Royal Rumble (2014): Difference between revisions
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The 2014 '''Royal Rumble''' was the 27th annual [[Royal Rumble]] [[professional wrestling]] [[pay-per-view]] (PPV) [[List of WWE pay-per-view events|event]] produced by [[WWE]]. It took place on January 26, 2014, at the [[PPG Paints Arena|Consol Energy Center]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]]. It was the first Royal Rumble to be held in the city of Pittsburgh and the first WWE pay-per-view event held in the Consol Energy Center. The [[Royal Rumble match]] winner received a world championship match at that year's [[WrestleMania]]. For the 2014 event, the winner received a match for the [[WWE Championship|WWE World Heavyweight Championship]] at [[WrestleMania XXX]] |
The 2014 '''Royal Rumble''' was the 27th annual [[Royal Rumble]] [[professional wrestling]] [[pay-per-view]] (PPV) [[List of WWE pay-per-view events|event]] produced by [[WWE]]. It took place on January 26, 2014, at the [[PPG Paints Arena|Consol Energy Center]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]]. It was the first Royal Rumble to be held in the city of Pittsburgh and the first WWE pay-per-view event held in the Consol Energy Center. The [[Royal Rumble match]] winner received a world championship match at that year's [[WrestleMania]]. For the 2014 event, the winner received a match for the [[WWE Championship|WWE World Heavyweight Championship]] at [[WrestleMania XXX]], marking the first Royal Rumble since [[Royal Rumble (2002)|2002]] where there was only one eligible championship for which the winner could challenge. |
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The event featured five professional wrestling matches, including one match on the |
The event featured five professional wrestling matches, including one match on the kickoff pre-show. The [[Card (sports)#Main event|main event]] was the titular Royal Rumble, which a returning [[Dave Bautista|Batista]] won by last eliminating [[Roman Reigns]] to become a two-time Royal Rumble winner. Other matches saw [[Randy Orton]] successfully defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against [[John Cena]], [[Bray Wyatt]] defeating [[Bryan Danielson|Daniel Bryan]], and [[Brock Lesnar]] defeating [[Big Show]]. On the kickoff pre-show, [[Dustin Rhodes|Goldust]] and [[Cody Rhodes]] lost the [[WWE Raw Tag Team Championship]] to the [[New Age Outlaws]] ([[Road Dogg]] and [[Billy Gunn]]). |
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Considered one of the worst Royal Rumble pay-per-views, the event is |
Considered one of the worst Royal Rumble pay-per-views of all time, the event is notable for the overwhelmingly negative audience response to the Orton–Cena and Royal Rumble matches. The fans booed Royal Rumble winner Batista in protest and chanted for Bryan (who was not part of the match) and runner-up Reigns, though the Bryan–Wyatt match was praised. The event marked the final WWE appearance of [[CM Punk]], who abruptly left the company on bad terms the following day and retired from wrestling for the next seven-and-a-half years; he then joined [[AEW]] at [[AEW The First Dance|The First Dance]] in August 2021, returned to WWE at [[Survivor Series: WarGames (2023)|Survivor Series]] in November 2023, and competed in his first WWE match in a decade at the [[2024 Royal Rumble|Royal Rumble]] in January 2024. |
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The event received 467,000 buys, down 8.8% from the 512,000 buys for the [[Royal Rumble (2013)|previous year's event]]. |
The event received 467,000 buys, down 8.8% from the 512,000 buys for the [[Royal Rumble (2013)|previous year's event]]. |
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The negative reaction of the fans attending the event in Pittsburgh was so great that it was reported as one of the major news items coming out of the show,<ref name=ReviewSLAM>{{cite web|title=Upset fans overshadow Batista's big win at uneven 2014 Royal Rumble|url=https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2014/01/27/upset-fans-overshadow-batistas-big-win-at-uneven-2014-royal-rumble/|work=SLAM! Sports: Wrestling|date=January 27, 2014|publisher=[[Canoe.ca|Canadian Online Explorer]]|access-date=January 28, 2014|last1=Plummer|first1=Dale|last2=Tylwalk|first2=Nick|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033722/https://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2014/01/27/21426481.html|archive-date=November 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BaltimoreReview>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/pro-wrestling/ring-posts-blog/bal-batista-wins-royal-rumble-despite-fan-disapproval-in-wwe-universe-20140127,0,76749.story|title=Batista wins Royal Rumble despite fan disapproval|author=Aaron Oster|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2014|archive-date=February 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225749/https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/pro-wrestling/ring-posts-blog/bal-batista-wins-royal-rumble-despite-fan-disapproval-in-wwe-universe-20140127,0,76749.story|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=TorchRumbleNews>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Rumble PPV news: Batista, undercard losers not included, this year's surprise entries, Bray's big night, The Crowd|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75931.shtml|date=January 26, 2014|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Riccobono|first=Anthony|title=WWE 2014 Royal Rumble: Results And Recap For Every Match On The Card; Who Won The 30-Man Match?|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/wwe-2014-royal-rumble-results-recap-every-match-card-who-won-30-man-match-1548464|work=International Business Times|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> and described as the live audience engineering a "takeover" of the final two hours of the show.<ref name=TorchRumbleNews/><ref name=TorchReviewTucker>{{cite web|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/The_Specialists_34/article_75939.shtml|title=Tucker's Instant Reaction - Royal Rumble: In-person perspective and reaction to The Crowd's Takeover |work=Pro Wrestling Torch|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref> During the title match between John Cena and Randy Orton, fans booed both men and chanted for Daniel Bryan, amongst other chants such as "this is awful".<ref name=FansLehigh>{{cite web|last=Folck|first=Josh|title=WWE Royal Rumble: Pittsburgh fans voice displeasure about main events|work=The Express-Times|date=January 27, 2014|publisher=[[The Express-Times|Lehigh Valley]]|access-date=January 28, 2014|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment-general/index.ssf/2014/01/wwe_royal_rumble_pittsburgh_fa.html}}</ref> The fans continued to chant for Bryan during the Royal Rumble match and so when [[Rey Mysterio]] (typically a fan favorite) was revealed as the final entrant (and therefore Bryan's possible participation in the match was ruled out) the fans booed Mysterio, chanted for Bryan and cheered Mysterio's eventual elimination.<ref name=TorchReviewCaldwell3>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WWE Royal Rumble PPV results 1/26 (Hour 3): Royal Rumble vs. The Crowd main event match|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wweppvs/article_75919.shtml|date=January 26, 2014|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref><ref name=FansLehigh/><ref name=TripLiveReview>{{cite web|last=LaBar|first=Justin|title=Royal Rumble's Pittsburgh debut makes memorable weekend|url=https://triblive.com/sports/prowrestling/5486954-74/story|publisher=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|TribLive]]|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> The crowd continued to boo when there were three wrestlers left in the match, but when only Batista and [[Roman Reigns]] remained, [[Persona and reception of Roman Reigns|they cheered for Reigns]] (a villainous character at the time) over Batista and later booed Batista's victory as the event drew to a close.<ref name=TorchReviewCaldwell3/><ref name=FansLehigh/><ref name=TripLiveReview/> After the show went off the air, Batista (who had been presented on-air as a heroic [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] character) mocked Bryan and gestured his [[The finger|middle finger]] at the crowd.<ref name=TripLiveReview/><ref>{{cite web|title=WWE news: Live Rumble report on Batista flipping off fans after winning the Rumble, more in-person notes|date=January 27, 2014|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75955.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> Aaron Oster of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' wrote Mysterio "received more boos than he's ever had in his WWE career", and in the case of Batista, "besides the fact that a supposed face was getting booed, the boos were stronger than any Rumble winner I can remember, including when [[Vince McMahon|Mr. McMahon]] won in [[Royal Rumble (1999)|1999]]".<ref name=BaltimoreReview/> |
The negative reaction of the fans attending the event in Pittsburgh was so great that it was reported as one of the major news items coming out of the show,<ref name=ReviewSLAM>{{cite web|title=Upset fans overshadow Batista's big win at uneven 2014 Royal Rumble|url=https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2014/01/27/upset-fans-overshadow-batistas-big-win-at-uneven-2014-royal-rumble/|work=SLAM! Sports: Wrestling|date=January 27, 2014|publisher=[[Canoe.ca|Canadian Online Explorer]]|access-date=January 28, 2014|last1=Plummer|first1=Dale|last2=Tylwalk|first2=Nick|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033722/https://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2014/01/27/21426481.html|archive-date=November 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BaltimoreReview>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/pro-wrestling/ring-posts-blog/bal-batista-wins-royal-rumble-despite-fan-disapproval-in-wwe-universe-20140127,0,76749.story|title=Batista wins Royal Rumble despite fan disapproval|author=Aaron Oster|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2014|archive-date=February 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225749/https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/pro-wrestling/ring-posts-blog/bal-batista-wins-royal-rumble-despite-fan-disapproval-in-wwe-universe-20140127,0,76749.story|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=TorchRumbleNews>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Rumble PPV news: Batista, undercard losers not included, this year's surprise entries, Bray's big night, The Crowd|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75931.shtml|date=January 26, 2014|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Riccobono|first=Anthony|title=WWE 2014 Royal Rumble: Results And Recap For Every Match On The Card; Who Won The 30-Man Match?|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/wwe-2014-royal-rumble-results-recap-every-match-card-who-won-30-man-match-1548464|work=International Business Times|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> and described as the live audience engineering a "takeover" of the final two hours of the show.<ref name=TorchRumbleNews/><ref name=TorchReviewTucker>{{cite web|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/The_Specialists_34/article_75939.shtml|title=Tucker's Instant Reaction - Royal Rumble: In-person perspective and reaction to The Crowd's Takeover |work=Pro Wrestling Torch|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref> During the title match between John Cena and Randy Orton, fans booed both men and chanted for Daniel Bryan, amongst other chants such as "this is awful".