in the ring with Roman Reigns, whose Shield stable was still in their heel role at the time. The fans turned on Batista and began cheering for Reigns, a basically unproven rookie, to win the Rumble over the despised part-timer.
This year’s Rumble will be different. WWE has several options, but the apparent design at the moment is for Reigns to win the Rumble and face the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 31.
But there’s another option that sets up almost every main event level storyline for the WrestleMania season. It’s a bit of fantasy booking on my part, but here’s a thought:
The final two wrestlers in the Royal Rumble are Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. All other 28 wrestlers have been eliminated. Being competitors and babyfaces, the two men shake hands before engaging in what amounts to a one-on-one match to end the battle royal. That is, until the clock starts counting down, the number 31 appears on the screen and the Big Show comes out. Reigns and Bryan begin working together to eliminate Big Show. But the clock starts again and out comes Jamie Noble at #32, followed immediately by Joey Mercury at #33. Reigns and Bryan manage to eliminate Mercury and Noble, but keep struggling with Big Show.
The clock starts again and Seth Rollins comes out at #34. Rollins and Big Show work together, but Big Show is accidentally eliminated. Rollins begins to back away from Reigns and Bryan, leading to a bit of babyface vengeance as they beat down Rollins and eliminate him. Before they can restart their one-on-one, the clock starts one last time and, at #35, out comes Triple H. While Reigns and Bryan stare at the COO, Big Show, Rollins, and J & J Security sneak back in and attack them.
Big Show, Noble, and Mercury hold down Reigns in the corner while Rollins and Triple H decimate Daniel Bryan. Ryan suffers a Pedigree and, while he is struggling up, is curb-stomped by Rollins. Triple H picks Bryan up by the hair and throws him at the feet of Roman Reigns. He takes a mic and tells Reigns to throw Bryan over the top rope. Reigns at first refuses, but Triple H threatens to fire him if he doesn’t. Reigns reluctantly picks up Bryan and carries him to the ropes. He dumps Bryan over the top, but follows after him, simultaneously eliminating them both, and ruining Triple H’s plan.
Triple H, being the Cerebral Assassin, declares himself the winner of the Royal Rumble. It’s massive heat for the Authority. It sets up Reigns’s opposition to the Authority and Rollins in particular. It sets up for finally bringing closure to the Bryan-Authority angle.
Reigns can defeat Triple H at Fast Lane to regain the WrestleMania title shot. We can set up the inevitable Triple H vs Sting match that is sure to happen. Daniel Bryan will enter a feud with Seth Rollins.
Triple Threat Title Match
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match was set to be John Cena challenging mostly-absentee champion Brock Lesnar. But, in one of the better heel moves in the industry, Triple H rewarded his protege, Seth Rollins, a spot in the title match for coercing John Cena into re-instating the Authority.
Lesnar, while being around only occasionally, has been quite effective as champion. Any appearance by Lesnar has enhanced whatever Raw it occurred on. Cena, while not the best choice for #1 Contender, is definitely the safest choice. WWE knows that Cena can carry a title program, so it trusts him against Lesnar. Rollins, meanwhile, has been on a steady climb up the ladder since destroying the Shield and aligning himself with Triple H. Rollins currently holds the Money in the Bank Briefcase, guaranteeing himself a title shot.
The problem now, though, is what happens to Brock Lesnar? There's talk that Lesnar is almost done with the WWE. So now rumors are flying that the company is going to book Lesnar to lose the belt at Royal Rumble. I don't think so.
Lesnar needs to be champion at WrestleMania 31, so that the Rumble Winner gets the rub of beating the man who conquered the streak at WrestleMania 30. Whether it is Reigns or Bryan, defeating Lesnar will be huge...and it will set up the WrestleMania twist.
I would have Lesnar defeat Rollins, just so that Cena doesn't take yet another loss to Lesnar. Lesnar can finally gain revenge on Rollins and carry the title into WrestleMania.
At WrestleMania 31, Lesnar will defend the title against either Bryan or Reigns. Lesnar will lose. It's inevitable. When Lesnar loses, he will snap and demolish the new champion, leaving them laying in a head in the middle of the ring in the middle of Levi's Stadium. As the new champion is struggling to his feet, Seth Rollins will cash in the MITB contract, curb stomp the champion, and claim the title. It will put massive heat on Rollins, and it will establish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship angle for the summer months.
