For two years straight, WWE Royal Rumble has had some of the most disappointing finishes in the events illustrious history. PWP Nation’s Jay Alletto brings you an idea that could Make Royal Rumble Great Again
The Royal Rumble has been one of the biggest shows each year for WWE since 1988. As a cornerstone in the annals of WWE history, the event has been able to set the stage for the next major star to emerge, unexpected returns to happen & some new comers to debut.
Most recently, the Rumble match has failed to capture the magic that made the event so spectacular. This has led to negative fan reaction & a general disinterest in the result of the event. Fans are almost expecting disappointment from the Royal Rumble at this point.
The question is: how does WWE make Royal Rumble great again? Before we get to that, here’s a little history on why the past two years have had lackluster finishes & some factoids that you may have forgotten over time.
In 2014, the hype surrounding The Royal Rumble was prevalent. Randy Orton walked into the event as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Orton took on John Cena & was victorious in a forgettable match.
Batista had just made his return to WWE after retiring 4 years earlier. Upon his return, he immediately proclaimed that he wanted to be in the main event at WrestleMania 30 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship…something that ultimately served true.
What about Daniel Bryan & CM Punk?
Bryan & Punk were the most popular babyfaces on the roster at the time. Both men had momentum & popularity in their favor heading into the event. Unfortunately, this was the last night that we saw CM Punk in the WWE & Daniel Bryan didn’t even get to compete in the Royal Rumble match! Rey Mysterio entered as the final entrant at number 30 & was showered with boo’s from the disapproving crowd.
To the dismay of the Pittsburgh crowd, and the majority of those watching at home, Batista won the Royal Rumble and was set to face Randy Orton in the main event at WrestleMania 30. And because this decision was so unpopular, and Daniel Bryan was so overwhelmingly popular, WWE was forced to call an audible & set up a storyline to insert Daniel Bryan into the WrestleMania main event.
In 2015, WWE had the chance to right their wrong from the previous year & give the fans what they wanted to see at Royal Rumble. I had the pleasure of attending the 2015 Royal Rumble in Philadelphia. The overall card was fantastic, with a stand-out WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match with Brock Lesnar defending against Seth Rollins & John Cena. But once again, we were given an unfavorable result during the Rumble match.
Roman Reigns was victorious, but not without a thunderstorm of hellacious heat from the Philadelphia audience. Daniel Bryan was, once again, the fan favorite to win the Rumble. Bryan returned just a few weeks earlier from injury and he was expected to play a huge part in the Rumble match. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in forgettable fashion & his run in the match was extremely short lived. Personally, it ruined my experience in the live crowd. Mix this sad fact with the dominance of the aging giants, Big Show & Kane, and we had an absolute mess of a finish.
This year, there are two scenarios which would make The Royal Rumble Great Again and allow fans to be excited on The Road to WrestleMania.
If Daniel Bryan has been cleared to wrestle, WWE should have him be a surprise entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble. Surprise entrants have been a major tool implemented in past Royal Rumble matches to create excitement and give the wrestling fan something to talk about after the show. This would come out of nowhere & would instantly pop the crowd.
I’m not necessarily saying that Bryan has to win, but wouldn’t it be nice? Bryan was put on the back burner for a Royal Rumble victory for two straight years due to the unpopular plans of Vince McMahon & the WWE brass. This could be his year if he is a surprise entrant.
In the past, two major superstars made surprise Royal Rumble appearances and were victorious in the contest. John Cena returned to action unexpectedly at Madison Square Garden in 2008 to win the Rumble. Nobody knew that he would be ready to return that early & everyone, even Cena haters, were jacked up about his surprise appearance. The match itself had something to build towards, which is critical when booking eliminations strategically.
Edge returned early from injury at the 2010 Royal Rumble and was victorious. The Rated R Superstar was injected immediately into a feud with his former tag team partner, Chris Jericho and they had an underrated match for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 26.
In the case of Daniel Bryan, he has been playing the same, “WWE won’t clear me to wrestle” card for nearly a year. Could this be a case of waiting until the right time to bring Bryan back? Or is this story 100% legit? Remember, WWE has worked us in ways where we could NEVER believe that we could be worked.
The next scenario is something that could essentially be combined with the return of Daniel Bryan: Have Roman Reigns DEFEND the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the Royal Rumble Match.
In a brilliant twist of fate, The Authority could really stack the deck against Roman & have him put the title on the line against 29 other superstars where he could essentially lose without getting pinned or submitting. This idea would make an inclusion into the Rumble match extra special because wrestlers who would likely NEVER get a shot at the championship would all of a sudden have the same odds as everyone else of walking out as the winner.
Also, all of the top talent would be lining up to get their hands on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Brock Lesnar would be included. Hell, let’s throw The Undertaker in there too. No doubt that John Cena would want a piece of the action. Having the top talent compete for the top prize would be reminiscent to what many consider the greatest Rumble of all time: 1992 when Ric Flair won the vacated WWE Championship.
When utilizing the top talent, you could even start the build to some of the upper echelon matches for WrestleMania 32. Imagine The Wyatt Family rallying around the idea that their sole purpose is to make Bray Wyatt the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the Royal Rumble? The four monsters could all be in the ring at the same time and dominate the competition for a little while, throwing wrestlers out as they come in. And then, Brock Lesnar’s music hits.
Could you imagine the pop? Brock would walk into the lion’s den and destroy The Wyatt’s, eliminating all of them and clearing the ring. And then the next guy out could be the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns. The Wyatt’s could target Lesnar in the future & even return to the Rumble match later on to essentially cost Lesnar the match with outside interference. You could kick-off the rumored Brock Lesnar vs. Kevin Owens feud with a similar scenario.
The possibilities are endless & I could spend my entire day booking different scenarios that could come out of a Royal Rumble, but that’s not exactly why we are here.
How would WWE come up with a #1 contender for WrestleMania? EASY! Utilize the 2nd year Fastlane show in February to book your WWE World Heavyweight Championship match. There are a variety of ways to make a #1 contender, so I’m sure WWE could figure that part out with ease.
This is all about Making The Royal Rumble Great Again and to do that they have to generate interest going into the match & excitement while the match is taking place. There’s no right way or wrong way to do it because wrestling is one of the most subjective art forms in the entire world.
But these are two scenarios that could work…and if you combine the two, it would make for a pretty damn interesting Royal Rumble event.