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I posted a scenario in 100,001 replies where I suggested that Triple H use the title to drive The Shield apart. That may be too cerebral for the WWE to do. A simpler storyline, and one that the Triple H character should be smarter than -- but you can always explain that his lust for the title overwhelms any other savvy he has -- is that he just rewards himself the World Title. Randy Orton and Batista don't like it, but Triple H tells them that they can fight it out once The Shield is done with.
The heat on Triple H for this would be nuclear. Can you imagine Daniel Bryan doing the right thing and vacating the title, only for Stephanie McMahon to welcome the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, before "King of Kings" hits, and a man that Daniel Bryan beat at WrestleMania XXX just strolls on down and takes the titles?
At Payback, you probably have Dean Ambrose eat the first fall. He's my favorite of The Shield, but he seems the one that they are presenting as the weakest of a very strong group. His insanity and personality probably make him the best choice to eat the first fall. Reigns and Rollins are put down and Evolution circle Dean, who is all "Bring it!" anyway. A Triple Powerbomb from Evolution sees Ambrose eliminated.
Next you either have Rollins eliminate Batista or Orton eliminate Rollins. Giving Rollins a pin would probably be a good thing going forward with him. Batista looks like he's about to Batista Bomb Reigns, but he gets a springboard knee across the face and a few seconds later he cops a Piece of Mind onto a chair and Rollins has pinned him. Rollins then tries something tricky on Orton, but gets caught with an RKO out of nowhere, to eliminate him and bring on a chorus of "Holy shit!" chants.
Triple H and Orton think they have Reigns down, but he battles back against both men. They can maybe even do some sort of spot where Reigns grabs a steel chair as an "equalizer," but then Reigns tosses it to Orton and Triple H and says that one of them will need it, in one of those bad-ass action hero moments. Reigns cops a beat-down, but he manages a few spots where he battles back. JBL doesn't give him much chance -- "He's in there with the current champion and the former champion!" -- but Reigns dodges a sledgehammer shot from Triple H, who nails Orton on the gut, clears Triple H out of the ring and Spears Orton into oblivion for the three count. Reigns is left alone with Triple H now...
The Game actually looks terrified and even tries to beg off Reigns, but Roman's having none of that. Triple H tries his heelish techniques, but Reigns has got something for everything. Since it is No Holds Barred, however, Orton just attacks Reigns out of nowhere. Batista makes his way down and it is 3-on-1; until The Shield run out and try to even the odds. The battle lines are drawn for the final fall, but Randy Orton and Batista look at each other...then decide to bail!
Triple H is mortified as his allies have deserted him. He realizes the world of trouble he is in now. He drops to his knees and BEGS The Shield not to beat the crap out of him, but The Hounds of Justice are essentially licking their lips. They swarm Triple H, hopefully to a monster pop, and then all take turns hitting their signature moves on him. Finally, they call for it, and Triple H gets the Triple Powerbomb he has been avoiding for all these weeks -- maybe even though a table. Reigns pins The Game and also scores a fall over the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Batista leaves to promote his movie, with the kayfabe reason being he is sick of Triple H's crap and just awarding himself the title. Randy Orton enters the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, looking for a repeat win and finally a way to get back to "his" title. Triple H doesn't want to do so, but perhaps a random Vince McMahon return leads to Roman Reigns being given the Money in the Bank title shot, since he not only pinned Triple H himself at Payback, but Randy Orton as well. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are both inserted into the Money in the Bank Ladder Match by Triple H, as a sort of "fuck you, destroy each other in there" concept. It is assumed they will work together, but JBL promises us that when push comes to shove, one of these men will turn on the other. And they do beat the crap out of each other, and probably cost each other a chance at winning. Actually, I'd have Rollins take a huge dump off the ladder and Ambrose looks like he's about to win, but the briefcase is raised, because The Authority doesn't want a member of The Shield as champion. Or you can just have Ambrose win and use the briefcase and the title for some underlying tension.
If the fans are eating up Reigns as a top face (and they probably will be), then Reigns can pin Triple H at Money in the Bank to become the new champion. I don't know how long you'd keep the title on Reigns, but you can give Daniel Bryan some more time off and have him return at SummerSlam for a match against Reigns, or even hold off on Bryan going after the title altogether. Milk his return for what it's worth and create another star in the meantime. Ambrose & Rollins can continue stealing the show and having Reigns's back. Since The Wyatt Family are likely to be your next WWE Tag Team Champions, the idea of having Ambrose & Rollins challenge them and even get a run with the titles is not too unattractive an idea.
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