THE 3 BIGGEST CURVEBALLS IN THE ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA

Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble would go on to WrestleMania to face the WWE Champion. That year Yokozuna would go on to defeat Bret the Hitman Hart at WrestleMania IX. Between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania there are 2-3 months and during that time a lot can change. In 1995 WWE started having a Pay Per View every month. (Before there was just the classic five, Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) In May of 1995 WWE introduced a new PPV called In Your House. There would be an In Your House PPV in between the classic five.

February 18, 1996 was the date of In Your House 6, and for the first time there would be a PPV in between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. On this night, Bret Hart defended his WWE Championship against Diesel. That would not be the only thing on the line that night. Shawn Michaels, the winner of the Royal Rumble would defend his WrestleMania Title Shot against Owen Hart. Both Shawn and Bret would have successful defenses therefore there would be no curveballs thrown in the road to WrestleMania.

Now looking back at history, there are 3 times where I was completely shocked and the road to WrestleMania was not what I initially expected.

1997

Lets go back to the 1997 Royal Rumble. The winner Stone Cold Steve Austin, although Bret Hart had all the momentum in the world going into it. The champion, Shawn Michaels. Shawn defeated Pyscho Sid that night to become the WWE Champion. Now we must remember, Austin was legally eliminated from the Rumble, but the referee did not see his feet hit the floor and he would go on to eliminate Bret, the last man standing. The champion however would run into a road block. During this time Shawn would be sidelined due to a knee injury and he would then go on to forfeit the title.

Shawn defeated Bret at WrestleMania XII and Bret would go on  a hiatus only to return to face Austin at the Survivor Series who he defeated. The story of redemption presented itself. Bret vs Shawn II at WrestleMania XIII right? Nope, because Shawn Michaels “Lost His Smile.”

So at In Your House 13, the vacated title would be on the line in a Final Four Match. (Win by pin fall, submission or over the top elimination) With Pyscho Sid facing the winner the next night on Raw, the final four would see Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Undertaker vs Vader (The Final Four of the Royal Rumble) Bret would win the title only to lose it the next night on Raw to Sid. Since Shawn was unable to compete at WrestleMania, Bret was left with Austin…but not for the title. Instead, Sid would face Undertaker .

Looking back, it makes you think how did we go from a possible Bret vs Shawn main event to Psycho Sid vs Undertaker?

2004

After the Summer of 2002, there was two champions, one for Raw the other for Smackdown. When WrestleMania season came around, the winner of the Royal Rumble has the option of which champion he wanted to face. That years Rumble was won by Chris Benoit and he decided to challenge for Raw’s World Heavyweight Championship. Smackdown proceeded to have a Royal Rumble on their show with the winner going to WrestleMania to face the champion. Going into No Way Out (The final stop before WrestleMania) the champion,Brock Lesnar, the Smackdown rumble winner, Kurt Angle. Now these two men main-evented WrestleMania a year ago, a match in which Lesnar was victorious. A match of that caliber, why not have a rematch, especially when we did not get Bret and Shawn.

Perhaps an even bigger story could take place. Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg for the WWE Championship maybe? Why? At the Royal Rumble, the two had an exchange of words which led to Lesnar causing Goldberg to be eliminated from the Royal Rumble matchup.

Goldberg would obtain a “ticket” to Smackdown’s No Way Out from Raw GM Stone Cold Steve Austin. Lesnar would be main eventing No Way Out against Eddie Guerrero. While Kurt Angle was the number one contender going into WrestleMania, no one would have believed that former WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero would be able to defeat the Next Big Thing, Brock Lesnar. That night Guerrero overcame the odds and became the new WWE Champion and went on to face Kurt Angle, while Brock Lesnar faced Goldberg with Stone Cold Steve Austin being the special guest referee.

2013

In 2002 Eric Bischoff introduced a new match, the Elimination Chamber. A 6 sided chain-linked circular steel chamber which encloses the ring. In 2010 Elimination Chamber became its own PPV. Each year there would be two chamber matches. One where the losing brand of the Royal Rumble would put their 6 biggest stars and the winner to face the champion at WrestleMania. The winning brand usually has their champion defend the title in a chamber match while the number one contender awaits. In 2013, Smackdown was the losers of the rumble. Alberto Del Rio was the World Heavyweight Champion but he did not have an opponent for WrestleMania.

The Elimination Chamber match featured Jack Swagger, Chris Jericho,[Daniel Bryan, Kane, Mark Henry and Randy Orton. Going into this match Randy Orton was the face of Smackdown. That night in New Orleans he got the loudest pop in the arena. It was almost guaranteed that he would win the match. Daniel Bryan and Kane were tag team champions, Chris Jericho was in the title match a year ago, and Mark Henry who was one of the biggest heels in the company was a close second.

