Breaking Down WWE's Most Controversial and Shocking Stories for Week of Jan. 25

Only during Royal Rumble week of WrestleMania season can a story about Linda McMahon going to the White House fly under the radar. WWE has kept itself quite busy with its brilliant hype of Royal Rumble match, which has a proper billing of legends and Hall of Famers to engage 60,000 fans in San Antonio on Sunday.

The Royal Rumble has introduced subplots so juicy, controversial and speculative that WWE should air a one-hour special on the WWE Network just so fans can keep up.  

So who's ready to rumble? Everybody.

Star-Studded Trio Closes Out Raw

Raw ended with an advertised appearance by Goldberg, who picked the wrong episode to finally show signs of rust on the microphone, but fans were treated to surprise appearances by The Undertaker and Goldberg.

The three icons stared each other down, and with the Royal Rumble just days away, none of WWE's three biggest favorites are exclusive to the SmackDown brand.

As WWE continues to tease a loaded lineup, filled with mass, this could all be a red herring to distract fans' attention from the actual winner. With so many big names in the fold, this is the classic scenario where WWE pulls a rabbit out of the hat and goes with a seemingly random winner.

One of the positives of the brand split—and the increased number of pay-per-views—is that it gives WWE a plethora of chances to set up world championship matches at WrestleMania.

Goldberg and Lesnar could be a world championship match—should one of them win the Royal Rumble—but it could just as easily be a special-attraction match if one or both are eliminated by the other. Either way, all this unpredictability is great for the Big Four pay-per-view.

Randy's Rumble?

Remember that red herring? Randy Orton has quietly risen up the ranks as a favorite. The Viper is currently just behind outright favorite Goldberg at +350 (bet $100 to win $350) on OddsShark.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc) reported that plans currently call for Randy Orton to win the Royal Rumble with Bray Wyatt to win the Elimination Chamber, thereby setting up a WrestleMania matchup between the two stablemates.

As good as Orton has been as a Wyatt, WWE could have added much more value to this storyline by having him go full Wyatt. A longer beard and new gear would have fit his already cold, dry persona perfectly over the past few months. It's the type of nuance that could make an eventual Wyatt-Orton feud a legit, go-on-last WrestleMania main event.

Instead, Orton's lack of cosmetic changes always created a sense that this alliance would implode at any minute. Still, as random as an Orton Royal Rumble win sounds, it fits the theme of unpredictability that surrounds the Alamodome showcase.

Seth Rollins: Not Ready to Rumble?

Seth Rollins took a loss to Sami Zayn on Monday's Raw and, as a result, is set to miss the Royal Rumble match for the third year in a row.

With Triple H's music playing in the live arena Monday night, it's only a matter of time before The Game actually returns, and it would be shocking if his return didn't come at some point during Sunday's pay-per-view.

In fact, it's possible that Triple H could attempt to enter the Royal Rumble match, but Rollins would attack him and take his spot, causing The Game to return later in the night and eliminate The Architect.

In addition to the unpredictability, pageantry and star power, the abundance of storylines has put this Royal Rumble in position to be the all-time greatest event of its kind.

Linda McMahon Swears In, Senator Cory Booker Calls Out Triple H

WWE Hall of Famer and U.S. president Donald Trump's nominees for the world's most polarizing cabinet have been put through the ringer in various confirmation hearings. Several nominees have spent hours on the hot seat answering tough questions about their past en route to joining The Donald in "making America great again."

One of the more lighthearted hearings, however, was that of Linda McMahon, who was praised by democratic Senator, and potential savior of the DNC in 2020, Cory Booker. Booker then took a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Triple H as he claimed he needed "Triple-help in getting back in shape."

There was a real chance that news of wrestler deaths and questionable employment classification—which doomed Linda in each of her hotly contested senate runs—could have resurfaced as a result of a grilling of the former WWE CEO and current head of the Small Business Administration. Instead, it was treated with more levity as Linda McMahon cruises to the White House.

Heat on Sami Zayn?

Sami Zayn appeared in a bizarre segment a couple of weeks back on Raw in which he was booked to annoy Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins with hackneyed catchphrases and dorky handshakes.

Apparently this was by design. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc), Zayn was being made to look like a nerd, as there is heat on the former NXT star.

Reasons for Zayn's current heat are undisclosed, and likely ridiculous based on WWE's history of unwritten rules, but if Zayn is to be severely punished, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

Not only is WWE in the midst of WrestleMania season, but Zayn has steadily risen through his mutually beneficial feud with Braun Strowman. Even though he has been destined to compete in whatever multi-man ladder match WWE has cooked up at WrestleMania 33, he can easily be considered an early favorite to win that match.

If reports of him having heat are true, however, kiss that win goodbye.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.