5 fresh ideas for the Royal Rumble
After 32 years, and 35 Royal Rumble matches, it’s tough to think up new ideas for the over-the-top spectacular.
We’ve seen teammates fight, celebrities enter, joint-winners and even a few dance breaks.
This year, in a break from tradition, reigning WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is entering the Royal Rumble. However, this bold move has been done before, just in a slightly different manner, as Roman Reigns was forced to defend his WWE Championship in the 2016 edition. Hulk Hogan entered (and won) the 1990 and 1991 Rumbles while he was WWF Champion as well, but that was before the winner of the match would earn a world title shot at WrestleMania.
Although, there a few scenarios that have yet to occur in the Rumble, here are five fresh ideas for the Royal Rumble:
#5 Mr. Money in the Bank wins the Royal Rumble
There are two ways to earn a guaranteed world title shot in WWE; win the Royal Rumble or win the Money in the Bank ladder match.
A few wrestlers have done both (Alberto Del Rio won both the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank in 2011), but no one has held both honours at the same time.
Usually, by the time the Rumble comes around, the MITB holder has long since cashed-in his briefcase. Only Dolph Ziggler in 2013 and Carmella in 2018 entered the Rumble as Mr. and Ms. Money in the Bank respectively, but neither of them would score the victory in their 30-person battle royals.
The Money in the Bank event used to take place between June-July, but last year the event was moved up to May, which would mean that WWE would have to avoid having the winner cash in his or her contract for a full eight months. Edge, who was the first-ever Money in the Bank Ladder match, when it was a featured attraction at WrestleMania, held the briefcase for just about 8 months, winning it in early April and successfully cashing in just 2 weeks before the Royal Rumble the following January, so they have been able to hold off for a long period of time in the past.
It cannot happen until 2021, as both Brock Lesnar and Bayley, the 2019 winners, have already redeemed their respective briefcases.
If this year’s Mr. or Ms. MITB hold on to their briefcase until January 2021 and wins the Royal Rumble match while still in control of the contract to take a crack at the title whenever they please, some intriguing scenarios would open up.
Would the MITB holder cash in before WrestleMania? Would they use their MITB for a shot at one brand's top champion in February or March and their Rumble prize for the other brand's biggest prize in April at WrestleMania? Alternatively, the winner could take their shot at WrestleMania before cashing in the briefcase, holding onto it in case they are unsuccessful in their bid. If that Superstar's title match takes place earlier on in the show, they could surprise the winner of the other brand's championship contest later on in the evening, or even cash in immediately after defeat to get an immediate rematch. Overall, it's a very interesting concept.