100 Worst WWE Matches Ever - 23 - The Royal Rumble Match

Royal Rumble 2015

Mar 29, 2024

When I write these reviews, I often feel a hint of guilt. After all, these are for the most part extraordinary athletes putting themselves through real, permanent and often long term pain for my entertainment. I try to see the lighter side to bad wrestling, because I find it fun. For the most part I say the things I do from a place of love, not out of malice and hatred. After all, I'd like to believe there isn't any intention to put on a bad match. I don't for one second believe Goldberg and the Undertaker intended to be the catastrophe it is. Sometimes, wrestlers don't mesh, someone has an off day, someone gets hurt, the booking is misguided. There's an infinite spectrum of circumstances that can lead to any match landing on a list like this. Deep down I'd like to think that nobody would ever intentionally try and sabotage the product. I love wrestling, always have and always will. I wouldn't have done what amounts to a novel's worth of reviews in this series if I didn't love it, even the silliness of bad pro wrestling. The bad helps me enjoy the good. And I find comfort in picking fun at the bad because I feel deep down that the company rarely ever wants to put on a bad show, they just sometimes inevitably will.

Then there is this match.

There is no love here. This match was designed from a place of pure hatred and contempt. There is no attempt to put on a good show, or value to the paying audience's time. This singular match represents the constant reminder that it is okay to be cynical. That sometimes it's necessary for us to see the worst in people because they deserve it. The sort of match that makes all jaded wrestling fans feel justified in their cynicism.

This is wrestling's greatest fuck you.

I imagine most people reading this will know the context here. However if you are otherwise unaware, or if the earth has long since been inhabited by an alien species whose historians are reading this looking to piece together what sort of things humans enjoyed before the death of civilization. Welcome. Here's how we got here.

Let’s put the start of the story in 2012 when Daniel Bryan got unexpectedly popular thanks to his heel “Yes” character during his first World Heavyweight Championship run. An attempt to humiliate Bryan at Wrestlemania 28 only energised the support behind him that he carried forward right through 2013 which solidified him as a true star and main event wrestler. WWE did not particularly care for wrestlers getting over without their permission. Just ask this man.

WWE attempted to move Bryan out of the spotlight, with strategies such as trying to transfer the “Yes” chants over to the Big Show in late 2013 and turning Bryan sort-of heel. This only emboldened the fan support behind Bryan. The plans going into the 2014 Royal Rumble were for the returning babyface Batista to win, and face Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 30.

Unfortunately for WWE, the fans had other ideas on the direction of the company. While Batista was still the betting favourite to win the 2014 Rumble, the fans turned on Batista and the support for Bryan was firing up again. There was only one man that the fans wanted to see in the main event of Wrestlemania, and Bryan’s live reactions were hitting a point not seen basically since the Attitude Era. The stage was all set at the 2014 Rumble, the fans were eagerly anticipating Bryan’s entry at number 30 - the “Yes'' chants were echoing around the arena as the countdown clock started ticking down. This was hopefully the first step to his Wrestlemania moment.

And then - nothing.

As Rey Mysterio’s music hit for his number 30 entry, there was an uncomfortable silence from the fans. Then the realisation hits in, and what followed was one of the most iconic crowd reactions in the history of WWE. The fans were pissed off. It was vitriol that has rarely been seen in WWE before or since. They managed to get Rey Mysterio, one of the most beloved and respected wrestlers of all time, booed just by the sheer fact he wasn’t Daniel Bryan. The crowd stopped cheering for anyone in the match outside of CM Punk and, ironically enough, Roman Reigns. Outside of that, just a cascade of boos and “Yes” chants.

A combination of Punk’s untimely and controversial exit after the 2014 Rumble meant that fan support was at breaking point. Bryan’s popularity was so much that WWE could not sweep him under the rug in fear of the fans turning on Wrestlemania as a whole. Zack Ryder walked so Daniel Bryan could run. Eventually, WWE caved in to fan outrage. WWE haphazardly thought of a contrived way to still have the returning Hollywood star his Wrestlemania main event while still giving the fans the guy they truly wanted all along. Hey, this all sounds familiar. This will not be the only parallel to Wrestlemania 40 on this night.

