Have the WWE painted themselves into a corner here?

[Navi]

The Royal Rumble is only a couple of weeks away, and we know that the winner of the Rumble gets to main event Wrestlemania for the WWE title. This puts the WWE in kind of a sticky situation.

Now in saying that, the winner, if it's not Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Batista or Seth Rollins, will join quite a list of superstars who already want to lay claim to it. Let's take them one by one.

Daniel Bryan won the title last year at Wrestlemania 30 from Randy Orton. A month or so later he was stripped of the title because of his shoulder surgery. On last week's RAW after being out for almost 9 months he announced he is ready to return and will at the Rumble. Now he doesn't have to win the Rumble to obtain a title shot, as he should automatically get one because of the way it was taken from him.

Randy Orton who lost to Danial Bryan, has never invoked his re-match clause. Presumably it's still in place and why he never did is still a mystery to me. So we'll add him to the list.

Batista was promised by HHH that he would also get a title shot, because he won the Rumble last year. Does everyone remember on RAW he complained that he shouldn't have been in a triple threat match, it should have been a one on one between him and Orton. HHH tried to placate him by saying that once the Shield was taken care of he would another an chance at it. Now Batista has gone off to bigger and better things, but he's still in line for a title shot should he ask for one.

Seth Rollins, Mr. Money in the Bank, has been carrying that briefcase around with him since last summer. Since Lesnar won the title and has only worked limited dates, Rollins hasn't had a chance to cash it in really. I know everyone is expecting him to do it at Mania or RAW the night afterwards, but if Bryan wins the Rumble goes on to defeat Lesnar, I don't see Rollins cashing in right away. So another superstar goes on the list.

I guess you can see where I'm going with this thread. You have 4 superstars who all have legitimate claims to the WWE title. Rollins the probably in the worst position, because he is on a time limit. Once the next Money in the Bank PPV rolls around, if he hasn't cashed in the case then he loses the option to do so.

John Cena and Roman Reigns weren't added to the list because of obvious reasons. Cena has already fought Lesnar twice and will again at the Rumble. Now if he does win, expect Rollins to cash in right away, and not only could that change the outcome of the Rumble itself, but give the WWE a way out of knocking some of these guys off the list. Reigns as much as I like the guy just isn't ready yet. This year is not his time, I see him making an impact next year. He needs to get some experience first.

So what do you think the WWE should do in this case? I'm not asking you to predict the Rumble winner or anything like that, but how do they get out of this?

 

[#tamale]

It all depends if WWE are able to re-sign Brock Lesnar. If Lesnar re-signs, you really only have one viable option; Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan goes on to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31, and loses continuing Lesnar's reign over WWE. With Lesnar re-signed, you could have a stronger card with HHH/Reigns, Rollins/Orton, etc., and he can feud with Orton post-Wrestlemania. Also, Batista vs Lesnar at Summerslam 2015 would be a major marquee matchup. Rollins is my only question mark in this scenario, but they can fix it.

If Lesnar isn't re-signed by Royal Rumble; have him lose to Cena. Then Cena can face Bryan, Reigns, Bray, Ambrose, or Rollins. Or Rollins can cash in on Cena right after defeating Lesnar, Reigns and Ambrose do the dual elimination at the Royal Rumble, and have the triple threat Shield match at Wrestlemania 31.

Being honest, between these two options, I'd rather take option one.

 

[MartialHorror]

While I think you bring up some interesting points, I also think you're looking too deeply into it. Randy's rematch clause is lost and it's highly unlikely WWE will bother remembering that. Triple H's memory seems to be very short, as Seth is displaying the same behavior that pissed Triple H off earlier in the year when it came from Randy, but Triple H apparently forgot that. If he remembered Randy's rematch clause, he wouldn't have bothered doing the 'winner of Cena Vs Orton will face Lesnar' stipulation.

If they've forgotten about Randy, then they certainly would've done the same for Bryan. WWE just won't acknowledge it because it doesn't fit in their plans. Batista probably won't come back to the WWE and if he does, plans can be built around that.

Lesnar will probably lose at Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania, so who wins the Rumble will be based on who is champion. If Cena is it, I suspect Rusev will win (or Rollins, but with MitB, I don't see the point). If lesnar is champ, Bryan will score it...although Reigns is still the favorite considering how much the announcers bring up the Rumble whenever Reigns is fighting.

