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The Royal Rumble is one of the most exciting matches in pro wrestling history. At the beginning of the year, WWE kicks off the road to WrestleMania with the pay-per-view titled Royal Rumble. The marquee attraction of this PPV is the 30-man/woman Rumble.
Two WWE Superstars begin the match, and after every 90 seconds, one more Superstar joins them in the race to become the #1 contender for the world championship. The winner of the match receives an opportunity to headline the Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania.
Over the years, several legendary names have participated in this match. Given the bout's nature, the fans love to speculate about the Royal Rumble winners when the event approaches. WWE often plans for this event in advance. However, injuries, returns, and other factors compel them to make some last-minute changes.
Here's a look at the five occasions when Vince McMahon changed the winner of the prestigious multi-man match.
#5 WWE Royal Rumble 2008
Original choice: CM Punk, Ultimate winner: John Cena
CM Punk was one of the hottest Superstars in WWE back when he was an active in-ring competitor. The Voice of Voiceless has become an analyst now as he frequently appears on FOX's show WWE Backstage. During his recent appearance on the show, Punk spoke about the 2008 WWE Royal Rumble match.
The former WWE Champion claimed that he was supposed to win the Royal Rumble that year. However, John Cena's miraculous recovery from his pectoral muscle injury forced WWE to change the plans. Cena was expected to sit out for 6-12 months, but the Leader of Cenation recovered to full fitness in only four months.
WWE made last-minute changes to their Royal Rumble plans and changed the winner. Punk had entered the match at #12 and lasted for almost 23 minutes. Cena won the Rumble that year to progress to the main event of WrestleMania.
Unfortunately, he could not win the world title as Randy Orton defeated him and Triple H in a triple threat match to retain his WWE Championship. On the other side, Punk captured the Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania 24.
#4 WWE Men's Royal Rumble 2020
Original choice: Roman Reigns, Ultimate winner: Drew McIntyre
Roman Reigns has become the MVP of Royal Rumble matches in the last few years. The Big Dog has always been booked strong at the PPV. Continuing the trend, WWE had selected him as their prime pick to win the men's Royal Rumble match.
However, they changed the plans just a few weeks before the event as Drew McIntyre took his position. As per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the now-former Executive Director of RAW, Paul Heyman, played a significant role in this change. Here's what Meltzer had to say about this last-minute alteration:
So obviously, one main event at WrestleMania, perhaps the main event of WrestleMania is going to be Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre and they went all the way to build that and Drew McIntyre is the guy. Obviously this is a Paul Heyman decision that was made sometime back, I presume Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns is the other main event. They could have had Roman Reigns win the Royal Rumble because McIntyre was made when he eliminated Lesnar, but it was one of those things where Heyman probably got the main event and everything for that main event.
Since Roman Reigns was the last man to be eliminated from the Royal Rumble this year, one can presume that WWE would have planned to give him another massive win. Reigns even received a WWE Universal Championship match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36, though the match didn't take place after The Big Dog opted to pull out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
#3 WWE Women's Royal Rumble 2020
Original choice: Shayna Baszler, Ultimate winner: Charlotte Flair
Another entry from the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble event to feature on this list is the multi-woman match that happened at the Minute Maid Park. As per the rumor mill, WWE had earlier planned to give Shayna Baszler a massive push by booking her to win the Royal Rumble.
But, they later altered those plans and had Charlotte Flair win the Rumble. Instead, Shayna Baszler later won the #1 Contender's Elimination Chamber match and went on to challenge Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Here's what Dave Meltzer stated about this change:
I think it was on the 14th, would have been the day of the change because there was a lot of money being bet on Charlotte Flair on the 14th because originally all the money was coming in on Shayna Baszler.
Like Roman Reigns, Shayna Baszler stayed in the match till the very end until Charlotte eliminated her to win the match.
#2 WWE Royal Rumble 2012
Original choice: John Cena, Ultimate winner: Sheamus
The 16-time WWE Champion John Cena was the first choice to win the Royal Rumble in 2012. Vince McMahon planned to give Cena the big win and then to force him to make a decision. WWE had already laid down the foundation for a Once in a Lifetime match between The Cenation Leader and The Rock for WrestleMania 28.
As per Wrestlinginc.com, WWE wished to have a kayfabe confusion for John Cena, where he would have to decide whether he would chase the WWE title or have a dream bout with The Brahma Bull at the Showcase of Immortals. These plans, however, were nixed and Sheamus won the Rumble.
The Celtic Warrior won the bout by last eliminating Chris Jericho, while Cena did not even enter the match. John Cena had earlier battled Kane at the PPV, a match that ended in a double count-out. Although John did not enter the WWE Royal Rumble in 2012, he closed the WrestleMania that year, losing to The Rock.
#1 WWE Men's Royal Rumble 2019
Original choice: The Rock, Ultimate winner: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins picked up a deserving win at the WWE Royal Rumble event last year, where he outlasted 29 other Superstars to seal his WrestleMania berth. However, Roman Reigns' break played a massive role in that booking decision. As per WrestleVotes, WWE had plans for The Rock to return and win the Royal Rumble in 2019.
After winning the match, The Brahma Bull would have challenged his cousin Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 35. Unfortunately, The Big Dog's battle with Leukemia forced WWE to change the plans. Many fans felt that it was WWE's last chance to book The Rock in a WrestleMania match.
Given that The Rock is busy with his Hollywood projects, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to witness a match between him and Roman Reigns anytime soon.