The 2014 Royal Rumble does not feature on this list. For much of the same reasons I posted above, I don't think there was an intention to put on a show the fans hated on that night. I can plausibly believe they simply misjudged the situation to a hilarious degree and underestimated the sheer popularity of Daniel Bryan. Was it an egregious, stupid mistake and indicative of the tone-deaf nature of WWE? Yes. But was there malice in it, and an intention to put on something the fans would hate? I do not believe so.

Our story continues after Wrestlemania 30 where Bryan does win the WWE Championship in a wonderful moment that most wrestling fans will cherish. Shortly thereafter, however, he had to vacate the title due to neck injuries before his run with the belt really got going. It was a long 8 months that followed, with much speculation that Bryan may have to retire permanently. Finally, right before the 2015 Royal Rumble, Bryan announced that not only was he able to wrestle again, but this time he was in the Rumble match. Fans were ecstatic, and people began imagining their returning hero winning the Royal Rumble and facing Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. It was almost too perfect.

Going into the Rumble, Roman Reigns was still a heavy favourite in terms of betting odds, with Bryan being the only other viable bet. WWE had positioned Roman for this moment since the breakup of the Shield in mid-2014. They had been steadily grooming Roman for the big Wrestlemania push and he was becoming more and more the centrepiece of Raw. While fan reactions to Roman weren’t amazing, they were not particularly negative either.

This is a night that permanently changed Roman Reigns’ career.

I do not think I have ever seen any company, in all my years on this earth, treat its fans with the sort of disdain WWE did here. And I don’t just mean wrestling company, I mean any entertainment company. For them to go out of their way to intentionally sabotage their own product. All because we, the fans, had the audacity to really enjoy one particular part of the show they were giving us. We were being scolded for liking the wrong part of their product. It is mind blowing to think about. This is Velma - it is pure rage bait purposefully designed to antagonise and get a negative reaction.

This match takes place in the location of Wrestlemania 40 - Philadelphia, PA. Fittingly given this year’s card, R-Truth and Miz kick start the match reigniting their brief rivalry. The crowd are super into both men, with Miz getting a lot of “We Want Mizdow” chants too.

Next up, is the return of Bubba Ray Dudley for his first appearance in WWE in 10 years. He gets a great reaction from the crowd, as you’d expect from an ECW alumni in Philly. I will take this opportunity to say WWE really missed the boat not at least trying a Bubba Ray singles run in 2015. They do a weird bit where Bubba Ray pretends that R-Truth is D-Von, and they run through all the usual Dudley Boyz spots. Err…not sure how I feel about that.

Truth and Miz are gone pretty quick, and then in comes Luke Harper. Harper versus Bubba Ray low-key sounds like a cool match. They have a fun interaction until Bray Wyatt comes in at number 5. Bubba is gone (despite chants of “We Want D-Von” from the crowd). Curtis Axel comes out number 6, but he is immediately attacked by Erick Rowan and he never gets to the ring. This would start Axel’s protest gimmick where he’d claim he was still in the Royal Rumble match. So now we have Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Bray Wyatt all in the match which looking back is a nice, yet bittersweet moment.

Next in is the Boogeyman, which is probably my only complaint about the first part of the match, since he is one of my least favourite gimmicks of all time. Bray makes short work of him at least. Michael Cole describes this as “The Eater of Worlds” against the “Eater of Worms” in a way that only Michael Cole possibly could. Kill me. Sin Cara is out at 8 and almost immediately chucked out by Bray. Bray gets on the mic, a la 2010 CM Punk, to cut a promo and sing a little song in the process.

Number 9 is Zack Ryder making his return from injury. Despite having his own career sabotaged by WWE for getting over, the fans are still really into him. He too is chucked out immediately by Bray, of course.

Out comes Daniel Bryan at 10 and the place erupts with cheers. Bray and Bryan pick up where they left off from their tremendous 2014 series.

It is hard to believe this is the same crowd from later in the night

Fandango is out at number 11, and this makes it now the third person in this match that got over unexpectedly. Unlike Ryder and Bryan, he never kept that popularity because WWE tried to lean into it so much it became incredibly uncool. Speaking of uncool, Stardust is in at 13 as a stark reminder of how far Cody has come over the past 10 years. Bryan hits a suicide dive to Bray on the outside, which would put them temporarily out of the match for a few entrants.

DDP comes out at number 14 to a great pop. It does remind me how much I hate his WWE theme. He has a typical legend Rumble appearance, hits a couple of Diamond Cutters (including a very cool one to Bray Wyatt), and then is put out of the match by the number 15 entrant, Rusev. He was in the middle of his undefeated streak, and people had started to realise that he was actually a damn good wrestler. His foreign heel schtick was surprisingly refreshing because WWE hadn’t dipped into that well in many years ironically enough.

So far I have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first third of the match. It’s not without its faults, and a few dud entrants like Stardust, Fandango and Tyson Kidd, but generally it’s been enjoyable.

This also marks the point where this match dies its tragic death. Rusev cleans out some of the deadweight. Bryan comes back into the match for the first time in several minutes before he is shockingly eliminated by Bray Wyatt.

This takes a second to register with the crowd. We’ve been conditioned to know that big stars don’t go early in the middle of the Rumble match. It just doesn’t happen unless it’s part of a story (e.g. Shawn Michaels in 2003) or the very very rare instance like Undertaker in 2002. Nobody quite knew how to react for a moment because nobody in their wildest dreams thought this could be a possibility.

Then the realisation sinks in, and - like 2014 - the crowd are pissed off. And the reaction here makes 2014 look mild in comparison.

When Bryan didn’t emerge at number 30 in 2014, the boos were relentless, but at least it only came at the end of the match so they just had to survive 10 minutes before going off the air. Here, he is eliminated at the number 15 spot, meaning we are less than half way through the match before the fans completely turn on it. There is 40 minutes of this show remaining.

The now infamous “Shattered Dreams” titantron of Goldust immediately follows Bryan’s elimination. If you don’t think this is intentional, I have a bridge to sell you. This is WWE, specifically Vince McMahon, saying fuck you for ruining last year. Fuck what you want, and fuck your feelings. Not only are you getting Roman Reigns, but your favourites are getting fucked too.

The match is dead at this point. It’s just a constant echo of boos through the arena. Goldust and Stardust have a brief battle but the crowd are too busy chanting for Daniel Bryan. The commentators almost don’t know how to react.

With a few exceptions I’ll point out, every entrant is getting booed. Kofi Kingston is out now - and the fans are pretty merciless against him. Partly because of the Bryan thing, but also because this is during that awkward initial run of the New Day where they were presented as faces but everyone fucking hated them. Adam Rose is out 18 for the sole purpose of having the Rosebuds catch Kofi to stop him being eliminated. No reaction from the crowd. As is tradition, Kofi is eliminated immediately after saving himself from elimination.

At 19 is Roman Reigns, and if the fans were pissed off before, now they truly let WWE hear it. Everyone knew that only two people had the slightest shot of winning this Rumble - Roman and Bryan. With fan favourite Bryan out the way, the fans are acutely aware that this man was the chosen one. Much like Batista in 2014, the ire of the crowd now turned to the presumptive winner of the match. This is the first time Roman would get jeered to this degree.

At number 21, we finally get a superstar that gets a big reaction following Bryan’s elimination. Finally the crowd wakes up for …

… Damien Mizdow.

Yes, Damien Mizdow was so popular at this time period that he is one of the few people after Bryan’s elimination to get cheered and revitalise the crowd. Miz comes out to take his spot, but is knocked off the apron. Mizdow jumps in the ring to thunderous applause.

And then he is eliminated almost immediately.

I don’t think they intended to piss people off with this particular bit, but again it just shows how off the pulse the company was here. The fans return to the chorus of boos. It’s crazy the change in energy from the rest of this show to this point here. The only time anyone seems to get cheered is when someone is attacking Roman Reigns. Reigns seems to be trying to stay out of the spotlight of the match as much as possible. The fan chants are turning to a massive “CM Punk” chant, which would become synonymous over the coming years with wrestling fans protesting the shit product they were watching.

Out comes Ryback, Jack Swagger and then - importantly - Kane. Kane, the commentators note, is only 2 eliminations away from setting the Royal Rumble record for eliminations. He is also the heel muscle of the Authority. However Kane’s time as a popular star was done. He was old news, and fans were already pretty tired of him in general.

