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Once again, the WWE product is becoming exciting as we enter the Royal Rumble season. While the title matches need no explanation, they must be built up effectively.
In recent years, WWE has been slightly lazy, just leaning on the immense value in the Royal Rumble name and not constantly reminding us about how exciting these matches are.
As a result, both Royal Rumble matches in 2019 felt a bit disjointed and inconsistent, despite having popular winners. The build to these showcases are extremely important, and hopefully, WWE does well in that respect this year.
There are things the company could do to make the most exciting match of the year feel even more exciting. Here are four ways WWE should build to this year's Royal Rumble match.
#4 Put NXT on equal footing as RAW and SmackDown
In recent years, NXT has had a small involvement in the Royal Rumble. Stars like Andrade, Adam Cole, Rhea Ripley, and Johnny Gargano among others made some decent first impressions in the multi-man melee. But now, it's time to take it one step further.
Triple H's project is now being viewed as WWE's third brand, particularly because of their impressive victory at Survivor Series. NXT's involvement in the November supershow boosted the excitement levels, and they could do so again for another 'Big Four' show.
The yellow brand should be given a substantial amount of spots in both the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches. This could prove to be a gateway to RAW and SmackDown for some, while another few could do with the added spotlight.
NXT should be treated as an equal to the main roster, so affording them a similar number of entrants to RAW and SmackDown would only boost the Rumble.
#3 Do not announce every entrant from each brand
Having NXT play a major part in the Royal Rumble match has its advantages, with a likely decrease in lower mid-carders like No Way Jose & Shelton Benjamin, and more high profile entrants, it would only make the Rumble feel more important.
Another way to make it feel solid is the potential for surprises. Whether or not WWE decides to announce NXT's inclusion in the match, they should keep a certain amount of spots a secret. The best way to do this would be to announce the allocated quota for each brand, without giving away every entrant.
This is where Superstars who could return from injury come into play. The likes of Velveteen Dream, Jeff Hardy, and Nia Jax could all return in Houston and immediately slot into their respective brands.
Surprise entrants are the most fun part of the Royal Rumble, particularly if they come in at the #30 spot. Hopefully, unlike last time, we are not aware of the final entrants of the match.
#2 Incorporate multiple feuds into the match
The last couple of years of the Royal Rumble matches were not exactly classics in terms of storytelling. Another fun part of the Rumble is the natural advancement of stories, but aside from Becky Lynch's satisfying victory last year and a couple of other minor stories, WWE has failed to progress feuds in Royal Rumble matches recently.
Think back to 2010, which had CM Punk's Straight Edge Society sermon, Shawn Michaels' desperate chase to face the Undertaker, and Edge's return to exact vengeance on Chris Jericho. There is a reason why it was regarded as one of the greatest Rumbles ever.
This year, it's looking good, as there are multiple high profile issues going on, like Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe, Randy Orton vs AJ Styles, and Roman Reigns vs King Corbin. These feuds are all guaranteed to get some development in the 30-man showcase, as long as they are all in the match.
Hopefully, these confrontations light up the Royal Rumble and form an integral part of the structure of the match.
#1 Qualifying matches
Not only would this improve the value of the Royal Rumble, but it would also improve WWE programming in the coming weeks. Every match feels so much more important if there are certain stakes added to them, and right now nothing's bigger than a spot in the Royal Rumble match.
With NXT possibly being included in the match, RAW and SmackDown might have a limited number of spots. Holding qualifying matches would instantly make each spot mean so much more and seem like the Superstar has earned entry into the Royal Rumble match.
There is too much talent on both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown, so naturally many notable names might not show up at the Royal Rumble. So why not give them a reason for not showing up? It makes perfect sense for each spot to be fought over, as every entrant would seem more valuable.
There hasn't been a Royal Rumble qualifying match in years, the last one was probably a 4-way tag team match on the kickoff show of the 2016 edition. But WWE should seriously bring them back, at least on RAW. It would make the squash matches involving Akira Tozawa and Cedric Alexander among others mean so much more.
