4. Sting Wins The Royal Rumble, Chooses To Fight Triple H
The winner of the Royal Rumble doesn't necessarily have to wrestle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If say, Sting entered the Royal Rumble (and won, in a similar fashion to how Vince McMahon won through unusual means), he could forego the WWE Championship opportunity for a shot instead at the man that made it happen in Triple H. The idea of a group of goons (say, Kane, Erick Rowan, Big Show and Luke Harper) all gang up on Sting, who enters the Rumble in the place left open by the still fired Dolph Ziggler (who Sting helped win the Survivor Series). Sting cleans house, but eventually is overwhelmed near the end of the match by the foursome. Guys like Bryan, Reigns, etc. are unable to stop Triple H's headhunters in the Rumble (and are eliminated), and when Sting gets cornered, Hunter enters the ring and starts in with a promo. Of course, Dolph Ziggler hops the rail and swoops into action, helping Sting fight off his adversaries. Sting eats a discus clothesline from Harper though, and is laid out. As Ziggler's back is turned, he takes the KO punch from the Big Show, who holds him up so that Hunter can clobber him with say, the ring bell. Hunter takes forever, which allows Ziggler to regain his bearings enough to duck the bell, and Show gets hit. Ziggler hits Triple H with the Zig Zag, and then takes the fight with Kane, Harper and Rowan into the stands. This leaves Big Show and Sting (plus a downed and selling Triple H) in the ring. Sting gets up, notices that Big Show is staggered by the ropes, and lifts him over the top rope. The Rumble ends with Sting and Triple H having a staredown, with Sting holding a WWE Championship shot that he offers to Ziggler, as he wants Triple H.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