As the match drew near a close, the final three were Randy Orton, Jack Swagger, and Chris Jericho. Orton would hit one of his “Outta Nowhere” RKOs and score the pin on Jericho, but before he knew it Swagger would roll him up for the 1-2-3 and on to WrestleMania. The stage was set Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship.

There were rumors that Swagger was due to win the title, but he got into some legal trouble and yet throwing another curveball in the Road to WrestleMania.

As we approach WrestleMania XXXI, will there be another curveball thrown this year, or will things stay the course. Only time will tell.

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Daniel Bryan The Gift Kept Away From the Fans

Each year there is that one gift that has parents going crazy. From standing in lines all hours of the morning, to fist fighting with other shoppers in hopes to come away with the prize. Most of the time whats hot one season is not the next. In the WWE, we notice during WrestleMania, things are the same way.

Lets go back revisit the past 5 WrestleManias.

WrestleMania 26 Shawn Michaels Retirement

WrestleMania 27 The Miz

WrestleMania 28 The Rock returns

WrestleMania 29 John Cena back on top

Now WrestleMania 30, it was two ways.

The gift that they desired us to have was Batista. After all, he had been gone four years and we were supposed to welcome him back with open arms right? But since he left to make movies, did John Cena not just remind us that while The Rock was out making movies, he was there for us every night? Batista is no where near as great as The Rock.

Fan instead wanted Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan was the gift that every wrestling fan wanted that holiday season and while it was assumed that fans could be persuaded into something else, they would not buy it. Nothing has ever taken over WWE like the Yes Movement. Periodically on Monday Night Raw there is something special that we see that will stay in our minds forever.

In 1999, during the go home show for WrestleMania XV, Stone Cold Steve Austin brought out the beer truck and showered The Rock, Vince and Shane McMahon.

In 2011 CM Punk took to stage and dropped the infamous pipe-bomb where he unleashed all his feelings about the company.

In 2014 there was Occupy Raw, where Daniel Bryan forced himself into a match with Triple H at WrestleMania XXX and since he had leverage, he forced a stipulation that would state if he won he would go on to the main event.

While the WWE officials wanted Batista, fans took a stand on social media and in the arenas which ultimately led to them getting their wish and Daniel Bryan would emerge victorious at WrestleMania XXX and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

So why is Daniel Bryan the gift being kept away from fans?

Have you have ever wanted a gift so bad, that when you got it you were happy, and then before you knew it, it was broken? Maybe you finally got that Playstation and you played it for a couple of months and just before you were about to get a new game, it broke and you had to wait before you could get another one. 

In December 2014, Daniel Bryan made an announcement stating that he was ready to come back regain what he never lost in the first place, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. So going into the Royal Rumble wouldnt it be a no brainer for Daniel Bryan to win the Royal Rumble? Wrong.

The 2015 Royal Rumble was won by Roman Reigns. While Reigns is a babyface (the one who fans cheer for), fans have not fully embraced the Roman Empire. After all, Daniel Bryan is not the gift they are finished with. Was it because he was injured and his title reign never flourished, is it because the Yes Movement is not over, or perhaps they do not yet believe in Reigns, either way fans still want Daniel Bryan. 

For the second year in a row, the voice of the fans have been heard and Daniel Bryan will get another opportunity to be in the main event of WrestleMania. Many see the matchup between Reigns and Bryan at WWE Fastlane as a pacifier for fans. After all if they think he has a chance to be in the main event at WrestleMania, they will continue to watch until then. We cannot forget that after he was eliminated at the Royal Rumble the hashtag "Cancel WWE Network" trended on twitter for the next 24 hours. As we approach WrestleMania 31, will fans receive the gift they have long awaited for, or perhaps will there be another gift selected for them. (Roman Reigns)

INSIDE THE FANS MIND

Last year fans nearly despised Batista. A guy who was once the animal who showed so much intensity returned to the ring smaller, and wearing skinny jeans. Who would want to be like that? 

Now look at Roman Reigns. Here is a guy who has it all, he has the look, he is younger and his future is bright. However the majority of the WWE Universe are not ready for Reigns. One reason, they are not finished with Daniel Bryan. Seeing Bryan have a title reign that could last through the summer with opponents such as Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins and Cesaro just to name a few. One thing fans would not be denied is, a fighting champion. 

Unlike Batista, fans are not opposed to Roman Reigns. They want him to be a star in this business, but right now, Daniel Bryan is still there guy. Remember when Dreamcast came out, some embraced the new Sega System, but the majority was not ready to give up on Sony. They knew Sony was still evolving and Dreamcast would eventually fall off.  I do not see Reigns falling off, but if he forced down the throats of fans, he could possibly be sent down a road that could be very impossible to recover from. 

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