<ref name=FansLehigh>{{cite web|last=Folck|first=Josh|title=WWE Royal Rumble: Pittsburgh fans voice displeasure about main events|work=The Express-Times|date=January 27, 2014|publisher=[[The Express-Times|Lehigh Valley]]|access-date=January 28, 2014|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment-general/index.ssf/2014/01/wwe_royal_rumble_pittsburgh_fa.html}}</ref> The fans continued to chant for Bryan during the Royal Rumble match and so when [[Rey Mysterio]] (typically a fan favorite) was revealed as the final entrant (and therefore Bryan's possible participation in the match was ruled out) the fans booed Mysterio, chanted for Bryan and cheered Mysterio's eventual elimination.<ref name=TorchReviewCaldwell3>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WWE Royal Rumble PPV results 1/26 (Hour 3): Royal Rumble vs. The Crowd main event match|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wweppvs/article_75919.shtml|date=January 26, 2014|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref><ref name=FansLehigh/><ref name=TripLiveReview>{{cite web|last=LaBar|first=Justin|title=Royal Rumble's Pittsburgh debut makes memorable weekend|url=https://triblive.com/sports/prowrestling/5486954-74/story|publisher=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|TribLive]]|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> The crowd continued to boo when there were three wrestlers left in the match, but when only Batista and [[Roman Reigns]] remained, [[Persona and reception of Roman Reigns|they cheered for Reigns]] (a villainous character at the time) over Batista and later booed Batista's victory as the event drew to a close.<ref name=TorchReviewCaldwell3/><ref name=FansLehigh/><ref name=TripLiveReview/> After the show went off the air, Batista (who had been presented on-air as a heroic [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] character) mocked Bryan and gestured his [[The finger|middle finger]] at the crowd.<ref name=TripLiveReview/><ref>{{cite web|title=WWE news: Live Rumble report on Batista flipping off fans after winning the Rumble, more in-person notes|date=January 27, 2014|url=https://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75955.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> Aaron Oster of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' wrote Mysterio "received more boos than he's ever had in his WWE career", and in the case of Batista, "besides the fact that a supposed face was getting booed, the boos were stronger than any Rumble winner I can remember, including when [[Vince McMahon|Mr. McMahon]] won in [[Royal Rumble (1999)|1999]]".<ref name=BaltimoreReview/> |
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Fans took to [[Social networking service|social media]] to display their displeasure towards the event. The [[BBC]] reported that regarding Bryan's exclusion from the Rumble match, "many people have also expressed anger on social media, with the phrases #RoyalRumble, #WWE and Daniel Bryan all trending on Twitter".<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25911039|title=Royal Rumble: Daniel Bryan blames WWE for exclusion|author=Amelia Butterly|work=BBC Newsbeat|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref><ref name="f4wonline1">{{cite web|url=https://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/35147-more-from-mick-foley-on-the-rumble|title=More from Mick Foley on the Rumble|work=[[Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online]]|date=2014-01-27|access-date=2014-01-27|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130071841/http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/35147-more-from-mick-foley-on-the-rumble|archive-date=January 30, 2014}}</ref> The ''Herald & Review'' described the reaction to the event as "WWE's PR nightmare", with the most "liked" comments on WWE's Facebook page within 24 hours of the event including "worst PPV ever", "the sound of WWE dropping the ball" and in reference to the [[WWE Network]], "no Bryan, no buy".<ref>{{cite web|last=Vorel|first=Jim|title=Wrestling fandom, Daniel Bryan and the WWE's PR nightmare|url=https://herald-review.com/blogs/decaturade/wrestling-fandom-daniel-bryan-and-the-wwe-s-pr-nightmare/article_7b9bcb5a-87bf-11e3-9df6-0019bb2963f4.html|publisher=herald-review.com|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> Retired wrestler [[Mick Foley]] criticized WWE management on social media, stating, "Does WWE actually hate their own audience? I've never been so disgusted with a PPV".<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="f4wonline1"/> |
Fans took to [[Social networking service|social media]] to display their displeasure towards the event. The [[BBC]] reported that regarding Bryan's exclusion from the Rumble match, "many people have also expressed anger on social media, with the phrases #RoyalRumble, #WWE and Daniel Bryan all trending on Twitter".<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25911039|title=Royal Rumble: Daniel Bryan blames WWE for exclusion|author=Amelia Butterly|work=BBC Newsbeat|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2014}}</ref><ref name="f4wonline1">{{cite web|url=https://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/35147-more-from-mick-foley-on-the-rumble|title=More from Mick Foley on the Rumble|work=[[Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online]]|date=2014-01-27|access-date=2014-01-27|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130071841/http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/35147-more-from-mick-foley-on-the-rumble|archive-date=January 30, 2014}}</ref> The ''Herald & Review'' described the reaction to the event as "WWE's PR nightmare", with the most "liked" comments on WWE's Facebook page within 24 hours of the event including "worst PPV ever", "the sound of WWE dropping the ball" and in reference to the [[WWE Network]], "no Bryan, no buy".<ref>{{cite web|last=Vorel|first=Jim|title=Wrestling fandom, Daniel Bryan and the WWE's PR nightmare|date=January 27, 2014 |url=https://herald-review.com/blogs/decaturade/wrestling-fandom-daniel-bryan-and-the-wwe-s-pr-nightmare/article_7b9bcb5a-87bf-11e3-9df6-0019bb2963f4.html|publisher=herald-review.com|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> Retired wrestler [[Mick Foley]] criticized WWE management on social media, stating, "Does WWE actually hate their own audience? I've never been so disgusted with a PPV".<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="f4wonline1"/> |
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Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk of [[Canoe.ca]] rated the overall event as 6.0 out of 10. The Wyatt-Bryan bout was rated the highest at a "fantastic" 9.5 out of 10, the Cena-Orton bout, described as a "sloppy affair that won’t go down among the best work from either man" received 4.0 out of 10, while the Lesnar-Big Show encounter received 1.0 out of 10. They described the event as "uneven", and that "the disapproval of the fans at the Consol Energy Center at how the Royal Rumble match went down will be the lasting memory for anyone who watched the show".<ref name=ReviewSLAM/> |
Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk of [[Canoe.ca]] rated the overall event as 6.0 out of 10. The Wyatt-Bryan bout was rated the highest at a "fantastic" 9.5 out of 10, the Cena-Orton bout, described as a "sloppy affair that won’t go down among the best work from either man" received 4.0 out of 10, while the Lesnar-Big Show encounter received 1.0 out of 10. They described the event as "uneven", and that "the disapproval of the fans at the Consol Energy Center at how the Royal Rumble match went down will be the lasting memory for anyone who watched the show".<ref name=ReviewSLAM/> |
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After the Royal Rumble event, CM Punk did not appear and was not mentioned on ''Raw'' the next day.<ref name=WalkoutTorch>{{cite web|title=WWE news: Report - C.M. Punk leaves WWE|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75991.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=30 January 2014}}</ref><ref name=WalkOutIndy>{{cite news|last=Hooton|first=Christopher|title=CM Punk 'quits the WWE' just weeks before Wrestlemania 30 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cm-punk-quits-wwe-just-weeks-before-wrestlemania-30-9092718.html|access-date=January 29, 2014|work=The Independent}}</ref> Despite being advertised for the ''[[SmackDown]]'' taping on Tuesday, he also did not appear in front of the live audience.<ref name=WalkoutTorch/><ref name=WalkOutIndy/> By Wednesday, WWE.com stopped advertising Punk for future events.<ref name=WalkoutTorch/><ref name=WalkOutIndy/> It was reported by the ''Wrestling Observer'' that on Monday prior to Raw, Punk had [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#L|legitimately]] walked out on WWE when he informed Vince McMahon that he was "going home".<ref name=WalkoutTorch/><ref name=WalkOutIndy/> On February 20, McMahon indicated to investors that Punk was "taking a [[sabbatical]]".<ref name="Departure">{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WWE NEWS: McMahon addresses Punk's departure from WWE|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_76488.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="Conference call">[http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ltcsonka411/2014/02/20/wwe-q42013-investors-conference-call WWE Q4/2013 Investors Conference Call (31:35)]</ref> However, in an interview published in late May, Punk indicated that he had retired; he was questioned "How does it feel to be retired at 35?" and replied with "It feels good."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=WWE NEWS: Is C.M. Punk retired?, Punk addresses status|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_78695.shtml|website=PWTorch.com|access-date=4 June 2014}}</ref> Punk's WWE contract subsequently expired in July 2014, thus making the Royal Rumble his final on-screen appearance.<ref>{{cite web|title=WWE NEWS: C.M. Punk no longer on the roster; Punk speaks|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_79604.shtml|publisher=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=July 17, 2014}}</ref> |
After the Royal Rumble event, CM Punk did not appear and was not mentioned on ''Raw'' the next day.<ref name=WalkoutTorch>{{cite web|title=WWE news: Report - C.M. Punk leaves WWE|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75991.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=30 January 2014}}</ref><ref name=WalkOutIndy>{{cite news|last=Hooton|first=Christopher|title=CM Punk 'quits the WWE' just weeks before Wrestlemania 30 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cm-punk-quits-wwe-just-weeks-before-wrestlemania-30-9092718.html|access-date=January 29, 2014|work=The Independent}}</ref> Despite being advertised for the ''[[SmackDown]]'' taping on Tuesday, he also did not appear in front of the live audience.<ref name=WalkoutTorch/><ref name=WalkOutIndy/> By Wednesday, WWE.com stopped advertising Punk for future events.<ref name=WalkoutTorch/><ref name=WalkOutIndy/> It was reported by the ''Wrestling Observer'' that on Monday prior to Raw, Punk had [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#L|legitimately]] walked out on WWE when he informed Vince McMahon that he was "going home".<ref name=WalkoutTorch/><ref name=WalkOutIndy/> On February 20, McMahon indicated to investors that Punk was "taking a [[sabbatical]]".<ref name="Departure">{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WWE NEWS: McMahon addresses Punk's departure from WWE|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_76488.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="Conference call">[http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ltcsonka411/2014/02/20/wwe-q42013-investors-conference-call WWE Q4/2013 Investors Conference Call (31:35)]</ref> However, in an interview published in late May, Punk indicated that he had retired; he was questioned "How does it feel to be retired at 35?" and replied with "It feels good."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=WWE NEWS: Is C.M. Punk retired?, Punk addresses status|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_78695.shtml|website=PWTorch.com|access-date=4 June 2014}}</ref> Punk's WWE contract subsequently expired in July 2014, thus making the Royal Rumble his final on-screen appearance.<ref>{{cite web|title=WWE NEWS: C.M. Punk no longer on the roster; Punk speaks|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_79604.shtml|publisher=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=July 17, 2014}}</ref> |
