WWE Royal Rumble: Roman Reigns and 4 Stars Who Should Have Won Previous Matches

WWE.com

1. Roman Reigns – 2014

WWE pulled the trigger on Roman Reigns a year too late. Had they booked him to win the Royal Rumble in 2014, odds are the WWE landscape (and Reigns’ career) would be in a very different place right now.

Daniel Bryan’s ‘Yes Movement’ was so powerful by this point that the fans rejected everyone that represented Vince McMahon’s pre-planned vision, most notably Batista. Vince was adamant that the fans would love Batista vs. Randy Orton in the main event of WrestleMania XXX.

The fans wanted none of that and cheered all of the heels, including Roman Reigns. But there was more to Reigns at that time, as well. He was playing the silent powerhouse of the Shield, a soft-spoken badass that let his actions do the talking. He was getting over organically, and wasn’t being forced down fans’ throats as the ‘chosen guy’ in the way he was in 2015 and onwards.

WWE could’ve made a last-minute decision to go with Reigns as the winner and it would’ve made a world of difference. It was painfully obvious Batista was returning solely to main event WrestleMania XXX, which created its own set of problems. A guy that hadn’t been in WWE for four years facing off against a 12-year veteran in Orton. Way to be fresh and adaptive, WWE.

Next: Ranking Every Rumble Match Winner

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns might not have been as exciting as Daniel Bryan, but at least it wouldn’t have led to Batista’s return being such an abysmal failure. He could’ve had some other role for WrestleMania, and wouldn’t have been perceived as a flop.