Backstage News On Why WWE Had Roman Reigns Enter The Royal Rumble At #30

As noted, Steve Austin recently discussed Roman Reigns entering the Royal Rumble at #30 on his podcast. While the move garnered the ire of many fans, Austin called it "a fantastic idea" as it made Randy Orton winning more of a surprise.

Dave Meltzer also recently noted in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Reigns entering the Rumble at #30 was designed to get Orton as big of a face reaction as possible, even though he's a heel. It managed to kill two birds with one stone, as in addition to getting Orton the big pop, it also set up Reigns' upcoming WrestleMania match with The Undertaker.

"Everything made sense for me, so I enjoyed the s–t out of it," Austin said of Reigns entering the Rumble in the last spot. "A lot of people s–t on Roman Reigns in the 30 spot. I popped because I'm thinking, 'dude, here's the setup, guys. Something's up.' And then, [Chris] Jericho gets out, so there's the three [remaining entrants, Reigns, Randy Orton, and Bray Wyatt], so you got two heels and a baby. You know it's going to be a double-team. You know Roman Reigns is somehow going to defeat two heels again and he's going to win the f–king Rumble. Setup.

"I smelled a rat from the beginning and I just couldn't believe what I was going to end up seeing. He goes to charge Randy Orton, spear, and, of course, Randy Orton connects with an RKO. Boom. Over the top rope. Randy wins. I thought Roman Reigns in the 30 spot was a fantastic idea and great booking."

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

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