Tonight, on the WWE Raw open discussion thread:
The Authority always has a plan. In the 2016 Royal Rumble Match last night, Triple H returned to action by entering the bout at No. 30, eliminating Roman Reigns and capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. How will this shakeup affect The Road to WrestleMania, which continues tonight on Raw? (via WWE.com)
Our five-point preview:
1. Be sure you’ve read The Best and Worst of Royal Rumble. Here’s the quick version: Triple H is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, AJ Styles showed up, Sami Zayn eliminated Kevin Owens from a Royal Rumble and amazingly none of this is fantasy booking or a joke.
2. If they follow a Triple H title victory with anything less than a 20-minute, self-congratulating show-opening promo, let’s consider it a win.
3. It’s reasonable to except tonight to be AJ Styles’ Raw debut, so that’s something to look forward to. A Styles/Owens feud bleeding into Owens/Zayn is something we can all get excited for. And hey, maybe Daniel Bryan will return from the ether and give us a surreal modern Ring of Honor on WWE TV.
4. Kalisto is the new United States Champion, but Alberto Del Rio gets a rematch via the dreaded Rematch Clause. Will Kalisto lose the belt on Raw, then win it again on Smackdown? Is it sad that there’s a good chance this would actually happen?
5. This:
BREAKING NEWS: Rumors are running rampant that a major star returns to #Raw tonight on the road to @WrestleMania! #WWE
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2016
That’s Bryan, right? But Raw is in Miami, so … The Rock? The Undertaker? Cesaro with a pair of Jax arms?
We’re including 10 of our favorite comments from tonight’s open discussion thread in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of Raw column, so reply to your favorites with a +1 to nominate them for consideration. Enjoy the show, and try not to lose it when the “major star” returning is just Triple H.
