What If The Royal Rumble RUNNER UP Main Evented WrestleMania Instead?

[@MrSantiZap]

PATREON: www.patreon.com/SantiZap to get my Raw, SmackDown and NXt reviews. You also get the podcast 3 days early!

[@CB-ci5ys]

Santi...you just made the list!!! 2019 Women's match was great. Charlotte was INSERTED BC Becky hurt her knee. Stephanie suspended her not Vince! Becky refused to see a doctor. Charlotte was inserted into it a week after the Rumble. Check your facts before you say anything.

[@antoniorivera8]

😢😢🎉​@@CB-ci5ys

[@bigschlongdave3771]

@@CB-ci5yshave you had a shower yet this month?

[@anthonybaggott9825]

Even weirder. Randy Orton was supposed to win the 2006 royale rumble originally, because WWE wanted to run Randy Vs Batista. But Batista getting injured, and Eddie passing away threw a curveball at those plans. WWE butterfly effects really are wild.

[@alexanderlevi9558]

Where's your source cause what I heard the plan was for Eddie winning the Rumble and challenging Batista at mania

[@josiahboatengmyrie]

@@alexanderlevi9558 eddie was supposed to face HBK

[@alexanderlevi9558]

@@josiahboatengmyrie Again. what's the source? Without a source all of this is just speculation. I can't provide mine cause many years have passed and i don't remember exactly where but what i heard was that Eddie was supposed to win that years Rumble and therefore face the champion (probably Batista) at mania

[@agampreet4230]

They had Eddie vs hbk for mania 22

[@painvillegaming4119]

@@alexanderlevi9558google it

[@NikolaiVid01]

Dean and Roman would've been a massive improvement for WrestleMania 32. They could've truly tested their friendship on the way to Mania over the WWE Championship and could've made a real good storyline out of the Shield break-up between these two. Sure, it's not the Shield Triple Threat, but since Seth got injured beforehand, this would've been the next best thing instead of rehashing the Austin-McMahon rivalry, but with an Austin everyone hated back then.

[@kidcarlomagno8855]

And also taking into consideration that Rollins still returned later that year and beat up Roman after his match with Styles at Extreme Rules, it would've made The Shield triple threat match at Battleground maybe happen in a bigger PPV and an even far better storyline than the one we had

[@nouration9685]

WWE really missed the opportunity with them. they could've done a Survivor Series 1998 repeat at Survivor Series 2015, have Roman turn heel (or Dean if you want) and win the title from Dean by cheating, then Ambrose wins Royal Rumble 2016 and challenges him at Wrestlemania, these two have the potential to have a great feud that would elevate both of them to main event status early on, Roman would be a bonafide main event guy rather than being constantly pushed into the highlight when no one cares about him, and Ambrose would get a more satisfying rise story by winning the Rumble and winning at Wrestlemania against all the odds (his heel former friend, the Authority, maybe even Brock Lesnar along the way), it would've been one of the more memorable Wrestlemania main events rather than one of the most forgettable ones.

[@pedrotorresboreli9708]

I'm late to the discussion. But I've seem somewhere the original card of Mania 32 and it had as the main event Rollins Vs. Reigns (and Sting Vs. Taker). So the idea of The Shield main event was already thrown around at the time, so Ambrose replacing Rollins was a natural choice. Idk what was their thinking on the HHH main eventing Mania instead of Ambrose, it only made sense storyline wise because they made the Rumble be for the title so they could force the authority bs into us

[@tegarlagajoebhaar8936]

Sam Roberts once visualized and imagined Santino Marella winning the 2011 Royal Rumble in one of his podcasts. In that sense he imagined Edge turning heel for a while, then Santino winning the World Heavyweight Championship subsequently moving to SmackDown. Then Edge announcing his retirement due to his lingering neck injury and walking out as a face once again. Sam Roberts called it “what could have been a great Mania storyline”.

[@GalaxyFrankie]

The dog vs kurt angle would have been a LEGENDARY match.

