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YMMV / Royal Rumble

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  • And You Thought It Would Fail:
    • The entire idea of the Royal Rumble itself was actually this, with Vince McMahon not at all sold on it when Pat Patterson pitched him the idea back in 1987, and only agreeing to give it one shot to simultaneously placate Patterson and a network exec that had been badgering him about fresh match gimmicks. They had the first one on the USA Network in 1988, and the rest is history.
    • Many expected the first women's Royal Rumble in 2018 would be an epic botch fest that would convince the company to never do it again. The match turned out to be on par with some of the better men's Royal Rumble matches over the years, exceeding many people's expectations. While opinions vary as to whether or not it was as good as the men's Rumble that year (as that Rumble was one of the best Rumbles in a long time), the women's Rumble is regarded as deserving of its main event spot.
  • Broken Base:
    • The 2016 Royal Rumble. The general perception seems to be that the Rumble itself was a great match: AJ Styles debuting to a massive pop, Dean Ambrose in the final two and looking really strong, etc. What causes the divide is the winner. Some are okay with Triple H winning, since it follows logical storytelling; others are pissed, wanting a younger talent to win.note  Not helping things is that he eliminated Ensemble Dark Horse Ambrose to win. All of this being said, everyone agrees that it was much better than the previous two Rumbles.
    • The appearance of Santina Marella in the 2020 Women's Rumble. Some consider it a funny Call-Back and a much-needed breather moment in a long match, while others think it's a slap to the face of the women's division and its improvement, and a waste of a spot that could be given to someone more deserving.
    • The booking of Brock Lesnar in the 2020 Men's Rumble, where he came in at #1 and single-handedly ploughed through 13 men in a row, including the returning John Morrison, the man he'd humiliated for the WWE Championship Kofi Kingston, and two other giants far more popular than him in Braun Strowman and Keith Lee. While some put up a good fight before being eliminated (Kofi got in infinitely more offence against Lesnar than he had in his own failed no-more-than-ten-seconds-long title defense), in a lot of cases it was "guy comes out, guy gets in the ring, Lesnar beats them up, throws them out and waits for next guy". Opinion was divided over whether this was awesome and made Lesnar look unbelievably strong so that the man who inevitably eliminated him (which ended up being Drew McIntyre) would get massive face credibility for doing so (which admittedly happened, especially when Drew went on to win not only the Rumble but the championship as well), or whether this was godawful, unnecessary and needlessly buried half the roster when everybody already knew Lesnar was an undefeatable monster who didn't need this kind of super-push. Reaction video live chat fields for the event were split during Lesnar's dominant run between those who were declaring the Rumble to be the best ever, and those who were calling it the worst.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: Bray Wyatt was getting a massive push leading into the 2023 Royal Rumble, with a sub-plot of the return of Alexa Bliss as part of the Fiend's stable, with an epic match against LA Knight, akin to the Firefly Funhouse match against Cena at Wrestlemania... then Bray Wyatt was taken out of action by COVID, dying to heart complications and Alexa had to step back due to ending up pregnant. Only Uncle Howdy was left behind, and seemingly the Firefly Funhouse closed for good that night...
  • Heartwarming in Hindsight:
    • Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins winning their respective Rumble matches in 2019 becomes much sweeter with the revelation that they had actually begun their romantic relationship around that time.
    • LA Knight and Bray Wyatt's match in 2023, given that it would jumpstart a push for the former and it being the final match for the latter.
  • Just Here for Godzilla: Among viewers who don't watch regularly anymore, some former wrestling fans will still watch the Rumble every year.
  • Most Wonderful Sound: The Rumble's signature buzzer, especially when a favorite superstar's entrance theme follows.
  • Overshadowed by Controversy: The 2014 and 2015 matches are remembered for the tremendous backlash that ensued. In both matches, a homegrown pet project of Vince McMahon and his associates won, Batista and Roman Reigns, respectively, despite the fact that the crowd overwhelmingly wanted Daniel Bryan to win the match; unfortunately, Bryan wasn't even in the 2014 match and was quickly eliminated in 2015. The 2014 Rumble is also remembered for being the final straw that led to CM Punk quitting WWE the day afterward, while the 2015 edition is also remembered for a spot in which older stars Big Show and Kane eliminated other beloved Ensemble Dark Horses like Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose from the match as well, to thunderous chants of "PLEASE RETIRE!" It says a lot about a promotion's booking when post territory fans riot in protest to a babyface's victory.
  • Questionable Casting:
    • Some people were somewhat annoyed at Kelly Kelly's appearance in the 2018 and 2020 Women's Royal Rumble matches, as they felt that she personified many bad things that the division had gotten away from in recent years. It should be noted that in both cases, Kelly was a last-minute replacement for someone else; in 2018, Alicia Fox and Paige both got injured shortly before the Rumble, so she may have been a last minute replacement (it was later revealed Kairi Sane was Fox's replacement), while in 2020 Kelly was reportedly a replacement for Sasha Banks, who was injured.
    • Some people were baffled at the appearance of Santina Marella at the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble match, due to being a comedy character who is actually played by a man in drag.
  • Rooting for the Empire: It really says a lot about how hated Roman Reigns was when the fans were willing to cheer for Triple H to win the title in 2016 as long as Reigns wasn't the one to hold it. In fact, one of the only times Hunter was not universally cheered during that match is when it was down to the final two and his last opponent was Ensemble Dark Horse Dean Ambrose, and the pop Hunter got when he personally eliminated Reigns (and followed it up with D-Generation X crotch chops) was one of the biggest in the entire match. It's all but confirmed that the reason Ambrose was the runner-up was because eliminating him was the only way Hunter was going to get heel heat after eliminating Reigns.
  • Sequelitis: The Men's Royal Rumble in 2022, classified as one of the worst (if not the worst) Royal Rumble matches of all time. A lot of the superstars did not seem motivated due to backstage issues regarding the booking and production, and there were barely any notable surprise entrants to pop the crowd — and of those that were there, only Celebrity Special Guest Bad Bunny was considered in any way entertaining. The final nail in the coffin was Brock showing up in the #30 spot and winning the whole thing, which many considered predictable, especially since it was just to build up again to Reigns/Lesnar at WrestleMania after Reigns cost Lesnar his own title earlier that night, a feud that many have been sick of for years. Say what you will about 2014 and 2015, but most agree that up until the ending those particular Rumbles were entertaining, and at least 2015 had a first-time winner in (ironically) Reigns, helping to build a new star. 2022, meanwhile, was a boring, predictable Rumble with a winner that many felt didn't need to win since he's already a mega star, classifying it under this trope for many fans.
  • Signature Scene:
  • Signature Song: "Hero" by Skillet, the 2010 theme, which was so awesome they included it in SmackDown vs. Raw 2010.
  • Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Every Rumble after the 2015 Rumble has gotten this reaction, with the 2018 men's Rumble having been considered one of the best Rumbles of all time.
  • Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: In a case of Tropes Are Tools, after the two events illustrated above caused low expectations for the 2016 Royal Rumble, it ended up actually having fans genuinely surprised and elated when it turned out not to be the worst Rumble in history (except to Bret Hart). The highlight of the match was obviously AJ Styles, but other parts of the event were well-received as well, such as the Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental Championship between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens. Some have even called it the best Rumble in the last five years.
  • Tough Act to Follow: Due to the novelty of the women's Rumble, it was decided it would main event the 2018 Royal Rumble PPV, so the men's Rumble was placed in the middle of the show. Said Rumble was the best Rumble the company had in years, and subsequently wore out the crowd. The fans were dead for the following two matches, and it's believed that one of the main reasons why the women's Rumble had a proportionally higher amount of nostalgia entrants was to pop the crowd for the match and re-energize them.
  • Unexpected Character: The titular match leans heavily on this as a gimmick. If the #1 question for a Rumble match is "who wins and gets the championship match at Wrestlemania?" a close #2 is "which retired or recently injured wrestlers will make a return appearance during the match?"
    • In the 2018 Men's Royal Rumble, nobody saw The Hurricane and Rey Mysterio returning, let alone the latter lasting until the final five.
    • In the 2018 Women's Royal Rumble, while former golden girls and stars like Trish Stratus, Lita, Beth Phoenix and the Bella Twins were expected to return - few expected women that weren't often promoted by the company like Torrie Wilson, Kelly Kelly, Jacqueline, Michelle McCool and Molly Holly to return. Molly in particular had said she wouldn't be there as she wasn't in ring shape.
    • The 2019 Men's Royal Rumble has Jeff Jarrett in it, while it was assumed that things between him and the company were mended when he became a Hall of Famer, nobody expected that he would actually return to a match in WWE. Even more unexpected, Nia Jax entered the Men's Rumble in the #30 spot after attacking R-Truth during his entrance, as nobody ever expected to see another female entrant in a Men's Rumble again after the implementation of the Women's Rumble the year before, let alone her later receiving head-on the finishers of three male wrestlers, considering the curtailing of men-on-women violence during the PG Era.
    • Several of the surprise entrants for the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble such as Rhea Ripley, Xia Li, and other NXT stars.
    • In the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble, pretty much no one saw Edge returning, after nine years in retirement due to a neck injury,note  let alone lasting until the final three.
    • In the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble, show of hands: Who was expecting Santina?
    • In the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble, nobody guessed that Christian was actually going to return, given how he made it very clear he would never be cleared to compete again. In the same page, Bad Bunny participating and then later on getting his own Wrestlemania storyline.
      • Speaking of Bad Bunny, he returns for the 2022 Men's Royal Rumble, making it to the Top 5, a position unheard of for a celebrity participating in wrestling.
    • Mickie James being announced for the 2022 women's Rumble doesn't seem like this, as she's been in multiple Rumbles previously. Mickie James being announced for the Rumble not only almost a year after being released from WWE, but completely lacking any of her WWE presentation in favour of her "Hardcore Country" gimmick and carrying the Impact Knockouts Championship? Definitely this.
    • Logan Paul made a surprise return to the 2023 Men's Royal Rumble at #29, especially since he was recuperating from multiple injuries months ago.
      • To a lesser extent, Booker T (who hadn't wrestled in close to 10 years and was on the pre-show panel right before the match started) and Michelle McCool (who was with her daughters in the crowd) were both entrants.
    • 2024 had a return for each of the Royal Rumble matches that many didn't expect. For the Women's it was Naomi due to a fallout she had with the company before she left and for the Men's, many didn't expect Andrade to return so soon.
      • Additionally, the Women's Rumble also had TNA Knockout Champion Jordynne Grace, who was never even employed by WWE, and Jade Cargill, as it was well known at the time that she was being trained at the performance center. Meanwhile, Pat McAfee was a bit of a surprise in the Men's Rumble to the point where even he didn't know that he was an entry.
  • Values Dissonance: Back in 2000, the WWE held the Miss Royal Rumble bikini contest in which Mae Young won and exposed her breasts before Mark Henry covered her up. With the #MeToo Movement, this segment would not happen ever again in the WWE.
  • Watch It for the Meme: Plenty look forward to seeing what crazy spot Kofi Kingston will do to stave off elimination every year.

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