WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Ranking All 30 Match Winners

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29. Batista – 2014

When Batista’s WWE return first got hyped up in 2014, there had been some anticipation to see him back. He was never beloved by the WWE fans, but had his fair share of moments over the years, including his run following breaking up from Evolution in 2005.

The Animal would make his first in-ring appearance for WWE in his second stint at the 2014 Royal Rumble match. He entered at No. 28, and for the nearly 15 minutes he was in there, looked absolutely gassed. The majority of this saw him get booed for doing pretty much nothing until the final moments, when he had a stare down with Roman Reigns. Of all bizarre things to happen, there would be a positive chant for Reigns (this came before his singles run outside the Shield).

After a brief back and forth, Batista would look like he needed to drink a gallon of water as he eliminated Reigns over the top rope and claimed the Royal Rumble victory. Like the 2015 match, this seemed like the incredibly predictable move to make, another one that the fans did not want.

From then on, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” star got booed out of every venue, receiving “Boo-tista” chants and having a poor match with Alberto Del Rio at Elimination Chamber 2014. WWE ended up biting the bullet when they turned Batista heel for WrestleMania 30, something that should have happened the night he returned.

To bring back a Superstar in his mid-40’s and plan for him to headline WrestleMania 30 with Randy Orton was a terrible idea. WWE salvaged the situation by getting fan-favorite Daniel Bryan into the main event and eventually win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If not, we would have seen a headliner that compared to WrestleMania 32.