10 Biggest Missed Opportunities In WWE Royal Rumble History
1. Anyone But Him, Pt. 2 (2022)
Everybody knows what the consensus opinion about the 2014 and 2015 Rumble matches is. But neither features in this list because in a sense, their winners weren't that bad on paper, and the day was eventually saved at WrestleMania. 2022 was the truly unforgivable one. As in 2017, this edition's winner was really anyone's guess, and a lot of candidates felt both fresh and deserving.
Would Big E win and reclaim his WWE championship on the grandest stage? Would Riddle get the nod only to be cheated out of his first world title by a Randy Orton heel turn at 'Mania? Some second-time winners made sense as well. How about McIntyre re-establishes his main event status and challenges Lashley to a WrestleMania 37 rematch? How about Seth Rollins, following his great opening bout against Roman Reigns which he won by DQ, sets up another match against him at 'Mania, this time No Holds Barred? More wild-card potential winners included AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Kevin Owens or even Omos (if you're going to have a winner with go-away heat, at least make it a fresh face).
Instead, we got the most uninspired, worn out, cruel running joke of a winner.