WWE: 7 Greatest Innovations To The Wrestling Business

4. Royal Rumble

Specialty matches were already mentioned, but the Royal Rumble is the one that stands on its own. The concept is brilliant. Credit goes to long time WWE employee Pat Patterson for the idea. There are 30 people in the match, two start and every 90 seconds somebody new enters the match. To be eliminated from the match, a person has to go over the top rope and land with both feet on the floor. The match doesn't end until there is just one person left. Obviously they have tweaked some of those rules over the years, but the basic premise has been intact for the past 27 years. For most WWE fans, the Royal Rumble is their favorite match of the year. Unlike some of the other specialty matches, the Rumble only happens once per year. We know we're not going to see it another time in the year and that's what makes it so special. What's also great about the Rumble is that it brings in the casual fan that may not watch WWE TV every week, but they know about the Rumble because they've seen it in the past. The casual fan is just as valuable as those of us that are watching every week. This year's Rumble match is just two weeks away with WWE fans wondering who will win. Will it be somebody like Batista, Daniel Bryan or CM Punk? What about a newer guy like Roman Reigns? We don't really know, but we know we can debate it with our friends and family because they have a thought about how it should go too. There's no other match in the year that will get people talking like the Rumble. That's why it stands on its own as one of WWE's greatest innovations.