Triple H's presence looms large over WWE Royal Rumble

Even with what happened on WWE RAW, Triple H’s presence should be a factor during the Royal Rumble.

“Where’s Triple H?” has been a question asked for the past five months since he screwed Seth Rollins out of the WWE Universal Championship, handing the belt to Kevin Owens in the process. The reasoning for the latter is still unknown, something we likely will never find out. Regarding Rollins, though, that seems to be coming to a head soon.

Rollins aligned with the Game in June 2014, by turning on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, ending the Shield. He would join with the Authority, which featured Randy Orton, Kane, and Big Show, who sided with them later that year.

As the Architect gained steam as a heel, he became one of WWE’s top talents. As he rose, so did his tension with Triple H. It seemed like these two could have fought at WrestleMania 32, but Rollins suffered a knee injury that cost him from appearing at the show.

Well over one year later, we have Rollins and Triple H’s heat finally developing into something. It’s likely headed toward WrestleMania 33, but will first have to cross through the Royal Rumble.

Seth Rollins’ spot in the Royal Rumble match seemed locked up, and with no questions asked. Then came Sami Zayn walking into Mick Foley’s office to ask for a spot, leading to Stephanie McMahon saying over the phone that the former NXT Champion would have to defeat Rollins to earn a spot. Foley eventually revealed that this match’s loser would be out of the Rumble.

Rollins and Zayn put on a terrific match which lasted about 20 minutes. Then came the finish, which saw Rollins hit the Pedigree on the apron, only to roll his foe into the ring and hear this:

Just like that, Rollins’ Royal Rumble hopes went away, the one that he kept hyping up since his return last May. So, it would seem that everything is in doubt for him on Sunday night. That may be far from the contrary, however.

While the other matches on the show are ongoing, the story will be about Rollins hunting down his former mentor backstage. He should be clawing around every room at the Alamodome, breaking doors open, questioning the production team, and shouting at Stephanie for her husband costing him his Royal Rumble spot. If anything, the Rumble should become “The Seth Rollins Show” from the moment the event goes live on the WWE Network.

Rollins will look for Triple H, but he’ll be nowhere to be found to continue the storyline of him not showing up when the two-time WWE Champion wants him too. This would even be stated during a prior promo, that it will take plenty for the Cerebral Assassin to show up. Of course, it’s going to be when it’s least expected, but when?

If WWE wants to show off Rollins’ anger for losing his Royal Rumble spot, he’ll pull something similar that Erick Rowan did in 2015 by barging his way in when someone else tries to enter. Not wanting to find a way into the Royal Rumble would be a strange character booking decision for any babyface. Rowan did this with Curtis Axel, so why can’t we get “I didn’t get eliminated from the Royal Rumble”: Part II? What else has AxelMania been doing? It would make for a fun backstage fallout video with him going ballistic over losing out on this spot again.

As he would march down the entrance ramp, security and Stephanie McMahon enter the venue to try to get restrain Rollins. When it seems to work at first, Rollins breaks away and charges toward the ring to get himself involved.

Like last year (Roman Reigns), once Rollins enters the Royal Rumble, all eyes will go to the Titantron to see when Triple H appears. He entered at No. 30 in 2016 to eliminate Reigns and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This time around, he could join the match a little earlier and brawl with Rollins in the ring, eventually eliminating each other.

There’s always the chance that WWE holds off Triple H even showing up. It would be a head-scratcher since this is arguably the second-biggest show of the year and the ideal time to bring him in after what happened on Raw. After all the months that fans waited for his return, should we not expect WWE to hold off his return?

Instead of Rollins breaking away from security, they could carry him backstage and out of the arena. This would lead to the fans chanting for him to be allowed back in the arena, but to no avail. Triple H then gets called out the night after on Raw, finally appears, and the fight begins.

The subplot of the Royal Rumble should be all about Seth Rollins and Triple H, especially if this is going to be one of WrestleMania 33’s top matches. If WWE can follow up on the hot start on Raw, then we should be in for something fun over the next two-and-a-half months.