Roman Reigns May Not Win the Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns may not win the Royal Rumble match on Jan. 25. After months of reports claiming WWE wanted to position Reigns as the next “big thing” over the next few months, including a Rumble AND WrestleMania 31 win, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and “Wrestling Observer Radio” is saying that the company may be changing their minds.

Reigns has not had the overwhelming response the company thought he would have following his return to the company in early December. During the Dec. 22 edition of “Monday Night Raw,” fans actually booed the superstar, chanted “boring” during his bout with Big Show, and barely made a noise when he won the match via count-out. This worries top officials backstage.

Vince McMahon and Triple H have reportedly been positioning Reigns to be the next John Cena. CM Punk even alluded to this fact during his revealing podcast with Colt Cabana on Thanksgiving, saying they placed Reigns in The Shield because they wanted “their guy” in a position on the main roster to get pushed fast. However, his mic skills have only appeared to get worse since his return, even after attending acting classes while away, and now WWE officials are looking at other options for who may win the 28th annual Royal Rumble Match.

Among the top names discussed for the big win are Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler, the current Intercontinental Champion, is an option, but Meltzer states that he would need a “Daniel Bryan-esque” fan push to get him into that spot. According to Meltzer, Ambrose is in line to win the Rumble if Reigns does not get the rub.

As previously reported, WWE may have Seth Rollins cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at the “Royal Rumble” following the main event. Cena would go over Brock Lesnar winning the title in the process, only to have Rollins cash in and win the strap from Cena. This would then lead to Rollins dangling a rematch over Cena’s head to get The Authority back on television, and would mean Lesnar would go into what could possibly be his last match for WWE at WrestleMania 31 with no championship.

Previous reports stated that WWE may be second-guessing Reigns, but the Rumble win was his to lose. Perhaps the response for the “One vs. All” boasting superstar during “RAW” on Dec. 22 has further pushed the company in looking towards a different plan.

Editor’s Note:
I wonder if we’ll get a dumb Lex Luger/Bret Hart-esque Royal Rumble win with BOTH Reigns and Ambrose going over the top rope at the same time to get them both to WrestleMania 31. A Shield Triple Threat Match for the title would be some ultimate booking, and would give smart fans a BIG match to get behind going into March.