IC25's New Column - Why I Loved the 2011 Royal Rumble

[IrishCanadian25]

Last week, I handicapped the 2011 Royal Rumble, Las Vegas style. Had you gone with my odds (and if professional wrestling was something Vegas actually paid out on) you'd have made some money in all likelihood. Alberto del Rio was my #3 favorite at 7-1, with only John Cena and John Morrison getting better odds. Between this and my NFL playoff picks, I should really move to Nevada and retire as an Irish version of Robert deNiro's Sam "Ace" Rothstein from the film Casino.

For all of us "internet wrestling nerds" out there, myself included, the Royal Rumble can be the best show of the wrestling year. Often better than Mania. It is unpredictable, we don't see anything like it the rest of the year, and there is the "game within the game" trying to predict the order of entry into the match. We realized last night at the #27 entry that a 40-man Rumble is awesome because there was till so much match left.

Yes folks, nights like last night do for nerdy wrestling fans like us what Xena: Warrior Princess did for lesbians in the 90's. It gives us something to discuss, debate, watch, analyze, and above all else, post blogs about. Everything I have is positive.

1. Every one of the final combatants was 33 years old or younger. Proof the youth movement is alive and well, Alberto del Rio, Randy Orton, and Wade Barrett are all representative of the focus the WWE is placing on youth. It's sometimes hard to remember that Orton, while at this point certainly a seasoned veteran, is only 30. del Rio is 33. Barrett is 30. In the title matches, Dolph Ziggler is also 30 and so is The Miz. The elder statesman of the main eventers right now is probably Edge, who is 37 and still looks great.

2. We forgot - for a split second - that he's kind of a jobber. When Santino emerged and hit del Rio with the Cobra, impossible as it seemed, for a split second you had to wonder if Santino was going to take the thing. It would be plausible for the anonymous GM to congratulate Santino but force him to defend the Wrestlemania title shot against del Rio because of the way he'd won it. Even still, the ultra-popular unibrowed tag champion once again showed an unparalleled ability to make us forget that he's been a jobber much of his career, and yet remains as over as almost anyone.

3. Once again, the "throw-away" title matches were excellent. Royal Rumbles are full of WWE and World Title matches that few bought into as legit challenges. Yet last night, Miz and Orton and Edge and Ziggler put on two very solid and well worked title matches. Ziggler showed me a lot last night, including his ability to sell well in big spots. WWE clearly trusts him enough to place him with Vickie Guerrero, the 1-ton human heat magnet.

4. The right guys showed up. I know people were anticipating the sound of either "King of Kings" or "Time to Play the Game" last night, especially with S(h)eamus in the ring, but it didn't happen. That's ok, because the anticipation is back. Everybody wants to see HHH make his one final run before morphing into a full time executive. Myself included. Last night would have been terrific, except that people DID expect it to happen. So I'm glad it didn't. But Booker T and Nash I didn't see coming (I avoided the spoilers for this very reason) and was pleasantly surprised. WOW did Booker T looks terrific. Nash looked worn in the ring, kind of out of sync, but Booker looks like he's never missed a step.

5. Wrestlemania makes sense. del Rio winning the Rumble was brilliant, because that's the only thing that could possibly give the World Title match the cred it needs to stand up at Wrestlemania. Outside for Edge vs Christian, the World Title match (if the belt stays with Edge) would have no sensibly built up heat without the Rumble as a factor. I am, of course, TERRIFIED that over-REY-ted Mysterio is going to win the World Title between now and Wrestlemania to give the feud with del Rio a bigger stage, but even if that happens, the rest of the card is shaping up really well. Cena / Miz, Orton / Punk, HHH / S(h)eamus, Barrett / Undertaker, Nexus / Corre, Edge / del Rio OR Edge / Christian and del Rio / Mysterio. Throw in an IC Title defense and a US Title defense, maybe a tag title and women's title (Awesome Kong, anyone?) match, and you have a stacked card after all.

Give the WWE credit - they saw the writing on the wall, albeit later, and minted several young new starts VERY quickly to make the current product viable in the long term. They made short-term sacrifices for long-term gains, which is the same thing they did in the mid-90's when they said goodbye to Hogan, Savage, Luger, Hall, Nash, etc. and cleared a path for Austin, Rock, Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero, Lesnar, etc. It may not translate into a huge Wrestlemania buyrate in 2011, but suddenly my plans to attend Wrestlemania 30 at Madison Square Garden feels awesome knowing there will be a mess of piqued talent on that card. It's a good time to be a wrestling fan.

To discuss what you thought of the 2011 Royal Rumble, please visit the Wrestlezone Forums! See all of the WWE pay-per-view discussion here: http://forums.wrestlezone.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

If you'd like to e-mail me, please feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]. I will try to read whatever I can, and maybe even use a few outstanding e-mails in my weekly column.

