RECAP TO JUST BEFORE ROYAL RUMBLE
by bigbob
"WWE World Heavyweight Championship"
Prior to the cash-in attempt, a match was set-up for the Royal Rumble that would see Roman Reigns take on Bray Wyatt. In an attempt to guarantee he would not make it to the match healthy, or not make it to the match as the champion, Triple H had put him in a series of matches against Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Rybaxel. The Harper match was the first leading up to the Royal Rumble PPV match; almost seeing Reigns lose the title to Rusev with a cash-in but thanks to Jack Swagger the cash-in was thwarted. After the failed cash-in, Triple H would put Reigns in a match on the following Raw that would see him take on Erik Rowan in a steel cage match. Reigns would come out on top but after the match, Luke Harper and Rybaxel made their way to the ring and with Reigns locked in, beat him down to end Raw.
The Raw prior to the Royal Rumble saw Roman Reigns put in a match against Randy Orton but after weeks of getting jumped, Orton told Triple H he wanted everyone banned from ringside so that he could take Reigns out by himself. Triple H put the match in place and unfortunately for Orton, it would be his last for a while. Reigns would snap as Orton was coming down the ramp, running out and beating him down from behind. After putting Orton through hell, throwing him into the ring steps, spearing him through the padded area near the ring bell, Reigns would clear off the announcers table and climb up onto the barricade. He would pull Orton up as well and threw him up onto his shoulders and hit a huge Samoan Drop through the announcer table. Raw would go off the air with Orton being strapped to a stretcher.
"The Face(s) of the WWE"
After their brutal match at Hell in a Cell that saw both stars a bloody mess, John Cena and Brock Lesnar, now a full-time wrestler, couldn't let it end there. For months leading up to the match, Cena and Lesnar continued their never ending war to the point that the Board of Director's recommended to Triple H that they should send both of them home for a few weeks before they actually kill each other. Triple H considered their recommendation and decided that it would be best for business to schedule the battle to end the war between the two at Survivor Series. A no disqualification, falls count anywhere match that would end in a no contest as Lesnar would F5 Cena off the stage, throwing his own body off to put Cena down as hard as possible. Both stars would be carted off and would miss the next pay-per-view, TLC. John Cena would return during the first Raw of 2015 and to the surprise of Cena in the middle of one of his promos, Lesnar's music would hit and he would also make his return. Before Lesnar could get to the ring, Triple H's music hits and he makes his way out onto the stage. He declares that at the Royal Rumble, since neither has settled the score, we will see John Cena take on Brock Lesnar once again... because that's what's best for business.
"Daniel Bryan"
Bryan has no wrestled since Summerslam due to his neck injury. There is currently no definite time frame for his return.
"Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose"
Ever since the split of the Shield, the most dominant team of their time, Dean Ambrose has done everything possible to ruin Seth Rollins' career. Rollins turned his back on Ambrose and Roman Reigns in order to align himself with the Authority but it has yet to pay off in his favor and that is in thanks part to Ambrose. Ambrose has challenged Rollins but the the Authority has continuously bailed him out but either sending Rollins home or banning Ambrose from the building.
However, Ambrose challenged Rollins to a match for Wrestlemania and if he doesn't enter the Rumble or doesn't win the Rumble, he will be forced to face multiple challenges as per Triple H and if he passes those challenges, he will get to choose what type of match he'd like to face Rollins in at Wrestlemania.
"The United States Championship"
Sheamus and Antonio Cesaro battled at Summerslam for the United States Championship that saw Sheamus retain. However, Cesaro would earn another shot at the title at Night of Champions and would finally take the title off of Sheamus. From that point forward, Cesaro has successfully defended the title at every pay-per-view since. For the Royal Rumble, however, he entered his name into the 40-man Rumble Match in hopes of earning a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Wrestlemania. Sheamus would do the same.
"Intercontinental Championship"
After winning the Intercontinental Championship, Wade Barrett dropped bad news week in and week out on his opponents. The Barrett of Bad News had tough battles against the likes of Antonio Cesaro and NXT up-and-comer Sami Zayn but was able to retain the title for an impressive streak of 5 months. Will it be his time to challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or will he be stuck in the mid-card?
"The Tag-Team Division"
Stardust and Goldust would continue their domination of the tag-team division after winning the titles off of the toughest team in the division, the Wyatt Family. Ever since the two got together, Stardust and Goldust have gone undefeated as a tag-team and hope to continue their dominance throughout the 2015 year as well.
"The Showoff and the Movie Star"
Dolph Ziggler has made it his sole purpose in the WWE to ruin the face of the Miz. Through out the months leading up to the Royal Rumble, Ziggler has come within inches of getting to his face but the Miz has had luck on his side. Stephanie McMahon decided that while they should both also be in the Rumble, they will face off against each other in singles competition at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
"Money in the Bank Cash-In"
On the December 29th Edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns faced off against Luke Harper in a No-DQ match. The match lasted a half an hour and saw Luke Harper come out on top after interference from Erick Rowan. Rowan and Harper would put Reigns through hell, finishing him off with Rowan hitting a splash from the top rope through a table.
As the Wyatt Family began walking up the ramp, Alexander Rusev's music hits and he comes running out with his Money in the Bank briefcase. He hands it to Mike Chioda and Lana begins yelling at him to ring the bell. Reigns began pulling himself up and told Chioda he was fine, so he yelled for the bell to be rung. After hitting a splash to Reigns in the corner, Rusev begins to pull him into the Accolade.
Just as he gets the second arm pulled up Jack Swagger's music hits and he comes running down the ring with Zeb Colter walking out behind him, yelling to get him. Lana jumps into the way but Rusev has already broken the Accolade and is yelling at Swagger in Bulgarian. Jack Swagger begins to back off because he doesn't want to hurt Lana. As Swagger backs up the ramp, Rusev turns around to get back on Reigns but Reigns nails him with a huge spear! Lana began yelling in Russian as Reigns throws an arm over Rusev and picks up the victory, voiding the Money in the Bank Contract and turning Rusev into only the second superstar to ever lose on his cash-in.
"The Battle of Patriotism"
Jack Swagger and Alexander Rusev continued their rivalry as their mouth pieces, Zeb Colter and Lana continued dropping their best promos ever. After Swagger cost Rusev his WWE World Heavyweight Championship shot, The Authority would set up a submission match to attempt to put an end to the rivalry once and for all.
"Diva of the Year"
Paige has continued her dominance of the Diva's Division in the absence of AJ Lee and has ran through all comers of her title. At the Royal Rumble, she will take on a newly over-confident Alicia Fox. Could this be the end of Paige's reign or will she continue to look to break AJ Lee's record setting reign before Lee returns?
"The New Nation"
After months of finding themselves opening the show, or not being on the show at all, Xavier Woods brought together Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth in order to stand up against the Authority and prove that they are not a bunch of scrubs that are used as fillers. They've yet to go all-out against the Authority but the group have been seen planning but it is not known what they plan on doing.
"Surprises and Call-Ups"
Since Summerslam, the WWE has had a surprise return and a few call-ups from NXT. Former champion John Morrison made his return to the squared circle and immediately made his presence felt in the mid-card. Sami Zayn was called up from NXT and showed why he had multiple matches that were considered "Match of the Year" by the WWE Universe. Mojo Rawley, CJ Parker and Scott Dawson have also made appearances on the main show but have not had any success.