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However, on an episode of [[Colt Cabana]]'s ''Art of Wrestling'' [[podcast]] released in November 2014, Punk said that he was suspended for two months after walking out on the company in January and that after the suspension ended, nobody from WWE contacted him. Punk also told that when he reached out to them for unpaid royalties, he was given a run-around by company executives until he was handed his termination papers and was fired by WWE on his wedding day with April Mendez (better known as [[AJ Lee]]) in June 2014.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Vaughn|title=CM Punk finally speaks on departure from WWE on Colt Cabana's podcast|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-squared-circle/CM-Punk-finally-speaks-on-departure-from-WWE-on-Colt-Cabanas-podcast.html|work=[[Philly.com]]|date=November 27, 2014|access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref> The manner of firing was the last straw for Punk, stating that he would never return to WWE and that following a legal settlement with WWE there would be no further working relationship between them. The settlement included Punk giving WWE permission to sell his remaining merchandise.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=WWE news: The C.M. Punk Interview Part 1 – Punk says he was fired on his wedding day & will never work for WWE again, plus why he left WWE, legal battle that followed, Final Meeting with McMahon & Hunter, independent contractor, more|url=http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_81998.shtml|website=Pro Wrestling Torch|publisher=TDH Communications Inc.|date=December 4, 2014|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref> Punk subsequently signed a contract to compete in the [[Ultimate Fighting Championship|UFC]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url= |
However, on an episode of [[Colt Cabana]]'s ''Art of Wrestling'' [[podcast]] released in November 2014, Punk said that he was suspended for two months after walking out on the company in January and that after the suspension ended, nobody from WWE contacted him. Punk also told that when he reached out to them for unpaid royalties, he was given a run-around by company executives until he was handed his termination papers and was fired by WWE on his wedding day with April Mendez (better known as [[AJ Lee]]) in June 2014.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Vaughn|title=CM Punk finally speaks on departure from WWE on Colt Cabana's podcast|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-squared-circle/CM-Punk-finally-speaks-on-departure-from-WWE-on-Colt-Cabanas-podcast.html|work=[[Philly.com]]|date=November 27, 2014|access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref> The manner of firing was the last straw for Punk, stating that he would never return to WWE and that following a legal settlement with WWE there would be no further working relationship between them. The settlement included Punk giving WWE permission to sell his remaining merchandise.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=WWE news: The C.M. Punk Interview Part 1 – Punk says he was fired on his wedding day & will never work for WWE again, plus why he left WWE, legal battle that followed, Final Meeting with McMahon & Hunter, independent contractor, more|url=http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_81998.shtml|website=Pro Wrestling Torch|publisher=TDH Communications Inc.|date=December 4, 2014|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref> Punk subsequently signed a contract to compete in the [[Ultimate Fighting Championship|UFC]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/11991124/cm-punk-joins-ufc-fight-2015|title=CM Punk joins UFC, will fight in 2015|last1=Okamoto|first1=Brett|date=December 8, 2014|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=December 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3e49c26188f14dbf87b90720a39d5c6d/ufc-signs-pro-wrestler-cm-punk-2015-mma-debut|title=UFC signs pro wrestler CM Punk for 2015 MMA debut|last=Beacham|first=Greg|date=December 7, 2014|agency=Associated Press|access-date=December 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209183609/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3e49c26188f14dbf87b90720a39d5c6d/ufc-signs-pro-wrestler-cm-punk-2015-mma-debut|archive-date=December 9, 2014}}</ref> Punk had not appeared on WWE programming since then, though he did have multiple appearances on ''[[WWE Backstage]]'', a show broadcast by [[Fox Sports]], who had a television deal with WWE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2019/11/13/cm-punk-returns-to-wwe-programming-on-fs1s-backstage-a-timeline/|title=CM Punk Returns To WWE Programming On FS1's 'Backstage': A Timeline|last=Konuwa|first=Alfred|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref> However, on August 20, 2021, Punk returned to professional wrestling when he signed with [[All Elite Wrestling]] (AEW) during [[AEW The First Dance|The First Dance]] edition of its weekly program ''[[AEW Rampage|Rampage]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/wrestling/2021/08/21/cm-punk-debuts-with-aew|title=Former WWE Superstar CM Punk Debuts With AEW|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|first=Justin|last=Barrasso|date=August 20, 2021|accessdate=August 21, 2021}}</ref> After Punk left AEW in August 2023, he returned to WWE that November at [[Survivor Series: WarGames (2023)|Survivor Series: WarGames]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/cm-punk-returns-wwe-wwe-survivor-series-2023|title=CM Punk Returns To WWE At WWE Survivor Series 2023|date=November 25, 2023|last=Lambert|first=Jeremy|work=Fightful|access-date=November 25, 2023}}</ref> |
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The post-Rumble ''Raw'' on January 27 began with [[Triple H]] and [[Stephanie McMahon]] ([[The Authority (professional wrestling)|The Authority]]) addressing the Rumble event and mocking the audience for not getting what they wanted. When Daniel Bryan came out and confronted them about not being inserted into the Rumble match, and then demanded to be inserted into the Elimination Chamber match and refused to leave the ring until they did, he was attacked by [[The Shield (professional wrestling)|the Shield]], but was then saved by John Cena and Sheamus. As a result, Bryan, Cena and Sheamus later teamed together to take on the Shield in a 6-man tag match in which all three members of the winning team qualified to participate in the Elimination Chamber match (in which Randy Orton would defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship) at the [[Elimination Chamber (2014)|eponymous pay-per-view]]. During that match, [[The Wyatt Family]] interfered, causing the Shield to be disqualified and thus Bryan, Cena and Sheamus qualified for the Chamber match.<ref name=postRRRaw>{{cite web|last=Stephens |first=David |url=http://www.wrestleview.com/wwe-wrestling-results/wwe-raw-results/46408 |title=WWE RAW Results - 1/27/14 (Royal Rumble fallout) |publisher=Wrestleview.com |date=2014-01-27 |access-date=2014-02-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 1/27: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - cm punk fall-out, Daniel Bryan book-ends Raw, Lesnar creates chaos, more|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75942.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> [[Claudio Castagnoli|Cesaro]] and a returning [[Christian Cage|Christian]] also qualified for the Chamber match by defeating [[Dolph Ziggler]] and [[Jake Hager|Jack Swagger]] respectively.<ref name=SDafterRR/> For costing them the spots in the Chamber match, the Shield vowed revenge against the Wyatt Family, which set up a match between the groups at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.<ref name=SDafterRR>{{cite web|last=Plummer|first=Dale|title=Smackdown!: The Shield puts the Wyatt Family on notice|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/01/31/21439376.html|work=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=25 February 2014|archive-date=25 February 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140225085449/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/01/31/21439376.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> |
The post-Rumble ''Raw'' on January 27 began with [[Triple H]] and [[Stephanie McMahon]] ([[The Authority (professional wrestling)|The Authority]]) addressing the Rumble event and mocking the audience for not getting what they wanted. When Daniel Bryan came out and confronted them about not being inserted into the Rumble match, and then demanded to be inserted into the Elimination Chamber match and refused to leave the ring until they did, he was attacked by [[The Shield (professional wrestling)|the Shield]], but was then saved by John Cena and Sheamus. As a result, Bryan, Cena and Sheamus later teamed together to take on the Shield in a 6-man tag match in which all three members of the winning team qualified to participate in the Elimination Chamber match (in which Randy Orton would defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship) at the [[Elimination Chamber (2014)|eponymous pay-per-view]]. During that match, [[The Wyatt Family]] interfered, causing the Shield to be disqualified and thus Bryan, Cena and Sheamus qualified for the Chamber match.<ref name=postRRRaw>{{cite web|last=Stephens |first=David |url=http://www.wrestleview.com/wwe-wrestling-results/wwe-raw-results/46408 |title=WWE RAW Results - 1/27/14 (Royal Rumble fallout) |publisher=Wrestleview.com |date=2014-01-27 |access-date=2014-02-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 1/27: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - cm punk fall-out, Daniel Bryan book-ends Raw, Lesnar creates chaos, more|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_75942.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> [[Claudio Castagnoli|Cesaro]] and a returning [[Christian Cage|Christian]] also qualified for the Chamber match by defeating [[Dolph Ziggler]] and [[Jake Hager|Jack Swagger]] respectively.<ref name=SDafterRR/> For costing them the spots in the Chamber match, the Shield vowed revenge against the Wyatt Family, which set up a match between the groups at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.<ref name=SDafterRR>{{cite web|last=Plummer|first=Dale|title=Smackdown!: The Shield puts the Wyatt Family on notice|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/01/31/21439376.html|work=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=25 February 2014|archive-date=25 February 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140225085449/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/01/31/21439376.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> |