All aboard the road to Wrestlemania!

Chris "IrishCanadian25" Fitzpatrick

Wrestlezone Forums Moderator

 

[TheOrtonRevolution]

I would say I was a bit surprised Del Rio won. The good kind though. Now that he'll feud with Edge or Miz, assuming the title doesn't change hands, it'll propel him into a deserved main event spot.

 

[Mindshatter]

I was so pleased Del Rio won. When they got down to the final three I was praying for ABO(Anyone But Orton). And for a moment I was shocked because I thought Santino was going to throw him out which normally happens when a wrestler assumes he won the rumble. Totally deserved for Del Rio.

 

[mikeyboy]

The rumble was much better than i expected, im not a Del Rio fan but it was a pleasent suprise that he won. Nash and Booker appearing was also a suprise . I have not watched wwe much in the last year but they seem to be improving , the last couple of ppvs have been good , i may need to tune in more.

 

[The Black Album]

I loved every thing in the rumble just like I loved every thing in this column. Every thing was well said and you had great points. One thing I do kind of dis-agree with is the fact that you're terrified that Rey might win the belt setting up a Del Rio vs. Mysterio match at 'Mania. I, for one, would actually enjoy that very much. Who has Del Rio been feuding with since his debut in Mid-August? Mysterio? Who is his nemeis? Mysterio? Who would he love to take down at the biggest stage of 'em all? Mysterio. His arch-rival since his debut and it would set up a very nice conclusion to the feud if Rey were to win the belt at Chamber or anywhere else.

I'm not a Mysterio fan in the SLIGHTEST but if want something that'd make the most since in your company's "Super Bowl" why not pit your fiercest rivalry in a winner takes all type of match up in your Super Bowl? I think it makes perfect since and would totally love to see Del Rio and Mysterio hook horns at 'Mania.

As Diesel and Booker T's returns last night, I marked like fuck for Booker T as he is one of my favorite wrestlers ever. Booker, like you said, looked like he's never missed a step. Besides Del Rio winning it, that had to be my favorite moment of the night. Then came Diesel with his jet-black dyed hair and beard coming in, booting Mysterio, fucking shit up until he was eliminated. I popped a little bit for him just for the fact he came out as Diesel with the black hair instead of an grey-hair Kevin Nash. All I know is that Booker better have an expanded role in WWE weather that be an agent, commentator, or a wrestler. That's all I want and need.

Youth Movement was definitely in effect last night as like you pointed out, everyone was 33 or younger in the final four. Love that they're developing the future instead of the same old guys.

And gosh, they had me at the edge of my seat in the last segment where Santino rolled back in the ring and hit the Cobra on Del Rio. I was like "No, no, fuck no!" and then Del Rio eliminated his ass and capped off a good ass night for me from a fan perspective. You had your suspense in the Santino/Del Rio segment. You had your shocker in the returns of Booker T/Diesel. You had your overall solid wrestling matches in the title matches which basically means the Royal Rumble was a VERY successful event last night and an awesome way to start off 2011. Let's hope that WWE can thrive off this momentum. The Road To Wrestlemania is going to fun, boys and girls.

 

[parksy69_2004]

Glad to see Del Rio won, at first, but then I saw Santino emerge from ringside and was rooting for him. Oh well, better luck in the future Santino. I could see Santino as an IC champ someday.

 

[Azogan v.2.0]

First, i enjoyed the royal rumble and i enjoyed this editorial as well, I was pleasantly surprised that Del Rio won, but in a good way< because it was unexpected and refreshing to know that the WWE continues with the youth movement

Again< i agreed that for a split second I DID think Santino was going to win, and i marked out whn he hit the Cobra! Also love the point that he is a "jobber" that probably get that is and has been over for so many years now!

Also agreed HHH return was RIGHT to not happen at RR< because everyone expected it

I personally marked out for Booker T, Nash didnt do it for me, but it was still nice to see

Lastly, when Cena maked the final four i thought for sure he was going to win, I HAD A FEELING ADR would win but again Cena was in the match and im sure everyone figured it was going to be Cena/Miz at WM anyway so great to start the build up for that match and solidify the world title main event! Great article!

In addition< i think you will probably see Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio at WM, i think that would be the best match for Dolph coming off a great performance at RR. I'm not creative< but i think that would continue to capitalize on his push! IMO

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Great article IC, I agree with it wholeheartedly.

I did for a moment think Santino may win...implausible as that sounds. When the Cobra connected time, I was like "He can't.......surely not..." but I am still surprised Del Rio won overall. My money was on Morrison, who seemed the more logical pick with his history with The Miz. Gotta give the WWE credit for the surprise though, I am very interested to see where they go with Del Rio from here until wrestlemania...surely he will face Edge for the title, leaving Miz to face Cena...unless we see the title switch hands at EC.

