Brock Lesnar, Wyatt Family Feud Adds Major Intrigue to WWE Royal Rumble 2016

The Wyatt Family's ripping apart Brock Lesnar like a pack of jackals was just the touch of tumult the sagging WWE Royal Rumble 2016 needed.

What felt too much like a two-man race instantly morphed into a wilder, off-the-rails ride. The Bray Wyatt-led assault on the favorite heading into the 30-man match added depth and opened the door for a number of creative possibilities. 

The Royal Rumble may still be a Roman Reigns-centered narrative, but after Monday's Raw, it now boasts quite the intriguing subplot.

In Raw's opening segment, Reigns called out Lesnar—his mind on revenge for The Beast Incarnate's flattening him last week. He would have to wait until the end of the show, though. Chris Jericho would be hosting both Reigns and Lesnar in a "Highlight Reel" segment.

When The League of Nations soon emerged, Sheamus pointed out that the Royal Rumble wasn't just about Reigns and Lesnar. 

That's been a key problem with the build toward that match. WWE has focused so much on Reigns that it's not far removed from being a glorified Handicap match in which The Big Dog is set to face 29 other men. He and Lesnar have felt like the only viable possible winners.

As a result, the Rumble lacked unpredictability. It had little spark. It promised a one-on-one match with a host of background players.

WWE hadn't inserted enough of the usual crisscrossing rivalries. Not until the end of Monday's Raw, at least.

After Reigns and Lesnar started brawling and The League of Nations ambushed them both during the closing segment, The Wyatt Family stepped out of the darkness with its fangs bared. The clan first encircled and attacked Reigns. Luke Harper finished him off with a discus clothesline.

Wyatt then had his men turn their focus to Lesnar.

Harper, Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman all took turns hammering the powerhouse. Lesnar struggled to stand—his legs wobbly, his eyes glazed. Wyatt then spiked his head into the mat with a Sister Abigail.

It's rare to see Lesnar get pummeled like that. That surprising image becomes more powerful as a result.

When anyone can cut The Beast Incarnate down at his knee, it forces the audience to take notice.

Now the Rumble is more compelling. Fans know that should Lesnar and anyone from The Wyatt Family be in the ring at the same time during the Battle Royal, there will be carnage. Lesnar will be seething.

And the monster-on-the-hunt Lesnar is the absolute best Lesnar.

He would have certainly unleashed plenty of havoc regardless, but things are now more personal with The Wyatt Family. There will be more electricity surrounding their interactions. 

Credit: WWE.com

On ProWrestling.net, Jason Powell wrote that he wasn't convinced that WWE did enough to make either The League of Nations or The Wyatt Family emerge as legitimate threats. However, he did point out that after the attack on Monday, "At least Lesnar and Reigns have issues with other men heading into the match."

That's a simple but necessary addition that will do wonders for the 30-man bout. 

Reigns is angry with both Lesnar and Wyatt. Lesnar has bad blood with Wyatt's crew and Reigns. Add The League of Nations to the mix, and the options for animosity are plentiful.

Credit: WWE.com

The Wyatt Family could enter the match around the same time and lie in wait for Lesnar. It could be Wyatt who eliminates Lesnar, while Triple H zeroes in on Reigns. 

WWE can also set up a major matchup for its biggest event of the year. Should The Wyatt Family beat down Lesnar again and converge on him to eliminate him from the Rumble, the company will have constructed a strong foundation for a WrestleMania showdown.

Pro Wrestling Torch's Benjamin Tucker, for one, foresees Wyatt and Lesnar colliding at The Show of Shows:

The conflict between those two forces may or may not lead to that bout, but it elevates the Rumble regardless. Fans now go into the bout less sure that things will come down to Reigns and Lesnar. The possibility that Wyatt comes away the victor feels more realistic after seeing him leave Lesnar punch-drunk.

In that moment on Monday night, The Wyatt Family looked like monsters once more. Their attack catapulted them from role players to central pieces in what is suddenly a more complicated Rumble match.

There's reason to temper one's excitement, though. Kyle Fowle of the A.V. Club reminded us that "WWE has legitimized the Wyatts again and again, only to then have them lose again and again just as they get their momentum back."

Will WWE make Wyatt's posse simply play Lesnar's victims at the Royal Rumble? Will it squander this opportunity to have them surging toward WrestleMania and make the Rumble a messier, more engaging spectacle?

The final moments of Monday's Raw offered an enthralling glimpse of what it would look like if The Eater of Worlds did indeed bring the apocalypse he has long promised.