5. Excluding Bryan From The Rumble Match
Just as The Game most likely had an influence in Batista's Rumble booking, it's highly probable that he had a lot to do with Daniel Bryan's omission from the very same match. Bryan was red hot heading into the Rumble, and the audience were audibly dissatisfied when Rey Mysterio emerged as the no. 30 entrant instead. Many will claim Bryan's omission to be part of a work. However the Royal Rumble did of course take place before CM Punk had walked out of the company. Thus, at the time Triple H was still scheduled to face Punk at WrestleMania rather than Daniel Bryan. If it wasn't initially planned to be part of a storyline, can we really classify this as a work? Regardless of the true reasoning behind Bryan's absence, it was a hugely unpopular decision. Per storylines, Triple H spoke of wanting to protect Bryan and therefore didn't want to have him compete twice in one night. His condescension was in perfect keeping with his corporate heel act and helped him further the gimmick to great effect.