#1 A lack of surprise entrants
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Before the Rumble PPV started, 22 or the 30 entrants had announced their participation in the Rumble match. This was done to build up the match as a contest with several theoretical clashes between Superstars and legends. The downside to this direction, however, was that it limited the possibility of surprise entrants in a major way.
With so many announced entrants, it was necessary that WWE capitalise on possible surprise entrants to really make the match feel more exciting. Don’t forget, the whole surprise factor is a major component of the Rumble match itself. The less surprising or more predictable a match is, the less fans will enjoy the match.
With eight spots available for surprise entrants, there was hope that WWE would save at least a few of those for genuine surprises that would’ve added to the match. Instead, the surprise entrants were, on the whole, disappointing.
Tye Dillinger entered at #10, but his appearance had been built up for several weeks, so it more of an expectation than it was a surprise. Kalisto was the first surprise entrant, but his appearance in the match was insignificant. The same could be said for James Ellsworth, Apollo Crews and Enzo Amore, all of whom were demolished with little resistance.
In a previous article, I have made suggestions for performers who should appear in this Rumble match as surprise entrants. I had argued that Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Gillberg (yes, Gillberg), would’ve all been ideal surprise entrants to add more drama and excitement (and in Gillberg’s case, humour) to the match. Instead, we got 3 guys that got manhandled very easily.
So instead of adding any big stars as surprise entrants (even if they were unexpected, like Kurt Angle or Finn Balor), WWE went down the disappointing path by adding surprise entrants that no one cared about in the first place.
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