10 Royal Rumble Moments WWE Wants You To Forget

2. The Crowd Rejects Batista's Grand Return (2014)

Batista Royal Rumble 2014
WWE.com

If 2005 was bad, at least Batista was given the mercy of a favourable crowd reaction to his big win. The same cannot be said for 2014, as people inside the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were far from happy that Batista had won the Royal Rumble for a second time.

This was supposed to be the grand return of a popular babyface, a star who could be relied upon to carry the main event of WrestleMania XXX. Instead of welcoming back Batista with open arms, fans turned it into a Daniel Bryan-fuelled nightmare for the returning 'hero'.

Earlier in the show, Bray Wyatt had defeated Bryan. That was the last anyone would see of the bearded wonder for the evening, as he wouldn't play any part in the Rumble. This infuriated the live crowd, and there was even mass booing when poor Rey Mysterio wandered out as #30.

This was only because everyone wanted Bryan. In fact, people demanded him. WWE didn't deliver, causing fans to rebel badly against the Batista win. There was nothing organic about that post-match celebration, even though Batista tried to sell the glory of the moment.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.