So if Bryan wins the Rumble

[Instant Classic]

Do we see the Shield triple threat? Who does Ziggler face?

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Bryan's not winning the Rumble. If he was going to he would've been a surprise entrant. WWE knows Philly would probably shit all over Reigns winning if they got the Bryan surprise and he lost anyway. Announcing him in advance takes some of that sting out ergo it just confirms more that Reigns is winning the Rumble.

[Bub (BLM)]

Dec 30, 2014 18:54:29 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

Bryan's not winning the Rumble. If he was going to he would've been a surprise entrant. WWE knows Philly would probably shit all over Reigns winning if they got the Bryan surprise and he lost anyway. Announcing him in advance takes some of that sting out ergo it just confirms more that Reigns is winning the Rumble.

I don't see how that makes much sense. That Philly crowd will shit on Reigns winning over Bryan regardless of anything. Surprise entrant, announced beforehand, whatever. That is a very rowdy and very "smart" town. The only babyfaces who could realistically win and not get booed other than Bryan would be Ziggler or Ambrose. That's why my biggest concern is that this is all some kind of bait-and-switch, and DB won't make it into the match. Because here's the thing, if he enters that Rumble, the other 29 guys are all going to be the biggest heels on the planet as far as that crowd is concerned. He basically has to win.

Besides, he never lost the WWE Championship, so he's really the logical way to go anyway.

[Deleted]

I don't see Ziggler getting any notable Mania match. He's never had a one-on-one match there and I don't see that changing.

[Mayonnaise]

Said in the prediction thread Roman beats Seth (Seth successfully cashes in on Bryan that night) and Ziggler faces Miz and Sandow in a triple threat.

[fw91]

i'd say have Ziggler team with cena and sting to take on rollins/hhh and a third guy (sheamus?) for control of the company.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Dec 30, 2014 20:17:35 GMT -5 Bub (BLM) said:

Dec 30, 2014 18:54:29 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

Bryan's not winning the Rumble. If he was going to he would've been a surprise entrant. WWE knows Philly would probably shit all over Reigns winning if they got the Bryan surprise and he lost anyway. Announcing him in advance takes some of that sting out ergo it just confirms more that Reigns is winning the Rumble.

I don't see how that makes much sense. That Philly crowd will shit on Reigns winning over Bryan regardless of anything. Surprise entrant, announced beforehand, whatever. That is a very rowdy and very "smart" town. The only babyfaces who could realistically win and not get booed other than Bryan would be Ziggler or Ambrose. That's why my biggest concern is that this is all some kind of bait-and-switch, and DB won't make it into the match. Because here's the thing, if he enters that Rumble, the other 29 guys are all going to be the biggest heels on the planet as far as that crowd is concerned. He basically has to win.

Besides, he never lost the WWE Championship, so he's really the logical way to go anyway.

I'm not denying that. I just think this is WWE's version of damage control. They understand that Bryan is beloved and how excited people get for surprise entrants. Combining those two creates a one hundred percent chance of that crowd rejecting anyone other than Bryan. If he's announced beforehand at least that takes out the "Oh my god, Bryan's back. Special moment" type of reaction because we all know it's coming. I still expect the WFC to boo the hell out of Reigns anyway because it is Philly but I think WWE are trying to avoid it being as toxic as it was last year.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

We get The Shield triple threat, because The Authority tries to screw over Bryan, Reigns, and Ambrose at the Rumble, but Bryan wins.

Ziggler faces a newly turned Authority Sheamus.

[BigWill]

I was also thinking we'd get a Shield triple threat if someone other than Reigns were to win the Royal Rumble.

Would be a lot better way to test Reigns to see if he's ready for a big singles push than to just suddenly throw him into the main event at WrestleMania.

[Deleted]

Dec 31, 2014 6:32:50 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

Dec 30, 2014 20:17:35 GMT -5 Bub (BLM) said:

I don't see how that makes much sense. That Philly crowd will shit on Reigns winning over Bryan regardless of anything. Surprise entrant, announced beforehand, whatever. That is a very rowdy and very "smart" town. The only babyfaces who could realistically win and not get booed other than Bryan would be Ziggler or Ambrose. That's why my biggest concern is that this is all some kind of bait-and-switch, and DB won't make it into the match. Because here's the thing, if he enters that Rumble, the other 29 guys are all going to be the biggest heels on the planet as far as that crowd is concerned. He basically has to win.

