2015 Royal Rumble to feature 40 participants

[MattRhys20]

Taken from Wrestlezone:

During tonight’s WWE Smackdown taping in Philadelphia, WWE announced the 2015 Royal Rumble PPV will take place at The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.

The event will take place on January 25th, and it was also revealed the Royal Rumble match will once again feature 40 competitors.
.
.
.
.
.
.

So what do we think about 40 participants?

 

[boozinjedi]

How many "surprise" returns will happen that night with 40 entrants??
I could see the following returning to massive pops(or not)
Daniel Bryan
Batista(for his "final" run up to mania)
Captain Charisma himself..Christian
It would also be the perfect spot for Sting to make a debut
If he is healthy enough..Reigns also,but I think he'll be back before that maybe Survivor Series.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The sheer number of talents they need to cram in make it needed now...

7 guys injured who could be returning or have recently returned including Taker.

6 "legends" like Rock, Batista, Jericho, RVD, Angle and Sting who could all make returns/debuts.
The usual "shock entrants" from the mid-card - like a Shelton Benjamin, Godfather etc they normally put at least 4 in there.

So that's 17 spots potentially taken already... add in Zayn, Neville, Breeze, The Ascenision at minimum from NXT and that is 21 spots taken, Cena, Orton, Sheamus, Kane, Rollins, Ambrose, Kofi - the normal roster guys who make up a rumble and you're at 40 before you know it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I read about it this morning and delayed making a thread about it.

The biggest problem with the 1st 40 man Rumble was that they had way too many low and mid-card wrestlers come in so frequently. As a result, the match lost a lot of energy. Of the first 20 men who entered, only CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry had any degree of relevance as the rest consisted of guys like JTG, Michael McGuillicutty, Mason Ryan, Chris Masters and David Otunga. If they're able to spread it out more and keep more of the bigger names in the first half and keep them in, it should go a long way in solving that problem.

One potential problem facing the 2015 Rumble is the inclusion of Hornswoggle, who was in the first 40 man Rumble back in 2011, and the Bunny. Using such comedic foils in the Royal Rumble match, to me at least, doesn't make the match feel as serious as it should be. After all, it's a match to determine who goes to WrestleMania to face the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the main event, so dwarves and rodents shouldn't be involved. Hopefully, 'Swoggle as the Mini-Gator and the Bunny will have been burned out by the time the Rumble comes about. I'd rather WWE went the route of including some of the top talent in NXT in the match instead of blatantly lame comedic filler.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I thought the whole point of the last 40-man Rumble was to establish some new records. Most eliminations, longest time in the Rumble etc. None of that happened in the last 40-man match. Do it now and it'll serve a purpose. WWE also have more talent than they did several years ago. They've got no more credible winners, but that's besides the point.

 

[Ric 'The Nature Boy' Flair]

I like it as we can see some returns without taking the stars that deserve to be in it, out. But its WWE, so you never know, they are probably getting space for El Torito. Hopefully, the crowd is a good one and we will see the return of the one and only at #40............ CM PUNK,hopefully he main events WM and beats Brock Lesnars Ass (pun intended)

 

[sMark]

40 is overkill. Half of them will appear for around 10 seconds or have meaningless roles.
I rather have less people in RR itself, but with better booking and with better undercard.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

Get some NXT guys in the match, do a bit of a talent showcase ... that was my first thought.

Maybe it'll add some fire if there's an idea that some new young hotshots have a chance to make it big and go with the main roster.

Personally I am quite excited by this news!

For a winner: at the moment I am guessing big returners Bryan or Reigns, but could go with a dark horse like say Ambrose or something.

 

[#hamler]

The biggest problem with the 1st 40 man Rumble was that they had way too many low and mid-card wrestlers come in so frequently.

Pretty much this.

With soooooooooo much focus being put on Adam Rose, his god awful and unfunny bunny, Hornswoggle, El Torito, Slater Gator and and whatnot, I feel there's no point in doing a 40 man Royal Rumble whenever 15 of the entrants are comedy and another 20 have absolutely no chance of winning.

