9. Braun Strowman Eliminates Kane And The Big Show
One of the many criticisms levied at last year's Royal Rumble was that perennial heavies Big Show and Kane were pushed at the expense of hot young stars like Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. This year, thankfully, WWE didn't make the same mistake with the two giants. Braun Strowman - who's been pushed hard on WWE television due to his size and appearance - isn't, to put it delicately, a very polished worker. In fact, the idea of a main-event push for Strowman anytime soon is downright scary. Still, after last year's debacle, it's nice to see WWE at least trying to commit to a younger talent. And while Kane and Big Show weren't considered contenders to win the Rumble match, WWE still likes to protect the towering Attitude Era stars. For all those reasons, it was a pleasant surprise to see Strowman easily eliminate both men back to back, saving us from a Show-Kane steamrolling of the roster. Strowman - who never wrestled a match prior to signing with WWE - still needs to improve a lot before he's an asset to the roster. Still, WWE is committed to pushing him, and he can be considered a strong contender to win this year's Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Again, better him than Show or Kane.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
