– There is some speculation that WWE is building towards a Ryback vs. Triple H match. While nothing is official at this point, there’s been some talk that if the match were to happen, it would be at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

– WWE posted the following promo on their YouTube channel, focusing on the “Team Cena” vs. “Team Authority” main event at this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

– Part-time WWE Superstar Chris Jericho is being advertised for the January 24th WWE Live Event “Supershow” from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This is the night before the Royal Rumble – let the speculation begin.

– After spending 4 days in Brazil scouting talent for NXT, William Regal is now off to India to continue the search. He tweeted on Monday:

I've been honored to spend the last 4 days in Brazil scouting for NXT.
I take my job as NXT GM very seriously.#NXTTakeOver.

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) November 17, 2014

Now,off to India for 4 days.NXT means business.24 hours of flying with a brief plane change in Paris.#NXTTakeOver

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) November 17, 2014

I’ve read a lot of feedback online over the past few weeks regarding WWE’s plans for Brock Lesnar at next year’s WrestleMania 31 event in Santa Clara, California.

For those who missed it, check out this article, which is a detailed update on WWE possibly making major changes to their original plans for Lesnar.

Back to the internet feedback.

Many, including WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross, have spoken out recently about how if WWE stays on track and has Lesnar stay untouchable leading up to WrestleMania 31, with Roman Reigns being the guy to finally end his reign of dominance and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the “show of shows,” that “everyone will see it coming.” Especially due to the belief that fans will know it’s Lesnar’s final match on his WWE contract.

So what?

Who didn’t see Daniel Bryan ending last year’s show by leading the fans inside the “Superdome” in one giant “Yes!” chant as the pay-per-view goes off the air with him finally “having his moment” and becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

The answer: no one. Everyone saw that coming and guess what? It was still awesome. It still felt special, and had Bryan not gotten injured, it still would have been an effective way to start his push as a legitimate WWE main event performer.

So my question is, how is next year’s WrestleMania any different?

Once again — it isn’t.

A good idea is a good idea, whether people see it coming or not. This isn’t 1998, we’re not in the midst of a vicious “Monday Night War” where you’ve got to use the “Attitude Era” formula of “shock television.”

Surprises are great, don’t get me wrong. They keep you on the edge of your seat and give you a reason to continue tuning into the product because you “never know what could happen.” But again, I say a good idea is a good idea, whether it’s a surprise or not.

The key factor, however, is that it has to be a good idea.

And that’s exactly what the rumored plans for WrestleMania 31 are — they’re a good idea.

Lesnar breaks The Undertaker’s legendary streak. He squashes WWE’s top Superstar in John Cena at a major pay-per-view event. He wreaks havoc on the entire WWE roster, with seemingly no end in sight. That is, however, until he meets that bad son of a bitch Roman Reigns.

No one can beat Lesnar. Hell, no one can touch him. And then comes the showdown with the “untouchable” bad ass on the other side of the fence. The “good guy” version of Lesnar. A beast of a different breed.

Here comes Roman Reigns.

Unfortunately for Reigns, an injury has put him on the sidelines, which hurt his momentum as a guy rising through the ranks. However, if he comes back in time for the Royal Rumble in January, where he arguably made his name earlier this year as an individual player, instead of just being “The Enforcer” of The Shield, then all the cards fall perfectly into place.

First off, fans can get their precious “surprise moment,” when the ten-count clock counts down and out comes Reigns for the first time in several months. From there, much like last year, he can eliminate Superstar after Superstar, possibly breaking his own record in the process. The only difference? This time he’s the last man standing. This time he wins the Royal Rumble, which of course sets him up for a title shot at WrestleMania 31.

On the same show, Lesnar destroys John Cena for the third straight time, remaining WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the process.

The stage is set.

Heading into WrestleMania 31, we have Brock Lesnar as an unbeatable monster on the heel side. We have Roman Reigns as an unbeatable monster on the babyface side.

We have our WrestleMania 31 main event is what we have.

