10 WWE Royal Rumble Eliminations That Infuriated Fans

By Jamie Kennedy / January 18, 2016

The annual Royal Rumble match must be a difficult one to book for those in charge of laying it out. After all, there must be a clear winner, but there are so many different stars to protect and egos to avoid damaging when doing so. The bout has become one of the biggest on the WWE calendar, taking place each January and effectively kicking off the heavily-hyped 'Road To WrestleMania'. Over the past few years, the company have really struggled to book winners that the core audience wish to see and are willing to accept. This was never more clear than in 2014, when Batista won the match to an overwhelmingly negative response. 'The Animal' doesn't stand alone as the only man to receive backlash from fans for a Rumble performance, although he did embarrassingly hear scorn once he had actually emerged victorious. Sometimes, the performers fans wish to see do well can be treated shabbily in the Royal Rumble, something which comes to light in this article. It's perhaps understandable that baffling decisions can be made in such a frenzied situation, but there's really no excuse for many of the examples profiled here. From giving great performers inadequate time in the match, to eliminations that simply irritated fans because they were caused by an effective heel, it's all here. Sometimes, Royal Rumble matches can be full of fan-annoyingmoments, and it's not always the kind of heat WWE seeks.