'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Royal Rumble has been and gone and while it won’t come round again for another twelve months or so, there’s still a great deal to discuss. With the implications that the event had on WrestleMania 34 still being felt. we want to look back on the first of the year’s big four shows in order to figure out the answer to a tricky question.
The question is, of course – who is Mr Royal Rumble?
There are some valid contenders that many fans will be pointing to, with Steve Austin, John Cena & Shawn Michaels likely being the leading three contenders. However, with HBK already being Mr WrestleMania and the other two being huge stars in their own right, we’re turning to The Big Dog Roman Reigns as our pick.
We understand that many of you won’t like that pick, so with that in mind, here are our five reasons why Roman Reigns is Mr Royal Rumble.
#5 Final Three
If you’re a fan of bizarre yet fascinating statistics, then boy oh boy do we have a treat for you.
Throughout the history of Roman Reign’s Royal Rumble career, he has reached the final three in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. That means that the last time Reigns didn’t reach the final three was in 2013 when he didn’t even take part in the match.
Plus, Reigns made it to the final two in four of those five years with the one exception being in 2016, when he walked into the match as the WWE champion. That is an utterly starting statistic from our point of view, and it just goes to show that you can’t really have a Royal Rumble match in the present day without The Big Dog playing some kind of role.
#4 Rumble Record
Roman is all about creating history, and he did so back in 2014 when he broke Kane’s record for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match.
Some will argue that it was far too telegraphed from the word go, but regardless of that, the fans were clearly into it. Reigns eliminated a total of 12 competitors from the bout before finally being thrown over the top rope himself by Batista, in a Rumble that was actually pretty entertaining up until the end.
Reigns has often been tipped to break his own record one day, although there are plenty of WWE fans who will be hoping that Braun Strowman is the man to do it when the Rumble returns to Phoenix next year.
#3 The Reactions
In 2014, believe it or not, Roman Reigns was cheered as the Royal Rumble match entered its final stages.
For every year since he’s been booed mercilessly by the fans in attendance, and while that is a shame for the higher-ups in WWE who want to see him succeed, they should see it as the ultimate compliment.
Nobody brings out a more natural reaction than Roman does and at an event like the Rumble, that’s all you can ask for. The controversy that often surrounds him on a year-by-year basis leads many to watch the Rumble in order to see what’s going to happen, and Reigns himself deserves a great deal of credit for that.
You may not like him, but you’ve got to respect his work.
#2 Solid Matches
Whether it be through taking on Kevin Owens, taking part in the Rumble itself or interfering in CM Punk vs The Rock, Roman Reigns is always involved in big-time matches that feel special.
Not only that, but the actual quality of the bouts are usually very high as well. Obviously, that isn’t all down to his presence but year in and year out, most fans do tend to wonder what kind of role Reigns is going to play – because they know they’re going to get something entertaining out of it.
That’s something which has rung true throughout his young career, too, with fans constantly underestimating what he’s able to do in the ring.
If you take a step back and take bias out of it, you can appreciate things a lot more when it comes to Roman.
#1 Perfect Fit
Roman Reigns and the Royal Rumble pay per view go together like Rose & Jack, and if you don’t understand that reference, then we urge you to go and watch the masterpiece that is Titanic.
Reigns is an elimination machine who is able to make any standard ‘throw over the top rope’ look cool, he’s got great stamina and endurance as evidenced by his effort in 2016, and whenever a babyface goes up against him you’re always guaranteed to get a great pop.
Obviously, WWE wants more positive reactions from him, but just take his showdowns with the debuting AJ Styles in 2016 and his final battle with Shinsuke Nakamura in 2018 as two wonderful examples. The crowd, for better or worse, wanted to see what was going to transpire – and that’s because Mr Royal Rumble was involved in making the magic happen.
