Ahead of Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble at the Amway Centre in Orlando, Florida, here are some predictions on what to expect from the action.
Triple H to win the Royal Rumble and become the new WWE World Heavyweight champion
Roman Reigns has been superb over the last month since he won the title from Sheamus, and he has began to get the support from the WWE fans that they have been so desperate for him to get over the past 18 months.
The reason for this? He has had great adversaries in the Authority, but so far he has overcome every obstacle put in his way since the rivalry began last month.
I fear that if he prevailed on Sunday as the No 1 entrant in the Rumble and survived to retain his title there would be a fans backlash, and the past accusations of him being over-exposed would resurface.
That is not to say I don’t think he will shine in the match and I expect him to be the last man eliminated in the match after a brave display, that could last more than 60 minutes.
It will be a heroic effort, but he needs to fall short this time so that when he prevails at WrestleMania 32 it means more.
Triple H is not advertised for the match, but there is a reason we have not seen him on Raw or SmackDown since Reigns beat him down in anger at the end of TLC last month.
The WWE’s chief operating officer can be a late surprise entrant or an unprecedented No 31 entry - the more devious the better - and shock Reigns and take the thing he cherishes most, the title from him.
It will not be a popular move with fans, but two months of Triple H and the Authority taunting WWE fans about him being champion should have them rabid to see Reigns get revenge at WrestleMania.
Make Reigns earn his spot in the main event at Fast Lane, and stack everything against him to get there, and then you have a grudge match set up for April 2 of Triple H v Reigns.
There is a scenario where Triple H simply costs Reigns the Rumble and someone else (Brock Lesnar, Bray Wyatt or even Chris Jericho win it) but this is about Reigns being champion, and him fighting his way to get back what is rightly his over the next few months is the best story the WWE can tell right now.
I am not sure what they do with Lesnar. But he cannot be eliminated cleanly, and likely whoever does it (Kevin Owens, Jericho, Bray Wyatt or someone else) will be his opponent at WrestleMania.
Read more: Roman Reigns on wanting a match with Triple H, loving the Royal Rumble and winning the 2015 event
Dean Ambrose to retain the Intercontinental title against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match
A hard one to call this as Ambrose has beaten Owens on PPV the past two months.
I think Owens will be involved in a big match at WrestleMania, either against Lesnar or The Undertaker, so I don’t think he will need to be Intercontinental champion to go in either of those directions.
Ambrose could survive a loss, he is massively over with the audience despite the poor booking of him in the past, but he could do with a lengthy title reign to give him direction.
This will be a brutal match, but importantly the loser does not have to be pinned so I think Owens can cope with another defeat here.
Also see: Daniel Bryan on his desire to return to the ring and wanting Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania
Charlotte to retain the Divas title against Becky Lynch
Lynch has been superb over the past month, and has done a great job of getting the fans behind her.
Unfortunately I do not see her coming out on top here.
Charlotte is finally beginning to look comfortable as champion, with her father Ric Flair by her side, and the WWE will not want to break up the momentum she has.
This should be a fine match, but Lynch will fall short, in nefarious circumstances again, to cement Charlotte’s status as a champion unafraid to do anything, or betray anyone, to keep her title.
Alberto Del Rio to retain the United States title against Kalisto
The US title has swapped hands twice this month, with Kalisto winning it off Del Rio, only for the four-time world champion to win it back four days later.
I think Del Rio retains here. If they were going to give Kalisto a run with the belt they would have kept it on him in the first place.
WWE needs to build up Del Rio ahead of WrestleMania season and a good showing here, and victory, likely with some help from the League of Nations, will achieve that.
New Day to retain the WWE tag team titles against the Usos
New Day have been champions since SummerSlam and have been great fun.
They have gone more in the direction of comedy rather than menace over the past couple of months, which is a shame, but they are still by far the best tag team in the division right now.
The Usos have done some good work over the past month, but they have little momentum right now and a title change here would be rather underwhelming.
Give it another month, and better storytelling, and an Usos title victory is more probable.
WWE Royal Rumble will be televised on the WWE Network, which is available through OSN, on Monday morning in the UAE from 4am.
gcaygill@thenational.ae