Ranking All 30 WWE Royal Rumble Winners

WrestleMania title shot: Lost to Seth Rollins (with Brock Lesnar) at WrestleMania XXXI

You could make an argument to rank this below Batista (or even lower), but there’s little doubt that Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble victory was one of the worst moments in the event’s history – not because Roman wasn’t talented or deserving, but because of the backlash that ensued.

Before the 2015 Rumble, Daniel Bryan returned to announced his participation in the match, which would have huge repercussions. Bryan entered at #10 to a huge reaction from the Philadelphia fans. However, Bray Wyatt would eliminate him 10 minutes later, enraging fans who were expecting him to return to the main event scene. Worse yet, moments later Reigns emerged, and it became clear that Bryan was eliminated quickly to clear a path for Roman.

Fans turned on the entire second-half of the match, even booing the Rock’s interference on Roman’s behalf. The anti-Roman backlash continued throughout WrestleMania season, with WWE being forced at the 11th hour to have Seth Rollins cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase mid-match at Mania, pinning Reigns to win the title.

Reigns has continued to be a top guy in WWE, but a good part of the backlash he still faces stems from that 2015 Rumble, fairly or not.