20 Awesome WWE Royal Rumble Moments
12. Reigns Sets Elimination Record (2014)
The one major bright spot that came from inside the
ring during the 2014 Royal Rumble was the emergence of Roman Reigns. The
Shield’s strongman broke what had to be considered an unbreakable record of 11
eliminations, set by Kane in 2001, by tossing 12 men. Of the 29 men eliminated,
Reigns was responsible for 41% of them.
The showing was impressive enough on its own and did the trick of elevating Reigns in the fans’ eyes. Things got pushed even higher at the end of the match when Reigns was left in the ring with Sheamus and Batista, both former Rumble winners and both disliked by a segment of the fans. At that point, Roman became the poster boy for those fans, who openly cheered for him as the only acceptable option since Daniel Bryan wasn’t in the match.
Reigns wouldn’t be successful, but his showing has set the bar at a nearly impossible level. It’s probably safe to say that this record won’t be broken any time soon.