6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 5 - Results & Review)

2. The Fatal-4-Way Direction

Nick Aldis Paul Heyman
WWE.com

Any combo of Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton, LA Knight or AJ Styles was always going to rock come Royal Rumble, but Triple H decided to continue Christmas gluttony by having everything. That's problematic, because a Fatal-4-Way situation heavily dilutes each man's issues with The Bloodline.

You could see all of this coming a mile away too.

GM Nick Aldis informing a horrified Paul Heyman that The Bloodline's main event ambush had landed Roman in hot water led to some brilliant facials, but it also made the "Wise Man" look dumb for not seeing what was around the corner. Heel stupidity can work, but not with someone as switched on as Heyman.

Randy would've been the top pick to go one-on-one with Reigns at the Rumble. AJ would've been a neat choice too, and LA was arguably lesser because he's already worked opposite Roman during this Bloodline story. Lumping all three at the wall hoping they'll stick is a little lazy.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.