Raw – January 4, 2016

The first Raw of the new year has traditionally been known to provide the WWE Universe with a monumental moment or two to start the year off right. While this year did not give us a moment on the level of Mankind’s first title or Bret Hart returning to WWE, we were still given ample reasons to look forward to 2016.

The show was obviously centered on the nights World Heavyweight Championship main event and the ongoing feud between Roman Reigns and the McMahon family. Vince played the role of guest referee to the book with the excuses not to count for Reigns and the fast counts for Sheamus. Well, as fast as the 70 year old chairman could get down to the mat to make the count.

Somehow, someway, Reigns pulled through and ended up retaining the title after a third referee made the three count. In response, McMahon grabbed the mic and let Reigns know his next defense would be at the Royal Rumble…IN the Royal Rumble. For the first time since Ric Flair won the 1992 Rumble, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be awarded to the winner of this year’s 30 man match.

I’ve been back and forth with how I feel about this.

I’ve said before that Roman Reigns being in the Rumble would almost certainly mean he would win. That was before he won the title though. I don’t think that it is an inevitability that Reigns wins the match and keeps his title. There are a few other options that could take us to the WrestleMania main event – mainly a championship Rumble win by Brock Lesnar or even Triple H to set up the WrestleMania main event title match vs Reigns.

So the belt is now on the line for the 30 men in the Royal Rumble – which now has 10 official entrants. The Wyatts continued their resurgence by dominating the bald bearded brutes Big Show and Ryback. What about this for an outside way to end the Rumble – The Wyatts completely dominate the match leaving Wyatt, Harper, Rowan and Strowman as the final four in the match. In an act of obedience, the three lower members walk over the top rope, drop to the floor and hand Bray Wyatt his first title. Farfetched, I know, but still…it could work.

When will Twitter followers of Chris Jericho learn?

When asked about his WWE future, Jericho will ALWAYS say that he won’t be able to be at an event. This happened recently when someone asked if he would be at WrestleMania. He responded by letting us know he would not be able to be at the Showcase of the Immortals.

LIAR! … in a good way!

The New Day’s countdown was interrupted by far more familiar countdown as the pyro hit and the jacket was lit welcoming back the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla! His first order of business, other than making sure The New Day knows the unicorn horns are just odd, entering himself in the Royal Rumble as a way to headline WrestleMania again. Obviously Jericho won’t win the title, so it will be fun to think of how he will be used heading into WrestleMania.

Other Raw Notes …

• Heath Slater won a match! Not only that, but apparently he has joined Adam Rose, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas in a new faction – The Social Outcasts. The last time something like this happened we were given 3MB….so…well we’ll see.

• Not only Slater, but Titus O’Neil also got a Raw win over Stardust. Are there plans for the former Gator as well?

• Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose continue to have solid segments on Raw. The best part is that the segments are including Neville showcasing what he can do.

• Becky Lynch got her first big main roster win over Divas Champion Charlotte, though Charlotte got the last laugh. Obviously we are setting up a title match at the Rumble which should be a solid one.

How do you think 2016 has started? What do you think the WrestleMania plans are for Y2J? Will Reigns win his second straight Royal Rumble and keep his title? Follow us on Twitter @From_TheTopRope and let us know!