10 Mistakes All Wrestling Fans Make
2. Getting Excited For The Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is such a glorious institution that it has (somehow) withstood years' worth of tripe to retain its unmissable stigma.
Things started to unravel around the turn of the decade. The titular 2011 match was fantastic, despite what many (your writer included) felt was a constrictive and desperate 40-man variation, thanks to CM Punk's memorable microphone-assisted early dominance and a unique first time winner.
As the decade progressed, however, the match itself indulged its comedic element with too much abandon. The contrived and ridiculous triple entrance of commentators Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL one year later ruined the grand tradition of the surprise entrance. The 2013 match was populated almost entirely by also-rans - and won by the most predictable winner ever in John Cena.
By 2014, the event in itself had filled many fans with dread. No longer the occasion on which to prick the finger of a fan-made man in waiting, it had become another night on which Vince McMahon stuck his fingers in his ears and laughed his trademark throaty chuckle.
"You want Daniel Bryan? F*ck you. He doesn't even eat meat!"