During the build up to WrestleMania, we make sure to point out the streak of dominance both men are currently riding and we ponder which immovable force budges first at the biggest show of the year.

What’s wrong with that? Do we really need some kind of big elaborate “surprise” to make WrestleMania feel special? To have a satisfying climax to the biggest show of the year?

Of course not.

Good is good, whether you see it coming a mile away or it creeps up on you out of the blue. If the story is solid enough, which I feel Lesnar vs. Reigns is — or has the potential to be I should say (you never know how WWE will handle the booking) then you’ve got all the ingredients for a “Superstar-making performance” for Reigns, which unless I’m confused, is supposed to be the goal in all of this.

Check it out — I didn’t mean a word I just said! Are you surprised?! You shouldn’t be …because of course I’m joking.

The point?

I shouldn’t have to surprise you to entertain you with a solid editorial, I just need to tell a good story. Whether or not I accomplished that remains to be seen. You can let me know if I achieved my goal by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also connect with me on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is scheduled to appear on the December 29th edition of WWE RAW in Washington, D.C. That will be one of the first shows that builds to the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th, so it’s believed that his match for the Rumble will be made official on that RAW show.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has a small role in the new film, “Magic Mike XXL,” which also features former WWE Superstar Kevin Nash.

This past week, Flair also finished filming a fitness video with Dennis Rodman that we reported about a while back.

The Brock Lesnar situation with WWE continues to become an interesting story as his contract gets closer to winding down. There is a lot of talk that Lesnar’s price tag might not be enough to justify using him for shows outside of WWE Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.

The WWE Battleground event in July did 31,000 buys on pay-per-view in North America without Lesnar on the show. By comparison, the WWE Night of Champions show in September did 30,000 buys in North America with a Lesnar vs. John Cena main event. Additionally, the worldwide numbers in recent months for shows without Lesnar actually sold more than those with him as part of the card.

The key factor with Lesnar is his price tag. The original plan, which could still be in the works, is for Lesnar to finally lose at WrestleMania 31 to Roman Reigns, making Reigns’ the new face of the company. Part of the issue with that is the concern that it won’t be as meaningful if everyone knows it’s Lesnar’s final match.

There was an expectation at one point in time that WWE would sign Lesnar to a new deal and possibly give him a big babyface run. While it could still happen, it really seems to boil down to whether or not WWE considers his price tag something that’s worth it financially in the end.

As far as Lesnar’s next match, the plan was for him to beat John Cena in January so that the win by Reigns at WrestleMania would look even more impressive. However, if WWE decides that they can’t afford to re-sign Lesnar, then the plans for the Lesnar-Cena match could be changed. The alternative as things stand now would appear to be Cena beating Lesnar, setting up a Cena vs. Reigns match at WrestleMania, which Reigns would win. They could also put the title on Seth Rollins and have Reigns beat him at WrestleMania, however the feeling is that wouldn’t be as meaningful as Reigns beating Lesnar or Cena.

– Although current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was not originally scheduled to work the company’s upcoming Survivor Series or TLC pay-per-views, WWE officials are reportedly in talks with him about working more television dates to help promote his match, which is confirmed, for the 2015 Royal Rumble show.

Brock Lesnar: Worst WWE Title Reign Ever?

– As things stand right now, the current plan is for Dean Ambrose to continue using the double-arm DDT instead of the headlock DDT for his finisher, with the announcers selling the move as “Dirty Deeds.”

• VIDEO: UFC’s Conor McGregor HIJACKS LIVE TV Interview — CHAOS ENSUES! [MUST SEE >>]

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

At one point, WWE was planning on having Brock Lesnar return for a brief feud over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with Big Show. Apparently, that is no longer in the plans and will not be happening.

Lesnar is not scheduled to make his return to WWE until January to begin promoting his Royal Rumble title defense, which is expected to be against John Cena.

It’s been reported that Cena may face Rusev at WrestleMania 31 next year, so the belief is that if they wanted to, WWE could have Rusev cost Cena his match with Lesnar at the Rumble, setting up Cena-Rusev at WrestleMania.

