WWE Hall of Famer Believes Gunther Competing in the Royal Rumble was a Mistake

Did WWE stall the momentum of Gunther by having him compete, and subsequently not emerge victorious in the Men's Royal Rumble Match this year?

The Ring General did add another impressive name to his career killing resume this past Saturday afternoon when he defeated AJ Styles and sent him into what many would consider early retirement. This after already ending the in-ring careers of John Cena and Bill Goldberg within the past several months.

Later in the show, Gunther would enter the Men's Royal Rumble Match at from the No. 30 position and sell a leg injury that he sustained in the fight against Styles thought his participation. Ultimately, he was throw over the top rope by Roman Reigns and finished as the runner-up for the second time in his career.

On a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray spoke about Gunther working double duty this past weekend at the Royal Rumble, and stated that he would have voted no on The Ring General competing twice.

Bully Ray believes that WWE will never be able to bring up Roman Reigns' Rumble win this year without reminding the audience that Gunther was eliminated last, and that the lasting image of him from the show should have been his victory over Styles.

"Now, they're gonna show Gunther defeating AJ many times," Bully Ray said. "They're going to remind us of it. But you can't remind us of Roman winning without reminding us of who he threw out last. Gunther will always be involved in that reminder. You'll see the visual of Roman eliminating Gunther. You'll hear them talk about Roman winning."

Why did WWE let Gunther pull double-duty at the Royal Rumble?

While I can understand Bully Ray's perspective on Gunther not pulling double duty over the weekend, I can also understand why WWE felt this was the right direction to take to protect their WrestleMania 42 main event.

It's abundantly clear to me that WWE purposely booked Gunther as the final man in the Rumble with Roman Reigns to guarantee that The Tribal Chief would get a proper reaction from the audience when he won the match.

WWE didn't want a repeat of the 2015 Rumble victory when Reigns and The Rock were unmercifully booed out of the building. By placing Gunther as the last roadblock for Reigns to overcome, the company was confident that The Ring General ending AJ Styles WWE career earlier in the evening would be enough to secure the reaction for Reigns they were looking for.

Needless to say, it worked like a charm, and Monday night on WWE Raw, the company seemingly planted its flag on the night two main event for WrestleMania 42 between Reigns and CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. Had Reigns eliminated a fan favorite, his reaction might not have been as favorable as it was in Philadelphia.

The Latest On WWE, AEW, & More

WWE Superstar Believes He Could Wrestle Circles Around CM Punk

The Latest Discussions on Brock Lesnar's Opponent for WrestleMania 42

“Hangman” Adam Page Addresses Controversial Photo With Marty Scurll (Exclusive)

Bron Breakker Hilariously Reveals His Worst WWE Loss