From the WWE Rumour Mill: Rumour killer on reported Royal Rumble main event plans
What's the story?
There has been a story developing surrounding the main event plans for the Royal Rumble, with it being reported that Finn Balor against Brock Lesnar was the match initially pencilled in followed by WWE having second thoughts on that match, and now they've allegedly cancelled it altogether.
However, Sports Illustrated have now reported that this match was never even considered, adding a new twist to the saga of 'The Beast' vs 'The Demon.'
In case you didn't know...
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio recently discussed the status of the reported Balor vs Lesnar match, stating that the match was off because Vince McMahon didn't consider Balor to be over enough to main even Royal Rumble against Brock Lesnar.
Balor recently responded to that claim by posted a rebuttal on Twitter, featuring a picture of him beating up Roman Reigns and the cryptically arranged word 'fOreVER' with the word 'over' capitalised.
The heart of the matter
The reports that the WWE were planning a match between Balor and Lesnar at the Royal Rumble have been contested by Sports Illustrated's Justin Barasso who alleges that his WWE sources have revealed that this specific match was never considered.
Also, contrary to reports that Finn Balor was pulled from a potential Royal Rumble Universal title match against Lesnar, Sports Illustrated has learned that Balor was never even in the mix for the match.
What's next?
There isn't a RAW pay-per-view before next year's Royal Rumble, which means that a lot of what we see taking place on Monday Night RAW over the next few weeks will determine how the RAW stars will line up for WWE's annual battle royal pay-per-view. There's still time for Lesnar and Balor to cross paths on weekly television, which would give us the best indication the pair will fight at the Rumble.
Author's take
Personally I find it hard to believe that the WWE hasn't considered Lesnar vs Balor as 'The Demon' as a potential match for the Royal Rumble, or any other pay-per-view for that matter. To me, that match screams 'money.'