WWE announced at Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings that tickets for the 2015 Royal Rumble go on sale this Friday.

They also announced that the 2015 Royal Rumble will feature 40 men, only the second time in history the Rumble has featured that many competitors.

Former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio won the 2011 Rumble, besting 39 other men to earn his spot in the main event of WrestleMania.

The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble takes place on Sunday, January 25th from Philadelphia, PA.

*Spoilers* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For 10/10

– The talk within WWE is that they have a working plan to turn Randy Orton from his current heel character to a babyface in the near future. The current word going around is that the turn is planned for about three or four months from now, which would be around Royal Rumble time, meaning Orton would be a face during the build up to next year’s WrestleMania.

– WWE Diva Layla noted via social media recently that she is currently dating former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz in real life.

As of last week, the plan for Roman Reigns over the next several months was to continue building him up, with him going on to win the 2015 Royal Rumble and challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.

Due to Reigns’ emergency hernia surgery, the recovery process will keep him out of action for at least a few months. However, it is believed that even in the worst case scenario, Reigns will be back in time for the Rumble, meaning WWE can continue ahead as planned with their idea of pushing him going into next year’s WrestleMania.

It’s worth noting that with Reigns on the sidelines, a major opportunity has opened for Dean Ambrose. While Ambrose was already scheduled for a big push, he will now be used as the #2 babyface in the company behind John Cena and his career is now on a faster track than it would have been had Reigns (and Daniel Bryan) stayed healthy.

Along with Reigns returning in time for the Rumble pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan is also expected to make his WWE return around the same time.

Another WWE Superstar that is expected to return in time for “WrestleMania season” is Batista, possibly returning to do his “farewell run” with the company, now that his Hollywood career is taking off.

Not to mention – Kurt Angle, Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy could all be free to work for WWE by WretleMania season.

• DANA WHTE & WANDERLEI SILVA Comment On Silva TRASHING UFC & His LIFETIME BAN!(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

As things stand right now, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins is 100 percent off of tonight’s Night Of Champions lineup. There is some talk within WWE, as we noted yesterday, of having Dean Ambrose make a surprise appearance at tonight’s pay-per-view to fill in for Reigns against Rollins, however that is purely speculation at this point.

Also as noted yesterday, Reigns will likely be out of action for up to six weeks. WWE is hoping to have him back in time for the Survivor Series pay-per-view, but even under the worst case scenario, he will be back in time for the Royal Rumble in January, meaning he will be able to work WrestleMania and that if WWE was planning on having Reigns be the guy to end Brock Lesnar’s dominant streak, they can continue on with that plan despite Reigns’ current situation.

Speaking of Reigns, he surfaced on Twitter today to thank fans for their support. He tweeted the following:

Thank you everyone for your kind words, support and prayers!! I'm hurting right now but it's great to know good people have my back!!

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) September 21, 2014

– There will be a RAW pre-show this week on the WWE Network, however there will not be a Backstage Pass post-show after the event. After RAW ends this week on television, the WWE Network will follow it up with episode one of WWE Slam City.

– Speaking of the WWE Network, the WWE Countdown episode that airs this week will look at the top ten moments from Royal Rumble pay-per-views.

– Finally, as noted on Sunday, the Monday Night War episode on the WWE Network this Tuesday will focus on Bret Hart and the Montreal Screwjob. Below is the official synopsis for that show.

“A controversial end to Bret Hart’s WWE career forever changes the fate of Monday Night Raw and Monday Nitro.”

As noted by Daniel Bryan himself during the press conference held after he single-handedly stopped burglars who were attempting to rob his home, he will be requiring a second surgery to fix some physical issues he is currently dealing with.

The good news is that the second operation is not another neck surgery, as it’s actually a nerve issue he is dealing with in his right elbow that is causing weakness in his arm. The bad news, however, is that as of right now, early estimates are that Bryan will be out of action until after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January of 2015.