[@pepewr]

Imagine our dawg winning WWE Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania

[@infinite1497]

Nawh da dawg wining with dis on 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@WrestlingIsReal649]

Santino winning the royal rumble would have been legendary 😂😂😂

[@Tajonxv]

I wanted him to win so bad🤣🤣🤣

[@JAN2MARS]

For a few glorious seconds, I genuinely believed he was going to win before I was sent crashing back down to reality.

[@glycerine1282]

Santino winning the royal rumble would have been legendary😂😂😂

[@PhillyCheesesteak0101]

ONG. I actually wanted him to win

[@macewindu6853]

DA. If the winner was gonna be Del Rio, for that just make it Santino

[@skullvsgaming500]

It’s also interesting to mention that if Dean Ambrose won 2016 Royal Rumble he would have been Intercontinental Champion and WWE World Heavyweight Champion and would have made Dean Ambrose the 3rd wrestler to ever to do this in the WWE 1. Ultimate Warrior held both WWF Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championship (1990) 2. Triple H held both World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Championship (2002)

[@EllisWilliams-z6n]

I just realized, if Santino won the Royal Rumble, Edge wouldn't have broken his neck, damn that creates a whole ass new timeline bruh

[@alonsoarana5307]

I was just realizing it too, damn Chaos Theory is weird

[@TheRealLatvianMF]

Alberto didn't break edge's neck tho

[@EllisWilliams-z6n]

@@TheRealLatvianMF But a spear from his right hand man Brodus Clay did so yeah, domino effect

[@JayTheProtag]

Considering Santino almost won the world title a year later, him facing Edge at Mania would've been amazing

[@Ayeee155]

I don’t want it to be understated that in the world Santino won the rumble, he would simultaneously have the record for the shortest time spent in a rumble match and have been a royal rumble winner.

[@bajorekjon]

Isn't he also the only man to enter a women's royal rumble?

[@GMGWRESTlLING]

R-truth

[@ChancelotLive]

I've been thinking about suggesting a "What If?" series for your channel for a few days. Things like "What if BLANK had won the Royal Rumble?" or "What if John Cena's "Ruthless aggression" line hadn't gone over with the crowd/Vince?"

[@WWExMarigold]

Nothing about the actual product would have changed if John never said that line

[@mohammedsuhayl9190]

Roman would’ve surpassed the record as most main events

[@sullyqureshi676]

Last year Gunther EPIC choice

[@MrCat73]

I am pretty sure he already has the most main events at mania, he has 7 which i think is the most

[@virajprabhu9732]

​@@MrCat73hulk Hogan has the most wm main events

[@rishikeshnawathe3063]

​@@virajprabhu9732didn't hogan have like 5? Roman is on 7 niw

[@virajprabhu9732]

@@rishikeshnawathe3063 hulk hogan main evented 8 WM, triple h and roman have 7 .

[@HappyScaryMoxley]

Let's note that in the case of WM30, on top of dealing with The Authority and Randy Orton (who knows what would happen with Batista), Daniel Bryan would also be dealing with The Shield, as they hadn't implode yet at that time, so also Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose would be obstacles for Bryan there

[@ahmedel-wardany1233]

I think picking the runners doesn’t mean that they would have selected the same champion, take chris jericho for example, if he won the Royal Rumble it’s logical for him to still go an face cm punk , same for hbk in 2007 he still would select john cena

[@chrisfenix1993]

And what's funny is that from 05-2010, all the runner-ups were in world title matches at those years Manias

[@Arthurwoodsjr]

Video idea - best storyline ever year 2003-2023

[@Prestige_Productions_Official]

Already did it.

[@Arthurwoodsjr]

@@Prestige_Productions_Official when

[@jammydodger6932]

I loved it at the time but Triple H had no business winning the wwe title that late into his career and main eventing ‘Mania. At best a triple threat with Dean vs Roman vs Triple H would’ve been good.

[@STEWEENIE]

santino shouldve main evented. the cobra strikes and wins him the wwe championship

[@sasajka8836]

and retire edge

[@YeetMaster999]

4:05 but then Batista could’ve challenged JBL and evolution could’ve stayed as the biggest faction in all of WWE

[@tripperchandler7951]

🔥

[@WTF_whatthefootball]

Rey could've gotten a yes movement type thing to make the WrestleMania main event a triple threat.

