I always find it intriguing when a scrapped WWE storyline or booking change leaks out. According to a recent report, last minute second guessing stopped what would have been arguably most polarizing Royal Rumble winner in history.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer newsletter broke the story Sunday night on his F4Wonline.com podcast. According to Meltzer, a plan was in place that would have seen John Cena win the 2012 Royal Rumble. The report further indicates that the plan was changed late Saturday night.
[ad 6]If the reaction that Cena received in St. Louis was any indication, the WWE made a very smart move scrapping this idea. Cena would have been booed out of the building in what probably would have been one of the great live moments in WWE broadcast history. However, the idea that this was even a consideration is stunning.
The report says that the whole storyline here would have been Cena wrestling with the idea of choosing between a championship match or wrestling The Rock at WrestleMania 28. I actually like that and quite honestly, I had Cena as my overall number one pick to win the Rumble when I wrote a blog predicting the winners. The storyline isn’t actually that bad of an idea, I just think the timing is off to do that right now with Cena.
I have mixed feelings on the story. My immediate reaction is to tell you that there would have been an outright revolt from WWE fans if this was to happen. Yet on second thought, it probably wouldn’t have made a darn bit of difference. As I have pointed out numerous times, fans like you and me are the minority. This is a casual audience and quite honestly, the kids probably would have loved it.
The WWE aired a video during the Rumble promoting the good side of Cena outside of the ring. It became evident to me quickly that they are scared to death about Cena being booed out of the building in front of the largest WWE audience to watch the product in years at WrestleMania 28. It has gotten to the point where they are just coming off as desperate and that won’t do many favors for anyone. I am still having flashbacks to that ridiculous video they played before he entered the arena at WrestleMania 27.
[adinserter block=”1″]Going back to the idea, it amazes me that the company would even consider burying the WWE championships for a second year in a row at WrestleMania. You had Triple H come out last year and say that beating The Undertaker is the only thing that mattered. This year you would have had the Rumble winner pass on challenging the champion to wrestle in a non-title match. Booking like this is the reason that the WWE titles don’t mean much these days.
Sheamus winning surprises me even more after hearing this news. Talk about a drastic change in plans going from Cena to a dark horse? I know there are some WWE fans disappointed with Sheamus winning but looking at this alternative, consider yourself lucky.
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I was actually hoping that The Rock would surprise everybody and win the Rumble match. Then it would be his decision to make (wrestle Cena vs. wrestle for the title). But I agree with your point that choosing a non-title match in that scenario would devalue the company's belts.