Hear me out. There have only been a handful of times in history where the WWE championship was defended in the Royal Rumble match. Ironically enough, Roman Reigns was the last superstar to do it in 2016.
It's not a move you make just for fun, and there needs to be a reason for it. Over the next month, I think the challengers for Roman Reigns should start piling up. Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, and even Gunther want a shot at Reigns' Undisputed Universal Championship. This forces higher-ups to have the Royal Rumble match be for the championship. Or perhaps Roman Reigns continues to hype himself up as the greatest of all time so much that either a superstar or authority figure forces Reigns to prove it by defending the championship during the match.
But Reigns can't defend both championships. He will agree to do this to prove his greatness ONLY IF he defends the WWE championship. The WWE should want to protect Reigns' Universal title reign and keep one belt on him for the time being.
Article Continues BelowA handful of wrestlers can win the WWE championship at the Royal Rumble, including Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and Cody Rhodes. You can justify why each wrestler deserves to win the big one, but here's what I think should happen.
The final four are Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, and Cody Rhodes. Roman Reigns eliminates McIntyre, adding another small part to their overall story. Just as Reigns gains control and looks to eliminate both Rhodes and Rollins, the Rock's music hits. The Rock's distraction leads to Rollins eliminating Reigns, ending his WWE title reign. Although the crowd is rooting for Cody to win this match, Rollins gets his revenge and eliminates the American Nightmare to become a 3-time WWE Champion. Seth Rollins deserves a world title run for a long time. Plus, he needs to get the upper hand on Cody Rhodes after losing to him in three straight matches.
The ending to the Royal Rumble match sets up both your main events for Wrestlemania Night 1 and 2. You'll have Rollins/Rhodes IV on Night 1 and the Rock vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship on Night 2. I believe this is a very creative way to split up the two world titles and one of the best ways for Reigns to lose. He doesn't look very weak losing the WWE championship due to the Rock's interference. Rollins comes out of this looking as strong as ever, and Rhodes losing adds to the hype of him eventually winning the championship.