[@imthedrummer92]

maybe not for every video, but for some you should do EVERY year of a RR or WM going back to ‘88 or whatever. would be great to hear ur takes on the golden era or attitude era

[@jakkattack7146]

The 2022 rumble was such a disaster that Charlotte was the women’s champion going into the rumble, they just didn’t have enough women to fill the field

[@unstablebrother]

The visual of Santino vs Edge is hilarious but honestly would've been more interesting. BTw on the other side of world title of Reigns vs Styles we would've got Nakamura vs Lesnar!

[@Freezerbride5]

This is really cool concept and interesting to think about if these matches had happened 😂

[@Metis1337]

That no way out match between kurt and taker is insanely good, holy crap I forgot how good it was

[@rubeng370]

You should do wwe superstars that never got to win the Rumble. - Kane - Jericho - Andre - Macho Man - Daniel Bryan Other dead superstars

[@CosmicDreamz139]

other notable mentions, kurt angle, aj styles, eddie guerrero and cm punk

[@chattchi2965]

Santi you should do this again for Elimination chamber setting up the main events or matches for that years Wrestlemania with whoever was the last to be eliminated winning

[@elcampeon212]

If posting every day was easy, everybody would do it, but they don’t! We gotta show Santi love for the consistency 👏🏽

[@clintdomingue]

In 2009, if HHH won the Rumble he wouldn't be a part of the Chamber match where he beat Edge for the title so presumably it'd be Edge vs HHH

[@frontful5698]

30:14 This is an upgrade because then we don't get Randy Orton vs The Fiend

[@redtube8667]

@20:52 Roman was absolutely an upgrade. The Orton/Bray story was rushed, and Bray beating Roman with Randy's help would be great groundwork for Tribal Chief Roman a few years later

[@danieldrayet2364]

Fpr context of the mania 22 match The time was cut due to mcmahon not actually wanting Rey to be champion, so if it was just randy vs kurt they likely wouldve gotten longer than 9 minutes

[@DcLN-]

Should have had Cena win in EC in 2013. ADR needed an opponent and ended up with Jack Swagger. Could have easily had that be Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry or even Ryback

[@evdomos]

Macho Man's reign of terror.

[@christophersmith210]

So if Jericho wins 2012 Rumble it could have been Chris Jericho vs Daniel Bryan. Which would have lasted longer than 18 seconds. However Bryan losing is what started the Yes Movement that eventually led to Mania 30 Main Event. Also in this time line; Jericho vs Punk feud doesn’t happen. This timeline also saves us from the boring Sheamus World title run.

[@KegOfMeat]

Roman and Bray also had history from their 2015 feud. Roman winning in 2017 as opposed to Randy would have also saved us from Taker vs Roman. Roman winning in 2018 instead of Nakamura would have also saved us from Roman vs Lesnar. Also you got the shows mixed up, it was Elimination Chamber and then Fastlane in 2021.

[@wright-k6o]

WM 34 had a great match card. The only thing wrong with that WM is the decision they made during the matches, and the build up. Other than that, This WM could have been a banger.

[@HeadyTommy]

I’m going to the royal rumble and imma have a santi poster. Be on the lookout for

[@Atrac1059]

If Roman wins the Rumble in 2014, he doesn’t spend the next 7 years struggling to get over.

[@bajorekjon]

10:42 sounds like an Italian Macho Man, yeah

[@honeynutreviews332]

Now do what if the first person eliminated was the winner

[@bayleyaustin2202]

Kurt Angle vs Big Evil Taker would’ve been phenomenal!! They had a knock down drag out brawl at No Way Out in 06. Imagine having Big Evil Taker who was just a giant wreck machine (and honestly more sadistic than the deadman taker) facing peak Angle!! If you need proof of how good it’d be then look at Taker vs Kurt vs Rock at Vengeance! Also, HBK vs Batista and Taker vs Cena (both in their prime) would’ve absolutely KILLED!!)

[@rubeng370]

WrestleMania 27 should have been Santino vs Miz for the WWE title would have been a big surprise Edge vs Cena for the World Championship in a singles match was something we could have seen

[@OwneOle]

Man. I wanted Santino to win so bad. He would have carried that main event as well.

