Royal Rumble Going from 30 to 40 Wrestlers

[ccotreau1]

I like this idea, for 2 reasons, first it allows guys that aren't doing much right now due to lack of ideas to be in the rumble, even tho these guys won't have a chance, but instead of releasing them, give them some tv time. And secondly, it allows for some new feuds to start, hopefully with these unused guys.

[fenfool]

Yeah, I don't think adding 10 participants means 10 more people have a chance of winning, it just means they are giving cannon fodder to those few that have a shot. Make someone like Zack Ryder or Chavo Guerrero win, and then we'll talk. But if all this is to have HHH enter at #40 and win, it really doesn't add anything, except 20 minutes, to the match. We'll see, though. Maybe they change the entrance delay to 1 minute instead of 2, or add something else to the mix (whoever gets the most eliminations gets an IC title shot, or something...just thinking aloud).

Anyway, I will, like everyone else, wait and see how it goes!

[vampirek]

Well it think with the two Nexuses, Cena you have 9 of the original 30 already. For that reason I see this as a good idea, it also allows room for the ones you don't expect to turn up (RVD a couple years ago for example).... and yes chances are it means Lawler getting involved.

On the other hand, it could be seen as lazy booking more time given to the Rumble the less has to be done to the undercard meaning you can forget about any build up of the midcard titles and tag titles. Or if they are to keep it down to about its normal time it becomes too fast and looks a mess like it did in 95.

[Sanka]

I'm well up for this. There are so many positives and not many negatives.

More entrants should mean a longer match. This is always going to be a positive. The Royal Rumble match is one of the highlights of the wrestling year. Therefore, making it longer is good. There we go. That was simple. If the intervals are spaced closer together, then we have a problem. It could mean a similar length match, a more clustered match or eliminations happening so frequently that they lose any significance.

I don't think that we will see any FCW guys in the Rumble. FCW is never mentioned in WWE, casual fans will have no idea who Consquence Creed is. Nor should NXT Rookies be in. In kayfabe, they are competing for a contract and everything that entails (including being on PPV). What a 40-man Rumble will do, however, is give a chance to those on the outskirts of the main roster, The Primos, the Barretas, etc. Even if it's in a huge match with 39 other guys, it's still valuable PPV time for Superstars who are deserving of it. Pop in a few returning guys and some surprises (Sgt. Slaughter still wrestles, right?) and you've got a stellar line-up for a 40-man Rumble.

[moneymaker90]

I don't think this is a good idea from any point. I seriously doubt that the match time will be extended so the result will be much more guys staying much less time in the match. I don't believe that a guy that only shows himself on Superstars or FCW guys will benefit of 1 minute of getting his ass kicked by someone. The current format is good and has worked very well over the years. The WCW one wasn't really good because of this. Way too many people and lots of confusion which resulted in a low appeal. The Rumble match is perfect the way it is: please don't mess with it.

[shattered dreams]

Seems like a novelty effect that may do some extra business this year but will hamper quality. There is nothing significant about the extra guys over 30. Is one maybe two extra pops worth screwing with the formula? Not for me. It almost either has to be too crowded or too long now. Smarks will probably like it though once they see it. It does make a certain amount of sense because just about everything that can happen has happened in the 30 man rumble but I think this is just going to dilute the product.

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Yeah, I don't see the point of increasing to 40. Orton, Ziggler, Miz, and Edge are all in title matches and we don't know if Cena and HHH are going to return so that's around 5 or 6 main eventers so I believe this rumble is going to be midcard heavy with six or seven jobbers thrown around. There is usually a couple of spots open for returns or surprise entrants anyway so I don't see the necessity of adding 10 spots. I believe there are only four matches on the card so this could be a factor why they are increasing.

[cboedeker2]

Just found this...

http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble...30520/preview/

Looks like the rumors are true. I think this will make the match infinitely more exciting. Bringing in more superstars brings in many more possibilities for inter-promotional matches at Mania. I think another reason why WWE is doing this is to give more talent who otherwise might not get a spot on the card (i.e. Daniel Bryan or Zack Ryder) a chance to get a decent payday at the PPV. I also don't think it changes the possibilities on who will win. Ultimately, no matter how many people are in the match, WWE will go forward with whatever plan they may have for WrestleMania. Either way though, I still look forward to, as I do every year.

[TheTruNoLimit]

I don't necessarily have a problem with it... especially with both versions of the Nexus likely being involved... Counting Punk's Nexus and Barret's Nexus we've got 8 superstars total. The way it was, Nexus would've represented a third of the field of competitors which could have been seen potentially as overkill with practically every other guy coming out at points representing one Nexus or the other.

So, from that standpoint, it's good.

The thing that I'm worried about is this...

Do we still get a good undercard?

We've got Edge and Ziggler who should be able to deliver a solid match for the World Championship and the Miz and Orton, who should be able to have an ok WWE Championship match. I've no doubts that Natalya vs. Melina will likely be added for the Divas Championship, but if that's all we get for the undercard because we're adding 10 superstars to the Royal Rumble then I'll be upset

I still think the undercard could deliver despite not featuring the bigger stars... Daniel Bryan and Tyson Kidd could have a very good United States Championship match and Kofi Kingston can also have a good Intercontinental Championship match with either Cody Rhodes or Jack Swagger, or heck, both.

I want a solid 4-5 matches, PLUS the Rumble.

And other than the main eventers, we've always seen the guys competing in the undercards competing in the Royal Rumble. So, we could see Bryan, Kidd, Kofi, Cody, Swagger on the undercard and then still show up in the Rumble.

Heck, due to his affiliation with Vickie Guerrero, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Vickie put Dolph in the Rumble if he loses to Edge. I guess that would theoretically leave space for Orton to appear in the Rumble if he loses to Miz since, if Orton and Dolph lose they technically don't get another shot. (Whereas, Miz would have a Championship rematch if he lost, so it'd look stupid for him to pop up in the Rumble if he loses).

All things considered, I think it could work.

For those wondering... here's a list of healthy/active superstars who could be competing... I didn't include injured guys or guys we haven't seen in ages and have no idea what the real status is...

CM Punk
Daniel Bryan
Darren Young
DH Smith
David Otunga
Goldust
Heath Slater
Husky Harris
Jimmy & Jey Uso
John Cena
John Morrison
Justin Gabriel
Mark Henry
Michael McGullicutty
Primo
R-Truth
Randy Orton
Santino
Sheamus
Ted Dibiase
Tyson Kidd
Vladimir Kozlov
William Regal
Yoshi Tatsu
Zack Ryder
Alberto Del Rio
Big Show
Chavo
Chris Masters
Cody Rhodes
Curt Hawkins
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
Ezekial Jackson
Jack Swagger
JTG
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Rey Mysterio
Trent Beretta
Tyler Reks
Wade Barret

So there's 43... The only 2 not included are the 2 champions.

[Bobby B]

Yeah... I really don't understand this idea. Sure, as a gimmick it might work for some, but it won't actually help change the match. 30 superstars is already more than enough to start all of the feuds you could possibly want, and plus realistically only a select few can win the Rumble anyway, why would adding 10 people make this any different?

I guess it could be said that it will allow for some debutants - but 30 men already did anyway.

Sorry, can't see any benefit from this in all honesty.