WWE Royal Rumble 2015: Most Underappreciated Storylines to Follow

While all eyes may be on Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, this month's Royal Rumble pay-per-view will also showcase some solid and promising midcard feuds. In fact, the people on WWE’s creative team have been churning out intriguing and well-written feuds and programs outside of the main event scene over the past few weeks.

Nikki Bella and Tyson Kidd? 

After her lengthy feud with AJ Lee, it looks like Divas champion Nikki Bella is ready for a program with someone new—and veteran wrestler Natalya may be that challenger.

Monday's Raw saw Tyson Kidd flirt with Bella during her nontitle match with his wife and then catch the heel Diva when she fell out of the ring. Natalya was irate at their accidental embrace. As recent WWE programming has chronicled, the newlyweds are already facing a few marital problems, and this certainly won't help.

Credit: WWE.com

Bella vs. Natalya has the makings of a decent women's feud. Natalya is good enough to carry the inconsistent champion to a strong match, and Bella will shine as a heel as she attempts to gain Kidd's attention even more in a bid to get inside Natalya’s head and drive her mad.

Ryback vs. Rusev 

Ryback cut one of the best and most personal promos of his career on Monday's Raw, detailing his various struggles and problems throughout his time in the industry.

This was one of the highlights of the show, with Ryback showing real fire and personality as he detailed his trials and tribulations. For the first time in his WWE stint, he didn't come off like a one-dimensional cartoon or a mere Goldberg wannabe. He appeared to be a genuine person and someone the fans could seriously get behind.

The former Nexus member ended this blistering diatribe by vowing to soon put an end to Rusev's reign of terror.

Rusev and Ryback appear to be headed for a major clash at the Royal Rumble. Whether it's a singles match or a heated confrontation in the Battle Royal, it will definitely be worth watching. These two have a fair amount of chemistry together—the monster vs. monster dynamic is appealing—and it's fun for fans to see that Rusev appears to have finally met his match.

The Ascension Arrives 

NXT wrestlers Konnor and Viktor, known as The Ascension, made their long-awaited Raw debut on Monday's show by absolutely crushing The Miz and Mizdow in a short but noteworthy tag team match.

With their heavy metal theme music, over-the-top face paint, and crazy '80s-style leather gear and giant shoulder pads—they look like the Road Warriors—they catch the eye. Their in-ring skills are decent too; both men have a good and solid grasp of the basics.

The company has tremendous faith in them judging by the first-class booking treatment they received. These two looked like a big deal as they decimated The Miz and his stunt double.  

It will be fascinating to see what WWE elects to do with Konnor and Viktor later this month at the pay-per-view. They could take on The Usos for their newly won tag team belts or play a large, dominating and memorable role in the 30-man main event match.