Darts and WWE fans could find themselves in dreamland if both sports were ever to collide.
And that is exactly what darts pro Paul Nicholson is dreaming of. The popularity of the sport is growing thanks in major part to the incredible exploits of Luke Littler. The 17-year-old became the youngest ever World Darts Champion and is set to defend his Darts Premier League crown this year.
The typical darts calendar year is jam-packed with many televised majors, invitationals, European Tour events and the essential ranking Players Championship tournaments. Formats have varied over the years, as well as qualifying criteria and field sizes. But almost every event is the standard 501 played over legs, so other possibilities are yet to be explored in the ever-growing sport.
And variety is the spice of life for Nicholson who has suggested adding a WWE flavour to captivate fans both old and new. Record Sport takes you through the ins and outs of this new tournament idea for the PDC to ponder.
What was said about the Darts Royal Rumble idea?
Nicholson said: “I think this idea for a Royal Rumble has been floated around for a little while now but nobody has done it before and it is still something the public really want to see. The thing about this is it is about audience interaction and it is about surprises because the person on the stage who remains there after winning, they don’t know who they are going to play next. And the audience haven’t got a clue who is coming.”
Darts expert Chris Hammer agreed, adding: “It is the element of surprise. I would like to see this more invitationally. So you could have a legend of the past. Imagine Phil Taylor’s music hits with three people left to come out. You’ve got Rob Cross up there and then bang, Phil Taylor comes out and he can get revenge for that World Championship final.”
What is a Royal Rumble?
A Royal Rumble is a knockout wrestling match created by Pat Patterson of the WWE in 1988. It typically involved 30 wrestlers and takes the form of a modified battle royal, where participants enter the ring at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. If a wrestler is knocked out of the ring they are eliminated. The last one standing wins the Royal Rumble.
How would the competition work?
It would be a one-night tournament played just once in the entire season. There would be at least 30 players involved starting with the top 10 players in the world. Then there would be a qualifying event for another 10 spots. Finally there would be 10 or so wildcards selected by the PDC and the chosen broadcaster.
The idea starts with two players on stage drawing number one and number two. They play each other in whatever format is chosen, whether it is 101, 201 or 501 or even 1001. They then play to a winner in that small match. If they play a best-of-three 501 match, for example, s soon as the match-winning double is hit, a big countdown clock in the arena starts ticking down.
As soon as it hits zero, the curtain lifts up and the next player’s music hits. Then there is another match – number four – and so on and so on until there is one player standing. An alternative way would be to have four different groups with a seeded player in each. The top seed would wait on the board for his first mystery opponent and then the winner would stay on. All four winners during an afternoon session would advance to the semi-finals and then final.
Where would Darts Royal Rumble be held?
Nicholson has previously stated that he would prefer the event be staged in Scotland or Ireland to make it “as mad as possible”. He feels England already has a congested darts calendar already. He added: “I think darts as a product is fantastic as it stands but the constant evolution of our sport does hinge on how we intensify things in the future.”
If possible he did not rule it out of being held at iconic venues down south such as the All Pally in London or Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Is Darts Royal Rumble likely to ever happen?
The tournament has been spoken about for many years but has filed to gain enough momentum to catch the interest of the PDC. The competition would not be a ranking tournament and would instead be a spectacle exhibition purely for the entertainment of match fans. Perhaps the lack of jeopardy is the reason it has failed to get off the ground so far. But never say never.