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[[File:Daniel Bryan WWE Champion.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Daniel Bryan closed WrestleMania XXX by celebrating his win of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.]] |
[[File:Daniel Bryan WWE Champion.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Daniel Bryan closed WrestleMania XXX by celebrating his win of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.]] |
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Because of the boisterous negative reaction, Batista responded to the audience on the February 28 episode of ''SmackDown'', saying he didn't come back to be liked, only to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion, thus turning into a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|villain]] in the process.<ref>{{cite web|last=Plummer|first=Dave|title=Smackdown!: Batista claims he is The Man in Milwaukee|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/28/21503546.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140303204658/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/28/21503546.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 3, 2014|work=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> The scheduled [[WrestleMania XXX]] main event was Orton versus Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WWE news: Two matches official for WM30, two other "Big Four" matches teased on Raw|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_76607.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> However, on the March 10 episode of ''Raw'', Bryan and multiple fans "[[Occupy Wall Street|occupied]]" the ring and refused to leave, resulting in an irate Triple H agreeing to Bryan's demand for a match at WrestleMania, with the stipulation that the winner would be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the event.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tylwalk|first=Nick|title=Raw: Yes, the WrestleMania card gets a big twist|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/03/11/21525946.html|work=Slam! Wrestling|access-date=March 13, 2014|archive-date=March 13, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140313122105/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/03/11/21525946.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> At WrestleMania, Bryan was added to the match after defeating Triple H in the opening contest of the show, and would ultimately win the triple threat match, forcing Batista to submit and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/30/daniel-bryan-randy-orton-batista-26178334|title=Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton and Batista to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion|access-date=April 12, 2014}}</ref><ref name=SLAMresults>{{cite web|last=Howell|first=Nolan|title=WrestleMania XXX brings the beginning and end of eras|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2014/04/06/21585306.html|work=Slam! Wrestling|access-date=April 9, 2014|archive-date=April 9, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140409052414/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2014/04/06/21585306.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> On May 12, Daniel Bryan announced that due to injuries, he would require neck surgery,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oster|first1=Aaron|title=Daniel Bryan announces he needs surgery on Raw|url= |
Because of the boisterous negative reaction, Batista responded to the audience on the February 28 episode of ''SmackDown'', saying he didn't come back to be liked, only to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion, thus turning into a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|villain]] in the process.<ref>{{cite web|last=Plummer|first=Dave|title=Smackdown!: Batista claims he is The Man in Milwaukee|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/28/21503546.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140303204658/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/28/21503546.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 3, 2014|work=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> The scheduled [[WrestleMania XXX]] main event was Orton versus Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WWE news: Two matches official for WM30, two other "Big Four" matches teased on Raw|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_76607.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> However, on the March 10 episode of ''Raw'', Bryan and multiple fans "[[Occupy Wall Street|occupied]]" the ring and refused to leave, resulting in an irate Triple H agreeing to Bryan's demand for a match at WrestleMania, with the stipulation that the winner would be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the event.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tylwalk|first=Nick|title=Raw: Yes, the WrestleMania card gets a big twist|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/03/11/21525946.html|work=Slam! Wrestling|access-date=March 13, 2014|archive-date=March 13, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140313122105/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/03/11/21525946.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> At WrestleMania, Bryan was added to the match after defeating Triple H in the opening contest of the show, and would ultimately win the triple threat match, forcing Batista to submit and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/30/daniel-bryan-randy-orton-batista-26178334|title=Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton and Batista to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion|access-date=April 12, 2014}}</ref><ref name=SLAMresults>{{cite web|last=Howell|first=Nolan|title=WrestleMania XXX brings the beginning and end of eras|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2014/04/06/21585306.html|work=Slam! Wrestling|access-date=April 9, 2014|archive-date=April 9, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140409052414/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2014/04/06/21585306.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> On May 12, Daniel Bryan announced that due to injuries, he would require neck surgery,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oster|first1=Aaron|title=Daniel Bryan announces he needs surgery on Raw|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2014/05/13/daniel-bryan-announces-he-needs-surgery-on-raw/|website=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=5 November 2014|archive-date=2014-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105075254/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-05-13/sports/bal-wwe-star-daniel-bryan-announces-he-needs-surgery-on-raw-20140513_1_daniel-bryan-roman-reigns-neck-surgery|url-status=live}}</ref> which he underwent on May 15.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=WWE News: Update on Daniel Bryan's neck surgery Thursday|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_78402.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=5 November 2014}}</ref> Bryan was stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by the Authority on June 9 as he was not healthy enough to defend his championship.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 6/9: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Daniel Bryan's WWE Title status, Cena joins Shield for main event, Bray Wyatt returns, more|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_78923.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=21 July 2014}}</ref> |
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[[Cody and Dustin Rhodes|Cody Rhodes and Goldust]] failed to regain the [[WWE Raw Tag Team Championship|WWE Tag Team Championship]] from The [[New Age Outlaws]] on the post-Rumble ''Raw'', as the match ended in no contest after [[Brock Lesnar]] attacked Rhodes and Goldust.<ref name=postRRRaw/> The following week, they received another rematch for the titles in a steel cage match, which the Outlaws won.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/04/21444851.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140313132049/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/04/21444851.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 13, 2014|title=Raw: Is there a new "Face" of the WWE?|author=Asher, Matthew|work=SLAM! Wrestling|publisher=[[Canoe.ca|Canadian Online Explorer]]|access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref> The Outlaws' reign ended on the March 3 episode of ''Raw'', when [[The Usos]] won the Tag Team Championship.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 3/3: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Bryan vs. Batista, WM30 hype, new Tag Champs, C.M. Punk from start to finish, more|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_76765.shtml#.WQjSjVXyiUk|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=2 May 2017}}</ref> |
[[Cody and Dustin Rhodes|Cody Rhodes and Goldust]] failed to regain the [[WWE Raw Tag Team Championship|WWE Tag Team Championship]] from The [[New Age Outlaws]] on the post-Rumble ''Raw'', as the match ended in no contest after [[Brock Lesnar]] attacked Rhodes and Goldust.<ref name=postRRRaw/> The following week, they received another rematch for the titles in a steel cage match, which the Outlaws won.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/04/21444851.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140313132049/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2014/02/04/21444851.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 13, 2014|title=Raw: Is there a new "Face" of the WWE?|author=Asher, Matthew|work=SLAM! Wrestling|publisher=[[Canoe.ca|Canadian Online Explorer]]|access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref> The Outlaws' reign ended on the March 3 episode of ''Raw'', when [[The Usos]] won the Tag Team Championship.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 3/3: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Bryan vs. Batista, WM30 hype, new Tag Champs, C.M. Punk from start to finish, more|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_76765.shtml#.WQjSjVXyiUk|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=2 May 2017}}</ref> |
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Following Elimination Chamber, Wyatt feuded with Cena, with Wyatt wanting to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while also trying to turn Cena into a "monster".<ref>{{cite web|title=John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/30/john-cena-bray-wyatt-26191422|publisher=[[WWE]]|access-date=April 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314144145/http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/30/john-cena-bray-wyatt-26191422|archive-date=March 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Guillot|first=Gene|title=John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt centers on Cena's legacy|url=http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2014/04/john_cena_vs_bray_wyatt_center.html|publisher=The Times-Picayune|access-date=April 5, 2014}}</ref> Wyatt went on to accept Cena's challenge for a match at WrestleMania XXX,<ref name=March10Raw>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 3/10: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Bryan "hi-jacks" Raw, Taker & Hogan back on TV, Cena vs. Wyatts feud continues|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_76923.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=April 3, 2014}}</ref> which Cena won despite interference from [[Luke Harper]] and [[Erick Rowan]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WrestleMania 30 PPV results (Hour 2): Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Cena vs. Bray, big moment for Cesaro in the Andre Battle Royal, Shield vs. Outlaws|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_77520.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> In May at [[Extreme Rules (2014)|Extreme Rules]], Wyatt defeated Cena in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Steel Cages|steel cage match]], after repeated interference from the rest of The Wyatt Family and a "demonic" child.<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's Extreme Rules PPV results 5/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV – Bryan vs. Kane, Evolution vs. Shield, Cena vs. Wyatt steel cage match|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_78185.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=May 6, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506113832/http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_78185.shtml|archive-date=May 6, 2014}}</ref> Their feud ended at [[Payback (2014)|Payback]] on June 1, where, in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Last Man/Woman Standing match|Last Man Standing]] match, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Asher|first1=Matthew|title=Payback: The Shield Evolved, Cena stood tall and Brie dropped a bombshell|url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2014/06/01/21709566.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160212043832/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2014/06/01/21709566.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2016|website=slam.canoe.ca|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=2 June 2014}}</ref> Cena won the vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship at [[Money in the Bank (2014)|Money in the Bank]] on June 29.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oster|first1=Aaron|title=John Cena wins WWE world heavyweight championship at Money In The Bank|url= |
Following Elimination Chamber, Wyatt feuded with Cena, with Wyatt wanting to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while also trying to turn Cena into a "monster".<ref>{{cite web|title=John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/30/john-cena-bray-wyatt-26191422|publisher=[[WWE]]|access-date=April 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314144145/http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/30/john-cena-bray-wyatt-26191422|archive-date=March 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Guillot|first=Gene|title=John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt centers on Cena's legacy|url=http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2014/04/john_cena_vs_bray_wyatt_center.html|publisher=The Times-Picayune|access-date=April 5, 2014}}</ref> Wyatt went on to accept Cena's challenge for a match at WrestleMania XXX,<ref name=March10Raw>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 3/10: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Bryan "hi-jacks" Raw, Taker & Hogan back on TV, Cena vs. Wyatts feud continues|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_76923.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=April 3, 2014}}</ref> which Cena won despite interference from [[Luke Harper]] and [[Erick Rowan]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=WrestleMania 30 PPV results (Hour 2): Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Cena vs. Bray, big moment for Cesaro in the Andre Battle Royal, Shield vs. Outlaws|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_77520.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> In May at [[Extreme Rules (2014)|Extreme Rules]], Wyatt defeated Cena in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Steel Cages|steel cage match]], after repeated interference from the rest of The Wyatt Family and a "demonic" child.<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's Extreme Rules PPV results 5/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV – Bryan vs. Kane, Evolution vs. Shield, Cena vs. Wyatt steel cage match|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_78185.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=May 6, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506113832/http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_78185.shtml|archive-date=May 6, 2014}}</ref> Their feud ended at [[Payback (2014)|Payback]] on June 1, where, in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Last Man/Woman Standing match|Last Man Standing]] match, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Asher|first1=Matthew|title=Payback: The Shield Evolved, Cena stood tall and Brie dropped a bombshell|url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2014/06/01/21709566.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160212043832/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2014/06/01/21709566.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2016|website=slam.canoe.ca|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=2 June 2014}}</ref> Cena won the vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship at [[Money in the Bank (2014)|Money in the Bank]] on June 29.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oster|first1=Aaron|title=John Cena wins WWE world heavyweight championship at Money In The Bank|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2014/06/30/john-cena-wins-wwe-world-heavyweight-championship-at-money-in-the-bank/|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=5 November 2014|archive-date=2014-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105074408/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-06-30/sports/bal-wwe-john-cena-money-in-the-bank-20140630_1_john-cena-dean-ambrose-bank-briefcase|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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On the February 24 episode of ''Raw'', Brock Lesnar and his manager [[Paul Heyman]] voiced their complaints about Lesnar not being in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. Instead, the Authority offered Lesnar a contract to face anyone else at WrestleMania. They were interrupted by a returning [[The Undertaker|Undertaker]], who confronted Lesnar. While Lesnar signed the contract for a match at WrestleMania with The Undertaker as his opponent, The Undertaker accepted Lesnar's challenge by stabbing Lesnar with a pen and [[chokeslam]]ming him through a table.<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 2/24: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Chamber PPV fall-out, Hogan's return, Taker's return, stage set for WM30, more|url= http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_76606.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=April 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Guilot|first=Gene|title=Brock Lesnar poses major threat to The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak|url=http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2014/04/brock_lesnar_poses_major_threa.html|work=The Times-Picayune|access-date=April 2, 2014}}</ref> This set up a match where Lesnar would attempt to break [[The Streak (wrestling)|the Undertaker's 21–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|url= http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_77225.shtml|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 3/24: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Taker & Lesnar face-to-face, Cena gets spooked, no Bryan, WM30 developments, more|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|date=March 24, 2014|access-date=March 24, 2014}}</ref> Lesnar defeated Undertaker after executing three F5s, thus ending the streak.<ref name=SLAMresults/> In August 2014, Lesnar defeated John Cena at [[SummerSlam (2014)|SummerSlam]], capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the process.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hooton|first1=Christopher|title=WWE SummerSlam 2014 results: Brock Lesnar destroys John Cena while Stephanie McMahon steals the show|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/wwe-mma-wrestling/wwe-summerslam-2014-results-how-did-brock-lesnar-john-cena-and-roman-reigns-get-on-9675284.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=August 19, 2014|access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref> |
On the February 24 episode of ''Raw'', Brock Lesnar and his manager [[Paul Heyman]] voiced their complaints about Lesnar not being in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. Instead, the Authority offered Lesnar a contract to face anyone else at WrestleMania. They were interrupted by a returning [[The Undertaker|Undertaker]], who confronted Lesnar. While Lesnar signed the contract for a match at WrestleMania with The Undertaker as his opponent, The Undertaker accepted Lesnar's challenge by stabbing Lesnar with a pen and [[chokeslam]]ming him through a table.<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 2/24: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Chamber PPV fall-out, Hogan's return, Taker's return, stage set for WM30, more|url= http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_76606.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=April 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Guilot|first=Gene|title=Brock Lesnar poses major threat to The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak|url=http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2014/04/brock_lesnar_poses_major_threa.html|work=The Times-Picayune|access-date=April 2, 2014}}</ref> This set up a match where Lesnar would attempt to break [[The Streak (wrestling)|the Undertaker's 21–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=James|url= http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwerawreport/article_77225.shtml|title=Caldwell's WWE Raw results 3/24: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Taker & Lesnar face-to-face, Cena gets spooked, no Bryan, WM30 developments, more|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|date=March 24, 2014|access-date=March 24, 2014}}</ref> Lesnar defeated Undertaker after executing three F5s, thus ending the streak.<ref name=SLAMresults/> In August 2014, Lesnar defeated John Cena at [[SummerSlam (2014)|SummerSlam]], capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the process.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hooton|first1=Christopher|title=WWE SummerSlam 2014 results: Brock Lesnar destroys John Cena while Stephanie McMahon steals the show|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/wwe-mma-wrestling/wwe-summerslam-2014-results-how-did-brock-lesnar-john-cena-and-roman-reigns-get-on-9675284.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=August 19, 2014|access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref> |
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Latest revision as of 13:27, 28 November 2024
Royal Rumble | |||
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Promotion | WWE | ||
Date | January 26, 2014 | ||
City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
Venue | Consol Energy Center | ||
Attendance | 15,715[1] | ||
Buy rate | 467,000[2] | ||
Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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Royal Rumble chronology | |||
|
The 2014 Royal Rumble was the 27th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on January 26, 2014, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first Royal Rumble to be held in the city of Pittsburgh and the first WWE pay-per-view event held in the Consol Energy Center. The Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2014 event, the winner received a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX, marking the first Royal Rumble since 2002 where there was only one eligible championship for which the winner could challenge.