With that said, I'm always optimistic when it comes to Royal Rumble and WrestleMania season. With what seems like half the roster out with an injury, a 40 Man Royal Rumble leaves a lot of room for surprise returns/entrants. Wade Barrett, Roman Reigns, Christian and most notably Daniel Bryan have all missed numerous of months and will be welcomed back with open arms. Not to mention bringing up NXT stars like Sami Zayn and part timers coming in like Batista, The Rock, Steve Austin or Undertaker. If the WWE can add in as many credible superstars as possible, I wont care if the Bunny or Hornswoggle do their comedy bit. The bigger the names in the Rumble, the more unpredictable the match will be. The more unpredictable the Rumble is, the better and we all know this.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

I might be in the minority with this perception, but the more the merrier in my personal view.

40 is a perfectly adequate number to promote what the Royal Rumble is all about without over-extending its running time. In 2011, the match successfully captured a wide range of emotions from surprise, drama and comedy among others, and in my view was one of the best Royal Rumbles to date. At the moment, the WWE has a sufficient enough roster to put together an entertaining Royal Rumble match for every kind of fan, especially when NXT is factored into the equation.

The Royal Rumble match is about keeping you on the edge of your seat at all times, and in many respects, adding more contenders to the match assists in making the match more exciting, even if a few entrants are merely fodder for those going on an elimination spree. WWE simply need to make sure everyone serves at least a minor purpose in the match in order to influence the audience's enjoyment of the match, but if that attention to detail is enacted and the match flows nicely, it could potentially be even better than the 2011 incarnation of the match.

I always look forward to the Royal Rumble every year, and adding more contestants I feel adds more excitement to an already intriguing match. Of course, it will need to be handled with some care, but seeing as the match is only an annual one, I trust WWE to put on at least a competent effort with the match, which is enough for me personally.

 

[WBL]

Considering that they're going to have both Bryan and Reigns coming back around that time, and that both of them are favorites to win the Rumble and get their spot back immediately, I think it makes sense. The only other person who ever won the 40-entry rumble was ADR, and that was his major stepping stone to staying in the spotlight, possibly a bit longer than he should have.

 

[laodaron]

Personally, give me a 20 man Royal Rumble, get rid of the comedy fluff, only bring back big pops, and let there be 5-6 minutes between entrants.

 

[The Mattitude Era]

I love a 40 man rumble. The rumble is supposed to fun, and like someone else said, the more the merrier.

 

[The Boss]

Only HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN winning could make another 40 man Royal Trainwreck worth sitting through. So in other words it would be very unlikely that I watch it until after I hear the results. I usually don't do that for the Rumble, but the 40 man idea is just too much.

 

[TheICChampion]

10 credible threats to win the Rumble
10 surprise entrants
10 legends/hall of famers
10 wasted entries (Hornswoggle, El Torito, Adam Rose's bunny, etc.)

Should certainly be interesting, to say the least. I just hope this doesn't become a regular thing.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Think about it logically booking wise - if Reigns is fit he has to go for the record of eliminations so they can quickly rebuild him, especially the way Ambrose is getting over... it's starting to look like a Mania triple threat for the belt with them... so Reigns needs to break the record even if he doesn't win... so that needs 12 guys... if you're going for an interesting subplot then Rusev is also gonna be eliminating a lot of guys...and 5-6 to eliminate him the way they used to "gang up", if he's suddenly in the ring with 5 or 6 American's for example... then the old "working together" spot is gold.

You need fodder for each star to look good with some eliminations, especially the shock entrants, not all are gonna be Bushwhacker types... If a Sting, Angle or even a Nash, Jericho or Rock are in it, they need to throw some out...and your winner needs to look strong throughout the match too... perhaps not as many eliminations if it's a Bryan or Ambrose, but they need to be in there a LONG time... #30 matters a lot, The final four is crucially important, 40 is needed with the amount of building they need to do in the match.

The Rumble is only ever about a maximum of 5 people, the rest are there to be tossed... Kofi will get his "spot" again no doubt, but his role is to get tossed to let that happen... he's never gonna be a factor in winning it and neither are 30 out of 40 this time.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Whether there is 30 entrants or 40, WWE needs to make sure the Royal Rumble is booked correctly top to bottom. In fact, this is even more important with 10 more wrestlers (ie 15 more minutes to keep the fans interested)

For me, the best RR in history was 2001. It had a number of credible winners (instead of the usual 1 or 2), and each one came out at reasonable intervals - Kane at #5, Rock at #13, and then a final flourish of Undertaker (#25), Austin (#27) and Rikishi (#30), rather than the other options of starting with the favourites (annoying) or having them all enter late on (makes the first half largely irrelevant); injuries have played into WWE's favour this year, meaning more screen time and big matches for people that might ordinarily have spent longer in the mid-card, so at the 2015 Royal Rumblethe opportunity is there for a balanced Rumble, like in 2001 (the last time so many of the roster were relevant simultaneously)

I just hope that a major shock, like an early(ish) Cena elimination, occurs, as the Rumble needs stuff like that from time to time (like Savage in 1989, Flair in 1993 and Michaels in 2003)

 

[Jules Winnfield]

You know might be a cool idea: Have the 1st 10 participants all NXT guys. Almost like their own mini-rumble. The winner, gets to stay in the ring and be the #1 participant in the real rumble. The point of it would be to give the top 10 NXT guys a chance to shine, where the next great thing would get a chance to play with the big boys. Just a thought...

 

[Pedigree1]

Well this should prove interesting to say the least.. I didnt like the 40 man type the first time around,it felt crowded and unnecessary.. Too many lower-mid card guys came in way too soon. At the RR only a handful of guys have a realistic shot at winning the actual event..

But this does promise to have returns or potential returns of guys like RVD,Daniel Bryan,Batista,Captain Charisma! I wouldnt be surprised if Booker T made an appearance or even JBL.. Guys like Zayn,and Neville imo will steal the show at that event and i cant wait.. We all keep waiting and waiting on teh debut of Sting,and this probably will be it.. Sting at next years RR will be huge if it happens.. Even the Rock could make his return or taker.. The possibilities are endless i have high hopes for this one to be actually good

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Unless they don't include NXT guys I don't think they have 40 wrestlers in the roster...

 

[kadroan]

After what happened last year how certain talents like Bad News Barrett and Bryan not being in the Rumble, definitely saves that scenario from happening again.

WWE has the roster to have a 40 man Royal Rumble match.

 

[Ando]

Roman Reigns enters as #1 and breaks both the elimination record(15 probably) and time spent in the ring record.

 

[Rusty]

Oh Jesus, is it really hard for the WWE to not screw with the one match I enjoy watching every year!

The last 40-man Rumble sucked, probably one of the most boring of all time, and Del Rio won it, by eliminating Santino Marella I believe. That's how seriously they took it last time, and look where Del Rio is now. I would not mind this at all if the WWE had 40 superstars, whom a majority of them have a realistic chance of winning. The reality is they don't. Therefore expect a long, drawn out match (and a real bad undercard), with midgets, bunnies and other comedy figures that I'm sure people can't wait to see.

Hopefully Rey Mysterio can come in at #30 this time 'round and not get booed

 

[Alastor]

The last 40-man rumble had too many lulls. It was CM Punk and his cronies beating everyone until super Cena save the day. Then we had to see Hornswoggle comedy act which I think actually think got the crowd come back into it. The pop for Santino was great even though everyone probably knew he wouldn't win it.

I am expecting some NxT talent to pad up the numbers this year. We will probably see all the mascots in the rumble. Just don't add Michael Cole or JBL or Lawler as commentators into the rumble again. That is overused in the past few years.

 

[Navi]

I'm sure that we'll see everyone and their bunny in the ring that night. I'm hoping the Bunny makes it to tell you the truth, I just think the Bunny is great and I'm sure that JBL would be the next in to give it the clothesline from hell.

But yea all of the missing players right now Fandango, Kingston will do his annual walking on water trick to stay in, everyone will beat up on Khali, Henry and Show. You'll have the NXT guys, who are quick and some of the WWE guys won't know what hit them.

But I also think Reigns will enter early, eliminate a record amount of people again, and possibly win it. A good scenario for me would be Rollins eliminates Reigns, and then Ambrose eliminates Rollins, winning the Rumble and setting up the main event at Mania.