The Rise of an Icon

Part III: The Road to WrestleMania

January 23, 2016, Royal Rumble

We are officially on the road to WrestleMania and our first stop is the Royal Rumble. 30 men compete to earn a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania by throwing each other over the top rope. Sounds easy, but it's not. I drew #18, which is pretty good. (I'm still the Intercontinental Champion, by the way) I heard that there are a few surprises that will be in the match this year.

To pick up where I left off, after Survivor Series, I defended my championship at TLC against Kevin Owens in a match that was voted as the match of the year. 

I stay in the match for over 30 minutes, and then all of a sudden, Roman Reigns superman punches me while I'm on the apron, and I go sailing towards the floor. Now I'm eliminated and Reigns earns his shot against Triple H, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The crowd gives Reigns tons of boos and they leave the arena, furious.

I believe the reason why the crowd didn't want Reigns to win is due to his lack of mic skills (cut him some slack, people), and lack of pure wrestling ability. Roman is actually not that bad, he is one of the hardest workers I know. Tons of respect for "The Guy." (unpopular opinion, but I don't care) 

After the show is over, I pack my bags and head out the arena. Outside, I see and greet some of the fans, and somehow, I overhear other fans chanting furiously, "Roman sucks! Roman sucks!" One fan asks me, "You should have won! What happened?" Blame "the powers that be."

February 16, 2016, Monday Night RAW

The Royal Rumble backlash continues. Tonight, I get a little revenge on Roman Reigns by facing him in the main event. It seems like WWE are pushing him heavily, but in my opinion, it's not his time yet. There are much more deserving superstars in that locker room that have proven themselves worthy of a WWE Championship reign.

I end up getting speared and superman punched, and suffer my first one-on-one loss since I first came to RAW a few months ago.

Then, all of a sudden, Triple H's music hits. When Hunter gets in the ring, he and Reigns get into a stare-down and the show ends.

I am about to leave the arena and head to my hotel room, but then I get called to an impromptu meeting with "the powers that be" asking me if I am interested in being involved in a Women's storyline. I don't want to go off on them, but I feel like that is a stupid idea. I decline the offer respectfully. No offense to the women, but that is what I'm LEAST interested in. I am a champion heading into my first WrestleMania; why should I waste time with a Women's storyline? Don't get me wrong, we have some very talented women on our roster (the Four Horsewomen, Paige, and Natalya for example), but in my opinion, some of them need to step up their game if they want to be over. The #WomensEvolution is in full effect, and I don't want to hinder their growth and success. WWE is currently building up for a huge Women's Championship match at WrestleMania, where it will be a fatal-4-way featuring Sasha Banks, Bayley, the Women's Champion, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch. I am a huge fan of all four of them, and have watched them grow since they first stepped through the WWE Performance Center, in their NXT days. 

February 17, 2016, SmackDown

Tonight on SmackDown, I deliver an open challenge to anyone who wants to face me at WrestleMania for my IC Championship. Seth Rollins comes out and accepts the challenge. This means that my feud with the Authority has now restarted. When I first made the jump from NXT to RAW a few months ago, I was involved with the Authority by Triple H dissing me, you know the story. 

"You walk around here like you run the place, but don't forget that I will always be one step ahead of you! At WrestleMania, I will prove that you are not in my league; you are just a stepping stone I have to get past on my path to greatness!"- Seth Rollins