Batista Winning 2 Royal Rumbles....

[L@RISANO]

Batista Winning 2 Royal Rumble Matches
Was the above one of the Biggest Booking blunders ever in the history of WWE?


So far, before Batista won the 2014 Royal Rumble, Only 4 Superstars have ever won Multiple Royal Rumbles since its inception, namely; Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and John Cena.


The mere fact that the above 4 names are amongst the Cream of the Crop of WWE Superstars means that winning Multiple Royal Rumbles should be something reserved for the absolute BEST of the BEST in the business at a given time, the Hottest Act, I daresay.


Was giving Batista such an accolade that has been only given to the Best of the Best, a virtual slap in the face of the Many others who can be called Levels above the Animal?

Personally, when I first viewed the list of Multiple Winners of the Royal Rumble, it was shocking to see Batista amongst them.

Indeed his first Royal Rumble win was well deserved at the time, as he was amongst the hottest guys at that time alongwith the guy he eliminated last in the 2005 Royal Rumble,John Cena.

This year's win initially and in hindsight was a very very poor booking decision on WWE's part and the fact that it backfired from the time it happened is a sort of karma for the WWE, as Batista's Emphatic Return has been disaster in almost every way,lMO.

 

[JJV]

Batista winning the rumble twice is not a bad thing. Batista winning the 2014 rumble was a wrong move tho. Punk or Bryan should have won!

 

[Pedigree1]

Your right in saying Batista is not at the top of the all-time greats in terms of winning the RR! SCSA,Hogan,HBK,Cena are the only ones to win it multiple times.. In 2005 Granted Batista was white hot,and deserved to win it that year. Pains me to say,but he truly did. This year was an absolute sham IMO and was probably the worse Royal Rumble in history..

It was no secret that when Batista signed,he was going to win the RR.. Being Triple H's buddy has its perks.. But even WWE and Batista could not have imagined the amount of heat they have gotten,as a result of that decision.. We all wanted Daniel Bryan or CM Punk to win it!! Not a part-timer who quit because he had a bitch fit,to come back some 3 years later to win the RR! Batista did not deserve to win the RR this year.. Nor is he among the all-time greats as far as RR past winners goes

 

[roipdh123]

Batista winning his 2nd rumble was the worst rumble decision ever made by the WWE.
Batista is a man who had a previous MMA fights & he is a close friend of HHH & he returned to main event and not to be in some mid card feud so this was obvious that he will win.
Was it right?
Absolutley not!

He is no where near the other 4 whom won the rumble in more than one occasion {even though I hate Cena - I got respect for him}.

 

[GuessI'mAMark]

Before I answer the original question I'd like to point out that John Cena didn't need to win two Royal Rumbles. I will never understand that logic behind his second win. 2008 worked perfectly and I actually enjoyed his comeback after injury despite his stale character. Another thing I'd like to point out is that many people always point to the Royal Rumble as a place where young guys get the chance to shine and graduate to the main event, which is wrong. If you look at the previous Royal Rumble winners, most of them were main eventers before winning the Rumble. Now that I've cleared that up my answer is a simple no. The fans reaction was unexpected. While Daniel Bryan and CM Punk were the ones the fans wanted to see win, no one expected the fan adoration of those two guys to overshadow Batista's return and win.

 

[Zycho32]

Batista's RR victory was downright unprecidented, even when you ignore the vagrancy of what the storyline really was all about.

A Former SuperStar returns shortly before the Rumble(almost returned IN the Rumble were it not for some punk-ass spoiler) after a long four-year absence, where he left as a Monster Heel and a Blubbering Quittin' Bitch at the same time. Can't think of a former winner who won the title after any absence, let alone one as long as Batista's.

The rationale defies any coherent explanation and just smacks as Storyline Smark Bait... except for the Babyface part. That is really rankling, because that's a lot harder to work with when theorizing a giant swerve meant to turn the fans into shit-flinging monkeys. Because they seemed bent on making Batista a babyface and held out for an entire month before caving in.

 

[JJV]

We all wanted Daniel Bryan or CM Punk to win it!! Not a part-timer who quit because he had a bitch fit,to come back some 3 years later to win the RR! Batista did not deserve to win the RR this year.. Nor is he among the all-time greats as far as RR past winners goes

If Punk joins MMA or somewhere else, and returns in a few years back to WWE, I wonder if people would react the same way. After all, Punk quit and then returned a few years later just to win the Rumble lol

 

[The Perfect Max]

I can understand fully in what you are saying, and I agree with you. Before 2013, three guys had only won the Royal Rumble twice or more, them being Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin. My argument is that John Cena didn't need to win the Royal Rumble for a second time in 2013. Yeah, I know the win set up his return match with The Rock, but that was a similar issue for some people: they didn't want to see it. Same with Batista, they don't want him in the Marin event. This case, albeit, is much more extreme, but I stand by my point.

Now Batista has won his second Royal Rumble, in two years it has gone from three of the top superstars ever to win multiple Royal Rumble matches, to now five. In a way, with the critical turnout of this years event in 2014, this statistic seems a lot less significant now, which saddens me because growing up, I never thought a superstar could do what Hogan did and win two, never mind back to back. Maybe it's just me that feels this way, but I do believe that in the past few years, booking as a whole has effected the once significant historical landmarks and statistics of the WWE, this one being a prime example.

 

[Eddie Menuek]

I don't think it's an issue. While winning the Royal Rumble is a nice accolade to have it is, first and foremost, a booking tool to set the stage for the championship match at Wrestlemania. You may take issue with Batista being one of the participants in that championship match but that's really a wider issue.

 

[enviousdominous]

I look back at Batista's first Rumble win. Sure, going into the Rumble he was very over and had friends in high places. It made sense to let him win the damn thing.

Then I look at how his win went down at the finish of the Rumble. He was supposed to eliminate John Cena, and he accidentally eliminated himself. He botched his big finish and an impromptu spot involving Vince speed-strutting to the ring had to occur, Vince was so persistent with his foot stomps that he ended up wrecking his knee trying to enter the ring. Vince sat on his ass and improvised an unplanned restart to the Rumble. All of this stupidity could have been avoided if Batista was sharp back then, the one thing he obviously lacked was the ability to perform properly in the ring.

He went on to have a decent run with the belt, mainly because HHH was willing to lay down for him three times in a row.

The way I see this Rumble win; the bookers figured that if he isn't over then winning the Rumble is his penance for losing at Wrestlemania, if he was over then winning the Rumble is just part of the package he receives for graciously returning.

I don't think that the bookers have any concept of how putting Batista on the same pedestal as other multiple Rumble winners diminishes the prestige of accomplishing as much. They don't take the show as seriously as we do and for them it's all just a big budget balancing act.

 

[kadroan]

I'd rather for Batista to win the Rumble than for him to comeback like The Rock saying he gets a title shot automatically at Wrestlemania.

I guess if his return was at TLC than Royal Rumble, crowd may have been warmed up to his second Rumble win.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Oh I don't know, I think Batista is a much bigger star today than Shawn Michaels was when he won his two Rumble matches. I know that's a terrible example, but hey, I made it and you're all going to have to deal with that.

 

[kumarjtk]

Batista is not a top level superstar. triple h think batista is like rock in terms of popular. But fans think this year rumble winner is bryan or punk. So they hate others. That is main problem for wwe.

In recent years they poorly booked the royal rumble winner like cena, del rio, sheamus.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Batista Winning 2 Royal Rumble Matches
Was the above one of the Biggest Booking blunders ever in the history of WWE?

One of the biggest booking blunders in WWE history? I don't know about in the whole history of the company, but I'd go so far as to say that it's definitely one the biggest of the past few years. Generally speaking, I honestly think that WWE overestimated Batista's popularity and star power while simultaneously underestimating Daniel Bryan's. I know that some people are tired of everything being about Daniel Bryan, but that doesn't change the simple fact that he's the most over babyface on the roster at this point. To be honest, that's pretty much how it's been for the past 6 months. I'd say a booking choice of equally embarrassing proportions was the decision not to put Bryan in the Rumble match. I think it's safe to say that most fans expected Batista to win the Rumble and weren't all that excited about that prospect. Had Bryan been in the match, however, then maybe the fans wouldn't have hijacked the match and crapped all over it. After all, Bryan being in the Rumble would give the impression in the minds of a lot of fans that maybe, just maybe, Bryan would be going over instead of Batista. Not only would their favorite been in the match, but him being in the match could have added a piece of uncertainty as to how the match would end.

Was giving Batista such an accolade that has been only given to the Best of the Best, a virtual slap in the face of the Many others who can be called Levels above the Animal?

