Backstage Talk on Creative Royal Rumble Finish Idea – During last night’s WWE Survivor Series Pay-per-view, WWE used some rather creative booking to crown Lana the Sole Survivor in the women’s elimination match.
If you are not aware of what happened, Nia Jax and Bianca Belair —the only remaining SmackDown competitor— were left battling on the outside as the referee was making his 10-count following the disqualification of Shayna Baszler. The EST of WWE dumped Jax over the ringside barricade but was unable to return to the ring before the count ended. That left Lana as the only combatant despite barely featuring in the match.
This brought up a discussion about more inventive creative ideas floating around WWE creative. The idea was thrown out there about how Lana could win the Royal Rumble next without actually doing anything. During Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez discussed an idea that would do just that.
“I can tell you this that they’ve been considering doing that finish for years, not with anybody in particular. It comes down and there are two guys left and number 30 hasn’t come out yet and the last two guys eliminate themselves and then number 30 saunters down to the ring and wins, and you know, I’ve heard the idea before. I don’t know if they’ve actually considered doing it, but people there have told me the idea.”
It was said that when Daniel Bryan was unable to compete, and he was “retired,” there were some who tossed around that idea for him. That would have given Daniel Bryan a Royal Rumble victory and he wouldn’t have to take any bumps in the process.
He then said that Daniel Bryan couldn’t have competed at WrestleMania when he was medically disqualified, but Lana could compete at Mania if they used that booking idea.
According to a tenured member of the WWE creative team, the “automatic Royal Rumble winner” idea “gets discussed every year.” It seems that there is always someone on the roster who they could use with this gimmick for varying reasons.
The automatic Royal Rumble idea where #30 wins by simply entering the match could be a real heat magnet. Using it in Lana’s situation isn’t going to get her over like a babyface.
WWE hasn’t gone with this idea yet, and it’s not very likely they will, especially since it’s now out there. Then again, anything can happen in WWE.
