5 ways the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble could have been better

As this is being written, we're almost 24 hours out of the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble. While the event hasn't exactly been a critical hit (our own Divesh Merani called the men's Rumble match a "bland and predictable offering"), it certainly had its moments.

In fact, with a handful of changes (and the benefit of hindsight), this year's Rumble might be looked back on more fondly later down the line. Some of these changes are probably easier said than done, of course, but they are not out of the realm of possibility.

Obviously, we can't change the past, but by looking at how the 2022 Royal Rumble could have been better, hopefully it can be a map for future Royal Rumble events.

Here are 5 ways the WWE Royal Rumble could have been better:

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#5 The Men's Royal Rumble match needed more surprises

In the days leading up to last night's Rumble, plenty of word had gotten around about the recently released talent that were invited back. Reports of the current IMPACT women's tag team champions The IInspiration (fka as The IIconics in WWE) and former WWE Champion Jeff Hardy both turning down offers to return (including a Hall of Fame induction for Hardy) dominated pro wrestling news last week. It's an unfortunate consequence of the large number of releases WWE has made in the last six months.

What it also meant was that the options for surprises wound up becoming increasingly limited. The Women's Rumble match certainly had its share of stunning moments -- the returns of Alicia Fox, Sarah Logan, and eventual winner Ronda Rousey. It makes us wonder what was the issue for the men's Rumble?

Obviously, the men's Rumble had other issues than just "not enough surprises." But considering this is an event built on surprises, it feels like WWE could have put a bit more effort into shocking the audience than it did.

Speaking of those "other issues"...

#4. The entry order of the women's Royal Rumble

Frankly, this could be said about either of this year's Royal Rumble matches. However, with the men's bout significantly worse than the women's - we'd say "arguably" but... come on - let's just go over one of the few things we didn't care about the ladies' match.

Brent Brookhouse of CBSsports.com worded the biggest issue we had with the women's Royal Rumble match in his review of the show, saying:

"The match overall was a bit clunky with too many women who aren't used to working together all getting stuck in the match and slowing things down."

Not everybody involved in the women's Royal Rumble match - or either of the matches, honestly - is considered a "good worker," but each of them deserved to be there. Like Brookhouse said, however, part of the issue with the bout came from the participants not being familiar with each other.

Some rearranging of the order would have gone a long way towards taking care of that problem. Changing the order so that the wrestlers currently on the roster (and, thus, the ones used to working with each other) spend the most time together, and the returning stars spaced out more, would have gone a long way towards improving the pacing of the match.

This isn't a major change, as the women's Royal Rumble match was, overall, pretty decent (as far as we're concerned, anyway), but spacing out some of these returns and surprises would have made things flow a lot better.

Speaking of entry order, let's look at the men's match again...

#3 Bad Bunny, Shane McMahon should have entered the Royal Rumble match earlier

While this year's men's Royal Rumble match wasn't particularly good, it also wasn't the unmitigated disaster it's been made out to be. Two of the highlights were the returns of both Shane McMahon and Bad Bunny.

Bad Bunny, if he were anyone else, would normally just be considered a "celebrity" entry and easily dismissed. However, his performance at last year's WrestleMania alongside Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison earned the respect of pro wrestling fans everywhere. So, when he returned to a WWE ring this past Saturday, it felt more like the return of a wrestler than stunt casting.

(Yeah, I said it, don't @ me)

Shane McMahon, the son of company head Vince McMahon and a wrestling icon in his own right, hasn't been seen in WWE since the end of the "Raw Underground" segments well over a year ago. While Shane was worn out his welcome with audiences in the past, his return is always a welcome sight, as he always puts everything into his performances.

The problem with these two appearances is this: they took place way too late into the match. Bunny and Shane were entrants 27 and 28, respectively. They were also the 26th and 28th competitors (again, respectively) eliminated from the match. Which means that not only did we not get to see very much of either of them, but their returns were quickly overshadowed by Brock Lesnar entering at #30.

Having both of these men enter closer to the middle of the pack would have spread out the few surprises the match had, and given them more time to perform. It also would have made Brock's entry into the match stand out more.

But that's something else we need to talk about.

#2. The men's WWE Royal Rumble match should have gone on first

When talking about what order things should have happened in during this year's Royal Rumble event, we've got to talk about match order. Because this was one of the biggest problems of the night.

There's no way the men's Rumble match should have gone on last. The fact that it did just boggles our minds.

To begin with, when it comes to how the events of the show played out, we get the thought process. Brock Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Bobby Lashley just two matches earlier, thanks to interference from Roman Reigns.

Clearly, having Brock win the Rumble was meant as a means to get Lesnar vs Reigns - again - at WrestleMania. Now, we've got our own thoughts on that but, for a minute, let's stick with that plan.

The 2022 Royal Rumble opened with Reigns defending his Universal Championship against Seth Rollins - which ended in a DQ. That took us into the women's Rumble match, followed by the RAW Women's championship match, the aforementioned WWE Championship match, the mixed tag match, and then the men's Rumble.

Why couldn't you have opened with the WWE Championship match - Reigns' issues with Lesnar have nothing to do with his match against Rollins. It makes just as much sense for Reigns to interfere in that bout anywhere else on the card. Start with that match and then run with the following:

• WWE Championship match
• Raw Women's Championship match
• Men's Rumble Match
• Universal Championship match
• Edge/Beth Phoenix vs Miz/Maryse
• Women's Rumble match

Having Brock lose the title at the start of the show gives WWE the chance to build up anticipation as to if the Beast Incarnate is going to interfere in Universal Championship match and if he's in the men's Rumble.

Let's be honest - Ronda Rousey returning is a pretty big deal. She was the imputus for the first female-led WrestleMania main event. Chances are, she's going to be involved in the main event of one of the two WrestleMania nights. How do you not headline a 'Mania night with a Rousey/Lynch championship match?

Of course, this is all based on if Brock wins the men's Rumble match to begin with. Which... we have a problem with.

#1. Brock Lesnar shouldn't have won the men's Royal Rumble match

If Brock Lesnar doesn't win the men's Royal Rumble match, all of the moving around in the last entry isn't necessary.

Everything leading up to the Rumble match still points to a Brock Lesnar/Roman Reigns WrestleMania main event. Whether or not Brock wins the Rumble match is irrelevant. In fact, it probably makes it worse if he does... er, well... that he did.

Look at how the Brock Lesnar-Bobby Lashley WWE Championship match ended. Roman Reigns nails Brock with the title belt and leaves with Paul Heyman - and sets up an it-writes-itself WrestleMania main event. Brock doesn't need to win the Royal Rumble to get a title shot against Reigns. He's BROCK LESNAR.

WWE would have been better served to crown a new challenger for Bobby Lashley's newly won WWE Championship. Going with former champions Big E or Drew McIntyre would have been fine, or picking someone new to turn into a contender would have been even better.

Bobby Lashley is good at what he does, and he's capable of having a good match with a number of the men who were in that Rumble match. Lashley vs AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens, or even Randy Orton would make for a great WWE Championship match at WrestleMania.

We're going to get one of those matches, as it's pretty evident that Lesnar is going to pick Roman for his 'Mania title bout. But... why can't the way Lashley's opponent is picked be used to pick Reigns' instead?

Odds are likely that it'll be Elimination Chamber - so why not have Brock murder everybody in an Elimination Chamber to get his hands on Roman? Meanwhile, Lashley has a match with someone that WWE can elevate to another level.

The worst part of all of this is that... it's all so obvious. Having Brock win the Rumble smacks of a solution in search of a problem.

So, how'd we do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.