10 Great Wrestling Matches Hidden On Terrible Pay Per Views
2. Brock Lesnar Vs. John Cena Vs. Seth Rollins - WWE Royal Rumble 2015
The 2015 edition of the Royal Rumble was as bad as its 2014 counterpart - it was possibly made worse by the astonishing lack of variety. Three tag matches were presented on the undercard, at least one too many, and the best of the bunch - Miz and Mizdow Vs. The Usos - was handicapped by a humourless comedy element. Even the Rumble sucked - that Big Show/Kane/Reigns finish was the absolute opposite of what fans wanted - so much so that it must have been booked like that out of spite.
The incredible Triple Threat rescue effort wasn't meant to be as good as it was. Rollins had been inserted into it as a palatable makeweight to what was a played-out feud, while conveniently doubling up as the designated jobber.
Still, it was never going to be a bad match - but the expert layout elevated it to the echelon of all-time great Triple Threat tussles. Lesnar, already a veritable force of nature following his conquering of the Streak and his squashing of John Cena in 2014, was somehow elevated even higher by treating Cena and Rollins like Ryback Vs. Two Unknown Local Wrestlers.
The decision to eliminate him via Rollins' spectacular elbow drop through the table was incredibly astute - it prolonged the action, freeing him and Cena up to wrestle a quality sprint match-within-a-match, but the subsequent sight of Lesnar, rising from the depths like an H.P. Lovecraft creation towards the finish, was cinematic in scope.
It's sometimes difficult to suspend disbelief during Triple Threats, necessitating as they do prolonged bouts of incongruous selling, but this was the perfect, ultra-credible iteration of the genre.