I've never been a big fan of Batista, but I think the hate towards the guy has gotten more than a little out of hand. I wouldn't call it a slap in the face, just something that's part of the blunder of booking Batista as the winner when fans clearly prefer someone else. Again, I think WWE management overestimated Batista's popularity without taking into consideration that fans' opinions have changed in the last 4 years that he's been gone. They've seen wrestlers that, in the opinion of many fans, have been elevated who're far more entertaining than Batista. I also think that the backlash against Batista stems from what SEEMS like something of a backlash against The Rock since the post WM Raw last year. This is just a guess on my part, it's one that I think does carry at least some weight when I think about the reaction to fans and posts I've read, but I think that a good number are no longer enchanted by the notion of wrestlers who haven't been around for years popping back up and finding themselves in prime spots ahead of guys who bust their humps year round. The Rock's name meets with either a very mixed reaction or no reaction at all when it gets dropped on WWE TV these days. If The Rock returned to wrestle and was put ahead of Daniel Bryan, I honestly think he'd get quite a bit of boos. If Bryan hadn't been elevated as he has, fans hadn't rallied behind him and CM Punk hadn't walked out; I don't think there'd be nearly as much negativity surrounding Batista's return.

 

[MCMG]

Batista definitely isn't in the same league as the other four but it's not a massive deal. Since the first Rumble, I'd find it very difficult to argue against Hogan, Austin, HBK and Cena being the four biggest and best stars. (Maybe the Rock). Batista certainly isn't close to them in terms of talent but he is still a pretty big name.

The Royal Rumble is a way of booking someone as number one contender. Batista was the best choice in '05 and was a solid choice this year. The fact he has won it twice isn't a big deal simply because this is fake wrestling and it make sense from a booking standpoint.

Bam Bam Bigelow has been in the main event of Wrestlemania more times the Ric Flair.What if I said Vince Russo has more World Titles then Mr Perfect. Batista is nowhere near as good as the other four but there are more severe injustices in pro wrestling than this.

 

[Judah's Lion]

Bam Bam Bigelow has been in the main event of Wrestlemania more times the Ric Flair.What if I said Vince Russo has more World Titles then Mr Perfect. Batista is nowhere near as good as the other four but there are more severe injustices in pro wrestling than this.

^^^WOW!!! this definitely helps to put things in perspective. great thread and great discussion so far...

i'm kind of a mixed breed on the whole subject of Batista. i've never been his biggest fan, but i also don't think that he outright sucks. quite honestly, i enjoyed his first run in the WWE and i even liked a bunch of his feuds and matches.

no, i don't think he's the second coming of Benoit, but he was never booked that way. i thought he did well with his natural ability and yes, of course, because of his well placed friends in high places.

all of that said, Batista winning the Rumble this year was laughable. and unfortunately for the WWE, i don't see how they can dig themselves out of this hole. Orton/Batista, at least at this moment, seems like a lock for Mania for the WWE Title. i cannot imagine that exact scenario ending well for the WWE writers and creative staff.

Jackhammer said it perfectly. between the audience liking less and less these part-timers coming back for big paydays and taking the spots of guys that bust their humps year round and the mega rise of Bryan, this was just a very poor booking decision. very poor.

and this isn't exclusive to Batista. despite my respect for the following people, other names come to mind; Taker, Triple H, Lesnar and Rock. guys like CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan (among many others!) deserve better.

more importantly, the fans deserve better.

 

[TJ-BITW]

First after reading I was surprised to see one big name missing in that list - The Rock. Coming back to this year's Batista win I am not sure people would have hated this much had someone like The Rock winning it instead of Batista though personally I would not want any superstar to win a Royal Rumble without any damn storyline.

IMO, everyone watching WWE(F) since last 15 odd year may have hated to see a superstar winning Royal Rumble without any storyline. We have been grown watching a storyline where a XYZ guy fights his way out against bad guys and wins the Rumble gradually winning the WrestleMania. It would have made sense had Daniel Bryan won this Rumble as he had past with the Authority coming to this year's Rumble. If WWE did not even wanted Bryan then CM Punk was there who was stipulated as number one entrant by the Authority. How often when someone is made number one entrant by bad guys - More or so we expect that person to win the Rumble.

 

[TheICChampion]

Bam Bam Bigelow has been in the main event of Wrestlemania more times the Ric Flair.