[@MooBurger2]

Day 45 of asking for top ten wwe x aew dream matches

[@MooBurger2]

😅

[@JonMooman]

Yes

[@MooBurger2]

Hopefully he does it

[@sixmo6800]

Keep it coming

[@MooBurger2]

​@@sixmo6800 😂

[@jaydenlawrence8393]

And for Wrestlemania 40, if cm punk won the Rumble he would most likely vacate that spot due to injury. And that spot would've likely been given to someone who won a battle royal or someone like that, possibly cody. So still in the same boat there. And if Liv won, it would be Liv vs iyo sky. Which would be a downgrade imo.

[@petefreezybowling]

Taker vs angle at that no way out is arguably the greatest match in wwe history and it not being at mania is kinda criminal

[@dashtoroya2838]

Well angle vs taker was planned for that year's mania, with angle breaking the streak. But due to Guerrero's death and rey's rumble win, this was sacked.

[@daxmoney5011]

There’s a timeline we’re the main event of Wrestlemania 27 is Santino Marella vs the miz for the WWE championship.

[@HeelSection3825]

I can't even imagine what might have happened had Santino won the Rumble that year!?! Can you, Mr Santazip?

[@phoenixfirebird4221]

This would mean Roman would've won 4 Royal Rumbles so early on. 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2020... Holy sh_t.

[@Cold-Blooded.1]

Fun Fact: If HBK had won 2007 Royal Rumble, he also would have been a 3 time Royal Rumble winner

[@thomaskirk9572]

Bro I just had the best idea for one of your videos! Since you did the runners up for the royal rumble going against the same champion that the winner chose, you should also do the same for the other brand’s title where the had like an elimination chamber match or a battle royal or something like that to see who got to go against that brand’s champion, but see what it would have been like if the last person eliminated would have won!

[@Ludoed]

Notice: 2017 is not that simple. AJ challenged Randy for the spot remember? It's possible that Orton would've replaced Wyatt or The Miz in the EC match. I'm not sure Bray would've exit the Chamber with the title. Reigns vs Orton vs Cena at WM33 if Orton won EC and Cena beat AJ for the title shot? Wyatt/Orton vs AJ at WM33 if AJ won a match for the title shot agaist Reigns? Reigns vs Cena at WM33 if Cena won EC?

[@VishalSingh-st5xd]

Edge in no way out 2009: excellent!! Brock in rr and ec 2022 : worst decision😢😢. Austin/Rock and HHH/taker facing each other 99 times at wm: Wow!! Classic Roman vs Brock : not again 😭😭. It's not even hypocrisy, it's comedy 😂😂

[@tutin4090]

Love these kinds of videos. Fantasy scenarios are awesome :)

[@RomaroBrandon]

Chris Jericho should have won in 2012, Roman Reigns should have won in 2014, Dean Ambrose should have won in 2016, Shayna Baszler should have won in 2020, and Rhea Ripley should have won in 2021.

[@adamyesho4419]

Wow my guy...you keep coming up with the juicy content. Keep it up👍

[@TrossDaBoss-s4k]

Santi needs to do a video on every last man standing match imo it would be sick👍👍😐

[@rubeng370]

I loved Royal Rumble 2007 between Umaga vs John Cena

[@dancinginthemoonlight4640]

The pop santino got when the fans in the crowd thought he was gonna win 🔥

[@z3n_z]

I wish this video could have included EVERY Rumble winner (1988-2002 too). Santi missed out on noticeable ones. 1993- Randy Savage 2000- Big Show (We know the story 😂) 2002- Kurt Angle

[@JDTStagg-]

He’s said before that he can’t really include anything prior to 2003 since that’s when he got into wrestling, so anything prior would be subjective and not an accurate representation of his own opinions.

[@killeranime3591]

@@JDTStagg-I still would of rather see all the rumble winners instead of starting with the year he started watching wrestling and you don’t need that knowledge of watching it live to discuss this kind of video topic

[@yashraman5808]

26:38 he removed himself from that year's wrestlemania, not the royal rumble.

