With only a select few spots available in the Men’s or Women’s Royal Rumble every year, there is always debate about who should or shouldn’t be left out of the matches. That same debate occurred for the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE, though it mostly pertained to talents on “WWE NXT” or AAA. But as per usual, two-time Hall of Famer Bully Ray had a slightly different take on the matter than everyone else.
On Monday’s episode of “Busted Open Radio,” Bully declared there was one person that would’ve been left out of the Men’s Royal Rumble match, and it was none other than the man who entered the match last and was eliminated last.
“If I would’ve had say, I would’ve voted no GUNTHER in the Rumble,” Bully said. “I would want the last people, I would want the last thing for the people to remember is the elimination of AJ…the defeat of AJ. Now, they’re going to show GUNTHER defeating AJ many times. 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. So GUNTHER will always be involved in that reminder.
“You’ll see the visual of Roman eliminating GUNTHER, but you might not hear GUNTHER’s name, you’ll hear them talk about Roman winning. When they remind us about GUNTHER and AJ, they’re going to remind you that GUNTHER made AJ pass out, and AJ had to retire. I just don’t…now, what I did love was the uncertainty came out at 30, because when GUNTHER came out at 30, I did say to myself ‘Holy s**t.’ What did we talk about last Friday Dave? We talked about GUNTHER has the opportunity to retire AJ and win the Rumble. Wow, what a night that would be for GUNTHER. So they definitely had me thinking about that.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
