Last night, the fans in San Antonio went ballistic as a huge surprise unfolded at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio. Much to the shock and awe of everyone present in the arena, Seth Rollins hijacked the event and called out Triple H.
While there could be some interaction between Rollins and Triple H at The Royal Rumble tonight, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the angle between Rollins and Triple H last night was originally designed to be the key angle to set up their match at WrestleMania 33. When discussing the Rollins - Triple H altercation at Takeover, Meltzer said that it would have been better to have Rollins do something that would have made Triple H want to accept a match at WrestleMania, but noted that there's still time to do that angle.
"I was told the angle was supposed to be tonight [at Takeover] and not [at the Royal Rumble]," Meltzer said. "I suppose you can do another one, but I was told the key angle was supposed to be [at Takeover]. We'll see if they do something or follow up on it."
Being the egotistical heel he is, Triple H came out and teased a confrontation with Seth Rollins. But, instead of getting into the ring like Rollins wanted, Triple H called out security personnel to evict Rollins from the arena instead, before walking away.
While Rollins fought off the initial salvo of the security guards trying to evict him, he was eventually overwhelmed by the numbers as he went up the ramp to head towards the back, where Triple H was present.
While this may look like a normal Authority angle for those who are familiar with WWE, there is a difference here that everyone must note. While it is not uncommon for Raw Superstars to make special appearances on NXT, it is certainly unique for a top star like Seth Rollins to appear on the developmental show.
What makes it more interesting is the fact that the appearance was done for an ongoing storyline on the main roster.
It is also worth noting that while Triple H is a despicable heel on the main roster, he portrays a completely different character on the developmental program. In NXT, Triple H is seen as a mentor who is grooming talents and helping them reach the next level.
Also read: 10 Potential surprise returns and debuts at the Royal Rumble 2017
The character could be classified as borderline-face, even. It makes it more surprising that WWE would be willing to sacrifice that babyface character of Triple H in NXT to advance this rivalry with Rollins instead.
It is a well-known fact that Seth Rollins lost his opportunity to be in the Royal Rumble thanks to the distraction caused by Triple H’s music on Raw. In effect, this shot down Rollins’ dream to be in the main event of WrestleMania.
We last saw a fuming Rollins leaving the arena after confronting the Raw General Manager Mick Foley. Later, The Architect took it upon himself to hijack Triple H’s show in order to forcefully confront him.
From a storyline point of view, this is a major decision for WWE to take. It also makes the hijacking of TakeOver more important than WWE is currently giving it credit for.
Speculations suggest that this hijacking of TakeOver might have huge implications in the upcoming weeks of WWE programming, especially the Royal Rumble.
The egotistical authority figure of Triple H is not going to take Rollins’ hijacking of his show lying down. In the post-TakeOver Facebook interview with Cathy Kelly, Triple H said that he is the creator in NXT but is also a destroyer when he steps into WWE.
He warned Rollins to be careful what he wishes for because the destroyer was not far behind the creator.
If one takes Triple H’s comments into account and pieces together the events, they can clearly see that Rollins only got a glimpse of the creator in NXT. By Triple H’s statement, the destroyer is not far behind, however, and we can expect the duo to have a confrontation before Royal Rumble ends.
Also, the reason for the special appearance of Rollins might just be because WWE felt that they need more of a buildup, or a throwback to the rivalry before they kick-started it at the Royal Rumble. While this may be a highly anticipated and much talked about rivalry, the meat behind the story is very little.
WWE might have used this opportunity to further increase the beef between Triple H and Seth Rollins before committing to the storyline.
Since Rollins is not scheduled to appear in any of the matches at the Royal Rumble PPV, we can surely expect him to have a confrontation with Triple H on Sunday. It will be highly unlikely for WWE to not use a star of Rollins’ calibre in one of the big 4 PPVs.
The most probable outcome at the Royal Rumble might be a backstage confrontation at this juncture.
However, if WWE wants to shift to high gears and break Social Media once more, they might just incorporate a Rollins Report segment at the Royal Rumble PPV. If the special guest is Triple H, then there might be a huge payoff for the surprise booking of the segment.
Until now, Triple H has been playing mind games with Seth Rollins, but Seth has taken the game to the next level by hijacking Triple H’s own show.
We can surely expect the Cerebral Assasin to make his next move very soon, especially at the Royal Rumble. Regardless of how it happens, we can certainly expect fireworks from the duo before Royal Rumble comes to a close.
Why? It’s very simple – The road to WrestleMania begins at the Royal Rumble, and that’s exactly why Triple H and Rollins will be stepping things up a notch at the PPV themselves.
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