10 New Directions For WWE After Royal Rumble 2017
What lies ahead on the road to WrestleMania 33?
WWE Royal Rumble 2017 is in the books, and while the show didn't deliver on the shocks and surprises many had called for, it was a strong pay-per-view to start the year. Sure, there was no Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, or Finn Balor, and Randy Orton is a divisive Rumble winner, but the Universal and WWE Title matches were outstanding and the Rumble was full of fun spots.
John Cena and AJ Styles gave WWE their first 2017 Match of the Year contender, and Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns wasn't far behind either. The Rumble saw an epic hour-long Iron Man run from Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman destroying everything in his path, and a huge brawl between Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and Goldberg. An up-and-down night, but an eventful one.
The Royal Rumble always acts as a springboard towards WrestleMania, and last night was no different. We now have clear indications of what Taker, Randy Orton, and countless others will be doing on the road to Orlando, but it remains to be seen where the likes of AJ Styles and Kevin Owens are heading. Nonetheless, the Rumble has set the tone for 2017, and it's time to start building towards the year's biggest event.
Where are WWE heading after last night, and what has changed for their biggest superstars?
10. A New Challenger Approaches
The Royal Rumble’s Kickoff Show didn’t quite deliver on high quality in-ring action, but its three matches were far from inconsequential. The first pitted three of SmackDown’s most popular women (Nikki Bella, Naomi, and Becky Lynch) against the brand’s biggest villainesses (Natalya, Mickie James, and Alexa Bliss), and established clear future directions for everyone involved.
Natalya and Nikki will continue their feud, and Becky will splinter away from the title scene to settle her issues with Mickie. The real talking point comes from the decisive pinfall, however: Naomi pinned Bliss, the SmackDown Women’s Champion, to secure the win for her team, and presumably a title shot in the near future.
This isn’t the first time Naomi has pinned Alexa, and she defeated the current champion in a short match back at No Mercy in October. Alexa overturned the loss just over a week later, but she won’t take kindly to taking the fall last night, and they’ll likely fight for the belt at Elimination Chamber on February 12th.
Two weeks isn’t an ideal timescale to build a title program, but every major player in SD’s women’s division left the Rumble with a clear direction to follow. Naomi vs. Alexa will take centre stage, and it’ll be refreshing to see Bliss face a new challenger after spending months feuding with Becky.