There's so much great wrestling in WWE right now that WWE fans want to see that new breed of athletic grappling reflected in the upper echelon of the product. Furthermore, when WWE has presented the fans with years of compelling and charismatic performers as main eventers (yes, even John Cena is compelling and charismatic), Roman Reigns still appearing less than comfortable delivering promos is disconcerting. For two years, WWE has failed at the Royal Rumble. Though largely unprepared for the spotlight then, 2014 should not have been the year of Dave Batista winning the Royal Rumble, instead it should've been Roman Reigns claiming the top spot. As well, 2015 could've easily been the year of Daniel Bryan or Dolph Ziggler. In fact, the Rumble coming down to the two of them shaking hands and having an exciting five minute mini-match with Ziggler winning (and Bryan raising Ziggler's hand to give him the rub afterwards) would've been perfect. Instead, WWE's fans are forced to wait as Vince McMahon is clearly in the mode of building Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, with Reigns' Rumble win feeling completely anti-climactic. As for Rollins, his three-way performance with John Cena and Brock Lesnar was captivating, and likely made fans more angst ridden because of the quality level of the main event.
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.
