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The Road to WrestleMania 34 has finally begun and while The WWE has already seen some really promising decision making at both The Royal Rumble and the next night on Raw, there have been several miscues as well. Unfortunately for The WWE however, who are trying to build a blockbuster card for WrestleMania, their losses already outnumber their victories.
With that being said and finally in high gear and heading towards New Orleans with breakneck speed, here are five ways that WWE has already ruined the 2018 Road to WrestleMania. Please let us know what you think in the comments below and if any of these moments have ruined The Road to WrestleMania for you!
#5 AJ Styles beating Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at The Royal Rumble
While there would have been no problem with a clean victory for AJ Styles in his two on one handicap match at The Royal Rumble against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, WWE decided to have Zayn and Owens take a momentum-killing loss instead. Sure, one could argue that Style's victory was under false pretences, but that doesn't always guarantee a rematch.
Maybe WWE will eventually do the right thing and give Owens and Zayn another chance to claim title gold before WrestleMania 34, but with WWE already gaining massive praise for The Shinsuke Nakamura versus AJ Styles match at WrestleMania 34, it is very likely that WWE won't put the titles on them.
In the end, it looks like Nakamura and Styles will main event WrestleMania 34, while Owens and Zayn are relegated to a mid-card feud after being one of the best storylines the previous year. The duo has lost a lot of momentum since then and the momentum they do still have is only thanks to dirty tactics, which means they will most likely be an afterthought come Mania.
#4 Ronda Rousey not being in The Royal Rumble
WWE is going to astronomically great lengths to maintain Asuka's two and half year undefeated streak and they definitely showed just that during the 2018 Woman's Royal Rumble. In fact, that was seemingly the thinking behind not having her in Royal Rumble match at all!
Unfortunately for WWE, there are two distinct problems with this. The first is that a match between Asuka and Rousey was teased at the end of The Royal Rumble when The Empress of Tomorrow refused the handshake, while some might see that as an innocuous thing meant to set up something after Mania, it also ruined the chance on the bigger match.
The second problem with this is that WWE is willingly choosing to forgo what could be one of the biggest matches in WrestleMania history in order to protect the streak and Rousey. Now that wouldn't be so bad if it was Auska and a lesser star, but this is someone who has absolutely massive crossover appeal and is a mainstream celebrity.
Why in the world WWE would risk crossover appeal like that just to protect a streak that really doesn't matter at the end of the day is troubling to think about. Sure, Asuka would take an initial hit in momentum if The Streak ended, but her victories over Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, and her victory in The Royal Rumble gives her new accomplishments to stand on.
#3 Braun Strowman not winning The Universal Title
WWE knew Bruan Strowman was white hot heading into The Triple Threat Universal Title match at The Royal Rumble and still thought it was a good idea to have him come up short once again. Yes, they did do it tastefully by not having Strowman involved in the deciding pin, but it still takes away from Strowman's momentum a tad.
In fact, Bruan Strowman was seemingly so popular heading into The Championship match at Royal Rumble that WWE could put him in the main event and it still is a box office hit. Maybe it wouldn't be on the same level as Lesnar or Rousey would attain, but ti would be enough to warrant a dignified Wrestlemania moment.
Unfortunately for The WWE Universe and Bruan Strowman, it looks like WWE will write him out of the title picture after The Fastlane pay per view and have whoever took him out be his opponent. Then again, that could lead to a stipulation match between Kane and Strowman at WrestleMania 34, which would only kill any momentum that Strowman has left.
#2 No Undertaker at The Royal Rumble
While that might be a frustrating and sad realization to come to, especially after everyone was so hyped up on Undertaker versus John Cena happening at WrestleMania 34, The Deadman's signature entrance music ended up not getting played throughout the entire night and he didn't attack Cena at Raw 25 either.
With that being said, this can only mean that when told his victims to rest in peace at Raw 25, he actually meant it. Of course, there is still time for this match or another match to come to fruition for The Undertaker, but with several top spots already locked up and his options dwindling, it doesn't look very likely anymore.
Maybe WWE will save his appearance for later down the line or just have him do an appearance at WrestleMania 34, but that still pales in comparison to the Cena versus Undertaker dream match that so many fans were sold on earlier this year. In fact, it almost seems more like a consolation prize than anything else.
#1 Finn Balor not being involved In The Universal Title picture
What will WWE do with Finn Balor at WrestleMania 34?
WWE had all the options in the world when they decided to form The Balor Club earlier this year on Raw, but they have seemed to squander every last one of them in a matter of a week. In fact, Balor, who has not regained his Universal Title since vacating it due to injury in 2015, might be relegated to a piss break match at WrestleMania 34 if WWE isn't careful.
Unfortunately for WWE, Finn Balor and The WWE Universe, the company has ruined yet another chance at a marquee WrestleMania match after having him lose to Cena the night after The Royal Rumble. While that wouldn't have been so bad if Balor had actually gone the distance and won The Rumble the night before, it just hands Balor yet another loss.
Keep in mind that Balor has now lost twice to Kane, once in the main event of Raw when he was injured, lost The Royal Rumble by being eliminated by John Cena, and then lost the next night clean as a whistle to Cena again. If nothing else, Balor might have a lot longer to fall down the mountain before he finally regains some traction.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
