SWEET SASSY 2016! Welcome to the Scorch!Didn't do a Wrap Up last week as you all probably noticed. Took a little bit of a rest in order to reset. But I did do a big Year-End 2015 Wrestling Wrap Up piece the week before so that should have been enough to stuff your cheeks for winter.

Roman wins. This is the easiest, and also riskiest given last year's Rumble reaction to Roman, scenario. But yeah, Roman goes through ("outlasts" is the new rhetoric, which is better than "defeats") 29 other guys and retains his belt. IF booked correctly, it could work and help make Roman a giant star with massive support. That "IF" is an iffy gamble though.

Roman gets eliminated halfway through, or early (after a good showing of course), and the playing field opens up big time. Doubtful it'll be like this, but we'll see,

Roman get eliminated right at the end. Way more likely. The new player, whoever it will be, walks out as the new champ. Possibly after having come in right at the end. Number 30 even.

New Champ could be Sheamus. Meh. This should not be done.

Brock. That's a good bet, though big "Road to WrestleMania" crowds (Rumble and Mania) would STILL cheer Brock over Roman. Despite a screwjob. Again though, Brock winning the Rumble doesn't equal "Brock vs. Roman II" at Mania.

Other options. Triple H. Which would give us their big revenge match AND a title match. Though it's also possible that Hunter just costs Roman the Rumble and the title which then sets them up for a grudge match outside of the title picture. Maybe at Fastlane.

Undertaker. Taker rides into Texas for his retirement match as the champ.

The Rock. Long shot as it's unlikely Rock will be doing any wrestling this season, but given his ties to Roman, there's a chance. Still, does Rock want to do anything with Roman after what happened last year? He's got a brand to protect too.

Cena. Cena is always ALWAYS an option. And Cena vs Roman could easily be the 'Mania title match this year.

Daniel Bryan. This is where we all take a trip down to Dreamytime Candyland, and row our marzipan canoes down Marshmallow River, and get our hopes up with unrealistic plots and plans for Bryan to come in and take the title. The Bryan thing is a double edged sword. First off, he's most likely never wrestling in a WWE ring again. Secondly, bringing him into the picture now, despite the attention and good will it would bring, would sabotage any "build up Roman" plans. THOUGH, thirdly, if Bryan is secretly good to go it'd be a giant misstep not to use him to try and fill up that goddamn 100 thousand seat arena at WrestleMania.

So let's get right to it. The Rumble. Roman Reigns' title is now on the line in the Rumble match. The last time this was done was 1992 when the title was vacant. And Ric Flair won after Hogan, the lead babyface, turned into a little tantrumy pisspot and helped pull Sid out of the ring after Sid eliminated him cleanly. It was a spectacular Rumble, I must say. I remember, way back then, cheering fervently after Flair won. I'm not saying this year's Rumble will produce equivalent emotions, but I like the switch up. It creates a lot of possibilities. They may not pay off, but - man - we can dine out for weeks on possibilities, right? These are our energon cubes.What are the possible outcomes? Well, there are many. Sure, the WWE changing the Rumble like this smacks (a bit) of them perhaps not yet knowing what to do with 'Mania, or maybe they do have a good idea and just plan on using the Fastlane PPV, like last year, to finally form the 'Mania main event. Here's what could happen...I could bullet point the s*** out of this day with possibilities. Only a couple of these outcomes will work. Most are bonehead moves that could ruin everything. But it's the wide open space that we adore. The room to explore. The uncertainty about what's to come. This is what's best for business. Several storyline options being open.This isn't going to be a big Wrap Up. Honestly, a lot of big news is going down this week. Tonight, in fact. Impact Wrestling moves to POP and their show will crown a new world champ. It's doubtful that we'll see a giant format change like the one that came with their move to Destination America, but they will be wanting to make a splash. And rumor has it that, sadly (well, for me), James Storm is on his way back to TNA. Look, I know that's a sucky thing to say, but if one were to consider NXT the second (or third, behind ROH) North American wrestling brand, then it's a step backward. Maybe not in pay, of course, but profile-wise for sure.And not to shallow grave the lede here, or ignore the elephant in the room, but it looks like (some say it's confirmed, some say WWE's only "going after" these guys) that AJ Styles and the Bullet Club of NJPW are on their way to WWE. Or, more appropriately, NXT. This would be Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Apparently, they all gave their notice to NJPW right before Wrestle Kingdom 10 event, with Nakamure perhaps staying on a bit longer so he can drop his IWGP Intercontinental title. To Kenny Omega, new leader of the Bullet Club.If WWE's "going after" them, then there's money on the table, right? I guess my question is...how much will a "name" get paid for an NXT gig? If a lot of money is spent, is the investment worth it if they're just on NXT? Or should they get on RAW just because? Perhaps it doesn't matter and the WWE doesn't split their budgets by brand. Maybe it's just one big pot and wherever someone's the most useful is where they go, regardless of mega moneys.

Jericho's back, Heath Slater finds friends, and more on Page 2...