Royal Rumble 2015's winner???

[ShinChan]

We all know that Roman Reigns was the one to win Royal Rumble 2015. He then went on to headline Wrestlemania 31 against the champion Brock Lesnar.

But what's also known is the negative reaction from everywhere regarding Roman Reigns' win.

Now, there have been many speculations about what was the main reason behind it. Some say that including Daniel Bryan in the Royal Rumble was a big mistake. Others say that the audience were mad for getting a Bryan victory and thus tried to ruin and then alter original Wrestlemania plans.

But this thread ain't about that. This thread is about the following question:

"Who should've won Royal Rumble'15?"

I will help you here with list of entrants:

The Miz
R-Truth
Bubba Ray Dudley
Luke Harper
Bray Wyatt
Curtis Axel
The Boogeyman
Sin Cara
Zack Ryder
Daniel Bryan
Fandango
Tyson Kidd
Stardust
Diamond Dallas Page
Rusev
Goldust
Kofi Kingston
Adam Rose
Roman Reigns
Big E
Damien Mizdow
Jack Swagger
Ryback
Kane
Dean Ambrose
Titus O’Neil
Bad News Barrett
Cesaro
Big Show
Dolph Ziggler

That's the list of entrants in order.

Now, let's pick the logical choices. Logical as in keeping the credibility of the wrestler in mind.

Bray Wyatt
Daniel Bryan
Rusev
Roman Reigns
Dean Ambrose
Bad News Barrett
Cesaro
Dolph Ziggler

That's just 8 out of 30 entrants. I don't think that any other guy could be a credible threat to Brock Lesnar.

We all know how Reigns' victory went. Rusev was a United States Champion at that moment and I don't think that we need a Heel Vs. Heel in the main event of Wrestlemania. Dean Ambrose's case was similar to that of Roman Reigns. Not same but similar. Daniel Bryan had just returned from a neck injuru and logic says that you won't make him compete against Brock Lesnar whose major arsenal affects head & neck adversely. Bad News Barrett returned after an injury just a month away from Rumble. Cesaro, well Vince.

That leaves us with two choices: One's Bray Wyatt and other's Dolph Ziggler.

Ziggler could have been a viable choice since he just got a big rub at Survivor Series 2014 by dethroning the Authority. He won't go over Lesnar but still a star could be made.

Or Bray Wyatt could win it. It might sound as too soon but Wyatt Family could be a great factor in making him win the Royal Rumble and then go on to face Brock Lesnar.

Either of these two could be right.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Ziggler got the biggest reactions of the night, then Daniel Bryan, then Dean Ambrose, and then Damien Mizdow. The crowd was nuts for those four guys and would have been happy with any of them. Ziggler is the guy who should have won. They built suspense to his arrival the whole match, and saved him for #30, and then he gets eliminated in two minutes, just so Vince can give fans the middle finger and say, "You're getting Roman Reigns, ONLY Roman Reigns, and you WILL like it. Nobody else matters!".

 

[ShinChan]

Ziggler got the biggest reactions of the night, then Daniel Bryan, then Dean Ambrose, and then Damien Mizdow. The crowd was nuts for those four guys and would have been happy with any of them. Ziggler is the guy who should have won. They built suspense to his arrival the whole match, and saved him for #30, and then he gets eliminated in two minutes, just so Vince can give fans the middle finger and say, "You're getting Roman Reigns, ONLY Roman Reigns, and you WILL like it. Nobody else matters!".

I agree.

Plus, WWE had the chance to use the big rub Ziggler got at Survivor Series 2014 by dethroning The Authority single-handedly. I don't get what that rub was for if WWE didn't have any plans for Ziggler in the main event.

We all know that Roman Reigns was nowhere near being ready.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

Hahahahaha! Seriously, Ziggler!? He's hardly a threat to Sheamus, no one would have taken him seriously against Lesnar. Cesaro or Ryback would have been seen as more of a threat than Ziggler would have.

Reigns was the right choice, whether you agree or not. There were only three credible choices Reigns, Wyatt (family), and Bryan.

Wyatt was a good option, but his win/loss record made him pretty much irrelevant during that time. People didn't even believe he could beat Taker, and Taker was coming off of his first loss ever at the previous Wrestlemania.

Bryan's situation was difficult. He came back from neck injury and many feared putting him against Lesnar, so instead he was inserted into the ic championship picture. In hindsight, wwe made the right choice as he was forced to relinquish the ic championship a month later.

The build up between Reigns and Lesnar was horrible, with out a doubt, but that match was Lesnar's last good match imo. Reigns may not have been a favorable choice but he was definitely the best choice.




Ziggler...

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I think Daniel Bryan should have won it. As cliche as it sounds he was still the most over guy in the roster and he had some unfinished business by being stripped of the title.

Daniel Bryan vs. Lesnar would have been a very strong main event.

Granted Rollins cashing in the MITB is perhaps one of the great surprises at WM history. I think that was more of a fail safe move due to Reigns poor reaction than a well thought out elaborate plan

 

[@smarkmouth]

Rusev! Yes, Rusev. I know it may be a strange choice, but hear me out.

That year, Rusev was quite nearly seen as the 'Russian' Lesnar. Undefeated, unstoppable champion, who wrestles an unorthodox style. By tagine alone, you're revisiting an Irresistible Force meeting an Immovable Object. Furthermore, Rusev was seen on an echelon worthy of facing Cena. It wouldn't take much more to be seen as a threat to Lesnar from there.

The build would be stronger than that with Reigns. Rushev and Lana can play the super athlete, here to dominate the USA cards. Lesnar and Heyman could even no-sell the American pride element, saying Lesnar fights for no country, but will still ultimately be the unlikely, perhaps unwilling babyface. In fact, can you imagine the snowed out edition of Raw being used as a metaphor for Russian winter?

The match itself, perhaps more potential? I know people liked Reigns vs Lesnar, but I was never quite enamored with it. I think Rusev and Lesnar could have had a stronger dynamic between them. The sight of Lesnar selling the Acolade, anyone?

And finally, after these two behemoths destroy one another, Seth Rollins can still pull the heist of the century. Only this time he pins either the Beast Incarnate or the undefeated Rusev.

 

[L@RISANO]

Had Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar been as terrible a match as the vast majority had predicted it to be, then I would agree that there should have been a different winner of Royal Rumble 2015. However, the match got some rave reviews from the majority who watched it and it vindicated the decision to let Reigns win the Rumble somewhat, ntm the whole Seth Rollins cash-in business at Mania itself which was a huge moment in itself as well as in storyline.


It is actually the 2016 Royal Rumble that needs to have had a whole different storyline and winner, lMO.
They actually managed to get over the same rejected Roman Reigns at TLC in a huge way in the very city he won the 2015 Royal Rumble, and subsequently managed to blow it all down the drain within a month and still continued a storyline that many had little interest in because they blew their entire load in a couple of weeks.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Hahahahaha! Seriously, Ziggler!? He's hardly a threat to Sheamus, no one would have taken him seriously against Lesnar. Cesaro or Ryback would have been seen as more of a threat than Ziggler would have.

Reigns was the right choice, whether you agree or not. There were only three credible choices Reigns, Wyatt (family), and Bryan.

Wyatt was a good option, but his win/loss record made him pretty much irrelevant during that time. People didn't even believe he could beat Taker, and Taker was coming off of his first loss ever at the previous Wrestlemania.

Bryan's situation was difficult. He came back from neck injury and many feared putting him against Lesnar, so instead he was inserted into the ic championship picture. In hindsight, wwe made the right choice as he was forced to relinquish the ic championship a month later.

The build up between Reigns and Lesnar was horrible, with out a doubt, but that match was Lesnar's last good match imo. Reigns may not have been a favorable choice but he was definitely the best choice.




Ziggler...

Ziggler was a FAR superior choice over Reigns. Lesnar/Reigns is one of the worst matches in the history of wrestling. Ziggler could have gotten a great match out of Lesnar. Ziggler is INFINITELY more believable to beat someone than Reigns is.

 

[ShinChan]

Hahahahaha! Seriously, Ziggler!? He's hardly a threat to Sheamus, no one would have taken him seriously against Lesnar. Cesaro or Ryback would have been seen as more of a threat than Ziggler would have.

Reigns was the right choice, whether you agree or not. There were only three credible choices Reigns, Wyatt (family), and Bryan.

Wyatt was a good option, but his win/loss record made him pretty much irrelevant during that time. People didn't even believe he could beat Taker, and Taker was coming off of his first loss ever at the previous Wrestlemania.

Bryan's situation was difficult. He came back from neck injury and many feared putting him against Lesnar, so instead he was inserted into the ic championship picture. In hindsight, wwe made the right choice as he was forced to relinquish the ic championship a month later.

The build up between Reigns and Lesnar was horrible, with out a doubt, but that match was Lesnar's last good match imo. Reigns may not have been a favorable choice but he was definitely the best choice.




Ziggler...

You need to differentiate between past & present. Before this feud against The Miz, Ziggler had no credibility left whatsoever. But this isn't about present. This is about Royal Rumble 2015. Aka Ziggler before that stupid angle with Rusev and before trading wins & losses against the likes of Baron Corbin & Tyler Breeze.

That guy had single-handedly dethroned The Authority. He had a got a great rub and it got wasted because WWE didn't take advantage of it.

I agree about what you said about Bryan.

But you're again wrong about Bray Wyatt. Did you believe that Brock would break Undertaker's streak? No? Right. Defeating The Undertaker at Wrestlemania is still unbelievable. So, how would someone believe that Wyatt would hand The Undertaker his second consecutive loss at Wrestlemania 31?

Before Royal Rumble 2015, Wyatt had lost twice to John Cena and once to Jericho. So, his win/loss record at that time was quite good.

About Roman Reigns, He wasn't ready. If the match was good, then how does it make the decision of making Reigns winner of Royal Rumble a right one?

Ziggler was more credible than Reigns in every way.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Out of all of them only Reigns and Bryan had the credibility to win there. And they didnt want to risk with Bryan because Brock isnt exaclly safest thing to work with. It was good bussiness decision, unfortunatly smarky fans crapped all over it.

Out of all the others maybe Ambrose. And we saw how that ended up this Wrestlemania.

Rusev was US Champ and allreday getting his big match with Cena. Cesaro and Ziggler are fan favorites but never viewed more then midcard. And Bray and BNB were jokes.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

Ziggler was more credible than Reigns in every way.

Look at were the two were before Survivor series.
MITB:
Ziggler was in the mitb match for a future shot at the wwe world championship.
Reigns was in the actual ladder match for the wwe world championship.
Battleground:
Ziggler- battle royal for the IC championship
Reigns- fatal four way main event for the wwe world championship

Heck Reigns was "Superstar of the year!" (my personal opinion aside, it's still a "huge accomplishment.")

If it wasn't for Reigns getting injured, Ziggler would not have

single-handedly dethroned The Authority.

Now I could be wrong, but before the weeks leading into Survivor series, Ziggler wasn't even feuding with the Authority.
Reigns without a doubt would have been in that Survivor series match and the one to beat the Authority, had he not been injured.


Also I completely agree with @DW. Rusev was actually the person I was hoping to see win. I didn't expect him to win at Wrestlemania against Lesnar, but it would have been enjoyable to watch.
The u.s champion vs the wwe world champion.
The undefeated streak vs the conqueror of streaks.
Even though the match didn't happen, I would still like to see it eventually.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Are we looking for a face to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania?
Well the answer is simple: have Bryan return after the Rumble.

If not that and you still really want someone to beat Lesnar at Mania (remember, they didn't know Brock was gonna resign) then give it to Ambrose. He was as over as Reigns. He wasn't ready, but there was always Rollins to add fuel to the fire.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Look at were the two were before Survivor series.
MITB:
Ziggler was in the mitb match for a future shot at the wwe world championship.
Reigns was in the actual ladder match for the wwe world championship.
Battleground:
Ziggler- battle royal for the IC championship
Reigns- fatal four way main event for the wwe world championship

Heck Reigns was "Superstar of the year!" (my personal opinion aside, it's still a "huge accomplishment.")

If it wasn't for Reigns getting injured, Ziggler would not have Now I could be wrong, but before the weeks leading into Survivor series, Ziggler wasn't even feuding with the Authority.
Reigns without a doubt would have been in that Survivor series match and the one to beat the Authority, had he not been injured.

And yet Roman Reigns wasn't, and has never been, even a tenth as over as Dolph Ziggler. Not to mention he would have given us a much better match than the garbage we got stuck with. Reigns/Lesnar was an abomination.

 

[Dagger Dias]

As much as I hate to say it, Reigns probably was the better option for winning that year's Rumble. The only other option that even comes close would have been Bryan. Wyatt wouldn't have been believable AT ALL against Lesnar. Bryan at least could have been believable as a challenger trying to overcome seemingly impossible odds at Wrestlemania if he had won the Rumble.... However, I'd be concerned that he might have gotten severely injured in the match if he had been the one to face Lesnar. If we're changing anything about the main event of Wrestlemania 31, it would be Lesnar that I would rather replace instead of Reigns. If Cena had won the World Championship at the Rumble and Reigns still wins the Rumble then we could have had a much better match in Cena VS Reigns. Lesnar had held the title hostage for too long and never defended the thing, that combined with the fans being turned off of Reigns' forced push would have resulted in a disaster no matter what. Luckily Seth had the briefcase and his shocking cash-in saved what was otherwise a garbage main event.

 

[ShinChan]

As much as I hate to say it, Reigns probably was the better option for winning that year's Rumble. The only other option that even comes close would have been Bryan. Wyatt wouldn't have been believable AT ALL against Lesnar. Bryan at least could have been believable as a challenger trying to overcome seemingly impossible odds at Wrestlemania if he had won the Rumble.... However, I'd be concerned that he might have gotten severely injured in the match if he had been the one to face Lesnar. If we're changing anything about the main event of Wrestlemania 31, it would be Lesnar that I would rather replace instead of Reigns. If Cena had won the World Championship at the Rumble and Reigns still wins the Rumble then we could have had a much better match in Cena VS Reigns. Lesnar had held the title hostage for too long and never defended the thing, that combined with the fans being turned off of Reigns' forced push would have resulted in a disaster no matter what. Luckily Seth had the briefcase and his shocking cash-in saved what was otherwise a garbage main event.

Explain?

Bray Wyatt would have been a great credible threat with Wyatt Family with him.

Look at were the two were before Survivor series.
MITB:
Ziggler was in the mitb match for a future shot at the wwe world championship.
Reigns was in the actual ladder match for the wwe world championship.
Battleground:
Ziggler- battle royal for the IC championship
Reigns- fatal four way main event for the wwe world championship

Heck Reigns was "Superstar of the year!" (my personal opinion aside, it's still a "huge accomplishment.")

If it wasn't for Reigns getting injured, Ziggler would not have Now I could be wrong, but before the weeks leading into Survivor series, Ziggler wasn't even feuding with the Authority.
Reigns without a doubt would have been in that Survivor series match and the one to beat the Authority, had he not been injured.


Also I completely agree with @DW. Rusev was actually the person I was hoping to see win. I didn't expect him to win at Wrestlemania against Lesnar, but it would have been enjoyable to watch.
The u.s champion vs the wwe world champion.
The undefeated streak vs the conqueror of streaks.
Even though the match didn't happen, I would still like to see it eventually.

The main point is about the credibility of a particular wrestler until Royal Rumble 2015. Not Survivor Series 2014. Ziggler's win at Survivor Series easily trumps all wins Reigns had in his 6+ month singles run. The only big win for Reigns was against Randy Orton at Summerslam.

Superstar Of The Year Award was a bogus one. Everyone knows it that Reigns didn't deserve it either. And it's not a big accomplishment.

Saying Reigns would've been in Ziggler's place is PURE speculation on your part. We can speculate anything then. John Cena could have been easily in Ziggler's to lace since he was on his team plus a bigger star than Ziggler but no. Ziggler won it. Not Cena.