Kevin Owens has spoken out about his preference for a longer and bigger Royal Rumble Match than the current 30-Man spectacular.
Traditionally, the WWE Royal Rumble has seen thirty men and women compete for the right to face the champion of their choice at WrestleMania. However, there have been instances in the past of smaller and larger Rumble matches that deviated from the orthodox formula.
Then inaugural Royal Rumble Match in 1988 only featured twenty superstars before being upped by ten the following year, while in 2011 the company staged the first-ever 40-Man Royal Rumble Match which was won by Alberto Del Rio. In 2018, the company upped the stakes to fifty men for their Saudi Arabia exclusive, Greatest Royal Rumble which saw Braun Strowman prevail.
Now, Kevin Owens has sat down with Fightful to take part in their in-depth ‘Inside the Royal Rumble’ feature to talk about why he prefers the longer form of Rumble match:
“They had done the 40-man Rumble one year, which I really liked. I wish we’d go back to that. The more people involved, the better. The longer it is, the better. If I were to pick any changes to make, I would add more people.”
While Kevin Owens has never won the Royal Rumble Match, he does have a long history with the event from eliminating AJ Styles in the latter’s debut, to defending the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in 2017 in a No Disqualification Match.
On January 31, 2021, the roles will be reversed when Owens challenges ‘The Tribal Chief’ for the blue strap in a feud ending Last Man Standing Match.
Credit for the interview and transcription: Fightful