Alternate Timelines: The Royal Rumble

Ever wondered what would have happened differently in the world of wrestling if one small thing would have changed? Welcome to Alternate Timelines.

The Royal Rumble takes place this Sunday. We decided to expand our minds into other dimensions and the alternate timelines of what would have happened if the last 20 years of the Royal Rumble had ended differently. What would Wrestlemania and beyond have been like if the last person eliminated managed to hang on and win the Rumble match? Would the Wrestlemania main event(s) have been better?

Starting in 1993 when the Rumble winner would begin to get the Championship title shot at Wrestlemania, these are the alternate timelines of what would happen if the last person eliminated somehow won the Royal Rumble:

1993 Royal Rumble winner Randy Savage?

What happened:

Yokozuna won the Rumble in a dominating performance eliminating seven men. The last man eliminated was “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Yokozuna went on to defeat champion Bret Hart for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania IX….. before losing it seconds later to Hulk Hogan. Randy Savage would not have a match as he was a commentator for Wrestlemania IX.

What would have happened:

If Randy Savage won the Royal Rumble, he would have faced Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IX. Two of the best wrestlers of all time, it was unfortunate that they never had a high profile match or angle together. Savage replacing Yokozuna vs. Bret would have improved the show by miles. Unfortunately, even in this timeline, Hulk Hogan would still have politicked his way into being WWF champ by show’s end.

Would Wrestlemania IX have been better?

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WWE Royal Rumble 2014 Preview and Predictions

The Royal Rumble is on Sunday. We talk about it. Because in the words of a sexual chocolate being, that’s what we do!

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @typicalROHfan, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlackett.

Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag Team Championship (Pre-show match)

typicalROHfan:

The Attitude Era is back!!!! Suck it, PG nerds. Jokes about the match featuring 75% 90’s superstars aside, it should be really cool. I honestly wish this was on the actual show as an opener and Daniel Bryan/Bray Wyatt wasn’t happening at all. The match should be fun and entertaining.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Cody Rhodes and Goldust win.

Tim:

I am pretty tired of The New Age Outlaws by this point but I think this should be a fun match. Billy Gunn can still work pretty well and the team of Goldust and Cody Rhodes are always a good watch.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Cody Rhodes and Goldust win.

Tom:

Wow, this is a weird one. I think the Outlaws might have just about worn out their welcome, especially now they’re in that strange place where they’re supposedly heels but they have the nostalgic factor, catchphrases and t-shirts hiding their old man tummies that make it hard to really get invested in hating them.

However, assuming this is their last appearance with WWE for a little while then it could be a fun time. The spotlight’s been off Cody and Goldust for a while, but they’re still just quietly having really good matches, so hopefully they’ll give us another good one here.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Cody Rhodes and Goldust win.

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt

typicalROHfan:

Since re-debuting in WWE, Bray Wyatt’s PPV singles matches have been a train wreck to the point where the guy rarely ever participates in actual matches. Can Daniel Bryan further cement himself as one of the best in-ring wrestlers of all time by changing this? I think so but my hope is Bryan destroys him in 2 minutes, proclaims he’s not done for the night and enters himself in the Royal Rumble match. Or perhaps he takes out the other two Wyatt dudes opening two spots in the Rumble; one for himself.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins.

Tim:

I really don’t want to see Bray Wyatt wrestle. I don’t have good memories about his other matches but at least he’s working against Daniel Bryan so maybe it’ll be entertaining. I feel like I’ve already seen the pay-off to this feud when Bryan annihilated Bray Wyatt in the cage. At least they can move Daniel Bryan on to something else after this.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins.

Tom:

Man, does this need to happen? Whining about a Daniel Bryan PPV match is a bit mad, but as relatively short as this feud has been, it does feel like it’s already culminated – Bryan tricked Bray, beat the shit out of him and that was that.

I guess they need to keep him busy if he’s really not going to be in the Rumble (which I refuse to believe because that would be SUCH a shame) and Bray could really use a great singles match to cement him as a wrestler as well as a character, but… look, I just really want Bryan in the Rumble.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins.