The Royal Rumble has helped make some stars over the years. Its a surprisingly simple formula: Fill the ring up with deadwood (lower level talent who stand no chance of winning the Rumble) and then bring out a big guy to clean house, tossing several wrestlers in rapid succession. Fans typically love elimination spots, and even if the wrestler is a heel, it can really get them over with fans. The best example of this is probably Diesel, who wasnt riding too high in 1994 when he tossed seven men, drawing chants and reinvigorating his career. He rode that popularity to a WWF Championship run that lasted nearly a year. Kane eliminated 11 men in 2001, setting the record and putting everyone on notice that he was a force to be reckoned with. Rikishi was insanely popular in 2000, when he tossed seven men. And of course, Roman Reigns was a member of the heel trio The Shield in 2014 when he eliminated 12 men, setting a new record. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOJj2glimVo So who could have a breakout performance on Sunday? Sometimes its not how many you eliminate, but who you eliminate. Imagine if AJ Styles debuts and tosses Kevin Owens or Sheamus. That certainly would be bigger than eliminating someone like Curtis Axel. Itll be interesting to see if anyone stands out.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
