This year’s Royal Rumble did a lot of things right, not least the men’s and women’s rumble winners and the whole Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Bloodline segment. What also caught fans’ attention was Bray Wyatt’s televised in-ring return since his comeback to WWE.
He battled LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match, which saw the beaten former Impact talent also get attacked by Uncle Howdy in a post-match angle. Many were curious about the match stipulation as it was a never before seen encounter, and apparently, it was done to fill the WWE coffer quite a lot.
Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer revealed that WWE was paid a million dollars by Mountain Dew for this spectacle:
“Well, you know the thing is that Mountain Dew one, that was a million-dollar deal. That’s significant money if you can get deals like that. It was a really crappy match though and they kept it short. I guess Pepsi has to decide whether it’s worth it to spend a million dollars to sponsor a crappy match, maybe it is. I don’t know, on a pay-per-view that was seen by two million people.”
The match occurred in a street fight setting with black lights surrounding the ring. Mountain Dew’s sponsorship was also incorporated, which included a giant company logo on the canvas.
What did you think of Bray Wyatts match at the Royal Rumble?
