The Disturbing Truth Behind WWE's Royal Rumble 14 Curse

by Michael Sidgwick
Royal Rumble 2003
WWE

What of the deaths, the various departures stemming from substance abuse?

Bluntly, wrestling was once a harrowing industry that enabled—encouraged—its workers to inject steroids into their flesh purely to stand a chance of making it in Vince McMahon’s big time of the 1980s. Several, several more pro wrestlers from that period died from the long-term effects of steroid abuse, in addition to all manner of substance addiction. They didn’t need to pretend to draw a number from a tumbler, much less the number 14.

Ultimately, of course, drawing the dreaded number 14 is incidental to the fate of a superstar’s career. Notice how the cursed number falls one shy of dead centre: it’s not 1, 2, 27 or 30, numbers reserved for the athletic, crowd favourite iron men or sudden death game-changers. It is a number drawn far more often than not by the rank and file, who run to the ring to pad out the bloated middle act of an hour-long epic. Number 14 gets eliminated by a heavily-pushed prospect (Rusev 2015, Roman Reigns 2014), the field-destroying behemoth (Great Khali 2012, Kane 2009), or the megastar (Batista 2008, Edge 2007). Those who draw #14 are inherently down on their luck; the performer shapes the number, not the other way ‘round.

The truth is that there is no curse, but rather a series of unfortunate events—tragic, in many cases. But again: that is wrestling. The real disturbing truth is that this great hobby, to paraphrase Tony Schiavone, used to be awful.

Happily, at a push, it’s merely very cruel now.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!