Money in the Bank is...3 PPV's away from Wrestlemania? There's more than enough time for the Wrestlemania winner to have a reign and be cashed in. I dont know if I buy Rollins as a champion yet, but maybe it will be different by then.

Right now, the problem is that the star power is bottlenecking again and I'm not really sure what the plans are in the long run. Is Daniel Bryan actually recovered? Or did he just choose to continue despite his condition? Randy will feud with Rollins, eventually, but will the title be involved? How will they fit Reigns, Ryback and any up-and-coming NXTers like Adrian Neville in a way that will make them feel relevant?

But I wouldn't worry too much about continuity. WWE practically has dementia when it comes to memory.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I see Orton's rematch thing brought up a lot, and I'm pretty sure it's either

a) Used already or

b) Just totally forgotten about

I would think it's A since he was involved in a Fatal 4 way for the title a while back without having to do anything, which makes sense if that was his rematch. And if Orton still had a rematch clause why would he fight Cena at HIAC for a title shot? Seems like a dumb thing to do when he could've just told Cena "Get to the back of the line, I got a rematch clause and I want to use it at the RR." So imo Orton's rematch is a issue that's long been resolved. Of course they can bring it back if they really feel like it, but by whatever crazy rules they play by it should be long gone.

The Batista thing wasn't so much he's owed a title shot, he got to be in the main event of WM30 and that's pretty much it. Anything after that was HHH telling Batista what he wanted to hear because HHH wanted Batista around to help beat the Shield. In any case he's not really a factor since there's pretty much no chance he'll be competing at WM31 and if he ever does come back any promises HHH may have made him would be long forgotten.

DB they have options with, but I'm guessing that if he's competing in the RR his will just be totally forgotten. Or they'll pull some crap like it expired since he was gone so long since the Authority's back and will be happy to screw with him again. Either way forgetting about it will be the most likely scenario since it's the easiest to write for.

Rollins I don't see much of a issue with, if he doesn't cash in at WM/Raw after then he still has plenty of time to cash in.

Reigns I can see them saying screw it all just give it to him since we want him as the next guy right now, so I'm not counting him out. He's not my choice by far but I wouldn't surprised at all to see him win the RR.

Cena on the other hand I don't see being a factor for this year's WM season. If he wins at the RR that'll tie him for Flair's record and I can't see them blowing that away on a super quick cash in from Rollins. And if he is champ at WM31 who would he face? Lesnar for #4? Wouldn't be the worst I guess but hardly ideal. Rollins would be interesting but I don't think they can drag this feud on until WM and he's better off winning with a surprise cash in. HHH would also be interesting but he's unlikely at best and looks like he's facing Sting. Which leaves no one else since the rest of the heels are midcarders. So while I would be very interested to see how they would handle it I don't see Cena being in the title picture in this year's WM season.

For the most part I like the situation they're in now. A mere month ago was Reigns the clear winner of WM31 by far and that's been the general thinking for what felt like most of 2014. Now we have multiple possibilities which makes what was going to be a extremely predictable RR PPV actually interesting since we're not so sure anymore. And of course we have multiple options for Champ now, which should make for a more exciting title picture compared to 2014.

 

[WhiplashUnited]

Have Daniel Bryan win the Royal Rumble and beat Lesnar at WrestleMania. But as Rollins has an alliance with Heyman and also the authority have Rollins cash in and win the belt after what would be a tiring match for Bryan and start the feud.

I would like a Rollins v Orton feud but don't know where it fits. I could see Rollins cashing in on Orton at WrestleMania if he won RR and the title at Mania but don't credibly believe he'd beat Leanar.

Reigns should main event Wrestlemania 32 if he gets better.

 

[Wald]

I really only see it being Lesnar v Reigns or Lesnar v Bryan for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania to be honest.

Even if Brock is leaving to go back to UFC than why waste a money match in him putting over either Reigns or Bryan? It could even play in to their hands if Brock is leaving and they put him with Reigns as the perceived hardcore fan backlash might not happen then and they might just get behind Reigns for the match.

The obvious better storyline is for Bryan to come back and beat Lesnar at Wrestlemania and the fans would be behind Bryan as always regardless of if Brock is leaving or not. I know people think Vince will be mad because of a potential UFC deal for Brock but even if he is than what better way to try to bury Brock going out the door than to have him tap out to a guy the size of Daniel Bryan when you have your biggest audience of the year watching?