Also agreed on the surprise returns. Whether WWE did this to keep Booker and Nash away from TNA and their imminent MEM-re-run storyline I dont know, but the crowd reaction to both these legends must give Vince food for thought regarding whether they are to be one-night-only deals. I would personally like to see both given 1 last run to pass on their experience to the younger talent in the locker room, some of whom will look up to Nash and Booker as heroes from their youth.

You are right that this is an exciting time to be a wrestling fan, the new talent are beginning to develop nicely and within a couple of years we could have a whole new main event scene with young, hungry and talented wrestlers with their best years infront of them.

I would definitely give the RR a good rating, it was one of the better Rumbles in recent years thats for sure. The only downsides I would say is that Kane should have come in earlier, Morrison should have stayed in longer and I would like to have seen Diesel stay in for a bit longer too.

Also, I was a bit disappointed that we didnt see a Triple H return, but with 2 former stars returning already, I think it may prove a wise decision by WW to save Hunters return for a Raw or SD, where it would get more focus, and wouldnt be spoiled by the other returns, and the Rumble match itself, giving all the focus to the Game.

 

[JGlass]

Great article IC, really does the PPV justice. I think that Edge-Ziggler match will wind up being one of the top 10 matches of the year, at least in the WWE.

The Royal Rumble match was amazing this year. I saw a lot of people complaining about how "the magic was gone," and in all honesty, it's a pretty fair argument to make. We all know that the Santino Marellas of the world aren't going to win the Royal Rumble, but as you said, for a split second we forgot, and just like that the magic is back.

 

[justinept]

You hit on some positives, but you miss ALL the negatives of this ppv. And there were a ton of those ... anyone unwilling to admit that this ppv was massively flawed just wasn't paying attention. Even the live crowd acted as if the night was a dud.

1) The Santino ending actually ruined the Rumble match, in my opinion. People keep saying that it was a great finish - and I'll admit that it was somewhat interesting - but the planned finish with Santino sneaking in and almost stealing the RR caused the final four wrestlers to give a very anti-climatic "ending." It was as if they said, "Alright. We have the Santino thing to fall back on, so let's not worry about getting any kind of reaction for Del Rio until he eliminates Santino."

2) Punk dropping Orton and the Miz dropping Cena ruined the chance of a Punk/Cena WrestleMania match. I'm going out on a limb and speculating that this was done to keep the Nexus heel. Has anyone noticed that the crowd continually chants for CM Punk when he's in the ring? Though I can't prove it, it isn't hard to imagine that those are the same fans that boo Cena - and thus, the cheers would intensify in a match between Punk and Cena.

3) No need to have Wade Barrett or CM Punk in the ring at the same time. The WWE could have had Barrett/Cena and Punk in there together at once, but they failed to do it. I wasn't a fan of that booking.

4) The misuse of John Morrison was almost criminal in my eyes, and was the single-worst booking decision of the Rumble match. This guy came into the match as an odds on favorite in the eyes of the fans ... regardless what the WWE thinks of him --- my guess is that they do think he'll eventually be a big star --- they WWE should have used this to create drama around Del Rio's win.

As it was - Morrison was used for one unbelievable spot - a spot that was so risky, btw that everyone watching KNEW he couldn't possibly win the match after executing it (They wouldn't risk the winner being eliminated on a botched spot like that.) Morrison was then used for fodder in the Nexus domination.

5) The final four SUCKED. it's great the WWE is in a youth movement, but the final four last night lacked drama for one huge reason. No one wanted to see any of the four guys win. The faces, Cena and Orton are stale in the eyes of the viewer. The crowd wasn't behind either of them. The other guys, Del Rio and Barrett are both heels and the crowd didn't want to cheer for the heel. When there's no one worth cheering in the final four, it creates apathy. And that is why you got such an apathetic reaction from the crowd when Del Rio won.

...Does anyone think the crowd would have gone nuts if it was down to JoMo and Del Rio? A lot of ppeople thought JoMo was gonna win ... a lot of people wanted him to win. By keeping him in there until the end, the WWE could have used that to garner a much, much bigger reaction when Del Rio won.

6) The continual teasing of a Cena/Orton showdown. They teased it on Raw a few weeks ago when Cena said that him and Orton was a match made for WrestleMania. The crowd booed. Last night, these guys went nose-to-nose TWICE, and both times the crowd yawned. There was ZERO EFFING REACTION. The WWE was counting on these two guys to carry the drama of the final four, and they fell flat.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

1. Every one of the final combatants was 33 years old or younger. Proof the youth movement is alive and well, Alberto del Rio, Randy Orton, and Wade Barrett are all representative of the focus the WWE is placing on youth. It's sometimes hard to remember that Orton, while at this point certainly a seasoned veteran, is only 30. del Rio is 33. Barrett is 30. In the title matches, Dolph Ziggler is also 30 and so is The Miz. The elder statesman of the main eventers right now is probably Edge, who is 37 and still looks great.

