>>12922968>why I should get invested in the royal rumbleThe Rumble is for a shot at Mania. It's not just about the shot it's about going down in history by headlining Mania, also the prestige and history of winning the Rumble itself. You win the Rumble then the title, there's no asterisks about whether you've earned the title in kayfabe (unless you cheat), it's not a fluke win.
>getting a title shot is valuelessChampions have the discretion to offer additional defences, they always have. They (usually) can't just offer up a Mania shot by themselves for no reason. In kayfabe there's a bigger payday with a PPV match than TV, a bigger payday with Mania, a champion has to (or used to have to, pre Roman) make regular defences on an undefined basis. If you goad the champion into giving you a title shot that's always been acceptable, if you don't, tough luck better win it another way. Fighting champion booking usually means the guy with the title will take on all comers.
It's like saying what's the value in any open challenge format, because anybody can walk up and get a shot so what's the point, and Tony's done plenty of them.
