7 Biggest Missed Opportunities From WWE Royal Rumble 2019
3. Lack Of Surprise Royal Rumble Entrants
If there is one thing that WWE fans universally love about the Royal Rumble, it's the element of surprise. Watching 30 superstars compete for the coveted main event slot at WrestleMania is exciting enough, but not knowing who is going to come down the aisle when that klaxon sounds adds an extra thrill to the match.
From retired veterans from a bygone era to once-injured superstars making a surprise return, the Rumble match has given us plenty of genuinely shocking moments over the years. Unfortunately, that tradition did not continue this year.
While both Royal Rumble matches were strong enough contests, they were significantly lacking when it came to surprise entrants. Other than Jeff Jarrett, who showed up as the second entry in the men's Rumble match, no other legends, Hall of Famers or even part-timers made their presence felt throughout the evening.
The women's Rumble match was the worst offender. After recruiting tons of their most revolutionary women competitors for the inaugural contest last year, WWE seemingly decided not to recreate that success a second time around and thus, not a single one of those female icons resurfaced. As a result, the only real 'surprises' were a bunch of NXT superstars who much of the mainstream audience were unfamiliar with.