Uh, technically WM 8 had 2 main events and Flair was one of them. So they were in the same amount of main events. In any case, I'm all for Batista being a multiple-time RR winner. Sure, I wanted Punk to win but since they had b1tch-a$$ Kane throw him out, Batista was my next choice. I'm glad Bryan wasn't in the match because frankly I'm getting sick of them shoving him down my throat every week since Summerslam. If he gets the match against HHH that's fine with me but he shouldn't be automatically entered into the title match later that night. He needs to EARN his title shots from here on out.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Your right in saying Batista is not at the top of the all-time greats in terms of winning the RR! SCSA,Hogan,HBK,Cena are the only ones to win it multiple times.. In 2005 Granted Batista was white hot,and deserved to win it that year. Pains me to say,but he truly did. This year was an absolute sham IMO and was probably the worse Royal Rumble in history..

It was no secret that when Batista signed,he was going to win the RR.. Being Triple H's buddy has its perks.. But even WWE and Batista could not have imagined the amount of heat they have gotten,as a result of that decision.. We all wanted Daniel Bryan or CM Punk to win it!! Not a part-timer who quit because he had a bitch fit,to come back some 3 years later to win the RR! Batista did not deserve to win the RR this year.. Nor is he among the all-time greats as far as RR past winners goes

It is only the worst Rumble, because people didn't get their darling Daniel Bryan winning. Because it wasn't Bryan, anyone else who won would have been pissed on. Hell, if the Undertaker had been in the Rumble and won it in 2014, he would have been booed out of the building, because he isn't Daniel Bryan.

Don't believe me. Well, Rey Mysterio didn't win the Rumble, yet got booed,in one of the most disgusting acts I have ever seen in my over thirty years of following WWE, because he wasn't Daniel Bryan. So, whether it be the winner, or No 30, if they aren't Daniel Bryan, they got booed.

It's funny that people say Batista is unpopular. He was very popular four years ago. I remember he got huge pops when he won the title at WM21. He got the cheers, more than Cena did. Even when Batista was a heel, people thought he played a heel brilliantly. But there was a difference then. Daniel Bryan wasn't around.

I think that maybe they need to please fans totally. Change the name of WWE to DBE (Daniel Bryan Entertainment), rename Wrestlemania XXX Bryanmania Yes! and have the match card be Daniel Bryan v Daniel Bryan, Daniel Bryan v Daniel Bryan, and the main event will be Daniel Bryan v guess who? That's right, Daniel Bryan for the Daniel Bryan Heavyweight Title. Daniel Bryan will also go 22-0 and keep his WM Streak intact, since the fans ahve shown that they don't give a stuff about anyone else in the company. So, the fans can play with themselves while Bryan fights himself.

 

[d_henderson1810]

One of the biggest booking blunders in WWE history? I don't know about in the whole history of the company, but I'd go so far as to say that it's definitely one the biggest of the past few years. Generally speaking, I honestly think that WWE overestimated Batista's popularity and star power while simultaneously underestimating Daniel Bryan's. I know that some people are tired of everything being about Daniel Bryan, but that doesn't change the simple fact that he's the most over babyface on the roster at this point. To be honest, that's pretty much how it's been for the past 6 months. I'd say a booking choice of equally embarrassing proportions was the decision not to put Bryan in the Rumble match. I think it's safe to say that most fans expected Batista to win the Rumble and weren't all that excited about that prospect. Had Bryan been in the match, however, then maybe the fans wouldn't have hijacked the match and crapped all over it. After all, Bryan being in the Rumble would give the impression in the minds of a lot of fans that maybe, just maybe, Bryan would be going over instead of Batista. Not only would their favorite been in the match, but him being in the match could have added a piece of uncertainty as to how the match would end.



I've never been a big fan of Batista, but I think the hate towards the guy has gotten more than a little out of hand. I wouldn't call it a slap in the face, just something that's part of the blunder of booking Batista as the winner when fans clearly prefer someone else. Again, I think WWE management overestimated Batista's popularity without taking into consideration that fans' opinions have changed in the last 4 years that he's been gone. They've seen wrestlers that, in the opinion of many fans, have been elevated who're far more entertaining than Batista. I also think that the backlash against Batista stems from what SEEMS like something of a backlash against The Rock since the post WM Raw last year. This is just a guess on my part, it's one that I think does carry at least some weight when I think about the reaction to fans and posts I've read, but I think that a good number are no longer enchanted by the notion of wrestlers who haven't been around for years popping back up and finding themselves in prime spots ahead of guys who bust their humps year round. The Rock's name meets with either a very mixed reaction or no reaction at all when it gets dropped on WWE TV these days. If The Rock returned to wrestle and was put ahead of Daniel Bryan, I honestly think he'd get quite a bit of boos. If Bryan hadn't been elevated as he has, fans hadn't rallied behind him and CM Punk hadn't walked out; I don't think there'd be nearly as much negativity surrounding Batista's return.

