WHAT NOW WWE?

Two months. That is the time frame in which WWE has to get Roman Reigns ready for the main event at Wrestlemania 31. Both in character development, and to get over (again) with the fans. Who have somewhat faded since his injury and return to the ring. Unlike Daniel Bryan. He hasn't seemed to lost anything in the ring, nor with the audience. Two also signifies how many consecutive years in which WWE and the Royal Rumble wasn't as well received as they had hoped. Last year, after Daniel Bryan not even being in the match, fans reacted. They reacted in a way we haven't seen in a long time if ever, and more surprisingly, WWE sought to correct the situation. And did just that. Daniel Bryan pulled double duty at Wrestlemania 30, ended up in the main event, and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In hind sight, they didn't really have a choice. Fans had "taken over" episodes of Raw and Smackdown!, and would have likely continued if Bryan didn't win. Add to the fact that Undertaker's streak ended. Again, not really a choice.

What about this year? True, one could easily say that the Rumble took place in Philly, one of the most vocal wrestling towns, and that once they change cities fans will be on board with Roman Reigns winning, and going on to main event at Wrestlemania 31. They might not. Reigns is part of the future. No doubt. Take away the injury and he may be ready right now, but it doesn't feel like he is. Weak promos (which apparently were written by Vince), and really no build up to where he is about to go. To make things worse, it is hard to argue those who felt Daniel Bryan should have won the Royal Rumble match. Despite being out of action for so long due to a near career ending injury, Daniel Bryan is just as over with fans as he was before. One could also point out that he did so with out staying on TV, which they did with Stone Cold Steve Austin when he first injured his neck. And if he had won the event, wouldn't have needed someone to come out to try and change fan reaction (was Rock planned or was it a save attempt?). Although we are approaching 31. Wrestlemania 30 is still fresh in peoples brains, and would have made for a pretty sweet cherry on top of a year long sundae to to speak. Extremely hard to argue is that Daniel Bryan would also make for a much better match with Brock Lesner. Match quality, and a legit (and not overused like with Rey) underdog storyline. Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesner has the possibility to look more like Goldberg Vs Lesner a la Wrestlemania 20.

With this massive storm coming in, Raw is coming live from WWE Headquarters, so we may not really see how WWE reacts to the situation until next week. Could it all depend on how the fans react post-Rumble? Will the fans react? Will we see them take over Raw and Smackdown! again? Guess we will see.

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NGN's ROYAL RUMBLE 2015 PREDICTIONS

"The Road To Wrestlemania" begins tonight at the 2015 Royal Rumble. A night that will begin to set the stage for Wrestlemania 31, with the winner of the Royal Rumble match earns a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania. A night in which, like Wrestlemania, anything can happen. Surprises, shockers, triumph, and heartbreak. Anything.

Of course, everyone has a chosen favorite or the person they know are likely to win the Royal Rumble match (as well as the others on the card), and we here at Non-Geeky Nerd are no different. Growing up it was a lot easier, pick Hogan, HBK, or Stone Cold to win, and chances are you'd be right.This year, based on crowd reactions, it is as hard as ever to really pick one. Rumor mills aren't helping the case either. Even the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match is a bit hard to determine. Yes, Brock is likely to be defending at Wrestlemania, but doesn't mean he wins the triple threat at the Rumble. Regardless, here are NGN's Royal Rumble 2015 predictions...

New Age Outlaws Vs The Acsension
Winners: The Acension
After the Legends beat down, it wouldn't really make sense to have them lose a match. Too bad things weren't different, having a run of legendary tag teams to run through with Legion Of Doom putting them over. Hey, perhaps we could see Animal mange these guys.

Bella Twins Vs Paige & Natalya Neidhart
Winners: Bella Twins
Won't lie, not really sure what the story line is here. Perhaps a feud between Paige and Natty will stem from this, giving fans a decent Divas match at Wrestlemania. What? Think they wouldn't do it to take a shot at CM Punk and AJ Lee? Perhaps not.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
The Miz & Damian Mizdow Vs The Usos
Winners: The Usos
Losing the match, combined with a Rumble match mishap or swerve, and we got The Miz Vs Damian Mizdow before fans begin to grow tired of this. Plus, it is time to reward Damian Sandow/Mizdow for making everything thrown at him work. And he's been thrown some garbage since losing his MITB cash-in match against John Cena.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins Vs John Cena Vs Brock Lesner
Winner: Brock Lesner
Obvious answer. But, here is where it gets unlikely, next PPV is Cena Vs Rollins for the MITB briefcase. Cena cashes in on the winner of the Royal Rumble after they beat Lesner at Wrestlemania 31. Jonn's next reign ties him with Ric Flair. That alone will garner heat from the purists. And sets the stage for the heel turn that is over due.

2015 Royal Rumble Match
Surprise Entrants: Dudley Boys, JBL, Rob Van Dam (does he count as a surprise?)
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Roman Reigns isn't quite there yet. He is good, but not main event Wrestlemania good. With only a short period, they need someone who is proven, over with the fans, and able to steal the show. And up until his injury, Daniel Bryan was showing that was him. Also, makes for a better opponent to face Brock. Vince and the WWE would likely take the "David Vs Goliath" or "Underdog" route, but it would make sense in this situation (and not be overused like it was before and after Rey won gold). My Cena prediction is far fetched, but this opens the door for Daniel Bryan to face Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler (heel) for the gold.

ROYAL RUMBLE 2015: THE ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA 31 STARTS NOW

It's that time of year again, and for some, the Royal Rumble surpasses even Wrestlemania. Even my girlfriend loves the Royal Rumble, and she isn't even a fan of wrestling. It isn't hard to see why, the surprise entrants, one man wrecking crews, and setting the stage for the grandest of them all, Wrestlemania.

This years Rumble is no different. Even more so in that heavy rumor was that Vince and company hadn't fully decided on who would win the Royal Rumble match, and go on to main event Wrestlemania. Until his injury, Roman Reigns was the rumored favorite to win it all but that is slightly up in the air since his return as he (and more so creative) get a grasp on his character and connecting with the crowd. He's good, but is he ready to headline in the main event? Then there is Daniel Bryan who has returned from an near career ending injury. He hasn't lost a step in the ring, nor with the crowd. A match between Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesner is appealing to many. Dean Ambrose has been over with the audience, who's left for him to face  before getting the nod? Will there be a surprise winner? Somebody that nobody expected? Although generally winning the Rumble match means main eventing, there could always be a swerve of some sorts, changing who actually headlines. It has to be safe to assume that at least Lesner will be defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 31. Otherwise, what was the point of his minimal appearances while champ?
With so many bulls in the Rumble this year, it will interesting to see who shows their dominance and clear the ring? Kane is close to breaking a record, Roman Reigns is coming off of last years performance, Ryback and Big Show are getting slight pushes in regards to power. I would mention Rusev, however I have a feeling that a lot of people will turn on the Russian eliminating him quick. That could be the opposite of what happens, also.
Who will make a surprise return this year? A bit surprised Daniel Bryan and Reigns returned before the Rumble. Daniel Bryan making his return at the Rumble after last years snub would have gotten a massive pop from the crowd. Will there be anyone making a one night only appearance this year? Was the tag-team spot on Raw a peek at who could be in? Nash, X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and JBL look like they are good to go. Rumor mills have the Dudley Boys making a return to the WWE at the Rumble. With Bully Ray/Bubba Ray not under contract with TNA, could we see him perhaps make a full-time return?
What else could happen in the Royal Rumble? Although he squashed the rumor on twitter, who's to say Goldust won't be looking to exit soon, and perhaps we will see the seeds planted for a match between Goldie and Stardust. Perhaps the Damian Mizdow/The Miz situation will evolve and Mizdow eliminates The Miz...or we see him eliminate himself. And then there is always, "what will Kofi do?" which can be entertaining, but also somewhat pointless.

There's also the other matches on the card. There is a tag team divas match with the Bella Twins squaring off against Paige and Natalya Neidhart. Another tag match between the New Age Outlaws and The Ascension. As well as a WWE Tag Team Championship match with champions the Usos facing The Miz and Damian Mizdow. Then off course there is the triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with Brock Lesner Vs John Cena Vs Seth Rollins. However, like mentioned before, it is almost a sure bet that Lesner will be champion for Wrestlemania 31. That being said, easily can reclaim the title after the Rumble. Cena's next title reign ties him with Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Been a bit since someone cashed in the MITB briefcase to get into Wrestlemania's main event. Could Seth cash in and succeed?
What about Sting? Doubtful he will be in the match, but could we see him appear and alter the outcomes? And if the Undertaker is going to return, possibly to face Bray Wyatt, will the process begin at the Royal Rumble? Regardless of everything, the road to Wrestlemania, begins now.

For Non-Geeky Nerd's 2015 Royal Rumble predictions, click...(HERE)

VINCE MCMAHON. IS IT TIME?

For quite a few years now, I have been reading both articles and comments on how Vince McMahon has lost touch with his audience and needs to either change or walk away from the empire that he built. Up until recently I could not see it, the aftermath of the Monday Night Wars was expected to be "not as good". There were also enough good, to outweigh the bad. It is entertainment, and that means everything is hit or miss.

With reports saying that it is Vince himself writing the promos for Roman Reigns, which have been pretty weak, it is causing me to see the "haters" points of view. And now am curious if Vinnie Mac has ever really been in tune with the fans since before the gimmick era became unwanted by the audience. The edgier "Attitude Era" was after all inspired by Paul Heyman's vision with ECW. And without it, would have lost the war to Ted Turner, Eric Bischoff, and WCW. And with Reigns, it is important for his promos to be up to par as he is being prepped for main event and championship status.
Then there are some of the choices made since the launch of the WWE Network. All of which were likely made simply to somehow boost sales of the network. Small things like stalled pushes, characters being squashed, Brock Lesner being WWE World Heavyweight Champion while being more of a showcase performer. To big things, like the aforementioned Lesner ending the Wrestlemania undefeated streak of the Undertaker. Which I had no real problem with, but the rumors were that Vince made the choice, and did so for the WWE Network.
It is even somewhat apparent that he still loves his muscular heroes, and giant villains (although the bad guys are at least not obese anymore). It could be safe to say that it is Triple H who is behind guys like Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins are in the forefront. Daniel Bryan had more to do with the fans. Although they are characters that I like, Roman Reigns and Ryback must be "Vince McMahon Guys". Big, muscular, and a bit weak on the mic. Although Reigns just needs a better script to better himself.

So, are we starting to see signs that it is time for Vince to pass complete control over to Stephanie and Paul (Triple H)? Is it long over due like many others have said? The one question is for sure, will he even know when it is time to step away? 2014 could have been an epic year, and it wasn't just the injuries that hindered that from happening. 2015 is already looking good with the late and beyond great Macho Man Randy Savage will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. The possibility of seeing Sting perform in a WWE ring on the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania. And now there is a strong rumor that the Undertaker could face Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania.