The peak of Hulkamania was undoubtedly in the 80s, but even in the early 90s, Hulk Hogan was still the biggest name in wrestling. Even so, Hogan winning the Royal Rumble was a very short-sighted decision, one reportedly spearheaded by Hogan himself. Mr. Perfect was the potential new star who really could’ve been elevated by a Rumble win. Instead, Hogan got a win he didn’t need and Mr. Perfect never really ascended to superstar status.
The Attitude Era was the peak of Vince McMahon being infatuated with himself. The owner turned on screen character turned wrestler’s feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin quite literally saved WWE. However, the feud most certainly did not need McMahon winning the Royal Rumble. As much as Vince loved himself, he was never going to have himself main event Wrestlemania. All his win did was render the Rumble outcome meaningless. Austin wound up facing The Rock for the WWE title at Mania, but he should’ve just won the Rumble to get there.
In hindsight, WWE putting the machine behind Alberto Del Rio during the early 2010s was a baffling decision. Solid in the ring, Del Rio’s character never fully got over with fans. Meanwhile, CM Punk’s rise to megastar status was just beginning. Leader of the Nexus at the time, this was the perfect spot to pull the trigger on Punk as the next main event star. As has been the case many times, though, WWE failed to seize the opportunity before them.
There was a time when WWE fans loved to see legends return. In 2012, Chris Jericho had returned and created a new gimmick that was really resonating with fans. Given that WWE had two titles at the time, Sheamus still could’ve had his incredibly forgettable 18-second match with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania without winning the Rumble. A Jericho win would’ve made him the hottest act in the company.
It was right around this time that fans had truly gotten sick of the Super Cena era. Despite still being a babyface, fans rejected the notion of John Cena accumulating more accolades. They certainly did not want him to win the Royal Rumble, nor did he need to. In retrospect, Ryback is viewed largely as a joke, but he was once incredibly popular. Had he won in 2013, perhaps Ryback’s career takes on a whole different trajectory.
In easily the worst booking decision in Royal Rumble history, WWE shoved a returning Batista down everyone’s throats. Despite returning as a babyface, the fans did not respond well to Batista, viewing him as yet another old timer taking the place of the newer stars they craved. Daniel Bryan should’ve won this Rumble, but had they given the title to CM Punk or pulled the trigger on Roman Reigns, the fans would’ve cheered for either. Basically, anyone but Dave.
WWE missed the boat on pivoting to Roman Reigns in 2014. Even though the fans wanted Daniel Bryan, they were cheering like crazy for Reigns when he made the final two. Instead, they stuck with their guns and had Batista win amidst a chorus of boos because it wasn’t Reigns’ time yet. In 2015, they decided it was Reigns’ time and the fans knew it. But the fans wanted it to be Reigns’ time when they decided. Reigns was booked as a babyface, but got booed into oblivion when he won. Who should’ve won? As the late great Bray Wyatt once said, “Anyone but you Roman.”
By 2016, Triple H was firmly entrenched in a management role. But he still wrestled, especially at Wrestlemania. WWE was dead set on having The Game face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania, but it’s not what the fans wanted. Plus, they easily could have gotten to that match without having the then 46-year-old win the Rumble. If Dean Ambrose won, it’s not only possible he ends up putting on a classic with Reigns, but he may never have gone on to leave WWE for AEW.
Ever since she debuted in NXT, Charlotte Flair was always going to be a star. By 2020, she had long been established as one of the top women in WWE. Simply put, she did not need to win the Royal Rumble. Whatever plans WWE had for her could have been achieved without it. Had Shayne Baszler won, perhaps it could’ve been the catalyst she needed to become a top star. Instead, she meandered around the mid card and never really broke out.
Maybe WWE should have thought better of having two UFC stars win their most popular annual competition. During her tenure in WWE, Ronda Rousey never fully got fans to buy into her. As they love to do, WWE pushed her anyway. They wanted Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania. The fans wanted Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks. Had Banks won, WWE still could’ve found a way to do Rousey vs. Charlotte. Meanwhile, Lynch vs. Banks would have catered to the audience, and perhaps Banks never would’ve left for AEW.
