WWE Royal Rumble: Ranking Every Winner After Lynch, Rollins Wins

Credit: WWE.com

30. Roman Reigns

Coming into 2015, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Roman Reigns was WWE’s anointed one. The booking plan was blatantly obvious: Reigns would win the Royal Rumble and challenge the seemingly unstoppable Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, defeating “The Beast,” and, presumably sending him packing for UFC. Yet, somehow, WWE have managed to stop and start this story at least three times since 2015.

The Royal Rumble Match itself was a total mess, with the primary theme of the match being WWE’s desperate attempts to goad fans into cheering a Reigns victory. Potential spoiler Daniel Bryan was unceremoniously eliminated early on, immediately souring the mood in the building. The closing stretch of the match saw perennial old-timers Kane and the Big Show simply knocking out Internet favorites like Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Bray Wyatt before scooping them up and dumping them over the top rope.

Reigns managed to heroically overcome the dastardly duo, eliminating both and being declared the winner. Moments later, however, Rusev emerged from his hiding place under the ring, revealing that he had never actually been eliminated, and attempted to steal the victory from under Reigns. Needless to say, Reigns overcame this obstacle as well, eliminating Rusev and being declared the winner, for real this time, as cousin The Rock stood by him, standing in silent awe of the furious crowd response.

Reigns and Lesnar did manage to put on a minor classic at WrestleMania, however, before a Money in the Bank cash-in from Seth Rollins saw “The Architect” steal his former partner’s thunder. Roman Reigns has had great moments since, and his best days are hopefully ahead of him, but it is best to acknowledge that his 2015 Royal Rumble push was, quite simply, a failure.