This had to be one of the worst booked Rumble to 'Mania narratives ever. Randy Orton was a heel, winning the Rumble after entering at number eight. The guy he eliminated last, babyface Triple H, then went on to win the WWE Title at Elimination Chamber. How backwards is that? In this instance, losing the Rumble would've apparently been in Orton's best interest. He could have won the WWE Title sooner than WrestleMania. So now it was heel Randy Orton, chasing babyface Triple H for the title at the Showcase of the Immortals. To make matters even dafter, the McMahon family got involved after Orton abused Stephanie and then punted Vince McMahon. That made the feud personal, the kind of thing that usually requires a Hell in a Cell or No DQ stip. So what did they do? They booked a straight up singles bout for Mania, in which Hunter would lose the belt if he was DQ'd. Adding to the pain, they had to follow the thrilling Shawn Michaels versus The Undertaker match, which was one of the best matches WWE have ever put on. So you had a heel facing a champion babyface in a show-closing main event that the crowd didn't care about. Completing Orton's misery, Triple H retained his title cleanly. The Royal Rumble had meant absolutely nothing, and in fact the victory ended up hurting Orton's career in the long-run.
