WWE Royal Rumble preview

Read on for how I'd book tonight's WWE PPV.
Kickoff:
- The New Day is pretty much at a standstill right now, since they're probably not challenging for the tag team titles any time soon. The Ascension's busy facing tag teams of the past now, so that feud's not really much of an option. I think it's time for them to start showing some vulnerability. Cesaro, Kidd, and Rose are able to isolate and get rid of Xavier and Kofi by their techniques and Rose's heel antics (forcing The Rosebuds to distract the referee, that kind of thing). Eventually the Rosebuds tire of Rose being heel and walk out on him as it's 3-on-1 for Big E. Big E beats Rose as he's focused on the Rosebuds leaving, and eventually overcomes the odds to be the sole survivor.

As for where they go going forward, Big E getting the win where his teammates lost can be something of a cause for tension in the group. They can continue the theme of Big E being the one "saving the team" for a while, and eventually there's an idea by one of the group to add a fourth member. Someone else who's been gone a while and is in need of a career boost: Darren Young. Depending on how that works, they could eventually split into two teams of two, or even have three of them turn on the fourth member who has to beat his former teammates. They definitely need something to add longevity to this angle.

Royal Rumble PPV:
- As much as I like the idea of The Ascension plowing through old tag teams, I don't think their current gimmick has a lot of legs. Personally, I'd like to see them run into a brick wall in the form of the NAO, X-Pac, and the APA in a repeat of Monday's segment. That way, they can come back after Fast Lane as their NXT gimmick and get a reboot. They're just not the right team to get the LOD gimmick. But I also think it would make sense for The Ascension to win here and keep beating older teams leading to a blowoff match at WM31 against The Dudley Boys in a tables match or NAO in a Dumpster match or something. I guess they could hold off the reboot idea until the Dudleys beat them in a tables match at WM31 and they need to rethink their gimmick.

- The Usos retain. Miz blames this on Mizdow setting up Mizdow refusing to eliminate himself in the Rumble match. This leads to Miz vs. Sandow at Fast Lane and WM31, with Sandow impersonating Miz's earlier gimmicks (Real World, Chick Magnet, etc.). I think there's some fun to be had there with Sandow "out-Mizing" the Miz. They could even use Alex Riley for a while to add to things.

- I'm thinking Natalya picks up the pin with Paige's help or something to set up a three-way feud for the title. There's not much else to do otherwise.

- The Authority gets involved in the WWE Title match, leading to all-out chaos as they target BROCK LESNAR. Rollins KOs Cena with the briefcase to get the pin (but still has the MITB title shot).

- Before we get to the finale of the Rumble: I'm fine with setting up Stardust vs. Goldust at WM31 in the Rumble match, and some ECW-style stuff is good, too. If they do get the Dudleys to appear, here's how I'd do it:

- Around #10 or 11, we see Heath Slater backstage in catering talking about making a big return in the Rumble match in a few spots. The buzzer goes down for #16 and no one comes out. We go back to catering to see Slater's been put through a table (with food all over it, naturally). Then, off-camera, we hear "OH MY BROTHA, TESTIFY!!!" At #17, the Dudleys' music hits and both of them come out AS THE DUDLEYS IN GLASSES AND CAMOUFLAGE. As far as WWE's concerned, "Team 3D" and "Bully Ray" never happened. They can officially come back to feud with Slater Gator, leading to a big tables match vs. The Ascension at WM31 in what's presumably a retirement match. I don't see there being enough nostalgia for them to stick around too much longer, but maybe they do.

- The Rumble comes down to Bryan, Reigns, and Ambrose. The Authority and Brock make appearances to create total chaos leading to Reigns getting the (disputed) win. This sets the stage for Bryan vs. Lesnar and a triple threat for the WWE Title between the former Shield members at WM31. Bryan, Ambrose and Reigns face all the members of The Authority at Fast Lane where, thanks to Sting via the WWE Board of Directors, whomever gets the pinfall gets the MITB briefcase. Ambrose wins and announces he's cashing in at WM31 to make it a triple threat. Brock getting involved there gets us to Bryan vs. Lesnar at WM31, too.

More wrestling tomorrow.