10 Most Wasted WWE Royal Rumble Spots
3. Multiple Offenses (Royal Rumble 2014)
What a mess the 2014 Royal Rumble match was.
Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt kicked off the PPV in what was one of the evening's better matches. However, because of his involvement, WWE invoked a rule it didn't often follow, preventing Bryan from entering the battle royal.
At this time, the only thing fans wanted to see was 'The Leader of the Yes Movement' show up and clean house. As is traditional with WWE, that was the only thing they didn't get.
While Roman Reigns broke the 13-year elimination record, fans booed between chants for Bryan. WWE managed to salt the wound further by making it clear a returning (part-time) Batista was there to win his second Rumble. CM Punk, the second fan favorite, was eliminated prematurely by Corporate Kane after 50 minutes in the bout.
The fans' displeasure finally boiled over as they counted down to the #30, the last chance for Bryan to appear. The buzzer rang, and unrelenting jeers ensued.
Although he was universally popular, Rey Mysterio received the worst crowd responses of his career. He and the other performers should have received special treatment from WWE brass after enduring such a vicious verbal assault from over 15,000 spectators due to no fault of their own. The entire thing was bad enough that Mick Foley asked if WWE hated fans, and shortly after, it fueled the fire that caused Punk to leave the company altogether.