WWE Royal Rumble 2015: Most Likely Heel and Face Turns at Event

Expect several twists and turns at this week’s Royal Rumble event. It wouldn't be a major WWE pay-per-view without a few shocks and swerves along the way.

Brock Lesnar is the first wrestler who springs to mind.  The former MMA fighter came off as a babyface on Monday’s edition of Raw. He wanted to destroy sneaky, slimy heel Seth Rollins for his antics over the past couple of weeks. That’s a good way to endear yourself to fans.

Fans in the arena seemed keen to see the star gain revenge on Rollins, which is a good sign for Lesnar if he is indeed turning soon.  

Credit: WWE.com

Lesnar would make a strong babyface. The performer’s tough, no-nonsense attitude and unwillingness to suffer fools make him appealing. He doesn’t tell corny and badly written jokes like John Cena or Roman Reigns, which also works strongly in his favor.  

The Royal Rumble is a chance to solidify Lesnar's babyface turn. Paul Heyman turning on Lesnar and costing him the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is a decent possibility. Heyman and Seth Rollins are a natural pairing in the company’s storylines.

A Lesnar-Rollins singles bout for the title at WrestleMania 31 sounds like a great idea. It’s an original and fresh match, especially if Lesnar agrees to put Rollins over clean in the middle of the ring. If anything can solidify Rollins as a main event star, that will.

In other notes from Monday’s Raw, fired stars Ryback, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler were re-hired by WWE. Their returns were engineered after Cena won his handicap bout against various members of The Authority.    

So, it's all good, right? No. This is wrestling, after all. It wouldn't be surprising if one of those guys turned heel and joined the heel side. One of the three could run in during the title match at the Royal Rumble and cost Cena the match.  

Credit: WWE.com

Ziggler is the best bet for a turn.

He’s always been better as a heel anyway. His post-firing interview—in which he came off as bitter and disillusioned—strongly hinted at a turn. Cena vs. Ziggler could be a terrific feud. The in-ring action alone would be worth watching.

Ryback is another candidate to run in and sabotage Cena's chances to gain the belt. That is less likely, though, since he does appear to be making strides as a babyface. It would be foolish to turn him now.

The Royal Rumble is an event that could have ramifications for WWE programming for the rest of the year, especially WrestleMania 31 in March. For that reason alone, it’s worth checking out.