Like I asked in another post, where did WWE ever promise that Daniel Bryan would be in the Rumble Match. In fact, the fact that they put him in a match with Bray Wyatt gave an indication to that. It is rare that someone doubles-up at Rumble, and it usually only happens when there are a lot of injuries, or to start a WM feud by one eliminating the other (like in 2005, with HBK v Kurt Angle). It is the exception rather than the rule.

Guess what, Brock Lesnar, Big Show and Bray Wyatt weren't in the Rumble either. I don't hear their fans bleating about it.

You say that because you boo Batista, WWE shouldn't push him. Hey, if WWE went by fan response, Cena would have been buried long ago.

Besides, you say that just having Bryan in the Rumble would be enough. But how come people aren't still raving about Roman Reigns, who dominated the Rumble. Would Reigns winning be a nice consolation prize, or would he be booed too, because Triple H sees something in him?

Hey, at least Batista is back full-time, not like Brock Lesnar, who only shows up when it suits him. Why doesn't Brock get the heat Batista does? Because he wasn't discovered by Triple H, which, in this day, is seen as a sin. Look at how many wanted Sin Cara to fail, just because Triple H picked him.

I think this is as much anti-Triple H, as it is pro-Bryan. You people are never happy. For years, you have all said that Vince is past it, and he should hang it up. Now, he may be replaced soon, and people crap on his replacement.

The fact is most fans ONLY wanted a Bryan win in the Rumble Match, so that he can win the belt at WMXXX. They want that, or bust. There is no compromise.

Bryan either wins the belt at WMXXX, or people will quit watching WWE (yeah, heard that before). But, if they mean it good time, I say good riddance. It would be pleasant talking to people who love many aspects of wrestling, not just one person in it.

 

[gasM]

I think it's not that big a deal that Batista won it twice. Him winning this year maybe was the issue, or it being the year the people wanted Daniel Bryan.
If I may be permitted to go slightly off topic, the Bryan fans vs WWE thing isn't logical or rational, so those who complain about it (which is fair enough) should take that into account. IWC or otherwise, the WWE Universe wants Bryan, and WWE likes to portray itself as the company that gives us what we want. They go out of their way to put us over, tell us we make the stars, so when the people chose Bryan and it didn't pan out, we called bullshit. (We being yhe majority - obviously there are inevitably some who just aren't Bryan fans, and that's their perogative). The people chose Daniel Bryan to win the Rumble and they were denied, same as when they chose him to overcome the Authority and win the belt and that didn't work out. Bryan even lost cleanly to Bray Wyatt that night, so when the Rumble win didn't materialise of course the WWE Universe revolted. They didn't get what they felt they were owed, because they are used to being the star makers. Luckily for them their backlash and CM Punk's departure thrust Bryan back in the main event.

Back on topic, I was stoked for Batista's return. Liked the face run, loved the heel run, wished he'd stayed and never thought he'd return. He's only getting picked apart like this because of the Bryan factor, which isn't fair really. Kudos to him for parlaying it into some above average heel work.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I feel pretty comfortable saying that Batista winning the 2014 Royal Rumble match & becoming a multi-time rumble winner is one of the biggest blunders in the history of the WWE.

I think one could even argue how deserving Batista's 1st rumble win was, so allowing him to win another rumble match & headline Wrestlemania XXX no less when Dave is really rusty in the ring & getting booed out of every building he works in because hardly anyone cares that he returned, is obviously an extremely poor booking decision.

Even big time former WWE Superstars like Mick Foley & Steve Austin that usually don't like to publicly criticize the WWE too harshly, were very outspoken about how awful the '14 rumble match was & how that entire PPV was booked terribly.

IMO, in the closing moments of the rumble match, Del Rio should have eliminated Batista with a cheap kick from behind or something like that & it should have led to Dave "Unleashing The Animal" on Del Rio at the Chamber PPV & them having a brutal & much more intense match. Then Batista could have gone onto some semi-high profile grudge match at Mania to help boost ticket sales & then any of the more deserving superstars like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, etc. (heck maybe even a returing RVD or Y2J?) could have won the rumble, for the the 1st time! & it could have actually been exciting instead of someone who isn't an elite entering an elite class.

 

[Eddie Menuek]

I think one could even argue how deserving Batista's 1st rumble win was, so allowing him to win another rumble match & headline Wrestlemania XXX no less when Dave is really rusty in the ring & getting booed out of every building he works in because hardly anyone cares that he returned, is obviously an extremely poor booking decision.

Going off on a tangent here, but I'm not sure that you could argue that. I mean sure, he wasn't particularly talented in the ring, nor was he a great talker during his days in Evolution, but the booking of his ascension within that stable was (unlike Randy Orton's) just absolutely flawless. Simplistic, but as good as you can possibly book a guy in that situation, and boy, he was over. At the end of the day, if the fans want to see that guy defeat his mentor for the World Heavyweight Championship that badly, how much more do you need to justify him winning that first Rumble match?

 

[L@RISANO]

I feel pretty comfortable saying that Batista winning the 2014 Royal Rumble match & becoming a multi-time rumble winner is one of the biggest blunders in the history of the WWE.

I think one could even argue how deserving Batista's 1st rumble win was, so allowing him to win another rumble match & headline Wrestlemania XXX no less when Dave is really rusty in the ring & getting booed out of every building he works in because hardly anyone cares that he returned, is obviously an extremely poor booking decision.

Even big time former WWE Superstars like Mick Foley & Steve Austin that usually don't like to publicly criticize the WWE too harshly, were very outspoken about how awful the '14 rumble match was & how that entire PPV was booked terribly.

IMO, in the closing moments of the rumble match, Del Rio should have eliminated Batista with a cheap kick from behind or something like that & it should have led to Dave "Unleashing The Animal" on Del Rio at the Chamber PPV & them having a brutal & much more intense match. Then Batista could have gone onto some semi-high profile grudge match at Mania to help boost ticket sales & then any of the more deserving superstars like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, etc. (heck maybe even a returing RVD or Y2J?) could have won the rumble, for the the 1st time! & it could have actually been exciting instead of someone who isn't an elite entering an elite class.

Agreed.

I know some people say go and say it scripted and stuff, but there are certain records that WWE could do a better job protecting as much as they can.

This Multiple Royal Rumble winners class consisted of Top Notch Superstars, the Absolute best of the best in the Royal Rumble era in terms of which superstars got the chance, yet there are quite a few others, in the business even at present who would have been much more worthy of getting their names on that list ahead of Batista.

As has been mentioned in the post above that I have quoted, there were quite a few others Besides Daniel Bryan, who could have been worthy First-Time winners of the Royal Rumble. It was absolute poor booking,lMO, and with One of the few Superstars who was worthy of being a First time winner leaving, it means Daniel Bryan Has to pull duty at Wrestlemania due to a lack of a viable and suitable Main Event for possibly, the Biggest Wrestlemania Event of All-Time!

 

[L@RISANO]

Going off on a tangent here, but I'm not sure that you could argue that. I mean sure, he wasn't particularly talented in the ring, nor was he a great talker during his days in Evolution, but the booking of his ascension within that stable was (unlike Randy Orton's) just absolutely flawless. Simplistic, but as good as you can possibly book a guy in that situation, and boy, he was over. At the end of the day, if the fans want to see that guy defeat his mentor for the World Heavyweight Championship that badly, how much more do you need to justify him winning that first Rumble match?

Didn't mention it in the post above, but in the Opening Post, I said winning the Rumble should be reserved for the Hottest Act in the business at the time as much as possible. Once the WWE Roster consists of someone who is over with the crowd in some form, then that Superstar should be the one booked to win the Royal Rumble.

In 2005; as I said, Cena and Batista were the hottest acts, but Batista needed the Royal Rumble to completely establish himself in the Main Event, whilst John Cena was well on his way there. Orton had already stepped into the Main Event earlier, and Batista was the one left to make the jump and jump he did in 2005, and he was well loved by a crowd who dearly wanted to bash HHH and give him what was coming...

In 2014; I can't find a single reason for Batista entering such an elite class as being a Multiple Royal Rumble winner. Now that list just can't be taken seriously any longer, because quite frankly, Batista doesn't quite measure up to those in that list, unfortunately, and no, not even with John Cena.