The event featured five professional wrestling matches, including one match on the kickoff pre-show. The main event was the titular Royal Rumble, which a returning Batista won by last eliminating Roman Reigns to become a two-time Royal Rumble winner. Other matches saw Randy Orton successfully defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena, Bray Wyatt defeating Daniel Bryan, and Brock Lesnar defeating Big Show. On the kickoff pre-show, Goldust and Cody Rhodes lost the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship to the New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn).
Considered one of the worst Royal Rumble pay-per-views of all time, the event is notable for the overwhelmingly negative audience response to the Orton–Cena and Royal Rumble matches. The fans booed Royal Rumble winner Batista in protest and chanted for Bryan (who was not part of the match) and runner-up Reigns, though the Bryan–Wyatt match was praised. The event marked the final WWE appearance of CM Punk, who abruptly left the company on bad terms the following day and retired from wrestling for the next seven-and-a-half years; he then joined AEW at The First Dance in August 2021, returned to WWE at Survivor Series in November 2023, and competed in his first WWE match in a decade at the Royal Rumble in January 2024.
The event received 467,000 buys, down 8.8% from the 512,000 buys for the previous year's event.
Production
[edit]Background
[edit]The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[3] It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The 2014 event was the 27th event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 26, 2014, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which opened in August 2010 replacing the former Mellon Arena, making the first WWE pay-per-view held in this venue, although the arena was originally going to host the 2012 Survivor Series.[4] On the final episode of Raw before the Royal Rumble event, Batista returned to WWE after an absence of nearly four years,[5] and the Royal Rumble match was scheduled to be his first return match.[6][7][8]
The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania Main Event.[9][10] For 2014, the winner received a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX. It was the first Royal Rumble since the 2002 event to only feature one world championship, as the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship were unified as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December 2013.[4][11]
Storylines
[edit]The event comprised five matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.[12][13]
A highly promoted match featured WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton defending the title against long-time adversary John Cena. At Survivor Series in November 2013, Orton successfully defended his WWE Championship against Big Show,[14] on the same night the World Heavyweight Champion John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio to retain his title.[15] After Orton's victory at Survivor Series, Cena came down to the ring with his title, and celebrated with the crowd as The Authority (Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Kane) looked on, much to Orton's chagrin.[14] The next month, at the TLC pay-per-view, Orton defeated Cena in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to unify the two titles into the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[16] On the December 30 episode of Raw, Cena was awarded a rematch for the title against Orton at the Royal Rumble, with the match stipulation of a traditional one-on-one singles match, except that it could be won by pinfall or submission only.[17] On the January 13 episode of Raw, Orton suffered an upset loss to Kofi Kingston and took out his frustrations by attacking Cena's father, who was attending the event at ringside.[18]
On the December 30, 2013, episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar returned with his manager, Paul Heyman, to announce his intentions to challenge the winner of the upcoming WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and John Cena at the Royal Rumble.[17] Lesnar then dared any wrestler who disapproved of that notion to challenge him, which was answered by Mark Henry, and a brawl would ensue, ending with Lesnar delivering an F-5 to Henry.[17] The following week on Raw, Henry challenged Lesnar again, only to have Lesnar dislocate his elbow with the Kimura lock in storyline, which led Big Show to come out afterwards to confront Lesnar.[19] On the January 10 episode of SmackDown, Big Show issued a challenge to Lesnar, Paul Heyman accepting on behalf of Lesnar and scheduling the match for the Royal Rumble event.[20]
Announced on WWE.com, Goldust and Cody Rhodes faced The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) for the WWE Tag Team Championship on the Royal Rumble Kickoff Show preceding the pay-per-view.[21] This match was made when The New Age Outlaws defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non-title match on the January 17 episode of SmackDown due to a distraction from Vickie Guerrero.[22]
On the October 28, 2013, episode of Raw, The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan) attacked Daniel Bryan backstage, which ignited a feud between the two.[23] The next month at Survivor Series, Bryan teamed with CM Punk and defeated Harper and Rowan.[24] The rivalry between Bryan and the Wyatt Family continued in December, as the latter defeated the former in a 3-on-1 handicap match at TLC,[25] with Wyatt attempting to recruit Bryan in the previous weeks.[26] On the December 30, 2013, episode of Raw, Bryan defeated Harper and then Rowan in a gauntlet match so that he could face Wyatt, whereupon Harper and Rowan interfered for a disqualification and beat him down, before announcing he would join the Wyatt Family.[17] However, on the January 13, 2014, episode of Raw (after Bryan and Bray Wyatt were defeated by Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso in a Steel Cage match), Bryan betrayed Wyatt and attacked him, culminating with Bryan hitting his flying knee finishing maneuver on Wyatt.[18] The following week on Raw, Bryan explained that his joining the Wyatts was a ruse to infiltrate the stable and bide his time to strike, and that he would wrestle Wyatt at the Royal Rumble event.[27]
Event
[edit]Role: | Name: |
---|---|
English commentators | Michael Cole |
Jerry Lawler | |
John "Bradshaw" Layfield | |
Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
Marcelo Rodriguez | |
Ricardo Rodriguez | |
Interviewer | Renee Young |
Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia |
Justin Roberts | |
Referees | Charles Robinson |
John Cone | |
Mike Chioda | |
Jason Ayers (Pre-show) | |
Rod Zapata (Rumble match) | |
Pre-show panel | Josh Mathews |
Ric Flair | |
Shawn Michaels | |
Jim Duggan |
Pre-show
[edit]Before the show aired live on pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show was shown live on YouTube and other digital platforms.[21] Backstage, the general managers of Raw and SmackDown, Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero, respectively, rolled the "Rumble Drum" to give wrestlers their numbers. Alberto Del Rio, R-Truth, The Real Americans (Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro), Kofi Kingston, The Great Khali, and Damien Sandow picked their numbers during the segment.[28]
In the pre-show, Goldust and Cody Rhodes defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn]). Towards the end of the match, Rhodes applied a dropkick to Dogg, but was unaware that Gunn blind-tagged in for the latter. From the back, Gunn entered the ring and delivered a Fame-Ass-er to Rhodes, to win the match and the titles for the Outlaws.[28]
Preliminary matches
[edit]In the first match on the pay-per-view portion of the show, Bray Wyatt faced Daniel Bryan. Early in the match, the referee saw Bray's Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan attempting to interfere, so he ejected them from ringside. During the match, Wyatt targeted Bryan's head, ramming it into the ring-post. Bryan later mounted a comeback with a running tornado DDT off the ring apron, planting Wyatt's head on the floor. Wyatt managed to escape Bryan's Yes! Lock submission hold by biting Bryan's hand. To avoid Bryan's running knee, Wyatt rolled out of the ring to the floor. Bryan then attempted a suicide dive but Wyatt caught him and executed a Sister Abigail into the barricade. After another Sister Abigail in the ring, Wyatt scored the pinfall victory.[29][30][31]
In the next match, Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman) faced Big Show. Lesnar attacked Big Show before the match started, and then hit him with a chair. When the match started, Big Show landed his KO Punch, but Lesnar picked up the victory after executing an F-5. Lesnar then continued to attack Big Show with a chair after the match.[29][30][31]
In the penultimate match, Randy Orton defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena. After both wrestlers failed to win despite executing their RKO, Attitude Adjustment, and STF moves, both wrestlers resorted to using their opponent's signature moves but still could not win the match. At the end of the match, Cena again trapped Orton in the STF submission hold, but the lights temporarily went out due to the arrival of The Wyatt Family on the ring apron. Orton took advantage of the distraction to drop Cena with the RKO to pin him and win the match.[29][31][32]
Main event
[edit]The main event was the Royal Rumble match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXX. CM Punk and Seth Rollins were entrants #1 and #2; they spent the longest and second longest time in the entire match (49 and 48 minutes respectively). Kane entered at #5 and targeted Punk, but Punk managed to eliminate him. NXT's Alexander Rusev entered at #6. Kofi Kingston, who entered at #8, had two feats of athleticism to escape elimination; first after he was deposited on the guardrail by Rusev (who caught him when Kingston was thrown out of the ring) he jumped back to the ring apron from the guardrail, and later while he was hanging on to the bottom rope with his feet, he fended off Jack Swagger by snatching Swagger's boot and hitting him with it.
