20 WWE Royal Rumble Undercard Nightmares

14. Triple H Vs Randy Orton (2005)

Yokozuna Undertaker
WWE.com

Whilst not being Triple H's biggest Royal Rumble crime (more on that later), the feud-ending clash with Randy Orton marked a sad end to a woefully mishandled babyface turn for the 'Legend Killer'.

A controversial figure after two years failing to definitively lose to anybody other than the already-established midcarder Chris Benoit, Triple H was on the cusp of changing hearts and minds in an era-defining programme with Batista that would propel 'The Animal' far beyond original expectations.

However, before moving on to that successful Evolution break-up story, he had to finish mopping up the mess he'd made in the previous one. After dethroning Randy less than one month into his title reign the prior September, further animosity between the two seemed a dead issue despite repeated failed attempts by WWE to rebuild Orton's momentum.

Only gaining victories in largely unimportant scenarios on television, Orton no longer looked on Triple H's level, and WWE booking 'The Legend Killer' to suffer head injuries midway through his last chance against 'The Game' didn't shift perception.

Furthermore, the concussion fairytale was profoundly short of a happy ending, as Triple H would win the match and feud with a Pedigree after a thoroughly deflating twenty minutes.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett