Wrestlers who had a great Royal Rumble, But flopped at WrestleMania

[Ruthless-RKO]

There has been many times over the last 20+ years where a wrestler had a great Rumble victory where it was all hyped but unfortunately flopped when it came to WrestleMania. Now it's not always the wrestlers fault because it could have also been creative.

I can think off a lot over the last 10 years, but which ones stick to your minds?

I'll start, I want to say Alberto Del Rio, here is a guy who was built up very well for the better part of 8 or 9 months, got past more or less every other midcarder, came out in a different car every week worth over $100k, won the BIGGEST Royal Rumble match (that's what WWE built it as), even though he did last eliminate Santino.. But then he goes against a face Edge, and a returning Christian, We all knew who would win that match, and also going on first was unbelievable, considering they put on arguably the 3rd best match of the night.. Yess, I like ADR, he IS a good wrestler and can put on a good match, I just feel creative have failed on this guy so many times.

Which one stands out to you guys?

 

[KingOfKings249]

Edge
John Cena (wasted his WrestleMania ticket at Now Way Out -__-, dumbass)
Lex Luger

 

[nbkush]

Lex Luger....he co-won The Rumble but lost to Yokozuna @Wrestlemania and that was the peak of his WWF singles career

 

[Dagger Dias]

The worst to me by far was Alberto Del Rio. He won the "biggest Royal Rumble in history" (THAT's being an accurate tagline or not is a topic for another thread) and won the opportunity to go on to OPEN Wrestlemania and LOSE. Yeah, way to make winning the Royal Rumble look important, WWE. It would not have been as bad if he had gone on later on in the night, but FIRST? And for him to lose when there had already been a string of losses? The US Championship match should have been first, Santino's tag team match against The Corre could have been the pre-show instead, Edge & Del Rio could have gone on at nearly any other point in the show.

I'm also not a big fan of how Cena's 2008 win was handled. It was a big deal for Orton to go over both Cena and Trips at Wrestlemania 24, I get that. Having Cena (kayfabe) use the title shot the PPV before Wrestlemanaia was stupid though and he could have just used his momentum from his return without using the Rumble win like that. He had just returned months ahead of schedule in a moment that legit shocked a lot of fans. Any reason for Cena to face Orton at No Way Out would have been fine, we as fans just wanted to see him attempt to get revenge for the RKO through the table that (kayfabe) injured him.

Then we have Orton from 2009. A win in the match against Triple H would have done wonders for him. Instead Trips HAD to main event the show and he HAD to win. So what if that type of storyline made it more sense for the face to win? They could have closed the show with Cena's win in the triple threat World Championship match or Taker VS Michaels. Orton needed that win and his loss was a big part of why the match itself was a flop. The Rumble win and the build to the match were great, then we get stuck with a match that receives a ton of criticism. Legacy could have gotten involved to help Orton, weapons could have and SHOULD have been legal, let alone the fact that Orton should have won since he was on such a roll at the time.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

For me the worst would have to be Michaels in 95. Most of it however has to do with the booking. He wins in 95 as the 1st entrant (1st time this was done) only to lose to Diesel. Just doesn't add up.

Imagine how much better it would have been if Shawn won at #1 in 96 going into the iron man match. Would have made sense story line wise, and come in real handy having Michaels last 60+ minutes at the Rumble and than the same at Mania.

 

[King]

In my opinion.... The Rocks was the absolute worst in history. He had nothing more left to do but to win the Rumble, and the last guy to be eliminated from him was The Big Show. Only to make Big Show Cry and use "footage" to explain that The Rock did in fact not win.
Only that killed his Rumble victory, and later on Mankind and Big Show was added to the "Main Event". It should of been Triple H vs The Rock. Not "A McMahon in every Corner"

 

[rocksaviour]

HHH - Great return, then won had a big, truimphant moment in winning the Rumble but then his match with Jericho wasn't that good for various reasons ie Stephanie at ringside and the fact it was after Rock/Hogan

Orton - Would of been huge if he had won the title at Mania after a good Rumble winning effort but it was ruined as the match sucked and it was after the great match between Micheals/Taker

Sheamus - Won this year's Rumble but then didn't really put on a good match at Mania to win the title and it opened the show

 

[thebromm]

Hands down its Sheamus. Now, don't get me wrong I like Sheamus. Better as a heel, but I like him nonetheless. About midway through 2011 he started this pointless winning streak getting more and more fans behind his babyface turn. Never really feuded with anyone. Goes on to the Royal Rumble where he wins the event. He won his right to go on to WrestleMania. He chooses Daniel Bryan's World Heavyweght Championship. Match time. It actually took me longer time to write this then that matches entirety. Obviously thats no fault of Sheamus or Daniel Bryan. Honestly, it skyrocketed Daniel Bryan from an upper-midcarder who got lucky and held the World Championship to a bonifide main eventer with a legitimate shot at winning a world championship when he got a chance.

I honestly don't think the WWE writers are that smart to have planned for that to happen (More on that later). That next night on RAW no one in the arena wanted much to do with Rock or Cena. YES! YES! YES!

Sheamus' championship victory at WrestleMania did absolutely nothing for him but catapulted Daniel Bryan to one of themost over starts WWE has.

***I said I'd get back to it and here it is. I said I didn't think WWE writers were that smart to actually plan for that to happen. Anyone remember on the Road to WrestleMania XXVII they advertised Sheamus defending the WWE United States Championship against Daniel Bryan? Remember how they moved it to the pre-show without warning? Remember how mad the IWC got that WWE robbed Daniel Bryan of his first WrestleMania appearence? I'm fairly certain that the WWE brass and the writers were sticking it to the IWC by having Bryan lose in the manner he lost. I could be wrong. I doubt it. I never am. <<<Case in point. When they pushed Zack Ryder, on these forums, I said it'd be short lived and the fall was coming. I got called everything under the sun. I told you so. Thank GOD I was right bout that one.

 

[The Brain]

Off the top of my head I would say Diesel in 1994. The Royal Rumble was Diesel's breakout moment. He entered the rumble early and quickly disposed of about seven wrestlers. He was a low mid card heel at the time who was really nothing but HBK's bodyguard. As he started eliminating guys one by one the fans were suddenly getting behing Diesel and cheering him louder with each elimination. Diesel didn't make it to the end of the rumble but his impact at the beginning is what led to him becoming a star in 1994. The WWF was a different place back then. It's safe to say the entire WrestleMania X card was planned out before the Rumble even took place. Diesel didn't get a match at mania and was quickly ejected from HBK's corner during the famous ladder match. After an impressive rumble performance Diesel barely got any face time at mania. However, he would go on to win the IC title just a few weeks after mania and by the end of the year was WWF champion.

 

[rokuma]

Out of the guys who won, it's hard to make a case for anyone but Del Rio and Luger. Del Rio was one of the worst, if not the worst, Royal Rumble winners in history. I was watching with a group of friends and we literally all sat silent after he won as if to say WTF? Then opening Wrestlemania and losing? Pathetic. Luger was in the same boat. First, he co-wins the Royal Rumble and then loses at Wrestlemania. Not exactly a momentum builder.

Out of the guys who participated, Diesel is a compelling case, as The Brain said, but I'd say Mr. Perfect in 2002. He was a surprise entrant, he lasted until the final 3 and then after that he was delegated to Sunday Night Heat. I thought for sure we'd see "one last run" from Mr. Perfect, but then the plane ride from hell happened and he was fired. Truly a sad circumstance.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I'd have to say Mr. Perfect too. He got a good pop from the crowd once his music hit, and he entered at a time where Austin & HHH were the only two in the ring, dominating and eliminating everyone who entered the ring after them, together, and when Perfect came into the ring, he alone hung with the two and put a stop to their dominance until Kurt Angle came out, and everything went back to normal in the match. Then as the match went on, he'd go onto be one of the final 3 men and he'd have the 4th longest time in the match behind Angle, HHH & Austin. Apart from Edge, Cena and some other superstars who returned in the Royal Rumble match and went onto win it, you couldn't have asked for a better return in the Royal Rumble match.

I thought after this great showing that we'd see Hennig feud with some main eventers like Stone Cold, but they only just had a small programme, not a proper feud, and Kurt Angle, who I was dying to see Perfect face at Wrestlemania X8 for a classic matchup between two of the best technicians in the world but that didn't happen either. Unfortunately he ended up getting put on Heat and then getting fired after the Plane Ride From Hell. Such a shame.

Diesel is also a great pick. Perfect & Diesel would be my top 2 picks.

 

[Remix]

You can make the argument for Kane in 2001. Eliminated 11 of the competitors in the Rumble, was the last guy eliminated and ended up in the mid card fighting for the hardcore title.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I think anyone who would the Rumble from 2008-2011 is a top contender for this because all of those guys lost their WM match clean. At least when Rock lost in 2000 he was screwed by Vince, so he didn't lose much momentum and ended up winning the title a month later.

In 2008, John Cena shocked the world and came back to win the Royal Rumble despite reports that he was missing WrestleMania. He was certainly the most over face on the roster (his standoff with Triple H that much proved it) and I think he deserved an exciting road to WrestleMania that ended with the top face re-claiming the belt instead of being the one who gets pinned in the Triple Threat match.

2009, Randy Orton was (IMO) the hottest thing in the WWE besides Jeff Hardy and deservedly won the Rumble after punting McMahon in the skull. That storyline is probably the best we've had in the last 3 years, and I was hoping Triple H would pass the torch to Randy Orton seeing as they were both Evolution-alumni (and mentioned it consistently) so I thought this match would be Orton finally becoming the "present" and Triple H becoming the past but Hunter won in a match that did nothing for his career and only stunted Orton's growth temporarily.

2010, Edge returned from injury a little earlier than expected and despite being a major heel for the last 5 years, he garnered a massive pop on his arrival and looked pretty dominant in his Royal Rumble win. His Road to WrestleMania was fun and entertaining and I was hoping this witty incarnation of Edge would continue his hot streak with a title win but they let Chris Jericho's reign continue. I'm not sure why they felt Jericho needed the win but nonetheless they gave it to him and they continued their average feud for months.

2011 saw the official emergence of Alberto Del Rio as a top guy in the WWE but believe it or not I think Santino should've gone over in that match. Despite all they did in 2010 for Del Rio he wasn't over and if you watch the end of the Rumble you'd see how over Santino was but nonetheless they pushed Del Rio and they actually did a great job in his Road to WrestleMania making him look credible. He won the 'biggest Rumble ever' and looked dominant so I thought we were finally seeing a new class of heel rule Smackdown but then Edge beat him (in what was unknowingly Edge's last match) and I haven't respected Del Rio since.

So in order I'd say Del Rio because he never really recovered from his failure (he's still a shitty midcard heel almost 2 years later), Edge because he didn't really do much after his failure, John Cena (he was wasted in a JBL feud after his failure), and then Randy Orton

 

[midgensa]

I think the Alberto Del Rio Rumble win that turned into losing the first fucking match on the WrestleMania card definitely sticks out in my mind.

I also was always pissed at what the WWE did with one of the most shocking PPV finishes of all time. They have Cena come out of nowhere in MSG and win the Main Event only to throw it away in a DQ match at No Way Out? Absolute and total garbage that made no sense what-so-ever.

A couple others that sucked ... having Edge cash in just to lose to Jericho made little sense. And having Orton cash in to lose to Triple H made little sense with that feud going the way it was.

 

[HBsam31]

Orton is a major one that sticks out in my mind. He wins the Royal Rumble, and has a ton of momentum going. He gets the whole storyline with the McMahon family. He even gets to drop Stephanie on his head. It was one of the better storylines going at the time, and in the end HHH wins a match that was very lackluster to say the least. I agree with The Fabulous Rougeaus to in the HBK was handled poorly. He goes from winning the Rumble from the Number 1 spot to losing to Diesel in a mania match that played second fiddle to LT and Bam Bam Bigelow. He should have had that Rumble performance the next year when he went on to beat Bret Hart at Mania 12.

 

[XXJJ]

Del Rio was an all-time flop. He won the Rumble and ended up opening the ppv and losing. He didn't even get a high profile title match. Guys like Cena, Orton, Edge were in real main events or towards the end with big money matches.

Cena comeback was ruined. It should of been Orton vs Cena at WM 24 for the WWE title. Their was no need for Triple H in this match. The idea of Cena not wanting to wait for WM was lame. Cena probably should of beat Orton at WM and completed his comeback story.

WM 25- This should of been Orton's win. Based on the angle is should of been an unsanctioned street fight or something for the title instead of a regular match, with Orton winning and becoming champ.

Triple H just cant get out of the way sometimes. They ended up ruining the Punk/Cena MITB angle because they had to involve HHH. They never got a proper blow off to the feud. The ending at Summerslam and what happened after SS was incredibly stupid.

WM 26- Edge losing after his injury comeback was surprising. I never expect Jericho to win a big match.

 

[the punk 140]

What about ric flair in 1992? He walked thru the whole roster with the intentions of having a wrestlemania match with the biggest face the biggest face the wwf had ever seen. If only hogans ego hadn't got in the way...

 

[theHeadliner]

For me the worst would have to be Michaels in 95. Most of it however has to do with the booking. He wins in 95 as the 1st entrant (1st time this was done) only to lose to Diesel. Just doesn't add up.

Imagine how much better it would have been if Shawn won at #1 in 96 going into the iron man match. Would have made sense story line wise, and come in real handy having Michaels last 60+ minutes at the Rumble and than the same at Mania.

The booking of the WM title match sucked, not necessarily the Rumble, and killed his momentum turning him face in the process. He hit Diesel with the kick but the ref was down and couldn't make the count, Shawn and the crowd counted to 3 and then some, and Vince made Diesel kick out on a strong one which was a horrible idea because it made the fans think it was overkill. Plus Shawn worked the match like a babyface, using high-flying and exciting moves that made the fans like him and the match.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Im going to disagree with Shawn in 1995. I think going the distance from 1st in to the end really build up his credability as a maineventer who could legit take the title off of the monster Diesil. Say what you want about Diesil but the crowd backed him and he was seen as someone who wasnt going to lose the belt soon. I think you had to consider Shawn as a realistic threat for the title at WM11. It also changed his career and they went with him as the face of the WWF following the match. Plus it was a great match and PWI moty

I dont think Shawn needed the number 1 entry in 1996. He was built so strong for the iron man match. Looking back, I dont know how it wasnt obvious they were going with Shawn.

Ill also completely disagree with Flair in 1992. Thats pretty crazy to me. Flair was a WCW made main eventer that had the odds stacked against him (for that reason) since day 1. To be the first marathon man in the rumble and actually win it, while also winning the WWF title was huge at the time. Plus him feud with Savage was very exciting and was the focal point of WWF tv all summer and ended with Flair regaining the title.

I dont really have an opinion on this. I watched from 1991 to 2005 and I think every Rumble winner had a strong showing at WM. 91 was Hogan the champion. 92 flair won the belt and regained it later that year after a WM masterpeice. 93-98, the rumble winner either won the title or had a career changing match at WM. 99, VKM set up the first McMahon/Austin match and lost his title shot, 00 Rock was a solid competitor for the title at WM, 2001 Austin had one of the biggest WM matches ever, 2002 HHH had one of the best comebacks ever. 03-05 the rumble winner won the title.

EDIT: I guess I would have to say Luger in 94. But I consider this Brets rumble. Lugers time had past and the crowd was solidly behind Bret. Bret won the title and had a great 1994 run.

 

[P. Nut Butters]

Oh, there are so many that stand out for me. I'd just firstly like to say that I don't believe Del Rio's was that bad. The guy got the Royal Rumble rub and wasn't ready for the WrestleMania rub and sometimes, that's okay. The bigger outcry would have come had he won at WrestleMania been put in the career-sterilizing position of 'carrying the company' much too early. To me, it was the perfect move.

Anyway...
'95 with HBK has been brought up, and definitely, as another poster suggested, I've always thought it'd be cool if HBK had gone 60-minutes the next year and won the world title much like Chris Benoit would do nine years later. However, I suppose it actually stood to make Benoit's that much more special because we had previously not seen that scenario.

2001 with Kane also stands out. My favourite PPV of all time and I honestly thought Kane deserved to win the Rumble. I was so disappointed when he didn't because I felt that it could have been a pretty cool 'payback' kind of angle where Kane rises to the WrestleMania occasion by crushing Austin's dream of coming back from Spinal fusion, much like Austin crushed Kane's WWF title run after just 24hrs a mere two-and-a-half years earlier. But the positive would be that we got one of the best WrestleMania main-events ever in Austin/Rock II at X-7.

2002: Triple-H. It was the right move with the right atmosphere. As others have already mentioned though, the spotlight was taken away from what should have gone down as one of the greatest WrestleMania moments in history [HHH winning at X8]. Once again, however, I contend that instead we got the greatest WrestleMania match in history, Hogan/Rock as the 'real' main event.

2008: In my opinion, 2008 was the year the WWE could have truly made another big star. Instead, John Cena returned and while his victory was shocking and momentus that night at the Rumble, to me, it presented lost opportunity and ultimately, what I felt to be a lackluster WrestleMania.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Of guys who participated but never won: British Bulldog.

He was participant #2 to Shawn in '95. And was the last guy eliminated after he thought he had already won. So he went the entire distance just like Shawn did.

But he never had a big 'Mania match at WrestleMania 11.

Of guys who "won": Luger.

Even though he only co-won. And really, Bret won and went on to win the title at Mania12. But Luger was a flop.

I disagree with Flair in 1992. He won the WWF title by winning the Rumble. And he had a main event match defending it against Savage. Wouldn't call that a flop.