 

[Johnny Scumm]

Who's to say they don't all get involved and it's Lesnar vs Rumble Winner Reigns vs Rematch Clause Bryan vs Rematch Clause Orton vs Batista's "Promised" shot vs Seth Rollins?

It'd be awful...but who knows?! I'd like to think Rollins would stay out of it, all of the rematches are scrapped meaning that the Rumble winner faces the Champion at Mania. Who knows who it's going to be though, that's the question?

 

[ITrippedTheShockmaster]

Everything right now points to Reigns winning the RR and facing Lesnar at WM. Whether Reigns wins the title there is still unclear, based on Lesnar's plans. If he is indeed going back to UFC, then he will likely drop the strap to Reigns at WM to build Reigns as the new face of the company.

Since Rollins has to cash that briefcase in pretty soon (it's starting to become a really stale afterthought that he has it), I'm thinking it'll be at WM or on Raw the next Monday against Reigns. Not sure if they'll put the belt on Rollins that quickly, though. It would kill Reigns' momentum coming off the big WM win, but it also could spark the next big main event feud involving two of the biggest future stars of the company.

Personally, I think the Heyman-Rollins relationship will be revealed that Heyman did it to keep the MITB winner - a potential threat to Lesnar's title reign - from cashing in on Lesnar. That relationship has to play out at some point, because it becomes a moot point if Lesnar leaves.

I'm glad that Bryan is coming back at the Rumble, but I think WWE made its move and has a plan in place now for the WM season. His return won't derail that. Depending on how healthy he really is, he may be eased back into the fold and work a feud or two before going for the title. Although, if I'm wrong and they do decide to have Bryan win the RR and go over on Lesnar at WM, Rollins cashing in on him there to get the title is a possibility.

Orton's still out with his recent deviated septum surgery, so when he comes back, he'll likely be eased back into the upper card as a face as well. His feud with Rollins is sitting there waiting to happen, so I beleive that will be the direction he goes when he comes back at full strength, whether Rollins has the title or not. Maybe he comes back and screws Rollins out of his cash-in opportunity, like Ambrose was doing during their feud. Orton doesn't need the title to be a relevent main eventer.

I think that Cena will always be there, but I don't see him playing a major role in the title hunt in early 2015. Personally, I see him maybe getting into an upper-card feud with someone like Rusev, a (hopefully) returning heel Sheamus or even Cesaro to help build them up. But, he's also the security blanket in the title picture, meaning that if something goes wrong (someone gets hurt, an angle doesn't work out, etc.), they can safely put the belt on him until they figure out how to fix the situation.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't know if it's so much as being backed into a corner as it's generating a good deal of unpredictability concerning the WrestleMania main event. Part of what made WrestleMania season so great last year was that there were some unanswered questions. It turned out to be, probably, a big headache for WWE officials but it was great for fans. Fans didn't want Orton vs. Batista, they wanted Bryan in the title match and officials had to come up with a means of putting him in it.

While it's true that Orton never really got his one on one match, I think it's also pretty true to say that there aren't very many people hugely interested in Randy Orton being back in the title picture. It screws up continuity to some degree but I think it's something that most fans are willing to overlook, some have probably forgotten about it to be perfectly honest.

As far as Batista goes, again, it's not as if fans are lining up to see Batista back in the title picture. I think it's fair to say that a lot of fans didn't really even want Batista to return. Besides, Batista's movie career looks to be taking off and it's unlikely he'll be back in WWE anytime soon. I know Batista was brought back to be in the title picture, but plans sometimes have to change. Crockett Promotions put the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on Ron Garvin in late '87 and it was disastrous. Most viewers didn't want Garvin as champion, so they put the title back on Flair within about 2 months. In WWE's case, I believe Vince seriously underestimated Daniel Bryan's popularity and listened to the company officials who believed that it was only the catchphrase that was over instead of those who said that it was Bryan. So, plans had to be changed or even scrapped because leaving them as is would lead to an extremely hostile crowd that may well have crapped all over the entire WrestleMania event. Instead of panning the main event, they may have hijacked the entire show in order to show dissatisfaction. So, they had to choose between saving the biggest show of the year or rubbing Batista's ego.

