PMN Rumor Mill: WWE internal frustrations emerging after 2015 Royal Rumble

NOTE: Remember take these for what they are rumors. SPOILER ALERT – some of them may be true and some may just be the venting of WWE employees. 

After the 2014 Royal Rumble disaster that saw Batista beat Roman Reigns and subsequently booed out of the building for it we expected WWE to see the error of their ways. Man were we wrong. This year the not ready for prime time Roman Reigns won and it was a victory we all saw coming a mile away. Over the course of many months full of poorly delivered lines, scripted at that, we read between said lines and saw the push we were getting whether we wanted it or not. Roman Reigns was going to be our hero regardless of who we cheered for. At the Royal Rumble we did not cheer – we jeered so loud it shook the heavens when Reigns took home the win and shot at the WWE Champion. Even the casual fans knows when the WWE Universe is being ignored. Six of the biggest pro wrestling fans I know have stopped watching and that is saying something about the poor, poor booking decisions that we are forced to sit through.

The reason the past eras were better was because we chose stars and not them. Crowd reactions chose winners and not marketing dummies at corporate. If they listened we would have guys like Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Dolph Ziggler carrying belts right now.

Here’s the point, Roman reigns has the look and that’s it. So the guys who have the total package and are straining to reach for Vincent K. McMahon’s imaginary brass rings are left out in the cold like” WTF bro?!” Those guys are pissed off and we are just as much as them. So here’s what I have gathered from sources and for the record I am more right than wrong when I talk to these people.

* Dolph Ziggler is getting frustrated, like CM Punk frustrated. His continued misuse by management and the blatant unwillingness of his bosses to listen to the crowd’s reaction for him is the biggest problem. He smiles on the outside, but is fuming often inside. We love Dolph and he will never get his chance for some reason.

* Daniel Bryan is also frustrated. Roman Reigns hasn’t even proven he’s a mid-card level champion let alone Wrestlemania main event caliber. Even worse for Daniel is the fact that Vince has reportedly stated he is not willing to put Bryan in the match no matter how loud the crowd cheers because it was done last year. Roman Reigns is going to get the worst reaction of all time from the Mania fans unless they do something drastic like sticking Seth Rollins in the match.

* It reportedly is a frequent occurrence for WWE creative to pull the “we don’t know what happened” card and they are baffled because their in depth “marketing research” fails to produce results on TV and resonate with fans. DUH!

* The WWE has created no one to replace John Cena in the spotlight. Refusing to recognize our desire for Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, and the handful of other deserving superstars has killed their ability to push someone in the right way. It is maddening to know they are not going to give us what we want. Reportedly, Cena hasn’t helped anyone behind the scenes get over. It may appear like it on TV, but everyone he has worked with has been buried. Zack Ryder, Bray Wyatt, and the list goes on.

* Vince may be losing touch with the current roster and some believe that he is only comfortable with John Cena, Randy Orton types because that is all he knows and it is easy to book them. He reportedly has no idea what to do with the roster. Just look at Fandango, Stardust, Big E, Adam Rose, and 75% of the cartoon gimmick roster.McMahon is also reportedly even quicker to anger than usual and a larger portion of the roster now wishes he would completely step aside like George Lucas did with Star Wars.

* Seth Rollins may become the guy who cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase and fails to win the title. Rollins is considered the greatest bad guy on the roster, but will never be allowed to beat John Cena or any other of Vince’s favorites consistently. He is seen as another misuse of talent. Even though he gets plenty of TV time and consistently steals the show WWE officials feel he doesn’t have true main event potential.

* WWE “creative” may be intentionally ignoring mid card programs to focus on the main events. The marketing money grabs just aren’t there for mid card guys like it is for Cena. Some of the guys in the locker room no longer see Cena as a wrestler. He is considered a walking marketing robot who shamelessly peddles merchandise so WWE can tout their sales. When Cena retires or is off due to an injury WWE officials reportedly get very nervous. We love what Cena does for Make A Wish and he is a hero for that, but we don’t love his lack of depth of any kind on TV. He’s a strong guy who wears Barney the dinosaur colors and has no character.

I had a long conversation with two guys close to WWE and there was so much more. That will have to wait until I get one more source confirming the rest before I feel comfortable passing it on.