This year’s Royal Rumble match may be one of the hardest to ever predict and WWE just made things a whole lot more confusing. Tonight on Monday Night Raw , there was a huge match between Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn with the former world champion’s Rumble spot on the line. The action went back and forth but then Zayn got the upper-hand and replaced Rollins on Sunday with the return (sort of) of Triple H .
Tonight on Monday Night Raw , general manager Mick Foley and commissioner Stephanie McMahon were talking via phone when they were interrupted by Sami Zayn. He inquires about how he can be in the Royal Rumble which leads to Stephanie making a bout for tonight between Zayn and Seth Rollins.
Mick Foley doesn’t really like it since Stephanie says that the winner will be in the Royal Rumble . Zayn is excited about it, but Rollins isn’t thrilled that he has to win a spot he already owns. Rollins says it isn’t a big deal though as he’ll win and throw it in the faces of Stephanie and Triple H, her “coward” of a husband.
The match was a really good one with a lot of near falls and close calls that had the fans on the edge of their seats. As recapped by the official website of WWE , Rollins appeared to have the upper-hand until some familiar music echoed throughout the arena.
TIME TO PLAY THE GAME?! #RAW #RoyalRumble @TripleH pic.twitter.com/p7zKlWbHu6
— WWE (@WWE) January 24, 2017
Yes, Triple H’s music hit and the fans went crazy as Seth Rollins looked up the ramp from the ring and waited for him to appear. Unfortunately for Rollins, Triple H didn’t actually come out, so, he made his way back over to Zayn, who was waiting for him.
As Rollins reached down to pick up his opponent, Zayn rolled him for the small package and the pinfall. With that pin, Seth Rollins was officially taken out of the Royal Rumble and replaced by Sami Zayn for this Sunday.
It may be needless to say, but Seth Rollins was incredibly shocked by the end result of things, but he found it incredibly hard to believe.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! @iLikeSamiZayn rolls up @WWERollins for the victory and is heading to the #RoyalRumble match! #RAW pic.twitter.com/eYDBHcJ5TY
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 24, 2017
Honestly, his face wasn’t the only one like that as the fans sat there in disbelief at what had just happened. Even Sami Zayn wasn’t entirely sure what to think of the last few minutes since he had just defeated a former world champion and was now in the Royal Rumble .
A victorious @iLikeSamiZayn looks ahead to this Sunday’s #RoyalRumble match! #RAW pic.twitter.com/UnTZcsEh8T
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 24, 2017
After the match was over, Rollins was fuming backstage and looking for Triple H. Mick Foley stopped him and said he had nothing to do with it but believes it is obvious that Stephanie had placed a call to the production truck.
Last week, as reported by the Inquisitr , Triple H had dropped multiple hints that he was going to appear on Monday Night Raw . He tweeted out a few pics and even made mention that he was on his way there. Seth Rollins took it upon himself to say how “interesting” it was that Trips may return to WWE television.
Well, Triple H didn’t show up and he still has not been seen on WWE TV since August when he attacked Rollins and caused him to lose his attempt at winning the WWE Universal Championship. WrestleZone even reported that the possible match of Triple H vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 33 just came a bit closer to becoming a reality.
Unfortunately, for the fans, this puts any chance of the three members of The Shield working together on Sunday, out of the picture.
There were a lot of people who thought Seth Rollins had a true shot at winning this year’s Royal Rumble and going on to main event WrestleMania 33 . Now, it looks like he won’t even have a shot due to his loss to Sami Zayn and replacement in the big match. With the teases of Triple H’s return last week and the sound of his music to cause Rollins’ loss, it seems like WWE is setting up for a big match in Orlando in April.
[Featured Images by Miguel Discart | Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and resized | CC BY-SA 2.0 and WWE]