10 Times WWE Royal Rumble Winners Risked It All Before WrestleMania
9. Roman Reigns - 2015
The ultimate tease after a universally hated Royal Rumble match.
Despite being cheered like the company's biggest babyface a year before, Roman Reigns was booed out of Philadelphia when he won the Rumble in 2015. He'd seen the same thing happen to Batista from across the ring in 2014, but at that time the fans considered it a sin to win if you weren't Daniel Bryan.
With a Bryan or bust mentality plaguing fans, WWE decided to book a match between the American Dragon and Reigns where Roman's spot at WrestleMania 31 was on the line. The Authority had their grubby mitts all over this story; they wanted their top boy Seth Rollins in the match, but fortunately for the fans it was Bryan who walked into Fastlane as the underdog trying to force his way into a Granddaddy main event. Déjà vu, anyone?
Why oh why would they do this to the Big Dog? He was getting booed wherever he went, so putting him against the ultimate fan favourite was a mistake. Reigns went over Bryan and carried on down the Road to WrestleMania.