For as much as we all love the Royal Rumble I think we can all agree the outcome is usually very predictable. Ever since the stakes were raised with the winner getting a mania title shot we could narrow the rumble winner down to one or two guys, and most of the time just one. Hulk Hogan being the winner of two of the four rumbles before that stipulation wasnt exactly a shocker either. My question is which rumble outcome was the most and least predictable.
Most predictable: You could almost blindly throw a dart and hit on a good answer here. Although many were predictable Id have to say the most predictable was 1998. Stone Cold Steve Austin was about as hot as a wrestler could be during the second half of 1997. It was obvious he was the next main event superstar. There were some decent competitors in the rumble that year, but who besides Austin had a chance of wrestling Shawn Michaels at WM14? Id say the next most likely guy was Owen Hart and I think we all knew Owen wasnt going to main event mania. As I said many years have been predictable but for most other years I could convince myself of another option if I really tried; especially since the brand extension. In 1998 there was no other option than Austin.
Least predictable: This is really hard as I dont think Ive ever been really surprised by a rumble outcome. Im going to disqualify 2008 and 2010 since we didnt even know the winners were going to be in the rumble. Im sure literally every response would be Cena in 2008 so lets not even go there. My choice is 2006. I know WWE was big on what the perceived to be as honoring Eddie back then, but I didnt think they were going to go so far as to have Rey Mysterio win the Royal Rumble. I thought either Triple H, or more likely in my mind at the time, Randy Orton was going to win. Triple H vs. Cena seemed like a lock for mania so HHH was a logical choice. I also pictured Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle at mania but that was more of a guess. It turned out that Orton ended up getting a title shot against Angle anyway but he had to join rumble winner Mysterio in a triple threat to get it. I cant say I was shocked that Mysterio won. The thought that he could win was definitely in the back of my mind. I just didnt think WWE was going to pull the trigger on it.
Not that youve seen my choices tell me which are yours. Again I encourage everyone to leave out 2008 and 2010 as least predictable for the sake of actually having a discussion.
Most predictable: You could almost blindly throw a dart and hit on a good answer here. Although many were predictable Id have to say the most predictable was 1998. Stone Cold Steve Austin was about as hot as a wrestler could be during the second half of 1997. It was obvious he was the next main event superstar. There were some decent competitors in the rumble that year, but who besides Austin had a chance of wrestling Shawn Michaels at WM14? Id say the next most likely guy was Owen Hart and I think we all knew Owen wasnt going to main event mania. As I said many years have been predictable but for most other years I could convince myself of another option if I really tried; especially since the brand extension. In 1998 there was no other option than Austin.
Least predictable: This is really hard as I dont think Ive ever been really surprised by a rumble outcome. Im going to disqualify 2008 and 2010 since we didnt even know the winners were going to be in the rumble. Im sure literally every response would be Cena in 2008 so lets not even go there. My choice is 2006. I know WWE was big on what the perceived to be as honoring Eddie back then, but I didnt think they were going to go so far as to have Rey Mysterio win the Royal Rumble. I thought either Triple H, or more likely in my mind at the time, Randy Orton was going to win. Triple H vs. Cena seemed like a lock for mania so HHH was a logical choice. I also pictured Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle at mania but that was more of a guess. It turned out that Orton ended up getting a title shot against Angle anyway but he had to join rumble winner Mysterio in a triple threat to get it. I cant say I was shocked that Mysterio won. The thought that he could win was definitely in the back of my mind. I just didnt think WWE was going to pull the trigger on it.
Not that youve seen my choices tell me which are yours. Again I encourage everyone to leave out 2008 and 2010 as least predictable for the sake of actually having a discussion.