As announced on last week's edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE Champion Roman Reigns will defend his title against 29 other opponents in the 2016 Royal Rumble match. Is this the right call?
Even for the great Ric Flair, coming out victorious in the 1992 Royal Rumble match was no simple feat. But waiting for him on the other side was a prize no other contest of its kind had ever dangled in front of its competitors before—the WWE Championship.
Under the lights of the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York, the “Nature Boy” outlasted 29 fellow superstars—including the likes of The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Roddy Piper—to capture the Royal Rumble crown and the illustrious championship gold. Not to mention, he was the match’s third entrant and had to endure 59 minutes and 26 seconds of grueling opposition.
Now, the victory—of course—didn’t come without controversy. With a little help from the Hulkster, Flair managed to dump the ever-psychotic Sid Justice over the top rope for the win. But again—third man in, almost an hour between the ropes and all those legendary adversaries….it was well-earned regardless.
16 years later, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns will be tasked with defending his title in similar conditions. Just as they were with Flair, the odds will be stacked against Reigns as his championship is set to be placed on the line in the Royal Rumble match for the first time since that celebrated triumph back in 1992.
A "Wooooo" for the ages.
Interesting? Sure. Unprecedented? Just about. Is this, though, the best direction for Reigns, the championship and the WWE? While quite a few fans may not think so, it is.
Intrigue and Importance
For one, this modified stipulation provides an irrefutable intrigue factor.
The genuine charm of this year’s Rumble rests in its uniqueness.
Remember the “No Chance in Hell” Royal Rumble in 1999 where the side story had Mr. McMahon offering $100,000 to whoever could eliminate Stone Cold Steve Austin? How about the 40-man match from five years ago that upped the possibility of contenders and surprise entries? And yes, there’s also that aforementioned 1992 scramble. There’s no denying a little added context behind the motivation of this over-the-top-rope extravaganza brings about a certain spice.
Had this been a normal January with a normal Royal Rumble match, the winner would be going off to face the WWE World Heavyweight champ in the main event at WrestleMania. But, again, that’s not happening. While this decision is deviating from tradition and custom and blah, blah, blah—a small break from that main event ticket isn’t the worst direction to go down. After all, a Royal Rumble win—more than ever—doesn’t assure you of a title-raising WrestleMania win.
Six of the past eight Royal Rumble winners went on to lose their championship match at WrestleMania. Considering that had happened just three times in the first 15 years of the event, that conversion rate is flat out startling. That amount of failure is, undoubtedly, kicking some of the magic dust off the match and event entirely. We often get the spiel about the Rumble’s grandeur and illustriousness. How much does that actually all matter if the victory is basically moot two months later?
Including an unconventional anecdote, especially one that entails the state of the most significant accolade in the business, is a step back up. In addition to the intrigue comes an attempt to revalidate the importance of the Royal Rumble. Because this time around, the winner doesn’t have to advance to the largest stage of the company just to lose. They’ll take the damn title there themselves.
WrestleMania Setup
Based off quite a few reactions of fans dialing it up on social media, tying the title to the Royal Rumble match makes the outcome rather predictable. Some believe, given the lack of worthy candidates due to a handful of injuries, that there are only two possible winners—Reigns and Brock Lesnar. But is it really all that simple to deduce?
Sure, Batista taking it in 2013 and Reigns in 2014 were both of little to no surprise. Those two were the logical and rumored favorites to win their respective Rumbles, and that’s what ultimately occurred. And as a result, the backing of Batista and Reigns was met with great opposition from the WWE Universe and essentially stained the much anticipated annual event in consecutive years. Do we want another dud of an ending?
Even The Rock couldn't calm the incensed Philly crowd last year.
Perhaps a lesson was learned. Do they go with the “I told you so” option for the third straight time, once again poo-pooing on a Big Four pay-per-view? Or, instead, do they reach down their sleeve to resurrect the excitement and mystique around the Royal Rumble?
For that, we should look no further than the Chief Operating Officer himself, the 13-time world champion, “The Game,” Triple H. Think about it.
Reigns, in an effort by The Authority to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible, is designated as the No. 1 entrant. But the warrior he is, Roman fights and claws his way throughout. He lasts over an hour, hoisting another batch of unfortunate superstars over the rope and out of contention. He eliminates and advances past the heavy hitters of Vince and Stephanie’s arsenal—Rusev, Kevin Owens, New Day and, lastly, goes Sheamus.
A weathered Reigns is huffing and puffing in the middle of the ring, having lasted through competitors 2 to 29 and awaiting the final challenge. And that challenge? The ultimate “Break in Case of Emergency” option for the McMahon clan.
Triple H makes a bee-line straight to Roman and feasts on the remains. A handful of a stomps, a pair of clotheslines, a spine buster and a Pedigree or two to top it off and put away Reigns. While the Samoan force tries to pull out a final desperation shot, it just isn’t enough. Triple H is your new champion and sets up a giant clash between himself and Reigns at AT&T Stadium.
Can Triple H and Reigns help salvage the big stage for WWE?
That avenue helps the WWE win out in a number of ways. In its purest form, a Triple H victory keeps to interesting and consistent storytelling—something many fans are often pining for. This also helps build up support from those fans for Reigns. Almost reaching a seemingly insurmountable mountaintop only to be screwed by your boss (a la Austin vs. McMahon) is an age-old nightmare. Roman’s struggle would be sympathized with and understood to a degree.
Lastly, it sets up a very worthy main event for what will be a record-breaking crowd in Arlington, Texas. Triple H certainly has enough credibility to serve as champion again, Reigns has the increasing likability and standing to avenge his loss and this potential meeting carries everything you want in a ‘Mania main event—story, emotion, background and excitement.
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