10 Biggest Missed Opportunities In WWE Royal Rumble History
2. Anyone But Him (2017)
The 2017 Royal Rumble match was one of the most open in history. There was a real buzz going into the show, as quite a handful of participants felt like plausible winners, and most importantly, like satisfying winners (which was warranted after the disappointing results of the preceding years.)
Maybe Chris Jericho or Sami Zayn could win and challenge Kevin Owens to a battle of the former best friends. If Owens was deemed unworthy of a 'Mania world title defence, maybe Goldberg or Lesnar would win, with the other grabbing the Universal title on the road to WrestleMania, hence setting the blockbuster encounter in Orlando.
As for the other brand, John Cena had won the WWE Championship earlier that night. Maybe Bray Wyatt would win and aim at avenging his WrestleMania XXX defeat. Maybe Samoa Joe could land a winning debut and challenge Cena, being immediately elevated to the top of the card. Maybe The Undertaker would be victorious, ten years after his first Rumble win, and attempt to capture one last title against the biggest name he was yet to face at 'Mania.
Nope. The winner was one of the least interesting versions of Randy Orton, as the second-time win was used to advance a storyline that felt more suited for mid-match development. Nothing followed but an equally underwhelming match at WrestleMania.