Chance to break WWE Creative Roadblock

There is little surprise heading into Wrestlemania season. The return of Shane McMahon has been the only exception; even this has been marred by bringing The Undertaker in to do Vince’s dirty work. Once again, WWE Creative are out of ideas and it’s easy to predict the upcoming results. But the WWE Network exclusive event, Roadblock, gives them a chance to change this.

It’s all a question of whether or not they’re brave enough. History tells us they won’t be. Rather than skirt the issue, let’s go to the core of the problem: Roman Reigns.

We all know he’ll overcome the odds and finally get one over Triple H at Wrestlemania. He’s in a revenge match, playing the role that should have been the culmination of Seth Rollins’ experiences with The Authority.

Injury and ego has made WWE play the card early with a different protagonist.

The problem is, not everyone has bought into the Roman Reigns character or his story. It’s blatantly obvious the fan base prefers Dean Ambrose. At Roadblock he gets his own title shot against Triple H. But it seems highly improbable he can win. It’d mess up the preordained Wrestlemania finish and cancel his match with Brock Lesnar that is planned for the Greatest Stage of them All.

But by WWE’s own admission, Wrestlemania is feel good season. Very rarely does a heel leave the night on top of the world. Even rarer is witnessing a presumed babyface get booed after a main event win at Wrestlemania.

WWE were aware of this last year, and provided an epic Money in the Bank cash-in and a great finish to the event. This gave them twelve months to build Reigns. They have failed.

Tearing up the script gives them a chance to save their big day.

An Ambrose win gives the fans the champ they want. The Wrestlemania match becomes a triple-threat. Suddenly there is no need to cheer Reigns, and if he turns heel to defeat his friend for the gold, WWE still get the champ they want and the story reaches a natural evolution.

It won’t matter then if Reigns is booed. It’d actually help sell the story.

This leaves Lesnar without a Wrestlemania match. Or does it?

He could declare his intent to join the championship match. His record certainly affords him a place in it. Or better still, he could get revenge on Bray Wyatt. Yes, revenge. A clever move would be to allow the Eater of Worlds to defeat Lesnar – even if it’s with a cheat – at Roadblock.

For too long Bray Wyatt has been booked incorrectly. A win over Lesnar undoes all the bad work and creates an intriguing Wrestlemania bout.

These are ballsy moves but they are ones that would create interest once again.

Wrestling is best when you can’t predict the result.

Why Daniel Bryan will wrestle again

WWE gave Daniel Bryan a send-off on RAW fit for a Hall of Famer. After months of uncertainty, the company finally closed the ongoing issue of Bryan’s likelihood of returning to a ring. In private they made it clear they were never going to clear him to wrestle. But that doesn’t mean the former World Champion is finished with wrestling.

It’s been a standoff that has dragged on for months. Bryan has been cleared by a multitude of private doctors but has been unable to convince WWE medical staff that there is no danger after years of consecutive concussions.

The writing was on the wall for him when they failed to give in to his demands despite Vince McMahon’s outfit suffering injury after injury to top level stars. There must have been a temptation to agree with Bryan’s private doctors. But the WWE is currently being sued by former wrestlers (that never made the main roster) for concussion injuries. They just couldn’t take the risk.

Vince no longer sees the point of in-ring dangers, or even entertaining storylines, his risks are all on the stock market. The days of making the best product to ward off WCW have been replaced by keeping profit margins up. This method is bearing financial fruits; there was no reason to take a risk that could have cost him millions.

Bryan is somewhat tied to WWE. They handled his autobiography release and helped market it. His wife works for the company on the active roster and they both feature in Total Divas. His unique connection to the WWE Universe forced the company to elevate him to the main championship.

But before all this he is a wrestler.

Severing ties with WWE was his way to seek his thrills elsewhere. In July 2015 he told Sirius XM 92's: “I told them, regardless of them, if they won't clear me . . . we're independent contractors, in theory . . . I will wrestle again. I am cleared by the neurologist in Phoenix that I've been going to see. It's not like he's a quack doctor. He was the neurologist for the Super Bowl.”

That was a not-so subtle warning to WWE: “Use me or lose me.” After much deliberation they have decided to let him go.

Why they took so long only Vince can answer honestly – and probably never will.

Did they want to ensure they had all the facts and gave the docs enough time before axing him? Did they want to kill his momentum before he competed elsewhere?

It’s likely a little bit of both.

One thing’s for sure, even though WWE said, “No!” to a return we’ll see Bryan back in the ring before he retires for real.

Am I happy about this?

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”