[@milanvdwaal]

Good video Santi! Love the content brother👊🏼

[@dustinfocus]

that last graphic is exactly why I want Roman to retain at WM ad Gunther v Roman to be the case at Survivor Series.

[@milinko395]

2007 is so damn hard. HBK vs. Batista and definitely Undertaker vs. Cena in 2007 at their prime would also be massive dream matches. I liked Batista vs. HBK in 2008, but I think they would also deliver hugely at WM23.

[@Aj_Ohtani]

Did the mental gymnastics for 2009: edge still wins the world title at no way out and since HHH won the rumble he wouldn’t compete for a title at no way out, probably getting replaced by Randy so WM 25 would be HHH vs Randy or Taker, the next biggest name in that EC match

[@TekimotoUnlimited]

The "I hear voices in my head" got me lol

[@Aaron_Era]

Bret Hart vs Randy Savage in 1993 is the biggest missed opportunity in WWE history

[@nikeneon3188]

There's even chance that Hogan wouldn't force himself in a title match right after Bret lost

[@harrylaingross5983]

Santi really is the most consistent guy in sports entertainment

[@TheCodyneShow]

Just realized in this video pretty much every super amazing memorable streak match atleast in my opinion, is against a member of evolution.

[@cobracommander6420]

17:36 I didn’t even realize that Daniel Bryan overcame Evolution, as Evolution weren’t together again yet

[@stephenredmond3739]

1:26 I just imagine brock lesnar f-5ing a dog over the top rope

[@santiagozuluaga1661]

Imagine santino got like a historic Daniel Bryan push with everyone behind him if he won the rumble

[@makeabrae]

Most of the time the runner up ends up in a title match anyway

[@jaydenlawrence8393]

I still think even in the alternate universe, Becky still would've been in that match at Wrestlemania 35

[@Tony-km6kg]

Yeah she was way too over to be left out that match

[@killeranime3591]

Yeah I can see with how over she was that Becky would pull a Daniel Bryan and get inserted into the main event

[@reimixo]

Taker vs Batista was a great match and feud, and later edge... It was great

[@randycrawford1132]

Big Show is good so that Triple Threat Match would be good, so it would be a semi good match because of HBK and Triple H

[@nickstewart3165]

Your failed triple H impression was definitely turning into the macho man Randy savage

[@ateamdestroyers1]

28:38 when he said Randy Orton my eyes slowly widen and i thought to myself holy shit WM 30 alternate universe

[@HumanKyubi]

5::50 "perk angle"

[@SlasherLink119]

In case that was a serious question, you are correct, cacti is the plural, also, I'm not sure whether or not you were joking, but your English is really good if that is indeed your second language... (I'm new to your channel, just got recommended your stuff for the first time last night)...

[@JJ-uu7dh]

dang Santi you never run out of video ideas when make them daily w KZbinr

[@zacharylewis2802]

Imagine if Roman won the 2014 Royal Rumble. The crowd would both hate it because he’s not Daniel Bryan and respect it because Roman was over and he was booked very strong in the Rumble.

[@burneraccountreal]

2024 Runner Up Update CM Punk vs Roman Reigns (If he never gets injured, if he does I guess it becomes Drew or still sticks with Cody somehow) Liv Morgan vs Iyo Sky

[@Eunos]

These would have been the Wrestlemania Title Matches Pre 2003. 2002 - Kurt Angle vs Chris Jericho. 2001 - Kane vs The Rock. 2000 - Big Show vs Triple H. (Considering Rocks feet touched first anyway there would be no need for the 4 way) 1999 - Stone Cold vs The Rock. (Funnily enough this ended up being the actual match as Austin beat McMahon who won the Rumble at St Valentines Day Massacre to earn a Mania tite shot) 1998 - The Rock vs Shawn Michaels. 1997 - Bret Hart vs Sid. 1996 - Diesel vs Bret Hart 1995 - British Bulldog vs Diesel 1994 - Shawn Michaels vs Yokozuna 1993 - Randy Savage vs Bret Hart 1992 - Sid Justice is the new WWF Champion There were no Prizes in the early Rumbles but just for fun I'll pretend there were. 1991 - Earthquake vs Sgt Slaughter 1990 - Mr Perfect vs Hulk Hogan 1989 - Ted Dibiase vs Randy Savage 1988 - One Man Gang I guess would be in the Tournament at WM 4. Fun topic.

