WWE Royal Rumble 2016: Biggest Missed Opportunities in Event's History
As one of WWE's most exciting pay-per-views of the year, the Royal Rumble is always an event worth looking forward to for fans. As the stage is set for what is to come at WrestleMania, the stakes couldn't be higher.
However, that hasn't prevented WWE from making questionable decisions at the Rumble in the last three decades since the inception of the event in 1988.
Not only has WWE gone with the wrong Rumble winners, but the company has simply dropped the ball with several Superstars and refused to strike while the iron was hot. It has been known to do this from time to time in the past, and the Rumble has been no exception.
From controversial Rumble winners to unnecessary heel turns to meaningless title changes, countless moments have happened at the January extravaganza that have left fans scratching their heads. In most cases, WWE never explained its logic, and although the company usually rectified messy situations, they should have never occurred to begin with.
The Royal Rumble is a tough show for everything to go according to plan with what hangs in the balance. WWE has mostly done right by the Rumble over the years, but it's all the missed opportunities that will be forever remembered.
With the 2016 installment drawing closer, one can only hope the leaders in sports entertainment won't make the same mistakes they have in years past.
Hulk Hogan Wins the Royal Rumble (1990)
1 of 5It was only three years into the January classic that WWE managed to botch the winner of the 1990 Royal Rumble.
That's not to say the eventual winner, Hulk Hogan, wasn't deserving of the honor; rather, there were multiple Superstars the writers could have gone with as the winner that year, specifically Mr. Perfect or Ultimate Warrior.
Mr. Perfect had never been hotter at any other point during his WWE career than he was heading into the 1990 Rumble. He was one of the few heels from that time period who had all the tools to thrive as a main event player, and even if a world title run wasn't in his future, a Rumble win would have cemented him as a star.
Meanwhile, the WWE had already earmarked Warrior for a main event-level push as WrestleMania 6 approached, where he'd clash with Hogan in a title-for-title match. They actually came face to face for the first time ever in this contest, but the moment was short-lived before other combatants entered the fray.
Of course, that moment built tension between the two and the foundation for their feud, but the roles should have been reversed. Hogan went on to win the next year's Rumble anyway (as he should have), so giving Warrior the spotlight on this show would have been justified and made the build to their bout that much more epic.
Edge vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship (2006)
2 of 5
Speaking of hot heels, WWE missed the boat with Edge, who had momentum on his side going into the 2006 Royal Rumble. It was only weeks earlier he capitalized on a downed John Cena to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and capture his first of many WWE Championships.
It was a moment that has since stood the test of time, but it was more than a moment; Edge brought Raw ratings to new heights that hadn't been reached in years. His live sex celebration played a major factor in that, but everything about his character at that time was firing on all cylinders.
But then he ran into the roadblock that was John Cena.
Apparently, there were never any plans to prominently feature Edge on the WrestleMania 22 card, as WWE relegated him to an undercard bout with Mick Foley (which turned out to be a classic). It wanted to give him the title for a short time before transitioning the belt back on Cena before WrestleMania.
Their championship clash at the Rumble, albeit solid, was far from what we later came to expect from them. Edge tapping out to Cena was almost premature in a way in that it was much too soon for Edge to be booked to look weak by submitting so decisively.
Needless to say, their feud would resume after 'Mania and became one of the best series of matches in the last decade. But as a standalone occurrence, Edge losing to Cena that night in the fashion he did was mind-boggling, to say the least.
Matt Hardy Turns on Jeff Hardy (2009)
3 of 5
Wrestlers and fans alike will tell you that no one was more over with the audience during 2008 and 2009 than Jeff Hardy. His rise to the top was completely organic, and despite how many times he screwed up behind the scenes (i.e., getting himself suspended), fans stuck with him through the thick and thin.
His amazing journey to the WWE Championship culminated with a title victory at Armageddon 2008, but the follow-up was fairly weak. Hardy has always been a better challenger than a champion, but he could have been booked better while in possession of the prestigious prize for the first time.
This led to a title rematch with Edge at the 2009 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which WWE later made a no-disqualification match. The bout itself was actually entertaining, and they worked very well together, but it was the ending that had fans talking.
Matt Hardy, the same Superstar who celebrated with Jeff upon capturing the championship one month earlier, turned on his brother and cost him the strap with one scintillating steel chair shot to the skull.
The longstanding myth per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Zone) has been that Christian, who was on his way back to the company after a three-year hiatus, was originally penciled in for Matt Hardy's role. But because fans saw it coming (only a small portion, mind you), WWE "swerved" its audience by going with Jeff's own flesh and blood instead.
The matches they contested that spring were nothing short of stellar, but let's face it: The Hardy Boyz were far better partners than they were rivals. And don't even get me started on Matt implying he was the one who burned Jeff's house down, a real-life tragedy.
John Cena Wins the Royal Rumble (2013)
4 of 5
Most of the recent Royal Rumble matches have been extremely easy to predict, and that trend seemingly started with the 2013 installment.
WWE did a decent job of building up several stars on the road to the Rumble, including Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Ryback. It even threw Chris Jericho into the mix by having him make a surprise return at the beginning of the bout.
But at the end of the day, it was painfully obvious who was going to win: John Cena. It was a conclusion fans could've seen coming dating back to the summer when The Rock announced he was going after the WWE Championship at the same event, which in turn meant Cena would win the Rumble to set up the WrestleMania rematch nobody wanted.
However, WWE had the chance to execute a proper swerve when it came down to Cena and Ryback as the final two. Although Ryback had lost most of his pay-per-view outings up to that point, fans still wanted to see him succeed, so a Rumble win could have gotten his main event push back on track en route to WrestleMania.
Instead, WWE stuck with its tried and true poster boy in John Cena. Ryback looked strong in defeat, sure, but all he received in return was a mediocre match with Mark Henry at WrestleMania 29, not to mention he hasn't been the same since.
Daniel Bryan Doesn't Win the Royal Rumble (2014, 2015)
5 of 5
This inclusion essentially writes itself because it's very well-documented how badly WWE messed up with the winners of the Royal Rumble match the past two years. The outcomes of the 2014 and 2015 Rumbles were eerily (yet not surprisingly) similar, so I decided to discuss them both in one slide.
There isn't any denying that Bryan was the hottest star in all of WWE in late 2013 and in the early months of 2014. WWE featured him on its programming more frequently than just about anyone else during his angle with The Wyatt Family, thus making him a shoo-in to win the upcoming Rumble match.
Not only did he not win the 2014 Royal Rumble—an honor instead bestowed upon the returning Batista—he wasn't even involved in the bout. As soon as it became apparent he wouldn't be an entrant in the Rumble, the live crowd soured on The Animal and vehemently booed the conclusion of the contest.
One would think WWE would have righted that wrong the following year, especially considering Bryan was on his way back from injury, but it managed to make the same mistake twice. Bryan's participation in the 2015 Rumble was hardly memorable, as he lasted a lousy 10 minutes before being eliminated by Bray Wyatt.
Needless to say, the backlash from the fans was bad enough to ruin the rest of the match. Even assistance from The Rock couldn't get Roman Reigns, the eventual winner, over with the audience. In 2014 and 2015, WWE gave Bryan world title opportunities in the months that followed, but why it didn't have him come out on top in the Rumble when it was blatantly obvious he was the fan favorite to win remains unknown.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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