Having a number of viable candidates to be champion doesn't have to be a bad thing at all as it leaves a number of possibilities open. People screaming for unpredictability can sometimes get it and get it in a sensible way.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Excellent thread and concept as proposed by the OP here, but unfortunately, there is one fundamental flaw in the thought process. It assumes that there is a logical thought process or cohesiveness in the WWE, and that's simply not the case. Never has been, never will be. It should be and I wish it was, but I'm not about to hold my breath.

WWE counts on the inherent stupidity and short attention spans of the bulk of their audience. They either outright exploit it or at the very least, assume it to be the case so that following a logical progression is neither necessary nor attempted. That's not to say every professional wrestling fan is a dingbat (despite what certain posters may lead me to believe), but I'm talking about the general WWE fan base as a whole.

So regarding Daniel Bryan, there will be no reason to delve into a title shot that he is logically owed due to the circumstances of being stripped of the title nearly a year ago. He will return to a tremendous pop, of this I have no doubt. Maybe this will culminate in a Royal Rumble win, maybe it won't (depending on his health) but it's safe to say that he will be in the title picture, with a clear title shot or two, resulting in him holding the hardware within the next six months. WWE will not deal with the fact that he is owed a title opportunity because he is going to receive one quickly anyway.

Randy Orton didn't execute his rematch clause. That's true, but we will hear nothing of it. He will be near the top of the pile anyway, but I don't expect WWE to address that in any manner whatsoever or if they do, they will simply say that it's too late, his opportunity has expired. Same goes for Batista. I'm not convinced that he is even coming back and if he does, there will be no reference whatsoever to any promise made by Triple H a year ago. They will assume that we have simply forgotten and frankly, most people will have done so.

Seth Rollins will get his title opportunity. Granted it has taken a little longer to play out due to our absent champion, but he will get the opportunity to utilize his briefcase, so really, there's not much to discuss here.

Logic in WWE? Don't count on it. People flip back and forth between face and heel in a manner that frequently makes no sense at all. Big Show is a face one day, a heel the next, depending on what side of the bed he got up on that morning. Brie Bella is a face, her sister is a heel, and they feud for months. Brie is Nikki's bitch for a month, and Nikki rubs her face in it for the whole 30 days. "I wish you had never been born!" Etc.,etc.,etc., Then all of a sudden, with no explanation for weeks, they're best buds again. The explanation a few weeks later? A one liner on RAW that blood is thicker than water, and that's that. It wasn't thicker than water when they were rolling around on the ground with Jerry Springer, and all of a sudden, everything's great. And you expect logic?

Ryback had been relegated to a jobber to everyone. Couldn't win a match if his life depended on it. Then all of a sudden, "feed me more" resurfaces, and he's an unstoppable monster with people lining up for his services. Logic?

WWE has not painted themselves into a corner. Logically that argument could be made, but it will ultimately it won't happen. Because WWE will simply move the walls and eliminate the corner, and either hope no one notices, or no one cares. Or they will move on as they see fit, regardless if their fans notice or care or not.

 

[sMark]

All these rematches would make sence if WWE wasn't scripted sport, until then WWE will pretend nobody remembers about it.

I think the logical card right now will be:
Bryan vs Lesnar - this match is money
Cena vs Reigns - passing of the torch
Rollins vs Orton - revenge story

 

[d_henderson1810]

If I were Vince, and wanted to pull a shock, but not piss off the fanbase that someone like Bryan doesn't win the Rumble.

How about, instead of Orton, Bryan, Reigns and Rollins you have another guy win the Ruble instead, who would be a popular choice.

Maybe the Rumble winner should be:- DEAN AMBROSE!

I know Ambrose has lost every PPV match, but he still remains popular. If he won the Rumble, and faced the WWE Champ, it would bring an interesting new element to the mix.

In fact, it is too bad that they are not having Elimination Chamber this year. Because I think this would be an awesome scenario for Wrestlemania.

Have Dean Ambrose win the Rumble.

Seth Rollins cashes in and beats Cena after he beats Brock at RR.

Reigns wins the belt in the Elimination Chamber against Rollins.

So, you have RR winner Ambrose, new champion Reigns and old champ Rollins in a Triple-Threat Match at WMXXXI, and then have Ambrose win it.