I'm not sure as to how it led to you enjoying the Rumble more but it's surely a good sign for the WWE. They have a roster at this point that can last for the next 3-4 years without requiring another guy to be pushed.

2. We forgot - for a split second - that he's kind of a jobber. When Santino emerged and hit del Rio with the Cobra, impossible as it seemed, for a split second you had to wonder if Santino was going to take the thing. It would be plausible for the anonymous GM to congratulate Santino but force him to defend the Wrestlemania title shot against del Rio because of the way he'd won it. Even still, the ultra-popular unibrowed tag champion once again showed an unparalleled ability to make us forget that he's been a jobber much of his career, and yet remains as over as almost anyone.

I agree. This was a legit markout moment regardless of Santino's status. Santino is a great example of a guy who is satisfied with the fact that he cannot be a main eventer and that fact is not deterring him from having a successful career.

3. Once again, the "throw-away" title matches were excellent. Royal Rumbles are full of WWE and World Title matches that few bought into as legit challenges. Yet last night, Miz and Orton and Edge and Ziggler put on two very solid and well worked title matches. Ziggler showed me a lot last night, including his ability to sell well in big spots. WWE clearly trusts him enough to place him with Vickie Guerrero, the 1-ton human heat magnet.

The matches themselves were very solid but I'm really confused with the booking. But more on that later. And yes Ziggler is a great in ring worker but it remains to be seen how far he will be able to go without his heat magnet. After all I think its really been a while since we saw a guy main event with the help of a manager and I don't see this being a long term move.

4. The right guys showed up. I know people were anticipating the sound of either "King of Kings" or "Time to Play the Game" last night, especially with S(h)eamus in the ring, but it didn't happen. That's ok, because the anticipation is back. Everybody wants to see HHH make his one final run before morphing into a full time executive. Myself included. Last night would have been terrific, except that people DID expect it to happen. So I'm glad it didn't. But Booker T and Nash I didn't see coming (I avoided the spoilers for this very reason) and was pleasantly surprised. WOW did Booker T looks terrific. Nash looked worn in the ring, kind of out of sync, but Booker looks like he's never missed a step.

Again I agree. It is very clear that WWE were not interested in booking either Triple H or Jericho to win Royal Rumble. If they were supposed to win the Rumble, then a surprise return would have been the way to go. However if they weren't then there should have been at least some buildup to their return.

Booker T and Nash's returns were fun but at the same time harmless. Both were a legit surprise to most people and at the same time it was pretty clear that they would not be winning the Rumble.

5. Wrestlemania makes sense. del Rio winning the Rumble was brilliant, because that's the only thing that could possibly give the World Title match the cred it needs to stand up at Wrestlemania. Outside for Edge vs Christian, the World Title match (if the belt stays with Edge) would have no sensibly built up heat without the Rumble as a factor. I am, of course, TERRIFIED that over-REY-ted Mysterio is going to win the World Title between now and Wrestlemania to give the feud with del Rio a bigger stage, but even if that happens, the rest of the card is shaping up really well. Cena / Miz, Orton / Punk, HHH / S(h)eamus, Barrett / Undertaker, Nexus / Corre, Edge / del Rio OR Edge / Christian and del Rio / Mysterio. Throw in an IC Title defense and a US Title defense, maybe a tag title and women's title (Awesome Kong, anyone?) match, and you have a stacked card after all.

Now this is where I do not agree with you. WrestleMania does not make a ton of sense to me. What was the reason behind booking an Orton/ Punk and a Cena/Miz feud when there is already a great feud between Cena and Punk in place. Niether Edge vs Mysterio or Mysterio vs ADR is a WrestleMania worthy feud and I think that while Edge vs Christian is, I doubt whether the WWE have that much faith in Christian. I also cannot remember the last time when the IC or the US title was defended at WrestleMania.

So the title scene has been shaken up a bit by the Royal Rumble PPV and it does not look very good to me. Hopefully the next few episodes will provide a few answers as to why WWE went the way they did.

 

[TheRealDeal]

Great article... I was somewhat confused when I saw Del Rio won but yet again it was a good move by the creative team and somewhat very logical.. Having a RAW Guy win [excluding Morrison] will be somewhat confusing. I had my money on Cena as I thought the Cena/Miz feud can make sense only through the Royal Rumble.. It was unexpected though to have Miz interrupt and well make good progress to Wrestlemania.. Vince's words of having Smackdown as the dominant brand is coming to play as we see Del Rio won the rumble, but yes you already know that

 

[Decarow]

This was a great read. I agreed with the majority of it.

The only thing I don't approve is you saying HHH/Sheamus will be at Mania again. I honestly don't see them fighting again in another non-title match. It won't end their feud. I think Sheamus will be in MITB (if they have it).

 

[MizfitPeep]

Royal Rumble was an absolute blast last night. My friends & I were so pleased with the overall ppv, that we actually sat down & made a list of all the things we loved about it. Having 40 superstars in the Rumble was a fantastic idea. It never seemed overcrowded & like the original poster said, when you hit #27, you still had so much more to go! The live crowd was fantastic! It really helps the show when the crowd gets into everything, and they did. I never thought I would say this, but thank you Boston.
The best moments for me were Edge using the Killswitch to retain, Morrison's parkour (holy shit), Booker T & Diesel, Matt Striker going nuts & almost yelling holy shit, CM Punk helping Miz retain (CM Punk, I think I love you), & Alex Riley inadvertently taking out Nexus by falling on top of them. And finally, as stated by others, we all forgot that Santino had zero chance of winning the rumble, yet we all cheered and hoped that he would. I'm fine with that ending.
My only negative, really, is Morrison not lasting longer. I really was hoping for Morrison to win this one, or at least last longer than he did.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

rattlesnake4eva - JBL defended the IC title against Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 25 but thats besides the point

I was so disappointed when Punk and Morrison were eliminated fairly early (those were my 2 picks to win) but I love that they made Del Rio win from the third spot. My biggest issue with this match was that the whole concept of "counting the ways the rumble is fun" would be tainted if people beat the records in this 40-man rumble. However, nothing has really changed and Del Rio didn't beat any records, he just beat the necessary guys to headline WrestleMania

 

[The People's Peep]

Couldnt agree more IC. It really was a great Rumble and an overall great PPV. You bring up a great point in mentioning how each of the final competitors were under 33 years of age. The cherry on top of that is Del Rio winning, showing that we are on the verge of a new era in the WWE. A new era that I am very excited about and the potential was showcased last night.

Not only was the rumble match awesome, but the two title matches were solid as well, with Edge/Ziggler being the better of the two. They were both very exciting matches and the Smackdown title match just about stole the show. It was just a great show, with some good wrestling, some surprises, and some exciting moments.

 

[ilapierre]

Hey great Rumble last night. Final four sucked though. I have a problem with this piece everyone here is saying is great. Like last night's final four, this whole piece of garbage sucks. What internet wrestling geek who wants to watch a bunch of green young guys really knows anything about what lesbians in the 90s were obsessing about?

Here's my point. Who gives a rats ass if the final combatants were 33 or younger? The youth movement is alive and well and this is a positive? That most of the wrestlers are almost too young to even remember growing up with Xena Warrior Princess? I'm confused as to why younger means better? Randy Savage won his first world title when he was 36 years old. Savage was one of the most entertaining wrestlers of all time. Had Savage won the title as a young green guy in his early 20s it most likely would have sucked ass. He would have had no motivation for better character development (the same situation we have right now with the Miz or John Cena who were rewarded too young and will never amount to anything more than second rate main eventers). I'm just confused as to why the kids and the adults with kid-like mentalities want to watch young guys with young guy bodies and nothing else? Are male wrestling fans gay? Do they think that a younger wrestler means they can compete better in a fake sport? Do younger guys get male wrestling fans sexually excited? I'm just confused as to why it is a positive thing to wipe out the main event class of superstars and replace them with a class of nobodies who will most likely never be able to draw anything close to what the old guys of yesteryear will. I get that its nice to have a younger, fresher title scene but i don't believe wrestlers can gain real credibility by beating other nobodies. There has to be a good balance of established stars and green up and comers. Otherwise a whole generation of wrestling fans will be lost and will not 'buy' into wrestling anymore like myself. To me, Edge only started coming into his own AFTER he was 33. To me, it's a positive to have guys at or above the age of 33 because they are veterans who can make the younger guys look more credible. I don't want to stare at green guys with perfect abs all day, i want to see guys with character and personality with decent or shitty bodies. I'm not a woman. That's what i don't get about today's wrestling fan. They want new new new all the time, and they don't respect anything old. The wrestling fan of his early 20s will be in for a shock in ten years when the Miz is phased out as too old at 37. Vince or Triple H will phase out Sheamus, Miz, John Morrison, Del Rio, all of them all at the same time and the 30 year old wrestling fan in a decade's time will be like 'wtf?' This doesn't make any sense how these fricken no names just walked in here and beat these veterans who aren't even that old. You'll lose your respect for a company that doesn't make any sense anymore and all the wrestling fans a decade younger will want their world champs to be no older than 23.

Another thing is WWE is not 'brilliant' and Vince is not a 'genius' because Del Rio won the Royal Rumble or because something happened at RAW that was out of the step with the boring, monotonous programming. Nothing will give the world title match at WM more credit than morphing the World titles into one. There's only enough talent for one world title. There will not be that much talent to warrant two brands in future, let alone now.

