The highly anticipated 2017 edition of the Royal Rumble came us to us live from San Antonio, Texas and the pay per view certainly did not live up to its hype. With plenty of interesting storylines in the event, the Rumble was expected to ramp up Wrestlemania preparations. Instead, it tanked.
But, just like every prior WWE PPV, we always read between the lines to get a firm understanding of what is on the road ahead and the 2017 Royal Rumble also had its fair share of instances that will have a cascading effect on the WWE.
Here are five things you can take away from WWE’s first pay per view of the year.
#1 Making the old timers relevant again
The first and most important development that we got to witness is the WWE returning the baton to the old timers. John Cena and Randy Orton were both out of the title picture for a long time as many fresh talents like Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and AJ Styles made a killing.
It is now clear that WWE is keen on restoring some pride to its old war dogs as Cena defeated Styles for the title and Orton won the coveted thirty-man Battle Royale to seal a title shot at the Mania.
Both Cena and Orton have had epic battles in the past, but this is a refreshing move from the WWE to close in on yet another feud between the two Superstars heading into ‘Mania. Fans will certainly not appreciate this move owing to the lacklustre showcase of talent that both Superstars have to offer, but the creative team is keen on yet another swansong.
#2 Whatever happened to surprise entrants
The 2016 Royal Rumble saw Triple H become the WWE champion. There was another peculiar reason that the Rumble was one of WWE’s most boring experiments, the absence of legends and surprise entrants. Fans love watching the Royal Rumble only for the reason mentioned above and 2017 was no different.
With Lesnar, Goldberg and The Undertaker already advertised for the event, the WWE decided to keep on hold the additional star power as the main event featured no surprise returns. The fans counted in a chorus as the clock ticked away from ten approaching the two-minute mark and yet again, only an expected familiar face walked out through the curtain.
This trend has been seen for the last couple of years and fans may soon lose hopes of seeing any legends. The WWE must, in fact, apologise to fans who constantly had Kurt Angle posters on display. What a kill joy.
#3 Lesnar vs. Goldberg III
Both Lesnar and Goldberg entered the Rumble to win it and gun once again for the WWE title. Of course, they had some personal vendetta to add to the mix, but going to ‘Mania was the priority. The WWE creatives stuck to the script and once again ensured that Goldberg got the better of his nemesis.
This means that the staredown that lasted between the two post-Lesnar’s elimination will only conclude in a slobber knocker of a contest at the big daddy of them all, come April. So, Goldberg holds a 2-0 record against the former UFC champion and Wrestlemania seems to be the ideal spot to conclude this mammoth feud.
#4 WWE wants it to Reign
You may boo him and call him boring, but the WWE looks at Roman Reigns as its next blue eyed boy. Reigns lost to Kevin Owens owing to Braun Strowman’s interference but the WWE ensured that the former Shield member got enough time to carve out a name for himself.
He put on a decent show before entering the Rumble at #30 to eliminate the Undertaker himself.
Reigns also had a staredown with the Phenom and the Undertaker can be observed saying, “I’ll see you”. The events leading up to the Rumble looked like it would either be a Reigns vs. Undertaker or a Strowman vs. Undertaker storyline progressing forward, but now, all three Superstars are equally in the mix.
With a triple threat match at 'Mania becoming too heavy for the deadman to handle, the Elimination Chamber will most likely prove to be the deciding factor on who goes ahead in this feud.
#5 Big guys continue to rule the roost
Vince McMahon has perennially supported the big guys in the business. From Andre ‘The Giant’ to Big Show and Brock Lesnar to Roman Reigns, Vince has always ‘pushed’ the muscular and the physically superior athletes.
The Royal Rumble embodied Vince’s spirits as the big dogs like Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman and Baron Corbin had plenty of moments to get over with the fans.
They picked apart the competition and constantly tossed them out. With the elimination chamber expected to house some classy matches, you may see most of the above names feature as cell mates in the satanic structure. As the Big Show’s T-shirt reads, ‘Go big or go home’.
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