This way you have all three members of the Shield face each other, with the history between them, and each has a run with the title, making them each main-eventers.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Excellent thread and concept as proposed by the OP here, but unfortunately, there is one fundamental flaw in the thought process. It assumes that there is a logical thought process or cohesiveness in the WWE, and that's simply not the case. Never has been, never will be. It should be and I wish it was, but I'm not about to hold my breath.

WWE counts on the inherent stupidity and short attention spans of the bulk of their audience. They either outright exploit it or at the very least, assume it to be the case so that following a logical progression is neither necessary nor attempted. That's not to say every professional wrestling fan is a dingbat (despite what certain posters may lead me to believe), but I'm talking about the general WWE fan base as a whole.

Exacly this.

You are assuming that WWE runs on logical ground and that has never been a case. For example there is almost no logical way to avoid Ambrose and Reigns going after Rollins(or at least just Reigns because Ambrose in a way did it) but they choose to disregard that and just run separate story. They can all make their claimes for what you have said in a way you said it, but it doesnt mean anything because show is scripted and if WWE says that, for example title match is Rusev/Lesnar(i know it doesnt make sense, but just example) it would be like that and they will disregard all that logic you said in OP.

 

[kadroan]

The Royal Rumble is only a couple of weeks away, and we know that the winner of the Rumble gets to main event Wrestlemania for the WWE title. This puts the WWE in kind of a sticky situation.

Now in saying that, the winner, if it's not Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Batista or Seth Rollins, will join quite a list of superstars who already want to lay claim to it. Let's take them one by one.

Daniel Bryan won the title last year at Wrestlemania 30 from Randy Orton. A month or so later he was stripped of the title because of his shoulder surgery. On last week's RAW after being out for almost 9 months he announced he is ready to return and will at the Rumble. Now he doesn't have to win the Rumble to obtain a title shot, as he should automatically get one because of the way it was taken from him.

Randy Orton who lost to Danial Bryan, has never invoked his re-match clause. Presumably it's still in place and why he never did is still a mystery to me. So we'll add him to the list.

Batista was promised by HHH that he would also get a title shot, because he won the Rumble last year. Does everyone remember on RAW he complained that he shouldn't have been in a triple threat match, it should have been a one on one between him and Orton. HHH tried to placate him by saying that once the Shield was taken care of he would another an chance at it. Now Batista has gone off to bigger and better things, but he's still in line for a title shot should he ask for one.

Seth Rollins, Mr. Money in the Bank, has been carrying that briefcase around with him since last summer. Since Lesnar won the title and has only worked limited dates, Rollins hasn't had a chance to cash it in really. I know everyone is expecting him to do it at Mania or RAW the night afterwards, but if Bryan wins the Rumble goes on to defeat Lesnar, I don't see Rollins cashing in right away. So another superstar goes on the list.

I guess you can see where I'm going with this thread. You have 4 superstars who all have legitimate claims to the WWE title. Rollins the probably in the worst position, because he is on a time limit. Once the next Money in the Bank PPV rolls around, if he hasn't cashed in the case then he loses the option to do so.

John Cena and Roman Reigns weren't added to the list because of obvious reasons. Cena has already fought Lesnar twice and will again at the Rumble. Now if he does win, expect Rollins to cash in right away, and not only could that change the outcome of the Rumble itself, but give the WWE a way out of knocking some of these guys off the list. Reigns as much as I like the guy just isn't ready yet. This year is not his time, I see him making an impact next year. He needs to get some experience first.

So what do you think the WWE should do in this case? I'm not asking you to predict the Rumble winner or anything like that, but how do they get out of this?

Good topic!

Bryan - It seems like he isn't the WWE's guy this year, so they could have him get eliminated by Rollins who he could have a storyline with on how he's jealous of Bryan. Bryan returned from injury and gets a bigger reaction than him. They could feud through WrestleMania and even have Bryan face Kane at Fast Lane since he was the guy that injured Bryan storyline wise just to make it an obstacle for Bryan to face Rollins.

Orton - I think WWE just going to act like he never had a rematch clause. I could see him going after Rollins to get vengeance for taking him out for months. They could have Orton not caring about the WWE WHC anymore, just want to give The Authority hell. Have him not win the Royal Rumble match, face Rollins at Fast Lane, face Kane at WrestleMania and finally get HHH at a later PPV.

Batista - Batista doesn't seem to care about winning the WWE WHC based on his interviews. Seems like he wants that retirement match against HHH.

Rollins - See Bryan and Orton.