Another problem i have is this bull about giving WWE credit for 'minting' several young new stars quickly to make the current product viable in the long term. I just don't get how it makes it more viable. I'm completely disinterested with 95 percent of WWE's wrestlers. I'm only interested to see Booker T, Kevin Nash, or Santino do something. I'm only interested in seeing Roddy Piper come back, Bret Hart GMing or Randy Savage returning. I'm only interested when Triple H comes back, or Taker rises, or Shawn enters the Hall of Fame. I only care if the old guys come back and run programs with the young guys. Only when young meets old do i feel like the young guy means anything. Chris Jericho beat up a bunch of has beens a few years ago, and he beat the best of the best over the past 10 years. Without that kind of push he wouldn't have risen to the heights he's at now. Had Jericho beat guys like Miz, Cena, Edge all day, he would still be nothing. That's my point. By WM 30, who is really going to care if The Miz battles Del Rio, or Morrison combats Edge. No one's gonna give a shit about anything but a match with Vince vs some other old fart or Taker's last match which will be in three years time against Shawn. Without the legends and established stars, the guys of today are not going to mean shit to anybody but the obsessed internet geeks who are also obsessed with other dorky internet things. Big deal. Wrestling's for dorks now. Give WWE credit where credit's due, they've reached out to the dork community and alienated the more intelligent fan who doesn't like their intelligence being insulted.

Oh and what they did in the 90s was nowhere near what they've done now. In the 90s, they had established stars building up new stars. Austin was no spring pup when he blew up, he was, ahem, 33. WWE couldn't have built up Rock or Austin without Hart and Michaels. There needed to be a proper transition. Jericho wouldn't be as built up as he was without established guys sticking around in the 2000s, Benoit was built up for years before blowing up in WWE when he was, ahem 33, Eddie the same when he was, ahem, 33. Lesnar was just a flash in the pan. A big huge roid pumping fat ass. Without Stone Cold and the Rock (two superstars who NO ONE will out superstar ever again), WWE would have been nothing in the late 90s. They could have all the youth movement they wanted with, using the op's logic, over the hill 33 year olds and it wouldn't have made any difference. Hogan, Savage, Luger, Hall, and Nash all said goodbye, not the other way around, and for bigger money, better competition and they wrestled in the better promotion for four or five years. WCW's youth movement was better than WWE's, WWE just stole WCW's younger guys when they were years older and made stars of them like Austin, Show, Benoit, Guerrero, Jericho, etc. It wasn't a youth movement, more like a recycled movement..anyway, i can sit here all day and argue logic. I just find the wrestling fan today eats dumbass columns like this up and dumbass columns like this are written to appeal to the dumbass crowd and leave intelligent people like myself feeling alienated. It is a good time to be a wrestling fan if you are being told to by a guy posting columns on a wrestling site and depends on hits for a paycheque, it's a good time to be a wrestling fan if you are under 25 or just plain dumb, it's a terrible time to be a wrestling fan if you grew up with wrestling for 20 to 30 years and appreciate a good balance of young and old. It just doesn't make sense anymore, it's not being built up logically for my generation (who grew up in a logical generation), and all of you blind WWE lovers will find yourselves in my shoes sooner rather than later once you get old enough to appreciate logic and understand that being 33, 37 or 43 doesn't necessarily make you all that old. The generation of stars you grew up loving will be phased out and the rookie crowd will be brought in way too fast, it won't make any sense anymore and a lot of you will lose interest in watching something that really makes little to no sense and has no history or older guys to bring the product credibility.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Hey great Rumble last night. Final four sucked though. I have a problem with this piece everyone here is saying is great. Like last night's final four, this whole piece of garbage sucks. What internet wrestling geek who wants to watch a bunch of green young guys really knows anything about what lesbians in the 90s were obsessing about?

Here's my point. Who gives a rats ass if the final combatants were 33 or younger? The youth movement is alive and well and this is a positive? That most of the wrestlers are almost too young to even remember growing up with Xena Warrior Princess? I'm confused as to why younger means better? Randy Savage won his first world title when he was 36 years old. Savage was one of the most entertaining wrestlers of all time. Had Savage won the title as a young green guy in his early 20s it most likely would have sucked ass. He would have had no motivation for better character development (the same situation we have right now with the Miz or John Cena who were rewarded too young and will never amount to anything more than second rate main eventers). I'm just confused as to why the kids and the adults with kid-like mentalities want to watch young guys with young guy bodies? Are male wrestling fans gay? Do they think that a younger wrestler means they can compete better in a fake sport? Do younger guys get male wrestling fans sexually excited? I'm just confused as to why it is a positive thing to wipe out the main event class of superstars and replace them with a class of nobodies who will most likely never be able to draw anything close to what the old guys of yesteryear will. I get that its nice to have a younger, fresher title scene but i don't believe wrestlers can gain real credibility by beating other nobodies. There has to be a good balance of established stars and green up and comers. Otherwise a whole generation of wrestling fans will be lost and will not 'buy' into wrestling anymore like myself. To me, Edge only started coming into his own AFTER he was 33. To me, it's a positive to have guys at or above the age of 33 because they are veterans who can make the younger guys look more credible. I don't want to stare at green guys with perfect abs all day, i want to see guys with character and personality with decent or shitty bodies. I'm not a woman. That's what i don't get about today's wrestling fan. They want new new new all the time, and they don't respect anything old. The wrestling fan of his early 20s will be in for a shock in ten years when the Miz is phased out as too old at 37. Vince or Triple H will phase out Sheamus, Miz, John Morrison, Del Rio, all of them all at the same time and the 30 year old wrestling fan in a decade's time will be like 'wtf?' This doesn't make any sense how these fricken no names just walked in here and beat these veterans who aren't even that old. You'll lose your respect for a company that doesn't make any sense anymore and all the wrestling fans a decade younger will want their world champs to be no older than 23.