Rollins' Shield teammates (Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns) entered at #11 and #15 respectively. Goldust eliminated his brother Cody Rhodes 24 minutes into the match, and was in turn eliminated by Reigns, who had also eliminated Kingston and unannounced entrant Kevin Nash, amongst others. Midway through the match with only Punk and the Shield left in the ring, Sheamus returned to WWE television at #17 and momentarily stopped the Shield's dominance. Los Matadores' mascot El Torito entered at #20, and managed to eliminate Fandango, before being eliminated in turn by Reigns. Pay-per-view commentator John "Bradshaw" Layfield was announced as entrant #24, making it the first time the JBL character had participated in a Royal Rumble. He was eliminated by Reigns while handing his jacket to fellow commentator Michael Cole, whereupon he resumed his commentator role for the rest of the match.
Batista entered at #28 and quickly eliminated Erick Rowan, Ryback and Alberto Del Rio. The final entrant at #30 was Rey Mysterio, who was eliminated by Rollins. When Ambrose tried to eliminate Reigns, Reigns retaliated by eliminating Ambrose, Rollins and Antonio Cesaro simultaneously, leaving himself, Punk, Sheamus and Batista as the final four. Though already eliminated, Kane returned to ringside and pulled Punk over the top rope to eliminate him, then executed a chokeslam through a broadcast table on Punk. Reigns eliminated Sheamus to set a new record for most eliminations in a Rumble match with 12, but Reigns was then thrown over the top rope by Batista, who won the match.[29][31][33]
Reception
[edit]The event sold out the Consol Energy Center with 15,715 people in attendance.[1] The official buy total for the 2014 Royal Rumble event was 467,000, which was a decrease of 8.8% from the 512,000 of the previous year's event, but a 5.4% increase from the 443,000 of the 2012 event. This contributed to WWE's PPV revenue of $13.8 million for the first quarter of 2014 compared with $15.1 million for the first quarter of 2013.[2] The 2015 Royal Rumble event received 145,000 purchases, a significant drop from the 2014 event, due to the fact that the latter was held prior to the launch of the WWE Network.[34]
The negative reaction of the fans attending the event in Pittsburgh was so great that it was reported as one of the major news items coming out of the show,[29][35][36][37] and described as the live audience engineering a "takeover" of the final two hours of the show.[36][38] During the title match between John Cena and Randy Orton, fans booed both men and chanted for Daniel Bryan, amongst other chants such as "this is awful".[39] The fans continued to chant for Bryan during the Royal Rumble match and so when Rey Mysterio (typically a fan favorite) was revealed as the final entrant (and therefore Bryan's possible participation in the match was ruled out) the fans booed Mysterio, chanted for Bryan and cheered Mysterio's eventual elimination.[33][39][40] The crowd continued to boo when there were three wrestlers left in the match, but when only Batista and Roman Reigns remained, they cheered for Reigns (a villainous character at the time) over Batista and later booed Batista's victory as the event drew to a close.[33][39][40] After the show went off the air, Batista (who had been presented on-air as a heroic babyface character) mocked Bryan and gestured his middle finger at the crowd.[40][41] Aaron Oster of The Baltimore Sun wrote Mysterio "received more boos than he's ever had in his WWE career", and in the case of Batista, "besides the fact that a supposed face was getting booed, the boos were stronger than any Rumble winner I can remember, including when Mr. McMahon won in 1999".[35]
Fans took to social media to display their displeasure towards the event. The BBC reported that regarding Bryan's exclusion from the Rumble match, "many people have also expressed anger on social media, with the phrases #RoyalRumble, #WWE and Daniel Bryan all trending on Twitter".[42][43] The Herald & Review described the reaction to the event as "WWE's PR nightmare", with the most "liked" comments on WWE's Facebook page within 24 hours of the event including "worst PPV ever", "the sound of WWE dropping the ball" and in reference to the WWE Network, "no Bryan, no buy".[44] Retired wrestler Mick Foley criticized WWE management on social media, stating, "Does WWE actually hate their own audience? I've never been so disgusted with a PPV".[42][43]
Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk of Canoe.ca rated the overall event as 6.0 out of 10. The Wyatt-Bryan bout was rated the highest at a "fantastic" 9.5 out of 10, the Cena-Orton bout, described as a "sloppy affair that won’t go down among the best work from either man" received 4.0 out of 10, while the Lesnar-Big Show encounter received 1.0 out of 10. They described the event as "uneven", and that "the disapproval of the fans at the Consol Energy Center at how the Royal Rumble match went down will be the lasting memory for anyone who watched the show".[29]
James Caldwell of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter rated the Royal Rumble match 2.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "well, that back-fired". He wrote that the "Rumble peaked about three-fourths through, then fell off the table at the end", and described the Rumble winner Batista as "out-of-shape".[33] Caldwell also rated the Bryan-Wyatt match 4.0 stars out of 5, describing it as "easily Bray's best WWE TV match, great chemistry from both wrestlers" in front of a "hot, invested crowd". Caldwell chose not to rate the Lesnar-Show match, commenting that it was necessarily short due to Show being injured going into the match.[30] Lastly, Caldwell rated the Orton-Cena title match 2.0 stars out of 5.[32]
Benjamin Tucker, who attended the event and is also from the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, rated the entire event 6.0 out of 10, saying "the show began great but slowly lost steam before ending in a roar of jeers". For the Rumble match, Tucker said that "the first two-thirds especially were exciting, with several wrestlers being spotlighted well", "until lower-level players kept coming out in the final half of the match". Tucker felt that "Roman Reigns was the star of the match, even outclassing Batista. Where Batista stumbled around the ring like... well, an old, retired wrestler, Roman Reigns looked like an absolute monster". For the opening match, Tucker felt that the "deliberate pace didn't hurt the match in the slightest. Instead, it allowed Bray to keep using his character while in a competitive, big match situation". For the rest of the matches, Tucker wrote that "Lesnar looked like a relentless beast", while "Orton and Cena put on their most lifeless performance ever together. There was very little story to the match" and "no creativity at all".[38]
The following year's Royal Rumble was similarly marked by an extreme negative audience reaction towards the Rumble match and its winner, which some media outlets described as being even worse than the 2014 event.[45][46] When Daniel Bryan was eliminated in the first half of the match, the crowd repeatedly chanted his name for the second half of the match while booing other wrestlers making their entrance to the match, including eventual winner Roman Reigns.[47][48] Reigns, who had been portrayed as a heroic character, was booed after winning the main event, even after he received The Rock's endorsement,[47] and The Rock was heckled for helping Reigns.[48] Also, many fans took to social media to display their displeasure at Bryan's elimination and the winner of the Rumble match.[48]
Aftermath
[edit]After the Royal Rumble event, CM Punk did not appear and was not mentioned on Raw the next day.[49][50] Despite being advertised for the SmackDown taping on Tuesday, he also did not appear in front of the live audience.[49][50] By Wednesday, WWE.com stopped advertising Punk for future events.[49][50] It was reported by the Wrestling Observer that on Monday prior to Raw, Punk had legitimately walked out on WWE when he informed Vince McMahon that he was "going home".[49][50] On February 20, McMahon indicated to investors that Punk was "taking a sabbatical".[51][52] However, in an interview published in late May, Punk indicated that he had retired; he was questioned "How does it feel to be retired at 35?" and replied with "It feels good."[53] Punk's WWE contract subsequently expired in July 2014, thus making the Royal Rumble his final on-screen appearance.[54]
