A scrapped pitch that would have seen a different winner in this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match has been revealed.
Now in its third season, the Netflix series WWE Unreal offers a behind-the-scenes look at the writers’ room, among other elements of the company and its stars.
With season three covering John Cena’s retirement year through to WrestleMania 42, details have emerged for a scrapped pitch involving Bron Breakker at the Royal Rumble.
During a writers’ room discussion on Bron Breakker winning the men’s Royal Rumble match, a WWE VP Creative Writing, Jonathan Baeckstrom, states:
“Bron Breakker winning the Royal Rumble and going into WrestleMania as the challenger feels like a more organic build for him.”
The video then cuts away to Triple H addressing the Netflix camera and sharing his concerns over pushing Breakker, saying:
“The risk with Bron Breakker is everything from, can he actually do it? Can he mentally handle it? Will fans accept it? You have to really be sure.”
Ryan Ward, a WWE VP Creative Writing, along with Baeckstrom would consider whether it would be the right move for Breakker to win the title, with Triple H interjecting:
“(It feels) like you’re shoving him down their throat.”
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Even with the suggestion of “making a shocking moment out of it”, Triple H would reiterate his belief that it would be something forced upon the fans.
Breakker would enter the men’s Royal Rumble at number 2 only to be attacked by a masked man, later revealed (at Elimination Chamber) to be Seth Rollins, leading to an elimination at the hands of Oba Femi. Roman Reigns would win the match, seeing him head to WrestleMania 42 to face CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship, a match The OTC would win.
Having been sidelined with a hernia that required surgery, Breakker would return at WrestleMania 42, attacking Rollins during his match against GUNTHER.
Overexposing A Top WWE Star
The risk of overexposing a star to the fans is something that WWE creative no doubt has to balance on a frequent basis and there’s likely a narrow line between what constitutes “just enough” and “too much”.
Fans may recall that The Rock was pushed heavily during his Blue Chipper days, with the star receiving “Rocky sucks” chants during that period in his career. His fortunes would be reborn as he ditched that gimmick and began walking the path of the legendary star that he is known as today. For the real-life Dwayne Johnson, his career has likely exceeded the expectations of many, seeing him become a legitimate Hollwood star, a business powerhouse and a member of the TKO board of directors.
Later, another member of The Bloodline would find themselves arguably overexposed, with Roman Reigns being pushed as a top star, much to the chagrin of a corner of the WWE fandom. Again, Reigns would be remolded as the Head of the Table, seeing a far more widely-regarded iteration of the star and a popularity that continues to this day.
It appears to be something of a balancing act when it comes to how WWE creative visualizes the future of a star and getting the fans to accept whatever the story may be. Doing too much too quickly, however, can lead to a star never achieving their potential, or at least finding that it’s a lot further away than anyone imagined.
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