10 Worst Case Booking Scenarios For Royal Rumble 2024

The 2024 Royal Rumble event is fast approaching, and whilst the match card hasn’t quite taken shape yet, it is clear to see some of the direction that WWE is headed in for the premium live event. Many big names have entered the Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches respectively, and there are some title matches set for the show too.

10 Wrestlers In The 2000s Who Didn't Deserve To Be In The Royal Rumble

Many people compete in the annual Royal Rumble Match since there are 30 participants. However, these 2000s WWE wrestlers didn't deserve the spot.

Even though there are some obvious and smart booking decisions for WWE to make, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the company will follow suit. There are some potentially bad decisions that could ruin the Road To WrestleMania and impact some of WWE’s momentum if they do in fact end up with these worst case scenarios.

10 Logan Paul Loses The United States Championship In His First Defense

Paul Should Not Be Losing Already

Logan Paul defeated Rey Mysterio at the Crown Jewel 2023 PLE
Logan Paul is a part-time United States Champion
A tournament was held to decide his first challenger for the Royal Rumble

Logan Paul is heading into the Royal Rumble to have his very first defense of his United States Championship. WWE has yet to really capitalize on the publicity of Paul being the US Champion, and to give up on it immediately would be a huge error.

Kevin Owens winning the United States Championship would be a terrible mistake, especially since he doesn’t need a rub from overcoming a truly despised heel in Logan Paul. Paul is in more need of a victory to further establish himself as champion.

9 Nia Jax Wins The Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Nia Jax Has Looked Strong, But She Should Not Win The Rumble

Fans would likely reject Nia Jax winning the Rumble
Bayley & Becky Lynch are the best choices
It would feel forced if Nia Jax finds her way into a WrestleMania title match

Nia Jax has been on the receiving end of a healthy push in recent months since her return to WWE, but the line must be drawn at winning the Royal Rumble. Fans as a whole aren’t overly supportive of Nia Jax, and when it comes to WrestleMania, she should not feature in title plans.

There are far better options such as Bayley and Becky Lynch who would offer up much more attractive outcomes for a world title match at WrestleMania.

8 Roman Reigns Loses The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Without Getting Pinned

The Odds Are Against Roman Reigns At The Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns is set to face LA Knight, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles with his title on the line
Fatal Four Ways in the past have seen champions lose their gold without being pinned
WWE would be foolish to make this booking decision

There are many who have grown tired of Roman Reigns as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, but the Royal Rumble is not the place to lose it, especially if he ends up dropping the belt via someone else being pinned.

Whoever beats Reigns needs to properly beat him, otherwise the last three years plus will have felt like a complete and utter waste of time. Having Randy Orton pin AJ Styles or any other sort of scenario would be a worst case scenario for sure.

7 A Wrestler Wins The Royal Rumble From The Number One Position

WWE Should Not Have Someone Go The Distance

Last year, Rhea Ripley won the Royal Rumble from number one
Recent years have seen many wrestlers be the “Iron Man” and also win
WWE should not devalue the difficulty of this achievement

Over the years there have been some memorable Royal Rumble performances from early positions, for instance the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bianca Belair, Rey Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, and Edge have won the Royal Rumble from the first few entrants.

10 Royal Rumble Matches WWE Fans Can Re-Watch Forever

There are some Royal Rumble matches that WWE fans can go back and rewatch forever, and still not get bored!

However, since 2021 there have been two winners from the number one position, and WWE cannot do this again just to create a star or make some sort of surprise. This type of victory needs to be rare and happen once in an era, otherwise it becomes so much less special and the importance of Rumble entry numbers gets completely diminished.

6 Jade Cargill Given A Super-Push Before She Is Ready With Royal Rumble Win

WWE May Want To Capitalize On Her Hype

Jade Cargill signed with WWE after leaving AEW
Fans have been waiting patiently for her in-ring WWE debut
The top title scenes are too crowded without Jade Cargill

With the hype that Jade Cargill was brought into WWE with, there may be a desire to push her to the moon and debut her by winning the Royal Rumble, creating a big showdown with someone like Rhea Ripley.

