There was a story that we reported two months ago that WWE was changing the 2015 Royal Rumble to 40 entrants in the match. That was news we got from a show in Philadelphia, which is where the 2015 Rumble is set to take place on January 25. Now there's a new report from F4WOnline.com saying that we should hold off on that 40 person Rumble idea because WWE is sticking with the traditional 30 entrants for the annual January event. The original reports of 40 entrants were accurate, but in typical WWE fashion they changed their minds. Apparently WWE wanted to use some ECW Originals to help the match get to 40 people, but now they've changed their mind. They could still find spots for guys like Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer (if he's not in TNA), but it's unlikely that there will be much of an ECW flavor to it. It's a smart move to keep it at 30 entrants. Why mess with a good thing? Two guys start. Others enter the ring every 90 seconds and the match will go around 50 minutes or so. Don't over-complicate things. When WWE did the 40 man Rumble won by Alberto Del Rio in 2011 all they really did was add ten guys to the match that had no chance of winning. What that does is tire out the crowd because they know it's going to take that much longer to get to the finish. Imagine counting down 38 times from 10 to 1 when the timer comes up? It takes a lot to do it 28 times. The crowd could pass out from counting that long! Who's going to win the Royal Rumble? Roman Reigns. That's not a fact. It's just my opinion and it's a strong opinion too. Most Rumble winners are very obvious and next year won't be any different than most years. The best advice I can give somebody that's upset about the Reigns win is that you should try to have fun watching the match. Enjoy those cool moments whether they are crazy elimination spots or when somebody tosses out four dudes in a row. The Rumble match is about much more than the actual winner. They can use the match to build new storylines (think Angle/Michaels or Lesnar/Goldberg) or continue current angles that are ongoing. We will have plenty of time to talk about the Royal Rumble in terms of the booking over the next month or so. I know I will be writing about it a lot. For now, just be happy that WWE is sticking with the 30 man Rumble format. It's the right move on their part.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
