RJ’s Two Cents - How the Royal Rumble Can Validate the Future of the WWE

By RJ Marceau

When you look at the card for Sunday's Royal Rumble in each match features new or newer wrestlers or stables. The WWE in the past 5 years has failed to make new stars and resort back to John Cena, Randy Orton, HHH and Brock Lesnar. The WWE gives these new superstars start and stop pushes that make it hard for fans to invest in them. Looking at all the matches on this card there are future stars or a star in each match.

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The New Day vs. The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship

When you look at this match you say to yourselves who else in the tag team division deserves to contend for the New Days championships. The answer would be nobody. The WWE has failed to generate any compelling tag teams in forever. The Usos have been in the tag title scene for years, The Dudleys have lost to the New Day on a few occasions, Lucha Dragons lost and Sin Cara is hurt. Besides the three teams I named there aren’t any new stars. The New Day for a time was hot and it seems as if the WWE may cool them down by possibly dropping the belts to The Usos. If The New Day wins who else contends for the gold?

I would say call up Enzo & Cass or Gable & Jordan but the WWE has teams they could make credible. Remember when Harper & Rowan were having classic matches in 2014 with the Usos and failed to give them the tag titles? They have done next to nothing ever since that. The WWE have made The New Day a good tag team but feeding them to the status quo of the tag team division does nothing for them. If the WWE were smart they would invest in a New Day vs. Harper and Rowan feud. Harper and Rowan are two guys who if given the proper push could be relevant.


Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch for the Divas Championship

So the Divas Revolution was a fail and no one besides Charlotte really got over. Yes, the fans love Sasha Banks but she didn’t do anything impressive on the main roster to get over. As champion Charlotte has defeated Nikki Bella and Paige. When it comes to the divas division the WWE have lacked star power from the division besides Paige and AJ Lee. Nikki Bella was the longest reigning Divas Champion ever but she has been in the company for 8 years. They have failed to make anyone besides Paige and Nikki credible since Nikki wiped out the whole division last year. The WWE fails to make stars and thinks the crowd will just buy into someone just because they beat the champion in a non-title bout.
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The WWE has a perfect opportunity to make a new Divas star in Becky Lynch. She is over with the crowd, good in-ring, good on the mic and a new face. I don’t care if you give her the title till WrestleMania or Fastlane. She would have held the Divas title and someone beating her would be more credible after she won the title than just beating Becky Lynch who contended and lost.

SEE ALSO: "RJ's Two Cents - My Top 5 Favorite WWE Royal Rumbles Since Becoming a Fan in 2002"


Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship

When Kalisto won the United States Championship I was excited. I thought the WWE would finally put faith into a new talent and push him. Instead they have him drop the belt the next night to Del Rio. The logic makes no sense other than the League of Nations looks weaker then The Social Outcasts since the group is a bunch of losers and with Del Rio as champion they look somewhat strong. That is the WWE's fault, though. Imagine if after Rusev lost to Cena, he went on to win the Intercontinental Championship and was unstoppable like he was the U.S. champ. Sheamus could still be Mr. Money in the Bank if they didn’t botch that attempt and Alberto Del Rio as United States Champion. The group wouldn’t necessarily need the U.S. title to keep the group looking strong.
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I know the WWE can’t push everybody but they really need to look at the repercussions of how they book these young superstars. I know you want Roman Reigns a strong champion but he can afford to lose a non-title match to Rusev or Alberto Del Rio via distraction. Instead they have these guys loss time after time to him or Dean Ambrose and no one gives two craps about them. Kalisto should be in WWE’s future plans for a Latino star but the money in him is a singles guy not as a part of the Lucha Dragons.


Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship

These guys are two of the WWE’s future stars. In this match, they need to tear the house down. Either guy can afford to lose but the WWE should make them both look strong. If either Ambrose or Owens loses have them enter the Rumble and be one of the last competitors left. They had a great match and a good performance in the Rumble can solidify them as a top talent. Either guy has the ability to win the Royal Rumble so losing this match and winning the Rumble would be cool.

Kevin Owens winning the Royal Rumble would be amazing and he could say that he had his eyes on a bigger prize. Owens needs a big match at WrestleMania to solidify himself and I would say the same for Dean Ambrose. This match should be one of the best Last Man Standing matches of all time due to both competitors being amazing in ring talents. The future is bright for both these guys and the WWE will have to try and mess them up.

SEE ALSO: "RJ's Two Cents - Royal Rumble WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match Predictions"


The 2016 Royal Rumble Match

The WWE has 30 guys that they could invest into being the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Winning this match and being booked correctly could make most these superstars relevant. The issue is the three favorites are Triple H, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Triple H and Lesnar don’t need the WWE title and the crowd hasn’t bought in on Roman Reigns as champion. The WWE should put it on a Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens, a new superstar or call up. Instead of relying on the same batch of guys they need new credible stars. Bray Wyatt is a star but the WWE has failed to utilize him correctly. They build him up just to lose a big time match. Imagine him winning to go on to WrestleMania 32 and beats Brock Lesnar. That alone could rejuvenate his career.

The WWE has had the ability to make new stars but instead of pushing organically over talent they want to force a Roman Reigns down our throats. Listen to your fans, don’t just do what you want to do. At the end of the day, the fans are the ones paying and watching the product. If Daniel Bryan wasn’t hurt he would be one of the only guys the WWE pushed that the fans wanted to see. Eventually the WWE wont be able to rely on The Undertaker, The Rock, Triple H and Brock Lesnar so making new stars would be smart.