WWE Royal Rumble 2016: 8 Worst Booking Decisions in PPV's History
Since 1988, the Royal Rumble pay-per-view has provided fans with matches and moments that have helped it become one of the most important and popular shows of the WWE calendar year.
From the wild and chaotic titular match to the championship bouts that help shape the other half of the WrestleMania main event, there have been countless booking decisions that have helped to mold all-time great memories.
Unfortunately, any time an event hangs around as long as the Rumble has, it is almost guaranteed to be responsible for its fair share of horrible booking choices. The annual January extravaganza is no different.
From title changes that never should have happened to the watering down of the biggest Battle Royal on the card, the show has been haunted by several head-scratching instances.
As we prepare for the 2016 incarnation of the event, relive these eight booking decisions that left a lot to be desired.
8. Back-Ending the Rumble in 2002
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There was a wealth of talent for Vince McMahon and WWE Creative to play with as the 2002 Royal Rumble arrived. Surely, that year's show would be the most star-studded in event history, the Rumble match itself chocked full of future Hall of Famers.
Unfortunately, those in charge of laying out the match opted to back-end it, booking all of the top names in the industry to enter late in the contest. Triple H, Steve Austin, Booker T, Big Show, Rob Van Dam, Kane, Mr. Perfect and Kurt Angle all arrived in the second half of the bout.
In fact, only The Undertaker entered early enough to provide a spark, and even he was dumped in spectacular fashion by Maven shortly thereafter.
The result was a monotonous and plodding match lacking any intriguing or interesting characters until it was far too late to save it.
That Booker, Kane, Show and Van Dam were eliminated in short order, time constraints necessitating their quick eliminations, only hurt their credibility.
7. The Rock Beats CM Punk for the WWE Championship (2013)
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For 434 days, CM Punk reigned over WWE as its world champion, the top dog in the company. With WrestleMania on the horizon, the opportunity presented itself for a huge Triple Threat match of sorts pitting the Chicago-born wrestler defending against The Rock and John Cena.
Instead, WWE deceived fans, switching the title from Punk to Rock at the 2013 Royal Rumble and setting up a showdown between The Great One and Cena just one year after promising the audience that their first match was a "Once in a Lifetime" affair.
Worse yet, it killed some of the heat Punk had mustered for himself. A braggadocios heel who relished the opportunity to remind fans of how long he had held the WWE Championship, he lost a great deal of the motivation that fueled his heel character.
All of that pales in comparison to the fact that Punk retained his title over Rock after the arena darkened and The Shield attacked the challenger, only to have his victory overturned.
Rather than waiting, putting the title back on Cena by having him beat both Punk and Rock, thus preventing a scenario where fans are blatantly lied to, the decision was made to go with the most predictable outcome in a moment that extinguished a great deal of excitement surrounding the WrestleMania 29 main event.
6. Announcers Answer the Call (2012)
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So depleted was the roster in 2012 that WWE Creative had a tough time filling that year's Royal Rumble match with quality competitors.
Their answer?
Call on the announcers at ringside to enter the bout.
Yes, rather than dipping into the considerable pool of legends the company had under contract, or searching the independent circles for quality wrestlers, the decision was made to book Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Booker T in the match.
Like the pool for 40 "stars" that lessened the credibility of the match a year earlier, the involvement of the announce team lessened the significance of a match dedicated to providing the best 30 competitors the opportunity to fight for a WrestleMania championship contest.
Worst of all?
Cole outlasted Lawler, continuing WWE's fascination with humiliating the Hall of Famer.
5. Ultimate Warrior Loses the WWE Championship (1991)
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At WrestleMania VI, The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan to capture the WWE Championship, ushering in what many believed would be a new era for Vince McMahon's promotion.
The cloud of Hogan hung over the company, though, and Warrior never really reached the heights that were expected of him. That created doubt in the minds of management that a rematch between the Superstars could conceivably sell out the L.A. Coliseum for the biggest show of the year.
Enter Sgt. Slaughter, a former American hero whom WWE turned heel and gave him the character of an Iraqi sympathizer at a time when the United States was right in the middle of a war with the country.
