Damien Barling: Speculating Royal Rumble Outcomes
Wrestlemania season officially arrives January 29th when the Royal Rumble takes place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. Though that's still 8 weeks away it seems like the perfect time to fantasy book ourselves into scenarios that more than likely won't happen.
This far out, there's far more questions than answers.
Before we move on, let's start with this: let's assume, unlike last year, all the key players stay healthy. Last year, the led to Wrestlemania saw a better fantasy card on the disabled list then on the active roster.
- The easiest place to start is what appears to be the most obvious - Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg. With an 80-something second main event at Survivor Series and both guys entered into the Royal Rumble, the assumption would be they eliminate each other, brawl to the back, and set up a final encounter in Orlando at Wrestlemania 33.
- Remember when Kevin Owens won the WWE Universal Championship? Remember Triple H's involvement? We still haven't gotten the payoff from that run in. Some point soon, likely in January, I'd expect Triple H to reappear and set up the long-teased Wrestlemania match with Seth Rollins.
- Speaking of Owens, the break up with Chris Jericho is gonna happen at some point, right? Right!? The two are gold together, but it seems like they were put together to eventually break up. I don't see their break-up being for the title though. So, at some point do we see Jericho "accidentally" cost Owens the title leading to the showdown?
- But if Kevin Owens isn't the champion, who is?
- And if Seth Rollins is busy with Triple H then who is in the title picture?
- Will Wrestlemania be the third-straight Wrestlemania the WWE attempts to coronate Roman Reigns as the face of the franchise? The new John Cena! Will it finally be the moment WWE turns Roman heel? Will Roman enter Wrestlemania as a heel?
- Speaking of Roman, it's a little known fact he's the current US Champion. Now, I don't want to get to excited about NXT call ups but it sure feels like our buddy Samoa Joe is headed to the main roster. Can you think of a better guy to beat Roman Reigns?
- The WWE title has a clearer fantasy outlook.
- The Undertaker returned on the 900th episode of Smackdown last month. He said his legacy was no longer confined to Wrestlemania, which would lead us to speculate The Undertaker would appear in some form or fashion at the Royal Rumble. Whether that's in the match itself or in a title match against AJ Styles his appearance could set the stage for the Wrestlemania main event.
- Which brings us to John Cena. The chance for Cena to win the title for the 16th time was pushed heavy leading into the No Mercy PPV at the Golden 1 Center. Most fans knew that accolade would probably held off for a far bigger show. There's no show bigger then Wrestlemania and there's no bigger potential opponent than The Undertaker.
- There's a number of directions this could go - Cena winning the title for the 16th time. Undertaker putting his career on the line. Undertaker winning and retiring. Undertaker losing and retiring. Or, the most likely scenario, none of the above.
Tune into KHTK.com each week, as the Wrestlemania season gets closer, I'll continue to speculate - and we can all laugh at me when I'm wrong.