Besides, he never lost the WWE Championship, so he's really the logical way to go anyway.

I'm not denying that. I just think this is WWE's version of damage control. They understand that Bryan is beloved and how excited people get for surprise entrants. Combining those two creates a one hundred percent chance of that crowd rejecting anyone other than Bryan. If he's announced beforehand at least that takes out the "Oh my god, Bryan's back. Special moment" type of reaction because we all know it's coming. I still expect the WFC to boo the hell out of Reigns anyway because it is Philly but I think WWE are trying to avoid it being as toxic as it was last year.

Except there's the big question mark of why put him in the match at all in that case. Unless they're just trying to use him to sell the PPV to some extra people, but you could just as easily say that's the reason they announced him in advance.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Dec 31, 2014 6:44:46 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

Dec 31, 2014 6:32:50 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

I'm not denying that. I just think this is WWE's version of damage control. They understand that Bryan is beloved and how excited people get for surprise entrants. Combining those two creates a one hundred percent chance of that crowd rejecting anyone other than Bryan. If he's announced beforehand at least that takes out the "Oh my god, Bryan's back. Special moment" type of reaction because we all know it's coming. I still expect the WFC to boo the hell out of Reigns anyway because it is Philly but I think WWE are trying to avoid it being as toxic as it was last year.

Except there's the big question mark of why put him in the match at all in that case. Unless they're just trying to use him to sell the PPV to some extra people, but you could just as easily say that's the reason they announced him in advance.

Because with the network struggling they need as many people invested in the road to Wrestlemania as possible. Announcing Bryan in advance takes care of both their concerns.

[Deleted]

Dec 31, 2014 6:47:08 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

Dec 31, 2014 6:44:46 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

Except there's the big question mark of why put him in the match at all in that case. Unless they're just trying to use him to sell the PPV to some extra people, but you could just as easily say that's the reason they announced him in advance.

Because with the network struggling they need as many people invested in the road to Wrestlemania as possible. Announcing Bryan in advance takes care of both their concerns.

I wouldn't really say so. They don't have the commitment anymore, so doing a bait and switch with Bryan to try to get people to tune in for the Rumble so they can have their WrestleMania money's just likely to piss people off. Plus they could still always just have him return three weeks later or at Fast Lane or something if really desired.

[Pushed to the Moon]

Ziggler will be eliminated 3rd from last in the Andre battle royal.

[Allie Kitsune]

I still don't think the Philly crowd is going to be as smarky as most people here think. Most Philly smarks abandoned going to WWE shows long ago.

That said, even the casuals from Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg, Delaware, etc. who DO go to the show will be disappointed if Bryan doesn't win, but they won't shit on Reigns, Ziggler, or someone else (possibly a returning Sheamus?) nearly as hard as a true smark crowd (which these days amounts to either Chicago or Montreal) would.

However, if the post-Rumble RAW is still in the general area (either still at the Wells Fargo, or at the PPL Center in Allentown), I wouldn't be surprised to see more smarks that didn't attend the PPV show up to try to hijack the show.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Dec 31, 2014 8:23:55 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

I still don't think the Philly crowd is going to be as smarky as most people here think. Most Philly smarks abandoned going to WWE shows long ago.

That said, even the casuals from Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg, Delaware, etc. who DO go to the show will be disappointed if Bryan doesn't win, but they won't shit on Reigns, Ziggler, or someone else (possibly a returning Sheamus?) nearly as hard as a true smark crowd (which these days amounts to either Chicago or Montreal) would.

However, if the post-Rumble RAW is still in the general area, I wouldn't be surprised to see more smarks that didn't attend the PPV show up to try to hijack the show.

I know what you mean but last year, people were saying that about Pittsburgh. They've never had that reputation as a "smarky" crowd like a Chicago, Montreal or Philadelphia, but they still ended up giving out one of the most toxic crowd reactions there's ever been.