Dean Ambrose is out number 21, and he is one of the three guys (along with Mizdow and another still to come) that actually gets a pop from the crowd. Big “Let’s Go Ambrose” chant. Despite this, the crowd cools down again after the entrances of Titus O’Neill and Bad News Barrett. Fun fact about the Titus O’Neill elimination - the intention was for it to be the fastest elimination ever, but they fucked up the spot so he was eliminated after 4 seconds, preserving Santino’s record. Somehow only the second most famous Royal Rumble botch by Titus.

While they’re not outright protesting anymore, there is no enthusiasm in the crowd. Big Show is out at 29. He’s another heel muscle for the Authority, and like Kane the apathy towards him is at its all time high. Kane and Big Show just start teaming up and getting rid of some of the deadweight, and Kane ends up setting the all-time elimination record. Rusev takes a chokeslam and rolls to the outside.

Much like in 2014, there’s some anticipation to the number 30 entrant from the crowd. Dolph Ziggler had the biggest win of his career at the 2014 Survivor Series, but had cooled off slightly thanks to a lacklustre follow up. The crowd were still behind him here though - and along with Ambrose represented the small glimmer of hope the fans could latch onto.

The treatment of Bryan is one thing, but what really sets this match over the edge is how Dolph, Bray, and Ambrose are treated at the end. They are simply fodder for Kane and Big Show. Vehicles to put heat on two heatless past-it stars that had long since overstayed their welcome. The intention is obvious. Wrestling fans, contrary to belief, aren't idiots, and they could see the transparency of this booking technique. In an attempt to get the fans behind Roman, they built the heat on Kane and Big Show by having them dump out Ambrose, Bray, and Ziggler. Then when Roman inevitably eliminates them, the fans are happy, right?

Needless to say, the fans see right through it.

It’s not just what happened but how it happened. Ambrose, Bray, and Ziggler are dumped out of the match like pieces of shit. Deadweights that were unceremoniously chucked from the ring with no fight or tension whatsoever. Bray Wyatt’s elimination is especially annoying considering he’d been in the match for 45 minutes and was the star of the match.

Fuck you.

And you.

And you in particular.

The crowd does not like this one bit. After the elimination of Ambrose, the heat from the crowd hits a fever point. They are fully aware that the company is trolling them, showing them the sort of contempt never seen before by a wrestling company to its own audience. Among the boos there’s chants of “Bullshit” and “We Want Refunds”. Eventually Roman is able to Overcome the Odds™ and eliminate Kane and the Big Show together. But wait! Rusev hasn’t been eliminated yet, and he jumps into the ring to massive cheers. One last glimmer of hope - and the Philly fans are cheering the foreign heel in the literal birthplace of the United States simply because he is not Roman Reigns. It’s all for naught of course as Roman quickly spears him and chucks him over the top rope to win the match.

Fuck your feelings.

There have been worse Royal Rumbles than this. I think back to a lot of the mid-late 90s Rumbles where I don’t enjoy anything about them. I enjoyed some parts of this, especially at the start. However the booking of this match is so obnoxious, insulting, and antagonising that I have to consider this the worst Royal Rumble in history. There’s a genuine argument that this is the single worst booked match in WWE history. Not only was it a horrible night in terms of crowd reaction, but the long term ramifications of this match are still felt today.

This was the end of any chance of Roman Reigns being this generation’s major babyface star. I sympathise with him, not just as a big Roman fan, but also because - thanks to quite awful booking after the Shield - he was dealt a shit hand (or at least, as shit a hand as you can get for being the face of a multi-billion dollar wrestling promotion). Unlike John Cena, Roman never had that established fanbase before the fans grew tired of him being forced down their throat. He didn’t get organically popular - he was the most forced main event star in the history of the company. He never recovered from this, and the stench of the 2015 Royal Rumble has followed him ever since. It wasn’t until the Tribal Chief run that he ever truly felt comfortable in his position in WWE. I find it somewhat fitting that the city where Roman’s babyface run prematurely died is also the location where he is set to end the greatest run of his career.

Unless of course they decide to have Roman win at Wrestlemania 40, but that’s a story for next weekend.

A final thought to what is understandably the longest review to date. If you still don’t believe WWE didn’t know exactly what they were doing, then you just need to think about the end of the match. They wanted Roman to be their big babyface star, but they also knew they’d get a negative reaction by making the fan favourites look like shit. They needed to salvage that. How else than to get The Rock to make a surprise appearance? And the fans are so upset by how badly this match was booked, that they fucking boo’d the Rock.