WWE Royal Rumble 2015: Analyzing Least Promising Storylines so Far

The Authority is back in power in WWE—and it isn't necessarily good news for the quality of WWE programming.

Stephanie McMahon and Triple H strutted onto Raw on Monday and immediately began settling old scores and performing one horribly spiteful act after another.

Notably, they fired Ryback, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler at the end of Raw—three guys who were on John Cena's team at Survivor Series. Cue a (not quite) dramatic ending in which all of the babyfaces stood in the ring in shock at their dismissals, with Cena looking rather guilty. 

Yes. The Authority is back—after just a little more than a month away from the storylines.

Who says stipulations don't mean anything anymore?

Credit: WWE.com

It's hard to get excited about this. Sure, it would be nice if Ryback, Ziggler and Rowan got an opportunity to shine, but if history is any indication, this current angle will mainly be about the McMahons and Cena—you know, people who definitely don't need more attention or more airtime. 

It appears to be a solid rule of WWE programming: Whatever happens, things inevitably come back to Triple H, Stephanie and Cena and the numerous power struggles for the company. 

Credit: WWE.com

This storyline will develop further at the Royal Rumble—although whether fans will be invested in it remains to be seen.

In other storyline news, The Ascension—NXT stars Konnor and Viktor—debuted for WWE last week as the company’s newest tag team. Expect them to do something big at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but it probably won't be enough to make up for how dismally the bookers have treated them.

The two have a decent amount of in-ring talent and physical charisma; however, the company’s insistence on marketing them as "Road Warriors: Part II" is doing them no favors whatsoever. 

Credit: WWE.com

WWE is scripting them as total rip-offs without even pretending they are anything but total rip-offs. It’s a little embarrassing.

The pair even brought up and mocked the Road Warriors in a promo on Monday’s show.  It’s impossible for a tag team to survive and thrive when it is being booked like this in storylines. That's too bad, because the two wrestlers do have potential. But WWE has to start booking them as themselves, not as a mere tribute act.

The return of Daniel Bryan has helped revive WWE’s programming somewhat. But there are still a few problems heading into the pay-per-view, and it's hard to get excited about it.