Opinion: “Royal Rumble” Finish Is Not Set In Stone

On “Monday Night Raw,” Roman Reigns overcame all odds and even with a biased referee in Mr. McMahon, was able to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus. However, right after the match, the Chairman made a historic announcement, saying that the winner of this year’s “Royal Rumble” match would not headline WrestleMania for the title, but would, in fact, instead win the title that evening instead.

Immediately after “Raw” went off the air, the internet was up in arms, and several members of the IWC were sending the Wrestling Rumors staff Facebook messages and tweets. The general consensus was that it is now a forgone conclusion that Reigns will win the Rumble for the second year in a row, and go on to headline WrestleMania as the World Heavyweight Champion.

I wouldn’t put my money on it just yet.

WWE has booked itself into a very interesting corner. Usually at this point on the road to WrestleMania, we have a pretty good idea who is going to win the “Royal Rumble” match and go on to headline the “Grandaddy of Them All.” However, before McMahon’s announcement was made, you could make a legitimate case for about 3-5 superstars to have their opportunity to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania.

Now, I feel that the booking options are more wide open than ever.

Triple H could enter the rumble match himself and win the WWE title in controversial fashion. The Rock could make a return and do the same. Roman Reigns could very easily retain. Brock Lesnar is always a possibility. And of course, you can never count out John Cena.

Any one of the aforementioned superstars could also screw someone else out of their opportunity, setting up future matches on the ‘Mania card. And what about a dark horse, such as Kevin Owens or Daniel Bryan winning the whole thing? In my opinion, everything is wide open, and nothing is set in stone at this point.

Another important thing to remember is that a lot can change in the main event between the end of the “Royal Rumble” and the start of WrestleMania. The “Fast Lane” pay-per-view is always there, just in case WWE wants to change their mind with the direction that they want to go for the biggest show of the year. And with multiple reports stating that they want this to be the biggest event in wrestling history, they have to get the card just right.

The 2016 “Royal Rumble” is looking to be one of the most exciting ones in recent memory. The fact that we have no idea what is going to happen makes for more compelling television, and gives all the more reason to tune in. And as wrestling fans who want to be entertained, isn’t that the best possible scenario for all of us? Especially when it only costs $9.99 to see it?

Buckle your seats, everyone. The road to WrestleMania is going to be a bumpy, yet extremely fun ride.

Follow @Dericho06