The road to WrestleMania has officially started thanks to WWE kicking off with their annual Royal Rumble premium live event. The first show of the year saw several shocking returns such as Naomi and Andrade, along with some surprises such as Jade Cargill eliminating Nia Jax and Cody Rhodes winning the Rumble two years in a row. The overall show was a solid event from beginning to end.
However, there were several missed opportunities along the way. The general consensus about the 2024 Royal Rumble was that the show just wasn’t on the level of some of the best Rumbles of years past. There were notable problems with the event that weighed down the overall show; here are the five missed opportunities that WWE should’ve taken with their Royal Rumble event.
Not Putting A Future Star At The Number One Spot
Did Natalya need to be No. 1? It was great to see Naomi return, but she didn’t need to be at No. 2 as well. This spot would’ve been perfect for someone like Roxanne Perez, who is the scrappy underdog type character that could’ve won the hearts of fans with a strong rumble performance. It was genuinely shocking to see the company not put stock in trying to make a couple of new stars in the rumble matches in general.
Jade Cargill looked amazing in her debut, and Tiffany Stratton had some fun moments for the brief period she lasted, but the 2024 women’s rumble just didn’t have that story that was destined to build towards the future of this business. That ultimately saw the match drag because of all of the lackluster entrants that came out in the early portion of the match.
There was this wash, wish, repeat formula to both rumble matches: come in, do your spots, and then fade into the background for the remainder of your time. That wasn’t every entrant, but a good majority of the entries had this dry formula. The rumble matches were rather lackluster this year because they didn’t particularly have interweaving stories that made the bout compelling. Plus, it lacked any true teases of WrestleMania matches. The Royal Rumble match is the easiest bout to get someone over, yet, Triple H opted to not play that card this year.
Naomi and Andrade Failed To Make A Big Splash
Naomi is coming off a hot title run in TNA Wrestling. The newly returning superstar showcased why she deserves to be in the upper card scene with the likes of Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, and Bianca Belair; however, she had a rather forgettable performance. Though she was given the ironwoman title, Naomi spent most of the match in the background until her elimination. There was never any true story for Naomi as she simply existed in the rumble match. Same thing with Andrade.
He came in. Did his spots. Had that one moment with Santos Escobar and he didn’t do much else. I didn’t expect either of them to win, but it would’ve been more impactful to give them a story that can carry beyond the Rumble match. These two made “shocking” returns, but their times in the rumble felt lackluster especially the former NXT Champion.
The Lack of Development Between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa
No one was surprised that Roman Reigns retained his belt. In fact, it was a foregone conclusion that he would win when the fatal 4-way match was the second bout on the card. However, we all knew that Roman Reigns was going to beat Kevin Owens in their 2023 match as well. The difference was the incredible story involving Sami Zayn that helped boost that bout from beginning to end.
The Fatal 4-way match didn’t have such a story, and what’s even more disappointing is the tired Roman Reigns finish. Solo Sokia destroyed John Cena at Crown Jewel, yet, they haven’t done anything with that victory. Reigns didn’t need to lose, but there should’ve been some development that pushed the tension within his faction forward. That’s the most compelling aspect of Roman Reigns right now, but sadly, it feels that his title reign is going through the motions heading into WrestleMania. This is a shame as there’s still juice in a Solo Sikoa vs. Roman Reigns match, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the direction they’re going in anytime soon.
No WrestleMania Tease For Gunther
Gunther had a star-making performance in the 2023 Rumble, but here, he was simply brought to put over Cody Rhodes. Once again. I understand the parallels of what WWE was trying to do, but this was a missed opportunity in trying to establish a future challenger for the Intercontinental Championship. It’s not particularly too late as WrestleMania is less than three months away, but the lack of teases severely hampered the men’s Royal Rumble match.
The Disappointing Jimmy vs. Jey Encounter
The first few minutes of their encounter were pretty fun. Then, it seemed the intensity and seriousness of the feud dried out with Jimmy’s comedy antics as each entrant came into the ring. WWE has done a terrible job with Jimmy Uso; he’s now Roman Reigns low ranking lackey and is more of a comedic character. Imagine how fun it could’ve been if Jimmy came close to winning the rumble.
More importantly, it was strange that after that first few minutes, the momentum of Jimmy and Jey’s rivalry disappeared, with the former being eliminated by Bron Breakker. WWE has a lot to do to repair Jimmy Uso if their rumored WrestleMania is legit. It’s extremely hard to take him seriously and their first encounter lacked any magic that makes you want to see these two square up again.
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