"Numerous Changes" Made To Bad Bunny's WWE Royal Rumble 2022 Role

Yet more reports of confusion and late changes from this past weekend's premium live event.

by Andrew Pollard
Bad Bunny Dolph Ziggler Rey Mysterio WWE Royal Rumble 2022
WWE.com

With the fallout from this past weekend's Royal Rumble premium live event having now seen Shane McMahon depart WWE, there comes a further update on some of the issues at this year's Rumble show.

From the ever-reliable Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast and Wrestling Observer, there were "numerous changes" where it pertains to what number Bad Bunny would enter the men's Rumble match at. Such changes caused concern amongst those within WWE, with the company clearly keen to maintain a strong relationship with the hugely popular rap artist.

Bad Bunny would end up entering the men's Royal Rumble at #27, going on to score eliminations in the form of Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. Making it to the final four of the over-the-top-rope contest, Bunny would eventually be thrown out by Brock Lesnar on the Beast Incarnate's way to winning the match and cementing himself a shot at Roman Reigns' Universal Title at WrestleMania 38.

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For those who may have missed it, Shane McMahon is said to have received major heat backstage for his role in putting the men's Rumble together. Serving as lead writer and producer for this match, McMahon rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with his behaviour on Saturday - to the point that he has now shockingly exited the promotion.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.