Rumble Winners

Scott,

I just watched a highlight reel of every Rumble winner. Two questions :

1. Out of how you felt AT THE TIME which winner was the biggest booking blunder by the WWE?

2. With the benefit of hindsight, apart from Benoit, which winner was the biggest booking mistake?

1. A lot of the modern ones have been head-scratchers for me, but unfortunately it doesn’t really matter who wins now that we’re into the Network era. Still, Alberto Del Rio felt like a giant waste at the time and hindsight has borne that one out. Randy Orton’s win in whatever year the Bray Wyatt stuff was is another one where it made no sense at the time and then made even less sense as it played out.

2. Bootista, obviously. The whole thing was a colossal waste that happened to work out with the Daniel Bryan win at Wrestlemania, but his Rumble win ultimately meant nothing and he left the company again right away. I’d have to add this year’s winners as well, because the Nakamura/Asuka double-shot went nowhere and just further devalued the prestige of the match in the process.