10 Wrestlers Who Innovated New Stipulation Matches

3. Vince Russo - Reverse Battle Royal

Bray Wyatt John Cena
TNA

When Vince Russo devised a battle royal, only in reverse, he wasn't to know how right he would get it: he created a variation as sh*tty as the Royal Rumble was great.

He did, in fact, get the battle royal backwards.

More harebrained scheme than "idea", one could poke a hole in it at the sounding of the opening bell, and it is inexplicable that nobody in the room did when he pitched it.

The very first phase of the match was a psychological disaster. It was, in effect, a running race that nobody ran, a swerve within a swerve, except this one wasn't intentional but rather something Russo, the idiot, the imbecile, didn't think about. Even if the wrestlers paired off in perfect synergy, counting down the time with some synchronised brawling, the whole thing would have looked farcical, with a question mark hovering over the scene so noticeably it might as well have been hooked to a karabiner.

This didn't happen. The optimum scenario here was "very contrived", and it was, somehow, worse. Several wrestlers stood, clueless, outside of the ring they had to simply enter so as not to lose.

Even Ryback knew how to do that.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!