[@supermariofreak7993]

Funny enough Daniel Bryan's first match on NXT during the first ever episode was against Chris Jericho who was the World Heavyweight Champion.

[@AshleyPancholi-o6c]

Cool video. However, think it would have been more realistic if you bookrd an alternative wrestlemania main event that would be more consistent with what the runner up would actually do. Fot example , for 2013 ryback wins and challenges rock really unlikely ofc, more likely he would have gone for the word title and won. Just replacing the royal rumble winner with the runner up is speculative and hypothetical at best.

[@Slickcactus]

31:38 in 2005 John Cena was a member of the Smackdown Roster prior to the Draft Night. I don’t believe he would have jumped to Raw to face Triple H considering JBL already ran through most of the top stars on Smackdown. (Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, Undertaker) and Smackdown needed an up and comer to dethrone him. As other alternatives, I could have seen Undertaker potentially dethroning JBL but I’m glad he started feuding with Randy Orton considering we got that epic rivalry. I understand the possibility of JBL vs Kurt Angle could have been an alternative but it wouldn’t have made sense to put 2 heels against one another. Looking back I feel John Cena was the right person at that time to win the WWE Championship off JBL. What we got: JBL vs John Cena Possiblities of what we could have had if John Cena won the rumble and decided to go to Raw (from a Smackdown perspective). JBL vs The Undertaker Or JBL vs Kurt Angle Or JBL vs The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle

[@makhicaples6608]

Santi video idea:Predict each entrant in the royal rumble like 1.Trick Williams 2.Chad cable u too u get to 30

[@sportwatcher16]

Imagine if Rtruth ever won the Rumble.

[@JWK237]

He still can

[@WR288]

Tbh Triple H should've won the 2008 rumble and faced Randy 1v1 at WM24. Putting Cena in there didn't do much beyond the moment itself which is basically hotshot booking.

[@fromomelastocarcosa3575]

The last thing the history books needed is another Mania main event between HHH and Orton. The one we got hardly had everyone clamouring for more.

[@WR288]

​@fromomelastocarcosa3575 Main event that year was Undertaker vs Edge and Triple H vs Orton hadn't happened at Mania before that point.

[@benrr7807]

WWE should have definitely pulled the trigger on Strowman in either 2018 or 2019 he was so over with fans no one wanted Brock to win back the vacant title in 2018 Strowman was done dirty

[@AquaLeaderJesse]

For Mania 28, i would stick to the original timeline just because i absolutely loved the punk/Jericho fued, and the story connected with me personally as i was also Straight Edge.

[@Riptide_gravey]

Santino winning would have been the most amazing match ever not because it would have been god but because we could all look back and be like remember when he won the rumble

[@levihayles1755]

I love how no one talks about that if dean won in 2016 he would of been double champions bc he was intercontinental champion at the time and he then wouldnt of challenged triple h for the title so triple h wouldn't force him to defend the IC title in a fatal 5 way so he would of walked in double champions

[@ahcahcahcahcahc]

The fact that Roman would’ve been a 3+ time royal rumble winner is mind boggling

[@MC-Clap-Yo-Hands]

Gunther's performance in the rumble made me stop rooting for Cody. The fact that we all knew he was gonna enter last and win didn't do him any favors against the guy who toiled away the whole match beginning to end. And I have a feeling its gonna end on a similar not this year too.

[@WTF_whatthefootball]

15:32 "once in a lifetime" You didn't sang the song 😢.

[@JacksonSmith-cs2rn]

I think if Cena won the 2005 Royal Rumble not alot changes as he probably still versus JBL anyway and you can still tell a story where Batista versus Triple H

[@tomfisher6422]

In 2009, the logical answer would be Triple H challenging the guy he originally defeated to take the title to set up the hypothetical main event.

[@JSRanimal]

I do think Bianca Vs Becky at 38 was better than Rhea bs Charlotte, but I would say that both are the 2 greatest Women’s matches ever