In the heart of the most patriotic Rumble broadcast ever, Slaughter capitalized on interference from "Macho King" Randy Savage to defeat the Warrior and capture the WWE Championship in one of the most shocking title switches of all time.
The booking decision set up a match between the foreign fanatic Slaughter and All-American Hogan, a story fans had seen play out countless times in the seven years that Hogan had been at the top of the company. Interest waned, and what should have been the biggest 'Mania of all time instead is remembered as one of the most disappointing.
4. Hogan Blemishes a Perfect Rumble Win (1990)
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As the new decade arrived, Mr. Perfect was clearly in line for a major push, a performer talented enough between the ropes and over enough with the audience to be a legitimate lead heel for Vince McMahon's company.
He made every single one of his opponents look better than they otherwise were, a feat few could accomplish.
With the Royal Rumble upcoming, and his push picking up considerable steam, it appeared as though the second-generation star was on his way to achieving the biggest win of his career.
Unfortunately, there was one hurdle in his way, a hurdle wearing bright yellow and red.
Rather than Perfect winning the match and immediately elevating his stock, Hulk Hogan tossed the star with the unblemished record over the top rope, thus securing his first Rumble victory.
While Perfect would remain one of the premiere stars in WWE throughout career (even as a manager), he would never reach the heights that he did during his all-too-brief feud with The Hulkster that ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
3. 40-Man Royal Rumble (2011)
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The 2011 edition of the Royal Rumble was the biggest ever, with 40 men vying for the right to head to WrestleMania to challenge for the World Heavyweight or WWE Championship.
The result was a watered-down field full of stars who had no legitimate chance of winning the match. What began as a ploy to sell pay-per-views instead hurt the credibility of the match by allowing too many glorified jobbers to share the ring with legitimate threats to win.
Alberto Del Rio won, but the fact that he accomplished such a feat by overcoming 39 other stars was forgotten fairly quickly.
Especially when it was Santino Marella he defeated to secure the win.
The match was a muddled mess that hopefully will never be replicated.
2. Scott Steiner vs. Triple H (2003)
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When Scott Steiner arrived in WWE in late 2002, it was clear that Big Poppa Pump was not moving nearly as well as he used to. Even late in his WCW career, with his muscle mass out of control, he was still able to deliver the inspired performances against the likes of Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page and Goldberg that made him one of the bright spots in the dark days of the Ted Turner-owned company.
But as he walked to the ring, climbed the steel stairs and confronted Raw villains, it was apparent he had not quite fully recovered from the back surgery that necessitated him sitting on the sidelines for months on end.
That is why the decision to book him in a high-profile match against Triple H, for the World Heavyweight Championship and at a show as prestigious as the Royal Rumble, was such a questionable one before the abomination of a contest even kicked off.
Once the bell rang, it was abundantly clear that he did not belong in the ring in that position.
The match was an embarrassment, the worst in the history of the event. Both champion and challenger stumbled around the squared circle, eliciting groans and boos from an audience unimpressed with the "action" they were bearing witness to.
The only decision worse than the Rumble match was the one to repeat it a month later at No Way Out.
1. Daniel Bryan Is Eliminated Early (2015)
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It was fairly apparent to most that Roman Reigns was leaving the 2015 Royal Rumble match with his arm raised in victory, and the most diehard portion of the audience was not happy about it. That he would overcome Daniel Bryan in order to do it only further infuriated fans.
So the crowd was already rabid as the Rumble match got underway.
When Bryan entered, he received a humongous ovation, battling Bray Wyatt for the majority of his time between the ropes.
Then, in a moment that shocked fans and doomed the match to the venomous reaction of thousands of smart marks, he was tossed over the top rope and to the arena floor like a common jobber.
The reaction for his departure was one of great anger, the fans still believing in the Yes Movement.
Fans in attendance booed Reigns heavily during and after the match, and the result was one of the most disastrous coronations for a bright young star ever seen.
All because WWE Creative thought it was a good idea to toss aside Bryan like trash so nonchalantly.
And early, to boot.
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