Re-Booking Biggest Mistakes of 2023 WWE Royal Rumble Match Card

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 was a solid event with ups and downs that ultimately led to the right men and women standing tall. However, certain decisions still left many wanting more.

Cody Rhodes won the 2023 men's Royal Rumble match in a predictable but welcome result. WWE could have done more to make that contest memorable.

Rhea Ripley punched her ticket to WWE WrestleMania 39 by winning the women's Royal Rumble. It was a messy road to that moment, primarily affected by a lull in the action following the eliminations of Roxanne Perez, Becky Lynch and Damage CTRL.

Roman Reigns retained the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship over Kevin Owens. Most were not talking about that moment as much as Sami Zayn turning on The Head of the Table.

Bray Wyatt and LA Knight competed in odd dark neon lights. Bianca Belair put down Alexa Bliss in a relatively one-sided Raw Women's Championship match.

These were just the biggest results of a night that could have been better. The following are key booking decisions that could have improved the show with full hindsight.

Never Announce Cody Rhodes' Return in the Men's Royal Rumble

WWE built up Cody Rhodes with video packages and then announced his appearance in the men's Royal Rumble two weeks ahead of time. It was a bold move that indicated WWE had a bigger surprise in mind.

Instead, WWE should have kept The American Nightmare for the ultimate surprise as the number 30 entrant in the match.

The crowd was invested in Rhodes' performance, but it could have felt bigger. After his memorable performance at WWE Hell in a Cell, WWE announced that he would not be able to return for nine months.

While most expected Rhodes to compete in the match and likely win it, keeping the surprise would have added some doubt about the result. It would have also made it more likely that others could win.

By making this small change, the men's Royal Rumble would have gone from good to great, further establishing the legacy of Rhodes in WWE.

Dominik Mysterio Should Have Taken Rey Mysterio's Spot, Leaving #18 for a Surprise

The men's Royal Rumble primarily lacked suspense. WWE focused on in-ring action over all else, even avoiding veteran appearances except for Booker T.

However, WWE only had 29 men compete in this year's Rumble for no good reason. Rey Mysterio was injured ahead of his appearance, and it was revealed that the next entrant, Dominilk Mysterio, was the reason.

However, WWE should have simply bundled the story into one spot. Dominik could have stolen Rey's spot and had the same impact.

This would have given WWE one more spot to fill. There are plenty of men that could have filled that spot, but this would have been a nice opportunity to pull off a surprise.

Bring in a young NXT star like Bron Breakker or Carmelo Hayes for a good run, or bring back Shinsuke Nakamura, Mustafa Ali, or Dolph Ziggler with a fresh gimmick with which to shine.

A Bolder Plan for the Pitch Black Match or Scrapped Entirely

The Mountain Dew Pitch Black match was a silly waste of build. Bray Wyatt and LA Knight littered the arena with glowing neon lights in what amounted to a heated squash. It was hard to follow watching at home, worse still for the live crowd.

Wyatt vs. Knight would have been a solid match without the mess, though even then it was hardly a pay-per-view-worthy showcase.

After all the build, this needed to be a better match. In particular, WWE needed a proof of concept for the Pitch Black match. The easiest answer would have been to make this a full-on cinematic match.

While cinematic matches do leave the live crowd watching a screen, that is preferred to leaving the crowd baffled while many cannot see a thing.

If WWE did not want to put in the time for a full cinematic match, this match should have never been anything more than a simple wrestling bout. Let Wyatt show that he can still perform.

Alexa Bliss Pushes Bianca Belair to Get Extreme to Win

Bianca Belair is going on one year as Raw women's champion. Each time she defends the title, it should mean something special. Instead, her match with Alexa Bliss fell flat.

The biggest problem was a lack of time and intensity. WWE spent a month building up this contest. The heat was building to a contest that should have felt more dangerous for The EST.

After all that The Goddess did in the weeks leading up to the match, Belair should have needed to fight harder to get this win.

Even though it was not a stipulation match, this match should have included weapons and a brawl that extended beyond the ring. This was the moment for Belair to show her edge. Instead, it was a simple forgettable contest.

Rely Upon Roxanne Perez and Becky Lynch More in the Women's Royal Rumble

WWE put together a solid women's Royal Rumble that should have been even more. With the most complete women's roster to date going into the Rumble, many stepped up to make an impact.

In particular, the final three of Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan and Asuka were phenomenal. However, the road to the final three was inconsistent. The match started strong but lost its way after two major eliminations.

The NXT women's champion Roxanne Perez put on a show for a crowd that was fully behind her. She looked great throughout against many of WWE's top stars. However, she did not even get five minutes to perform.

Becky Lynch came in with the biggest pop of the night. She was the biggest star in the entire match. However, she too was eliminated early in possibly the most shocking moment of the entire match.

Both women could have been much more integral to the flow of this match. There is no easy answer for why Zoey Stark, Xia Li and Tamina lasted longer than either star that could have done more throughout.

Meiko Satomura Instead of Michelle McCool in the Women's Royal Rumble

The women's Royal Rumble match needed more strong workers, and while allowing certain women to work longer would have helped, there was an easy fix that could come from one change.

MIchelle McCool has competed in three Royal Rumbles and set the original record for eliminations in the first women's Rumble. Her legacy is set, and she gains nothing from competing in another one.

She was mostly a non-factor in the contest. This spot could have been used for Ronda Rousey, but WWE was committed to not having her in the match.

The best option instead was to bring in a signed ring general WWE should use more. Meiko Satomura is one of the best on the roster and someone WWE should rely upon more.

She could have the difference in keeping this Rumble moving. Interactions between her and Asuka, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan would have been highlights of the night.

Take It Home with The Bloodline Faster

It is hard to complain about The Bloodline story right now as there is nothing better in wrestling at this moment. However, there is a running problem with the angle that invaded WWE Royal Rumble 2023: pacing.

Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens had a solid match, though it lacked drama, especially in a match that was nearly 20 minutes long.

Everyone was waiting to see what Sami Zayn would do, and it took another 10 minutes for The Honorary Uce to turn against The Head of the Table and complete the welcome evolution of Zayn.

On a night where both non-Royal Rumble matches went less than 10 minutes, The Bloodline segment did not need to go over 30 minutes.

It is still easily the strongest story going in WWE, and Reigns, Zayn and Jey Uso especially nailed the final stretch. It just could have been done with 10 minutes cut from the overall presentation.