9 Reasons WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Match Was The Worst Of The Decade
8. The "Monster Push" Fell Flat
Typically the Rumble match is used to create a new monster, with a talent playing the “destroyer” role, going on a tear and tossing out guys left and right. This year Braun Strowman fit that description, but while he made an impression – mainly with his manhandling of Mark Henry and the amazingly in-shape Big Show and his newfound abs – he was eliminated somewhat unceremoniously by Baron Corbin and didn’t even make it to the final segment of the match.
What’s become known as “the Kane run” goes to the guy WWE wants to establish as an unstoppable machine. Roman Reigns did it a few years ago when he was booked to break the record for the most eliminations ever, and the fans actually got behind him and wanted him to win that one. My how things have changed on that front.
This year it felt like it was split between Strowman and Corbin (who had far less eliminations), but with the two being on different shows the rub of throwing out the monster Braun should have gone to someone on Raw, not SmackDown’s smaller and less intimidating version of the same character.