Cargill needs to prove herself first though, especially with no proof as of yet for her being ready for that sort of spotlight. There are much better options for a winner, and if WWE wants Cargill in the match, she can have a dominant performance without winning.

5 Roman Reigns Wins The Undisputed WWE Universal Title Match Via Bloodline Interference

Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa Always Get Involved

Fans are tired of repetitive Bloodline interference in Roman Reigns’ matches
It would make three wrestlers look like fools if this happens
Roman Reigns needs to win title matches in a different way

There are a whole variety of worst case scenarios for Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, and one of them is winning via the same, tired, and predictable Bloodline interference. In the context of a fatal four way, Roman Reigns can win the match cheaply via other means if WWE wants it that way, without the need for Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso.

WWE fans are sick of tired of the same tropes, and doing it once again might just be too much for several members of the audience at this point. WWE has to listen to this criticism and run with this awful booking scenario.

4 The Men’s & Women’s Royal Rumble Matches Both Have A Two-Time Winner

Fans Like Seeing New Names Win The Royal Rumble

There are many past winners who could end up winning both Rumble matches
It would be okay having one past winner, if it makes sense, but two would be overkill
The 2010s and 2020s saw too many repeat Rumble winners

Over the last decade and a half, John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, Triple H, Edge, and Brock Lesnar all won their second Royal Rumble matches. Some names like Becky Lynch and Cody Rhodes are in contention to win their second again, though it would make sense at least.

However, going for two repeat winners would be a massive misstep from WWE and a worst case scenario. The Rumble needs at least one fresh winner and a new name getting that moment and spotlight.

3 Damian Priest Fails His World Heavyweight Championship Cash-In

Damian Priest Has Been Unsuccessful Several Times

If Priest cashes in on Seth Rollins, he needs to win
WWE can play hot potato with the World Heavyweight Title before WrestleMania
Priest would look stupid if he fails cash-in yet again

Seth Rollins has a high chance of putting his belt on the line at the 2024 Royal Rumble event, and if he does, there will likely be yet another tease or attempt from Damian Priest to cash in. It is hard to keep count of how many times this has happened, and each time it results in Priest looking even more foolish.

If Priest cashes in and fails to win, it feels like his momentum will be absolutely destroyed, and the prestige of the briefcase will be at its lowest ever. WWE can afford to have Priest win and then drop the World Heavyweight Championship before WrestleMania to create some unpredictability, but he cannot fail to cash in at all.

2 Zero Good Surprises For The Two Royal Rumble Matches

Fans Love A Good Comeback

There have been rumors for returns ahead of the Royal Rumble
WWE sometimes holds off on surprise comebacks for later on
It would be a mistake for WWE to not pack the Royal Rumble with great surprises

This is more of a broader point, but it would still be a worst case scenario. Fans tune in to the Royal Rumble for unpredictability, surprises, and more, and if we walk away from the show with none of that, it will lead to a dud of an event - much like in 2022.

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10 Early Predictions For The 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Featured Image

10 Predictions For The 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

What will go down in the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble? We make our predictions for WWE's January tradition here.

There are several potential surprises and returns that could take place, and WWE needs to push ahead with them if they can, otherwise the two matches could go down poorly. When a Rumble event ends up bad, it can create a trend of negative criticism ahead of WrestleMania season.

1 The Rock Returns And Wins The Men’s Royal Rumble Match

The Rock Could Make A Comeback At The Rumble

After recently returning on RAW, the talk of The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is back
The Rock could earn a shot at WrestleMania 40 against Roman Reigns
WWE may not pass up this big money match opportunity

The likes of Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Gunther are among the most attractive names to emerge victorious in the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble match. When it comes to the worst case scenario winner, The Rock is the worst possibility.

If WWE does want to make The Rock vs. Roman Reigns as its WrestleMania main event, going about it this way would scream of Vince McMahon’s era of WWE with part-timers getting all the spotlight and the full-time stars taking a backseat once again. This would be a terrible look for sure.

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