I think some people still underestimate how over Bryan genuinely is. Like the RAW crowd this week in Washington DC wasn't that hot, but Bryan still got an absolute nuclear pop when he announced he wasn't retiring.

[Allie Kitsune]

Dec 31, 2014 8:28:30 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

Dec 31, 2014 8:23:55 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

I still don't think the Philly crowd is going to be as smarky as most people here think. Most Philly smarks abandoned going to WWE shows long ago.

That said, even the casuals from Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg, Delaware, etc. who DO go to the show will be disappointed if Bryan doesn't win, but they won't shit on Reigns, Ziggler, or someone else (possibly a returning Sheamus?) nearly as hard as a true smark crowd (which these days amounts to either Chicago or Montreal) would.

However, if the post-Rumble RAW is still in the general area, I wouldn't be surprised to see more smarks that didn't attend the PPV show up to try to hijack the show.

I know what you mean but last year, people were saying that about Pittsburgh. They've never had that reputation as a "smarky" crowd like a Chicago, Montreal or Philadelphia, but they still ended up giving out one of the most toxic crowd reactions there's ever been.

I think some people still underestimate how over Bryan genuinely is. Like the RAW crowd this week in Washington DC wasn't that hot, but Bryan still got an absolute nuclear pop when he announced he wasn't retiring.

I almost want to see the most Nuclear Crowd Meltdown possible.

Enter Bryan at #2, and have him fight through to the end, only for #30 to be Orton and Orton wins.

Then have RAW the next night in Chicago.

I love Orton to death, but even I'm willing to sacrifice him in this scenario just to see the crowd burn RAW to the ground.

[Steveweiser]

I think it's Bryan/Rollins at Mania. Rollins cashes in on Cena, Bryan wins the Rumble, Seth uses the Authority to be a roadblock for Bryan again, Bryan overcomes them again and beats Rollins at Mania for the title. Sure it's only a two month reign for Rollins, but he could have a longer reign further down the road.

[Allie Kitsune]

Dec 31, 2014 8:41:20 GMT -5 Steveweiser said:

I think it's Bryan/Rollins at Mania. Rollins cashes in on Cena, Bryan wins the Rumble, Seth uses the Authority to be a roadblock for Bryan again, Bryan overcomes them again and beats Rollins at Mania for the title. Sure it's only a two month reign for Rollins, but he could have a longer reign further down the road.

Considering that I think the Front Office would rather troll DB fans, it's almost more likely that they do have him win, then have him beat Brock, only for Rollins to cash in on him immediately and win.

The only question there is if that would ruin Rollins...

[gnr123]

Dec 31, 2014 8:28:30 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

Dec 31, 2014 8:23:55 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

I still don't think the Philly crowd is going to be as smarky as most people here think. Most Philly smarks abandoned going to WWE shows long ago.

That said, even the casuals from Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg, Delaware, etc. who DO go to the show will be disappointed if Bryan doesn't win, but they won't shit on Reigns, Ziggler, or someone else (possibly a returning Sheamus?) nearly as hard as a true smark crowd (which these days amounts to either Chicago or Montreal) would.

However, if the post-Rumble RAW is still in the general area, I wouldn't be surprised to see more smarks that didn't attend the PPV show up to try to hijack the show.

I know what you mean but last year, people were saying that about Pittsburgh. They've never had that reputation as a "smarky" crowd like a Chicago, Montreal or Philadelphia, but they still ended up giving out one of the most toxic crowd reactions there's ever been.

I think some people still underestimate how over Bryan genuinely is. Like the RAW crowd this week in Washington DC wasn't that hot, but Bryan still got an absolute nuclear pop when he announced he wasn't retiring.

That's true. A lot of Daniel Bryan fans grew up with him, saw his rise to the top, and want him to continue to be at the top. Kid, adults, teens, everybody loves Daniel Bryan. He's got the underdog look plus the every-mans story. It works for him and people can relate to him. Having someone like Reigns win the Rumble will just be like last year, because, just like Batista last year, Reigns has no reason to win the Rumble. Fans are going to be cheering for Daniel Bryan to win, and if he doesn't I think we'll see the same backlash we did last year.

[Deleted]

Bryan has his rematch for the title to claim anyway, does he not? Or will WWE forget that magically?