10 Times The Past Buried WWE's Future
3. Batista Wins the 2014 Royal Rumble
WWE and its fans have rarely been at odds with each other more than at the start of 2014. The company was gearing up for WrestleMania 30, and the popularity of Daniel Bryan's 'Yes Movement' was at an all-time high. So, naturally, Vince McMahon had Daniel Bryan booked for a midcard 'Mania showdown with Sheamus, instead opting for a returning Batista to main event the biggest show of the year against Randy Orton.
Batista felt like the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time as soon as vignettes started to build anticipation for his big comeback. Just one year on from WWE making their hardcore audience shake with rage at The Rock coming back to steal the WWE Championship from CM Punk before sodding off back to Hollywood, fans were determined not to see Daniel Bryan suffer the same fate.
Vince McMahon cared not one bit about this, of course. Batista entered the Rumble at number 28 and spent just over 13 minutes in the ring before winning the whole thing and punching his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 30 to a chorus of boos from the Pittsburgh crowd. Even poor Rey Mysterio was greeted with a hail of jeers as he entered at number 30 for the crime of not being Daniel Bryan, with the leader of 'The Yes Movement' being left out of the match entirely.