Recently, the WWE announced that WWE WrestleMania 41 Night One’s main event will be Punk, Reigns, and Rollins in a triple-threat match. They also announced that John Cena and Cody Rhodes will close out the weekend in Night Two’s main event. Neither of those matches features Jey Uso or Charlotte Flair, who both won the Royal Rumble in February to earn the “Main Event of WrestleMania”.
Why is this? Is it simply that they are not worthy? Are there too many big matches? Or is it just that winning the Royal Rumble does not mean what it used to? Let’s explore what could be the real issue behind what is going on with rumble winners.
What Even is the Royal Rumble?
The Royal Rumble began in 1988 as Pat Patterson’s brainchild. It was originally broadcast on the USA Network. The winner, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, walked away with nothing more than the bragging rights of being the first man to call himself a “Rumble winner.”
In 1988, that title meant nothing; it would take one more year for the event to garner its own Pay-Per-View status and become one of the company’s “big four” pay-per-view events.
In 1993, a stipulation was added to the event, naming its winner the WrestleMania Main Eventer, thus giving the event even higher stakes. Then WWF struck gold at a yearly gathering of all its biggest names, vying for the top spot on the biggest card of the year. The only exception to this rule came in 1999 and 2016, when the competitors battled it out for the WWE Championship.
Notable WWE WrestleMania Main Event Misses
Most recently, Jey Uso will not be in the main event; many believe Jey cannot carry a main event program in the ring (despite his nickname). Also, Charlotte Flair will not be in the main event of either night this year.
Fan reaction to the queen is not worthy of a main event role. From 2017 through 2019, only one winner was in the main event of WWE WrestleMania: Becky Lynch (2019). Before that, only four people had missed the main event over the previous 12 years.
Some of those not being tapped for the main event could be seen as unproven entities throughout the years, such as Shinsuke Nakamura (2018), Sheamus (2012), Alberto Del Rio (2011), and even Rey Mysterio back in 2006.
Whether it be not proven to carry the main event scene or just simply not a big enough name, we believe there is yet another statistic that stands out glaringly that could provide the real reason for the “main event winner” losing their position.
Big Names, Big Matches
Four names to know: Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Charlotte Flair, and Roman Reigns. The three men have been the WrestleMania opponents of ten of the last twenty male winners.
On the women’s side, Charlotte Flair has been the opponent for almost half of the winners all time (3 out of 8). This shows us that the bigger the name, the greater the chance of closing WrestleMania. It makes complete sense when you look at how top-heavy the WWE product has become through the years.
Whether it be Reigns, Rhodes, Punk, Flair, Lynch, or Cena, if you can build a story around one of these superstars, then the main event role is yours. This year, for instance, our Rumble winners will be facing Tiffany Stratton and Gunther. Stratton has not had the time nor the experience to close the show, and the feud between Stratton and Flair just has not gotten the response or traction the WWE was hoping for.
Many could argue that Gunther is more than worthy of carrying Jey to a main event position; however, with Punk, Rollins, and Reigns being on the card alongside Cena and Rhodes, we would need a third night to justify putting Uso and Gunther on last.
What is a Main Event?
When you ask most people what they would consider the main event, they would say whoever goes on last. For years, WWE has promoted that “Main Event” means the superstars are in a promoted match throughout the card. You could argue that opening the show could be a main event.
However, putting Tiffany Stratton versus Charlotte Flair on night one in the middle is far from a “Main Event” spot. If WWE wants to fix this issue, they should begin labelling the prize of the Royal Rumble as a “championship opportunity of their choosing at WrestleMania”.
It is a simple correction that we could see as soon as next year, since there are so many ways to get to the true “Main Event of WWE WrestleMania”.
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