7 Times WWE Changed The Rules To The Royal Rumble Match
3. There Can't Be Two Winners -- 2005
Almost every WWE fan recalls the infamous ending to the 2005 Royal Rumble match. John Cena and Batista were the final two competitors, as expected. ‘The Animal’ went for a Batista Bomb, but Cena’s momentum sent them both over the top rope.
The idea was that Batista would spare himself by holding onto the ropes, but unfortunately, he was unable to do so. A royally pissed off Vince McMahon blew out both of his quadriceps as he stormed into the ring to consult the referees about the slip up. Since both men landed on the floor at the same time, it was announced Batista and John Cena would face each other in a round of sudden-death. And Batista went on to win as planned.
Beforehand, McMahon had a different idea for co-winners.
In 1994, Bret Hart and Lex Luger fell into a slugfest as the last two men in the Rumble match. The two continued to brawl until they flipped over the top rope and were eliminated simultaneously. Howard Finkel took to the middle of the ring to announce both men had won the battle royal. Why weren’t both Batista and ‘The Master of Thuganomics’ declared winners of the Rumble match in 2005 then? Most likely because a) it wasn’t planned and b) Cena already had a program leading into ‘Mania, so it would have put WWE in a corner creatively.