The Royal Rumble

The results of the Royal Rumble have outraged some fans and Daniel Bryan was seemingly buried again, despite being the most over performer on the WWE roster. At this point, you have to wonder, did the WWE realize anything after the Batista debacle? One thing is clear, the audience doesn't want to be told who they should want to see and any attempt to tell the audience who they should cheer usually sours fans on the product. Part of the draw of pro wrestling is that the fans get to decide who they want to cheer and some of the most successful scenarios in the history of the business were started after the fans decided who they wanted to see in the top spots. Keep in mind, the WWE originally tried to make Stone Cold a heel, but the fans turned him into the biggest star in the business. So, why didn't the WWE book Daniel Bryan to win the Rumble?

I wrote in a previous column that I think Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan would be a great storyline because Bryan is the ultimate under dog and the injury sidelined him before he had a legitimate title run so the angle could go full circle if he returned to win the title. Obviously, the WWE had other plans, but the reaction from the crowd in Philadelphia and on social media shows that the fans want to see Daniel Bryan main event Wrestlemania. At this point, I have no idea why the WWE wouldn't book Bryan to win the Rumble, especially after the crowd reaction since he returned and the hostile response after the Rumble last year. I said it after Batista won the Rumble, what does Bryan have to do to get a top spot in the WWE? What else could he possibly do? He's great in the ring and he's the most over competitor on the roster so what else does he have to do to get a spot in the main event?

If I had to guess, I would say that the WWE is trying to push their brand of sports entertainment and Bryan doesn't fit the mold for what they want to present for the product. Roman Reigns was touted as being the next top star and it seems like he's more of the performer that the WWE wants to use to promote sports entertainment. As I said previously, it's somewhat unfair to put the pressure of being the next top star on Roman Reigns this early in his career, but that seems to be the direction for Wrestlemania.

The fans were booing Reigns after the conclusion of the Rumble match, but I don't really think the reaction was directed at him, as it was probably just the disappointment that Bryan didn't win it. Reigns doesn't exactly seem ready to main event the biggest show of the year either, as he has struggled with promos in recent months and his matches are usually just average matches. After the event, #CancelWWENetwork was trending on Twitter, but most fans probably won't cancel it and even if they actually cancel, they will subscribe again before Wrestlemania.

The WWE should also be careful that they don't make Reigns the next John Cena so to speak, in terms of the perception of some of the fans. Reigns only really has a few trade mark moves, which is fine, but they have been extremely over used. How many times is Reigns going to spear his opponents in a match? How many super man punches are there going to be in a match? In many respects, there are a lot of finishers that get over used in the WWE, which doesn't make sense, but the point being, Reigns' move set is already getting stale with the audience.

Ultimately, if the response to Reigns in the main event of Wrestlemania remains hostile, it has less to do with him and more to do with the fact that the WWE is trying to tell the fans who they should want to see in the top spots. However, as long as there are ratings for Raw and fans subscribe to the Network, why shouldn't the WWE book what they think the fans should want to watch? There's no competition in the wrestling business and to put it into perspective, if WCW was still running events, would Bryan not be in the main event of Wrestlemania?

On a better note, the WWE World Heavyweight title match was a great match and all the competitors deserve a lot of credit for it. Specifically, Seth Rollins made himself a star and he proved that he can be a legitimate main event performer. It will be extremely interesting to see if Rollins cashes in the title shot at Wrestlemania and if he wins the title.