{"id":132200,"date":"2022-01-29T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=132200"},"modified":"2022-01-28T21:59:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-29T03:59:53","slug":"heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-royal-rumble-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/01\/29\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-royal-rumble-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Royal Rumble 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2782769294\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>10 \u2026 9 \u2026 8 \u2026 7 \u2026 6 \u2026 oh, you know the drill right? Right. It\u2019s Royal Rumble time and we know what to do, but does WWE?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m just not sure. WrestleMania is around the corner and the Royal Rumble event is typically the catalyst that fuels feuds and direction for WWE\u2019s biggest show of the year in April. It doesn\u2019t feel like anything major is on tap Saturday night, though. This year\u2019s event is just kind of, off.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-102397 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, there are some big matches on the show. Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship and Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins lead the pack, but undercard title matches at the Royal Rumble are regularly fillers given the magnitude of both Royal Rumble matches. Therein lies the problem. Both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Royal Rumble bouts have been comprised of less than lackluster builds and hype. So much so, that it\u2019s hard not to think those matches have purposefully been left directionless to avoid audiences rejecting said direction. That\u2019s been a notable problem for WWE in recent years. This sure is one way to fix that, though there are a multitude of others that would be infinitely more impactful. Money is left on the table this year and while the Royal Rumble match itself will always yield excitement, it could have been more if WWE let it.<\/p>\n<p>Call this a preview, a calm look into the distant future, or a gaze into a wondrous crystal ball; just don\u2019t hold me to anything, ok?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Women\u2019s Royal Rumble Match<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a two-woman show if you ask me. Bianca Belair and Lita. That\u2019s it, folks. Both have stories in place with the champions on different brands and both of those matches are WrestleMania worthy. Belair vs. Lynch has been in the works since Summerslam and the wheels were set for a Lita vs. Charlotte Flair bout earlier this month on Smackdown. All four of those women will have a good showing in the match and I\u2019m looking for both Raquel Gonzalez and Mandy Rose to be prominent NXT features as well. Belair takes the crown for the second year in a row. She can use it and it sets up a final showdown with Lynch organically. If Ronda Rousey shows up, all bets are off.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Edge &amp; Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz &amp; Maryse<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the blow off match for the Edge\/Miz program right? It has to be. They\u2019ve milked every once of intrigue possible out of this thing and it needs to wrap. All four participants have made this work. Edge\u2019s presence has suffered a bit, but not in a permanent way. The good guys get the win. Plain, simple, and straightforward booking to wrap up the story cleanly.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-386650132\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong><em><u>Becky Lynch vs. Doudrop \u2013 WWE Raw Women\u2019s Championship<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ok, Lynch and Doudrop have delivered a serviceable build to this match. Doudrop especially. She has proven to be good on the microphone and has an authentic voice that should help her progress on Raw. A heel vs. heel match for these women at this time will be a tough putt to sink. Both are still developing in those roles and being put in a situation that will automatically put them behind in getting universal heat from the audience isn\u2019t smart. Lynch is the obvious winner here. She has a major WrestleMania match looming with someone and needs the title for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns \u2013 WWE Universal Championship<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The battle of Shield brothers. Rollins has put up a good fight on the microphone and Reigns has sold for him with good facial expressions and body language, but that ends during this match. I know there has been talk of Rollins winning here, but that lacks logic even for WWE. This is a match for Reigns to win on the way to Lesnar at WrestleMania. He\u2019ll do so cleanly and definitively.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley \u2013 WWE Championship<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always up for a dream match and this certainly is that. Bobby Lashley has really come into his own as a top star. In a way, it\u2019s good that these guys haven\u2019t crossed paths until now. Paul Heyman will be central to the finish of this match. We\u2019ll see him take the side of Roman Reigns and officially put a bow on what became a messy story due to COVID changes at WWE Day One. Heyman costs Brock Lesnar the match, which gives Lashley a major win and frees Lesnar up to chase Reigns and Heyman at WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Men\u2019s Royal Rumble Match<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Build? What build? It was an embarrassing run toward this match. The match has the highest stakes of any non-championship match in WWE and we don\u2019t see the top contenders say a word about it? Nothing from Big E? Nothing from A.J. Styles? Nothing from really anyone? Something is afoot and that brings me back to Brock Lesnar. Without a lead candidate in place to win this match, Lesnar will fill that slot. Monster Lesnar raising hell after being screwed by Paul Heyman and entering this match to try and earn a shot at Reigns at WrestleMania is a smooth continuation of that story and an angle that should pop the live audience. I\u2019m stubbornly all-in on this theory. Lesnar for the win.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3468547860\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/01\/25\/heydorns-raw-receipt-1-24-royal-rumble-go-home-episode-lacks-hype-on-major-rumble-stakes\/\">HEYDORN\u2019S RAW RECEIPT 1\/24: Royal Rumble go-home episode lacks hype on major Rumble stakes<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3436444980\"><div id=\"pwtor-3176262205\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>10 \u2026 9 \u2026 8 \u2026 7 \u2026 6 \u2026 oh, you know the drill right? Right. It\u2019s Royal Rumble time and we know what to do, but does WWE? I\u2019m just not sure. WrestleMania <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/01\/29\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-royal-rumble-2022\/\" title=\"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Royal Rumble 2022\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":132184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6454,53],"tags":[693,71],"class_list":["post-132200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-heydorns-take","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-royal-rumble","tag-wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2022\/01\/Royal-Rumble-2022.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132200"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132228,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132200\/revisions\/132228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}