WWE Royal Rumble 2014, a night of disappointment and a major departure.
While the event itself was mixed when all was said and done, the main event was what drew the most headlines. Beginning with a great match between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt, the Wyatt victory seemed to signal that Bryan would be making an appearance later in the night and go on to WrestleMania. However, as Mick Jagger would famously sing, you can’t always get what you want.
With only 4 matches on the main card, the in-ring quality took a significant dip when Brock Lesnar defeated The Big Show in just over 2 minutes. WWE Champion Randy Orton would face off against John Cena once again, with Orton winning the match thanks to Wyatt Family interference, setting up the showdown with Cena at WrestleMania 30. All leading to the reason everyone tuned in, many were hoping that they would be sent home happy with the results of the Rumble match. One decade on, it still doesn’t make sense.
The 2014 Royal Rumble Match: Where It All Went Wrong
Choosing strong starting participants, CM Punk and Seth Rollins would start the match and become the two iron men throughout. Brief appearances from Damian Sandow and Kane were somewhat forgettable, but a debut performance by Alexander Rusev showed that there was a ton of potential for The Bulgarian Brute in the future, if the company ever got behind him. Looking back in 2024, it’s hard to believe that the powerhouse who would get the crowd behind him with Rusev Day would not become a bigger star.
Kofi Kingston entered at number 8 and at this point became known for his iconic Royal Rumble match saves. Rusev would eventually be eliminated and was noted as having an impressive performance on commentary. Rusev would catch Kingston and place him on the barricade. Showing amazing athleticism, Kingston leapt an impressive distance to make it back in the match.
Dean Ambrose entered at number 11 and provided valuable assistance to Seth Rollins, continuing The Shield’s dominance over the past year. Entering at number 12 was Dolph Ziggler who got an amazing reaction from the live crowd. Entering at number 14 as the nostalgia entrant was Kevin Nash, who went after The Shield. Roman Reigns entered next and would go on to eliminate more Superstars in one Rumble than anyone in company history. Looking back, it was obvious that Reigns was always going to be the one presented as the big star of the trio.
Entry 17 saw Sheamus return after a lengthy absence from injury, much to the delight of the crowd. It should be noted at this point that nearly every entry had a factoid from JBL where someone won a previous number from that entry. Shortly before number 20 entered Daniel Bryan chants broke out. This quickly subsided when entry 20 ran to the ring, El Torito, who was the shortest entrant in the Royal Rumble. The late Luke Harper entered at number 22 and would have a great showing.
At entry number 24 JBL entered the match from the commentary table, being eliminated shortly after entering. Batista returned to WWE and entered the match at 28 to heavy boos from the crowd, leading to the Bootista chants and memes later in the year. As Big E entered at number 29, fans were convinced that Daniel Bryan would be number 30. As the fans counted down for the final time, Rey Mysterio’s music hit and the Hall of Famer would be met with uncharacteristic boos. In hindsight, the fact that commentary never mentioned Daniel Bryan should have foreshadowed this. The crowd quickly lost interest in the match, letting it be known that Bryan should have been an entrant.
Reigns would eliminate Ambrose and Rollins to be a part of the final 4 with Punk, Sheamus and Batista. The Pittsburgh crowd would only get more hostile when CM Punk was thrown out of the match by Kane in what would be his final match for the company in nearly a decade.
The final 2 came down to Batista and Reigns, with The Animal throwing out The Big Dog to win the match. Virtually no one in the building cheered at the result, with many chanting no at what took place.
The end result of the Royal Rumble was symbolic of the fans’ plea for change. While Orton and Batista had been on top in the past, there were new stars that should have rightly been in the spotlight. While Bryan would eventually make his way to the main event of WrestleMania 30 and won the title in a 3-way match, the story could have been so much easier. Even though WWE have since revised history and claimed that this was always the plan, the fans know the true story.
In 2024, two men who were in the 2014 match, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, are back in the company and are the favourites to win the upcoming match. With different people in charge and Rhodes and Punk being different performers from who they were 10 years ago, fans are hoping that mistakes are not made again.
Featured image: WWE
