The Shocking Reality Of WWE's Royal Rumble

by Michael Hamflett
CM Punk Royal Rumble 2014
WWE

Battle Royals aren't traditionally the most appealing encounters, and it's to the eternal credit of Royal Rumble godfather and ideas generator Pat Patterson that it became such a WWE staple virtually from its inception.

The decision to have a new competitor enter sequentially instead of having the mass of humanity all start together was legitimately inspired. It brought drama, suspense and the opportunity for substantially more storytelling. It also created quite the run-sheet of ruined wrestlers.

The Elimination Chamber, Hell In A Cell and TLC pay-per-views are constantly sold on the danger and damage sustained by the titular devices, but the Royal Rumble's numerical obsession undermines its capacity to maim and mutilate. And it's that painful precedent that actually enhances the hard yards the men and women involved have had to travel to get the vaunted WrestleMania "main event" spot awaiting the winners.

John Cena's knee bending in on itself after being thrown from the 2004 iteration of the match hung around on "Don't Try This At Home PSAS for years, with the heavily-pushed new babyface forced to hobble around in an ungainly leg brace in the weeks that followed. "Working hurt" would be the understatement of the year in describing CM Punk's 49:11 stint in the match. As documented in an ugly legal battle, he was already carrying a litany of knocks and nobbles before an errant exchange with Kofi Kingston concussed him early on. Chris Nowinski suffered the same fate in 2003 - enough to send the Harvard graduate back to class to learn more about what sent him packing in the first. Shawn Michaels, perhaps the greatest Royal Rumble wrestler ever, couldn't dodge a boot in the face from Hardcore Holly in 2008 that left his nose looking like it had already been eliminated from the match before the rest of his face.

Enjoy the Royal Rumble this Sunday, but spare a thought for those wrestlers that might not have such a pleasant Monday morning after the fact. It's a likely and shocking reality that plenty of them won't.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett