Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Hulk Hogan and More from the Triple Threat Mailbag

One month ago, the smart money had Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble and Brock Lesnar retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The last two weeks of Raw, however, featured the return of Daniel Bryan and the addition of Seth Rollins to the Cena-Lesnar match.

Now everything's a crapshoot.

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@ThisIsNasty Will @WWERollins walk out as the New WWE WHChampion at the #RoyalRumble ???

— Akshai Kumar (@kumar_akshai) January 7, 2015"

Chances are Rollins will not walk out of Royal Rumble as the new champion. WWE is clearly trying to protect its two cash cows ahead of WrestleMania season. Rollins is only there to take a pinfall.

In a way, the addition of Rollins casts more doubt as to whether Lesnar will walk into WrestleMania as champion. Is this a way to get the title off him for fear that he might leave when his contract is up? Is this protecting Cena from taking another loss?

Does Rollins, the current holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase, actually have a chance?

The Triple Threat match hurts the marquee value of WWE's biggest feud. Rollins was simply added to the third match in an epic trilogy with three week's notice. But now the possibilities are endless.

This is the perfect type of match for Rollins' opportunistic style. Although he is certainly the underdog, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise if he wins this match, given his ties to The Authority.

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@ThisIsNasty BIG NASTY do u think HOGAN Will have his last match at WRESTLEMANIA 31 and could his opponent be Rusev?

— Derek Budde (@DerekBudde) January 7, 2015"

Hogan would love to have his last match at WrestleMania 31, but it just won't happen.

Following Jerry Lawler's heart scare in 2012, WWE moved away from booking wrestlers past their 50s. Two years prior, a 59-year-old Ricky Steamboat was legitimately hospitalized following an attack by The Nexus, per Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net.  

WWE has very little to gain from a Hulk Hogan in-ring return and much more to lose. Hogan can be the catalyst for an eventual Cena-Rusev feud to make the rivalry seem more meaningful. Hogan will be a part of WrestleMania 31, just not as a wrestler.

A role as a special guest referee, special enforcer or simply a non-wrestling part of the story does more for Hogan than a match.

Following numerous back surgeries, Hogan cannot even take a bump and moves around the ring very gingerly. It's doubtful that he could even pass a physical. Regardless of who wants to admit it, Hogan's wrestling days are done.

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@ThisIsNasty hey dude what the hell is going to happen with Ambrose now he loses all the time

— Pato Saavedra (@patosaavedra45) January 6, 2015"

Tweets like this are getting pretty popular. Nobody should freak out about Ambrose's losing. This is actually encouraging creatively, as WWE gets nowhere with even-steven booking. Sometimes one man just has to win a feud with a string of victories. Ambrose has shined in each of his hardcore matches against Bray Wyatt, so the damage done to him is limited.

The Royal Rumble came at a perfect time for Ambrose. After an Ambulance match, his feud against Wyatt appears finished. He will figure to be one of the featured stars in the Royal Rumble, where his WrestleMania storyline may begin.

Ambrose will easily regain his momentum by lasting until the final four in WWE's most prestigious Battle Royal. Those concerned about his losing ways need not worry: He's doing his part to put over an equally talented WWE Superstar, and the future of the promotion will be better off for it.

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