Ever wondered what would have happened if the Royal Rumble was booked differently? Well our writers have had a try at Rebooking the Royal Rumble. Join us all this week as we pick a different Royal Rumble each day and try and work out what would have happened if things had taken a different direction.
These days it seems like every wrestling fan is a frustrated booker. We all think we can do better than the people in charge; sometimes we might even be right. For a little bit of fun, we here at The Wrestling Mania have put our booking caps on and “re-booked” some Rumble results. I’ve tried to keep within parameters of what COULD have happened, rather than any flights of fancy, and present a credible alternative universe. That said, there is a little bit of creative licence used where required. Just because I’ve re-booked a result, it doesn’t necessarily mean I disagree with the original outcome. It’s just fascinating to look back and think “what if…”.
2002 – Stone Cold wins the Undisputed Championship
My personal pick is I would modify the WWE Undisputed Championship match at Royal Rumble 2002 and change it from the initial Chris Jericho defending against The Rock to Chris Jericho defending against both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in a triple threat match. Not only that but I would have had Steve Austin come out on top as Undisputed Champion. Here are my reasons why.
It’s obviously a bit different with hindsight but let’s face it Chris Jericho’s first WWE Championship reign as Undisputed Champion is not remember fondly as one of the all-time great reigns. In interviews since that period Jericho has admitted that he was quite happy with the storyline direction heading into that years WrestleMania which saw Jericho play second fiddle to the ongoing feud between Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. This made the Undisputed title seem less important and Jericho was a shadow in the whole thing. The win alone gave Jericho a slight boost and I believe a one month reign would’ve done less harm in the grand scheme of things than the reign he had and storyline with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Contrast this with the booking of Steve Austin from the end of 2001 and early 2002 and it almost seems like such an obvious idea. For the first time in a great while creative didn’t really seem to have anything for Steve. Given he had main evented shows, faced everyone, been heel, been champion there didn’t seem like a lot left for him to do so he was put into a mid-card match against Scott Hall after turning down a bout with Hulk Hogan. Given how intense the rivalry between Triple H and Stone Cold was in 2001 a WrestleMania headlining bout could’ve held a world of possibilities. To this day one of my favourite bouts ever was their 2 out of 3 falls match at No Way Out 2001 which Triple H won two falls to one. Given that Stone Cold gave Triple H the stunner after the match Steve came out shining and seemed the overall winner so it would’ve been a good idea to put Triple H over really strong in his return by having him beat Steve at WrestleMania. The two could’ve had classic rematches and who knows this idea may have made Stone Cold happy and if he wasn’t injured may have convinced him to stay with WWE as opposed to walking out on them mid-2002.
For Chris Jericho a high upper mid-card slot would’ve been perfect and instead of the whining, snivelling heel which was quite passé even then, he could’ve become irate at losing the title and went on a mission to try and re-claim it and head back to the top of the card over the summer of 2002. At that time The Rock was always going to be at the top of the card anyway so not holding the Undisputed title wouldn’t have hurt him and he still could’ve faced Hulk Hogan at that year’s WrestleMania as planned. Betwinner mobile app. In an attempt to make it easier for customers to interact with the betting service, online bookmakers release mobile applications for iOS and Android. Of course, Betwinner did not stand aside. The well-known company also offered its application, which was recognized by experts and users as one of the most comfortable. As a result, every fan of betting, sports and gambling will be able to download the Betwinner application from the site https://betwinnerdownload.com . The app also has the ability to place wrestling bets and follow entertainment and pop culture.
The WWE landscape could’ve been completely different had WWE gone with a Stone Cold win at The Royal Rumble 2002. Unfortunately as fans we will never know. But it sure is fun to speculate!
– By Matt Roberts | @matrob90
Join us tomorrow as we conclude our rebooking of the Royal Rumble with the year 2011. Share above and Comment below!