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Don’t expect a rising star to win the Royal Rumble. There are many deserving wrestlers to earn that guaranteed world title match at Wrestlemania, but history often shows that up and coming stars do not win the 30 man battle royal. Since 2000, there have only been three out of eleven winners who have currently not held the world title in the WWE. This list contains Chris Benoit in 2004, a young and powerful Batista in 2005, and the flying veteran in Rey Mysterio in 2006. Out of these three, only one of these men were superstars on the rise, while the other two fought their battles well before “The Machine” that is WWE. I am sure you know who those two are.
I personally would love to see a John Morrison or Alberto Del Rio win the Royal Rumble this year in Beantown, but I highly doubt it. Whilst many plans for Wrestlemania are not set in stone, this is the only one that will not change in the next two to three months. There are a few reasons why the WWE rarely pushes rising stars to win the Rumble.
Reason number one: The risk is not greater than the reward. What does Vince and the guys in Corporate have to gain by catering to the public? They already know that fans will buy this Pay Per View more than every other one except for ‘Mania. The ticket sales are already purchased, and they do not need to make the winner an unproven talent, unless they are sold on them being in the main event in Atlanta. There are creative writers, if you want to call them that, who can build lengthy programs to build these type of talents in a more meaningful way on Raw or Smackdown.
Reason number two: This is not Money in the Bank. While MITB is such a great concept over the past number of Wrestlemania’s, the Royal Rumble is not needed to boost somebody’s career. It is more of a platform for someone to continue their success, such as The Rock in 2000, two years after capturing a world title, and Triple H, returning from a career threatening injury, or even as recent as Edge last year with the same substance as The Game. If you believe for a minute that Morrison, Del Rio, or even someone like a Drew Mcintyre will win the royal rumble, you are far mistaken. They need more than one night to be spoken in the same category as the previously mentioned. That is why these superstars will not win the Royal Rumble.
I would love to see someone who is new and fresh to win the Royal Rumble because it would bring the element of surprise back just a little bit. My concern is that the element of surprise is being burned out. We assume Triple H will return in Boston, so isn’t that the one surprise that the WWE will give us this January 30th? The 30 man over the top battle royal will be entertaining to say the least, and if there is any year that a rising star could win it, it is this year. But does Vince really want a “John Morrison” superstar to be guaranteed a title match in Atlanta? Will that sell seats, or will a definite John Cena title match at Mania sell more, and at the end of the day (insert your favorite sports cliché here) Cena is more of a marketable name, currently, than Morrison.
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