WWE Survivor Series 2014: Results That Built Momentum for Royal Rumble

Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view marked the beginning of WWE's build to Royal Rumble and the company's WrestleMania 31 event soon after.

The shock debut of WCW icon Sting, in particular, felt like a crucial stepping stone heading into January.

The veteran had a tense showdown with Triple H at the St. Louis show, hit him with the Scorpion Death Drop and proceeded to help Team Cena gain the victory—sending The Authority packing once and for all.

Credit: WWE.com

Clearly, WWE was planting the seeds of an eventual Triple H vs. Sting singles match.

Interestingly, the day after the show, Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com mentioned that the plan for WrestleMania 31 remained Sting vs. The Undertaker despite the Survivor Series ending, but he did note that there's still the Royal Rumble show before that.

Triple H was, of course, off of television following the Survivor Series loss, but it seems obvious the star will return at some point, likely to gain revenge on the man who cost him his power.

Staging the Sting vs. Triple H showdown at Royal Rumble makes sense. It's a major pay-per-view, for one thing—Vince McMahon can't waste one of Sting's few WWE bouts on a lowly card such as TLC—thus guaranteeing the company will get its money's worth from the legend.

Credit: WWE.com

The Rumble would also be the perfect platform for The Undertaker to return. Perhaps The Deadman could get involved in the match and cost Sting the win, leading the former WCW wrestler to go for revenge at WrestleMania.

In other news from the show, Dolph Ziggler shone brightly as he led Team Cena to victory with a phenomenal performance in the main event. Admittedly, though, he did have a little bit of help from Sting.  

After 18 months of booking him terribly, it appears the writers are finally on his side again. Sunday potentially signaled the beginning of Ziggler's quest to win the annual Royal Rumble match.

It would certainly be one of the more intriguing storylines heading into the show. Ziggler, the ultimate underdog, who has been marginalized and cast aside for much of his career, could attempt to put himself on the map once and for all with the support of the WWE Universe.

As one fan noted on Twitter following Survivor Series: 

Perhaps it sounds like a long shot, but considering the depleted state of the WWE roster—Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are all out of action—the company getting behind him and pushing him as a top contender in January doesn't sound that far-fetched.

Survivor Series set in motion many compelling storylines, most notably Sting’s program with Triple H and Ziggler’s possible return to the main event scene. Come the Royal Rumble, expect these angles to culminate in a big way.