10 Shocks WWE Could Pull At The Greatest Royal Rumble

9. Casket Case

Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Rusev's already lost this match once and the bell hasn't even rang - is it possible he'll get his win back on the night itself?

'The Bulgarian Brute' has already been earmarked as the designated jobber of the night, and the rationale stacks up. Undertaker wasn't even hitting the five minute mark against John Cena at WrestleMania, why on earth would he go longer on at Network abnormality? And yet, WWE have already pie-faced critics once this month - would a chorus of (internet) disdain be heard across the shores in Saudi over top of yet another surprising result?

WWE logic is not for second, third or fourth-guessing, but the decision to remove then re-add Rusev to the contest was the most bizarre chapter of an increasingly weird story. The company aren't blind to the phenomenon they have on their hands, but seem unwilling or unable to successfully harness it. Winning his way into a WrestleMania match felt like a man claiming his dignity back, but translated into an even more damaging defeat when he got the nod to do the job against bizarre belt-botherer Jinder Mahal in the contest itself.

It would be peak WWE to put Rusev over here...and never mention it again.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett