5 Best No. 29 Entries in the Royal Rumble
As mentioned in the previous entry, not all Wrestlemania title shots won at the Royal Rumble have lasted until the Royal Rumble. While yesterday's episode was about Wrestlers that had been stripped or recanted their opportunity at the title at Wrestlemania, that isn't the only way to lose the shot. Some wrestlers have chosen to gamble their spots away or been forced into defending their Royal Rumble win against another superstar.
While the Rock initially lost his Wrestlemania 2000 title shot against the Big Show at No Way Out. He also managed to win it back and was added to the match as previously stated. However, this occurred as the Rock had landed first and as a compensation for the mistaken finish, the Big Show was given a shot for the number one contendership.
However, in 2002 Triple H would lose his Wrestlemania title shot against Kurt Angle at No Way Out. The match involved Stephanie McMahon as the special guest referee. Triple H would lose the match after turning on his wife and trying to pedigree her. However, the Game would win back the title shot at the Raw following No Way Out and would then go on to unseat undisputed champion Chris Jericho.
This wouldn't be the only time a wrestler would put their Wrestlemania match on the line, as 2006 winner Rey Mysterio wrestled against Randy Orton at No Way Out for the spot. Just like Triple H, Rey Mysterio would lose the match at No Way Out. However, instead of winning the spot back like the Game, Smackdown GM Teddy Long re-inserted Mysterio into the title match for Wrestlemania to make it a Triple Threat match.
2013 winner John Cena and 2015 winner Roman Reigns both defended their Wrestlemania title shots successfully. John Cena defended it against CM Punk at No Way Out to face the Rock at Wrestlemania, while Roman Reigns defended his title shot against fan favorite Daniel Bryan. While Cena would go on to defeat the Rock at Wrestlemania after losing to him the year before. Reigns' match against WWE Champion Brock Lesnar would be interrupted by Seth Rollins, who cashed in his Money in the Bank Briefcase to pick up the victory.
You can see the other entries in this series below:
Part 1 is here; Part 6 is here; Part 11 is here; Part 16 is here; Part 21 is here; Part 26 is here
Part 2 is here; Part 7 is here; Part 12 is here; Part 17 is here; Part 22 is here; Part 27 is here
Part 3 is here; Part 8 is here; Part 13 is here; Part 18 is here; Part 23 is here; Part 28 is here
Part 4 is here; Part 9 is here; Part 14 is here; Part 19 is here; Part 24 is here
Part 5 is here; Part 10 is here; Part 15 is here; Part 20 is here; Part 25 is here