10 WWE Royal Rumble Wins That Became Huge Disappointments

Batista left WWE in 2010 at the top of his game. Playing a narcissistic and delusional egotist, he had lit up WWE screens in his feud with John Cena before departing at the height of the character. He returned in January 2014 as a babyface, challenging WWE Champion Randy Orton and promising to win the Royal Rumble to earn a shot at the Viper.

Once he stepped in the ring that night, it became clear that the fans were not happy with the idea of a Batista/Orton WrestleMania main event.

They wanted Daniel Bryan in that spot. The future Drax would be booed by the crowd in Pittsburgh after throwing out Roman Reigns to win the match, the fans disappointed that Bryan did not even feature in the match.

Eventually, a combination of Batista continually being booed and the crowd support for Daniel Bryan being so intense led to the leader of the Yes! Movement being added to the Batista/Orton match. Bryan made Batista tap on at WrestleMania XXX to win the world title, meaning that the abiding memory of the event was of Daniel Bryan, not Batista.

'The Animal' would rejoin Orton in Evolution with Triple H, only to quit the company for real in early June due to his disappointment in his storylines. Guardians of the Galaxy would be released shortly thereafter, consigning Batista's Royal Rumble victory to a minor event in the breakthrough year of his new career.