The Royal Rumble pay-per-view in 2015 saw the third year in a row that the Royal Rumble match itself, one of WWEs flagship gimmicks and a major centrepiece on their vaunted Road To Wrestlemania was buried by wrestling critics and fans alike. The company choosing to push the past-it Batista and the not-quite-it Roman Reigns over Daniel Bryan, Cesaro and others was seen as a slap in the face. Lets be fair, though: this isnt a recent problem. These days the Royal Rumble isnt really ever booked as a way of elevating fresh young stars on the cusp of something great. Theres a case to say that it worked that way for Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the 1990s but then they won the Rumble the following year, too and the 1990s also saw Hulk Hogan win twice in a row. In recent years, the list of Royal Rumble winners looks like a list of the safest, most middle-of-the-road wrestlers in the companys history. If thats the way they want to book the Rumbles finish, fair enough but theres no excuse for the idiotic, short-sighted way in which the Rumble match itself was booked in 2015. Popular, fresh and up-and-coming WWE Superstars the people that, like it or not, WWE should be building up for the future were knocked unconscious and casually dumped out of the ring by Big Show and Kane like sacks of potatoes. Daniel Bryan, in whom so many people have so much emotional investment, was eliminated early as well. Its almost as if WWE was deliberately removing all anticipation, preparing their fanbase for disappointment: Dont get excited about the winner on this one, kids youre not going to like it.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