However, on an episode of Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast released in November 2014, Punk said that he was suspended for two months after walking out on the company in January and that after the suspension ended, nobody from WWE contacted him. Punk also told that when he reached out to them for unpaid royalties, he was given a run-around by company executives until he was handed his termination papers and was fired by WWE on his wedding day with April Mendez (better known as AJ Lee) in June 2014.[55] The manner of firing was the last straw for Punk, stating that he would never return to WWE and that following a legal settlement with WWE there would be no further working relationship between them. The settlement included Punk giving WWE permission to sell his remaining merchandise.[56] Punk subsequently signed a contract to compete in the UFC in 2015.[57][58] Punk had not appeared on WWE programming since then, though he did have multiple appearances on WWE Backstage, a show broadcast by Fox Sports, who had a television deal with WWE.[59] However, on August 20, 2021, Punk returned to professional wrestling when he signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) during The First Dance edition of its weekly program Rampage.[60] After Punk left AEW in August 2023, he returned to WWE that November at Survivor Series: WarGames.[61]
The post-Rumble Raw on January 27 began with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon (The Authority) addressing the Rumble event and mocking the audience for not getting what they wanted. When Daniel Bryan came out and confronted them about not being inserted into the Rumble match, and then demanded to be inserted into the Elimination Chamber match and refused to leave the ring until they did, he was attacked by the Shield, but was then saved by John Cena and Sheamus. As a result, Bryan, Cena and Sheamus later teamed together to take on the Shield in a 6-man tag match in which all three members of the winning team qualified to participate in the Elimination Chamber match (in which Randy Orton would defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship) at the eponymous pay-per-view. During that match, The Wyatt Family interfered, causing the Shield to be disqualified and thus Bryan, Cena and Sheamus qualified for the Chamber match.[62][63] Cesaro and a returning Christian also qualified for the Chamber match by defeating Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger respectively.[64] For costing them the spots in the Chamber match, the Shield vowed revenge against the Wyatt Family, which set up a match between the groups at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.[64]
At Elimination Chamber, Randy Orton retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship by winning the Elimination Chamber match against Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Cesaro, Christian and Sheamus.[65] During the Elimination Chamber match, the Wyatt Family once again interfered to cause Cena's elimination from the match.[65] Also at Elimination Chamber, Batista defeated Alberto Del Rio, with the negative audience reaction to Batista continuing, even prompting the audience to cheer Del Rio. Meanwhile, Bray Wyatt was victorious once again with the Wyatt Family defeating the Shield.[65]
Because of the boisterous negative reaction, Batista responded to the audience on the February 28 episode of SmackDown, saying he didn't come back to be liked, only to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion, thus turning into a villain in the process.[66] The scheduled WrestleMania XXX main event was Orton versus Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[67] However, on the March 10 episode of Raw, Bryan and multiple fans "occupied" the ring and refused to leave, resulting in an irate Triple H agreeing to Bryan's demand for a match at WrestleMania, with the stipulation that the winner would be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the event.[68] At WrestleMania, Bryan was added to the match after defeating Triple H in the opening contest of the show, and would ultimately win the triple threat match, forcing Batista to submit and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[69][70] On May 12, Daniel Bryan announced that due to injuries, he would require neck surgery,[71] which he underwent on May 15.[72] Bryan was stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by the Authority on June 9 as he was not healthy enough to defend his championship.[73]
Cody Rhodes and Goldust failed to regain the WWE Tag Team Championship from The New Age Outlaws on the post-Rumble Raw, as the match ended in no contest after Brock Lesnar attacked Rhodes and Goldust.[62] The following week, they received another rematch for the titles in a steel cage match, which the Outlaws won.[74] The Outlaws' reign ended on the March 3 episode of Raw, when The Usos won the Tag Team Championship.[75]
Following Elimination Chamber, Wyatt feuded with Cena, with Wyatt wanting to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while also trying to turn Cena into a "monster".[76][77] Wyatt went on to accept Cena's challenge for a match at WrestleMania XXX,[78] which Cena won despite interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.[79] In May at Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match, after repeated interference from the rest of The Wyatt Family and a "demonic" child.[80] Their feud ended at Payback on June 1, where, in a Last Man Standing match, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match.[81] Cena won the vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank on June 29.[82]
On the February 24 episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar and his manager Paul Heyman voiced their complaints about Lesnar not being in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. Instead, the Authority offered Lesnar a contract to face anyone else at WrestleMania. They were interrupted by a returning Undertaker, who confronted Lesnar. While Lesnar signed the contract for a match at WrestleMania with The Undertaker as his opponent, The Undertaker accepted Lesnar's challenge by stabbing Lesnar with a pen and chokeslamming him through a table.[83][84] This set up a match where Lesnar would attempt to break the Undertaker's 21–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania.[85] Lesnar defeated Undertaker after executing three F5s, thus ending the streak.[70] In August 2014, Lesnar defeated John Cena at SummerSlam, capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the process.[86]
Results
[edit]No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[29] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1P | New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust (c) by pinfall | Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[87] | 6:58 | ||||
2 | Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) defeated Daniel Bryan by pinfall | Singles match[88] | 21:35 | ||||
3 | Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated Big Show by pinfall | Singles match[89] | 2:02 | ||||
4 | Randy Orton (c) defeated John Cena by pinfall | Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[90] | 20:54 | ||||
5 | Batista won by last eliminating Roman Reigns | 30-man Royal Rumble match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXX[91] | 55:08 | ||||
|
Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
[edit]- – NXT
- – Winner
Draw | Entrant | Order | Eliminated by | Time[8] | Eliminations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CM Punk | 27 | Kane[1] | 49:12 | 3 |
2 | Seth Rollins | 25 | Roman Reigns | 48:37 | 3 |
3 | Damien Sandow | 1 | CM Punk | 02:17 | 0 |
4 | Cody Rhodes | 11 | Goldust | 21:01 | 1 |
5 | Kane | 2 | CM Punk | 01:10 | 1 |
6 | Alexander Rusev | 3 | CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, and Seth Rollins | 07:06 | 0 |
7 | Jack Swagger | 6 | Kevin Nash | 12:24 | 0 |
8 | Kofi Kingston | 7 | Roman Reigns | 12:42 | 1 |
9 | Jimmy Uso | 5 | Dean Ambrose | 07:53 | 0 |
10 | Goldust | 12 | Roman Reigns | 12:00 | 1 |
11 | Dean Ambrose | 26 | 33:41 | 3 | |
12 | Dolph Ziggler | 8 | 06:09 | 0 | |
13 | R-Truth | 4 | Dean Ambrose | 00:28 | 0 |
14 | Kevin Nash | 9 | Roman Reigns | 02:36 | 1 |
15 | Roman Reigns | 29 | Batista | 33:51 | 12[2] |
16 | The Great Khali | 10 | The Shield (Roman, Rollins, Ambrose) | 00:24 | 0 |
17 | Sheamus | 28 | Roman Reigns | 28:22 | 1 |
18 | The Miz | 16 | Luke Harper | 12:09 | 0 |
19 | Fandango | 13 | El Torito | 03:02 | 0 |
20 | El Torito | 14 | Roman Reigns | 01:49 | 1 |
21 | Antonio Cesaro | 24 | 16:57 | 0 | |
22 | Luke Harper | 23 | 15:21 | 2 | |
23 | Jey Uso | 17 | Luke Harper | 04:32 | 0 |
24 | John "Bradshaw" Layfield | 15 | Roman Reigns | 00:49 | 0 |
25 | Erick Rowan | 18 | Batista | 05:05 | 0 |
26 | Ryback | 19 | 04:01 | 0 | |
27 | Alberto Del Rio | 20 | 03:00 | 0 | |
28 | Batista | - | Winner | 14:34 | 4 |
29 | Big E Langston | 21 | Sheamus | 02:49 | 0 |
30 | Rey Mysterio | 22 | Seth Rollins | 02:10 | 0 |
^ Kane was already eliminated when he returned to eliminate CM Punk later in the match.[29][31][33]
^ By eliminating 12 men, Roman Reigns broke the record of 11, set by Kane in Royal Rumble 2001.[29][31][33][91]
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