It's not that I don't enjoy seeing them make cameo appearances in the Royal Rumble yearly. I do. Probably my favorite part of last year's match was seeing Diamond Dallas Page make his brief return, and sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that his good friend and housemate Jake Roberts wasn't far behind. But the reality of the situation is that we all know that none of those guys have any chance of winning. This year the match told a great story, and clogging it up with various legend appearances like Sgt. Slaughter or The Boogeyman would have been unnecessary filler. The nostalgia moments are good for a brief pop, and fans enjoy speculating on who we'll get to see each year, but I support the decision to not have any in the match. The exclusion of men who aren't on the roster sold the importance of the bout and the stakes of being able to walk out of the ring as the champion. Maybe next year we'll get to see The Snake, Rick Steiner or Sid and we'll get to pop huge for them as they run through their signature spots before getting thrown out by someone they would have eaten for lunch in their prime, but 2016 was not the right year for any of those moments. WWE got it right by not wheeling out the legends this year.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