With all the gay and lesbian talk, is there something you would like to reveal to us?

There already is a good balance of established stars and up-and-comers. You have Cena, Orton, Edge, Big Show, Kane, Mysterio, and Undertaker. How did Miz become so popular? It first started when he feuded with Cena in 2009 and he gradually improved and now he's world champion who has beaten Orton numerous times regardless of how he's done it. Sheamus has wins over established stars in the WWE. It sounds like you want us to kick Cena and Orton to the curb because in your opinion, they are getting too old. HBK is already gone, and Undertaker and HHH aren't going to be around long as well as Edge. We need to build the young guys up so they can replace Cena and Orton while the latter replace the HHH and the Undertaker of the WWE.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

This was the best royal rumble in years! Alot of good things happened and the road to WM is shaping up to be pretty exciting. There were a lot of things to like about this rumble:

The Cody Rhodes/Rey Mysterio angle has a great old school feel to it and they're really taking their time with it. Rey can get anyone over and since theyre taking their time this will really help build Cody's dashing character. Should also be a great match at WM.

I'm somewhat confused about the Raw main event picture as well but I'm hoping that since the stories are starting to intertwine that it will lead to a fatal four way at WM for the title. Maybe the WWE didn't see the singles matches as being enough so a fatal four way with Miz/Cena/Orton/Punk, who are 4 of the biggest names in the company, (ala WM 2000) is a good option.

It will be Del Rio vs. Edge for the title at WM. This can be a great technical match and these guys will cut some great promos with each other. I'm glad Del Rio won since a Smackdown guy had to win and he needed something else to add to his resume since he only really had the whole Mysterio thing before this.

Nash and Booker T looked AWESOME. Happy to see them back and I hope they stick around for a while...they could really add some firepower for WM and they can help get some young guys over. I'd love to see Barrett/Nash and Booker T/Sheamus or McIntyre.

This was the first HOT crowd I've seen in a while as they finally gave people over the age of 18 something to scream about.

The RR match itself was great...they did a great job of storytelling in this match. Nexus looked strong, Bryan vs. Punk in the beginning was phenomenal. I was hoping that Bryan would have a long epic run in the match but they still made him look great. Santino at the end will be a classic moment for years to come. Miz and Riley getting Cena out also had an old school feel to it for me. I can't wait for Raw tonight!

 

[tripsfan1]

In reference to Justinept's post, finally someone making sense. I felt this PPv was below average at best. Now I understand the need for a "youth movement" in the WWE and that people are tired of the WWE pushing the same guys (Orton, Cena, Edge, Etc.) but this is the Royal Rumble, one of the majors. Del Rio is nowhere near ready to carry the main event stage at WM. In the end, this is still a business, and if the WWE cannot sell millions of PPV buys for WM, then its a failure and Del Rio is not someone most wrestling fans (outside of obviously a portion of the IWC) want to see. Yes, he is getting heat on Samckdown and developing nicely, but main event wrestlemania?? Thats ridiculous. If you want to risk it on a "youth movement" guy, at least pick someone like Wade Barrett that you can build an interesting storyline around with The Core. I and a large percentage of wrestling fans could not be more dissapointed with the outcome. And understand, there is a huge difference between "heat" and being just dissapointed. I could not be less interested in Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge at WM.
The (2) title matches were ok, but no titles changed hands (other than the Divas title), and they just seemed flat..(As did the crowd thru most of them). They lacked the impact most title matches have on a PPV.
Also NO Jericho, Christian or Triple H was a huge letdown. Expecting them or not, it would have been great considering we have not seen either of them in quite some time. It was nice to see Booker T and Diesel, but they did not give either ample time and it appears they were a one time only deal, but I hope thats wrong.

 

[jholcomb22]

Now this is where I do not agree with you. WrestleMania does not make a ton of sense to me. What was the reason behind booking an Orton/ Punk and a Cena/Miz feud when there is already a great feud between Cena and Punk in place. Niether Edge vs Mysterio or Mysterio vs ADR is a WrestleMania worthy feud and I think that while Edge vs Christian is, I doubt whether the WWE have that much faith in Christian. I also cannot remember the last time when the IC or the US title was defended at WrestleMania.

I ripped into somebody else on another post because they were getting stupid and angry because of the matches set up for WM not making sense. I will explain this in a much more constructive manner because I respect your posts and posting style Rattlesnake.

While the Cena/Punk feud is fresh, Cena/Nexus is not. Same thing with Orton/Miz. WWE would have nothing for Orton if they did not make this switch. The explanation for Orton/Punk will be that Orton (when he had Legacy) caused Punk his title with a punt to the head. It sidelined Punk. Punk never got a shot at revenge because he came back on SD. At the Slammy's he said he was coming for somebody...we now know it's Orton.

As for Cena/Miz, this has been set up for a little over a year now, back when Miz would come out and make challenges to Cena. Then when Cena didn't come out, saying he wins by forfeit. I'm pretty sure in Miz's mind, he is like 7-0 against Cena. Over the last few weeks, even, Cena and Miz have been backstage building the hype for their match.

On the SD side, I'm glad you brought up Christian. With the Elimination Chamber a 6 man free for all, I think Rey is going to win, unfortunately. I think Edge vs Christian will happen at WM, but WWE won't let it be for the belt. That will leave the door open for the final match in the ADR/Mysterio saga.

I don't particularly care for the SD brand matches, but with the rumble win, they should have enough set up to make sense.

 

[Starchild]

Couldn't have said it better myself. Aside from the debacle with the divas, this was the best ppv in a while and with some recent good ones that is saying something. Both world title matches were great.
The Edge/Ziggler match was just a great classic wrestling match. Ziggler really impressed me and showed me he'll be a player for a long time.
Orton and Miz wasn't quite the clinic but these two are great at telling a story and man was that ending great with the New Nexus coming out, Riley defying gravity, and Punk costing Orton the title. This sets up for a great rivalry in the next couple months between Orton and Punk/Nexus, which will be fresh.

As for the Rumble itself, how can anyone say that wasn't good. The first 10 entrants or so were just great picks to be in at the time. We finally got some altercation with DBD and Punk and they didn't disappoint. This two are gonna main event WM one day, mark my words. Then there was JoMo being amazing again, the domination of New Nexus, the returns of Booker T and Diesel, and a new main eventer being made in Alberto winning it. The only thing I didn't like was how long the Hornswoggle thing went on and I would've liked to see Punk stay in awhile longer with Cena. I was shocked when Miz eliminated Cena as it seemed apparent that he was going to win at that point. Then the ending where for a couple seconds, my belief was suspended and I thought the former perennial jobber Santino Marella was going to actually win the Royal Rumble.

This ppv was absolutely spectacular in my book and the Rumble itself goes into my top 5 ever pretty easily, I'll have to assess where exactly though. WWE has been on a roll lately and with the youth movement in full force, the big returns, and Wrestlemania looming I'd say the future looks very bright for wrestling fans.

 

[ilapierre]

No, boy george, if anything Cena and Orton are finally coming into their own. You can't kick them to the curb at all. They NEED to stick around for another 10 years to make the WWE product stronger. 33 should not be the end of a wrestler's career, in fact 33 should be about the time a wrestler comes into their own and when a wrestler should be accepted as a true main eventer. If a guy is 33 and still not converting non believers then the guy likely shouldn't be in the main event scene, ahem Jeff Jarrett. Edge and Cena, even though only second rate main eventers to me, have made the jump. They'll never be Rock big, Taker big, Austin big, or Savage big but they're big enough to make younger guys big. Hopefully bigger but probably not.

Who is we? Are you working for WWE?

 

[IrishCanadian25]

What internet wrestling geek who wants to watch a bunch of green young guys really knows anything about what lesbians in the 90s were obsessing about?

I'll tell you which one - me. The guy who wrote the article. I enjoyed the guys who were pushed in the final grouping, and I went to high school in the late 90's. I damn sure know that lesbians loved Xena. What's your point?

Who gives a rats ass if the final combatants were 33 or younger?

I did. It shows that there's some sustainability and some growth potential. Sorry, but that's the business side of me coming out.

That most of the wrestlers are almost too young to even remember growing up with Xena Warrior Princess?

You appear stuck on the Xena thing. Are you a lesbian, perchance?

I'm confused as to why younger means better?

Yes, I sensed the confusion. Younger doesn't always mean better, but with Undertaker and HHH consistently hurt and nearing retirement, Jericho unsure if he will come back, and Mysterio teasing a permanent vacation himself, it's important that younger guys get a taste of the spotlight and the responsibility that goes along with it. That way, when the older guys do move out, there are people ready to take their place.

Randy Savage won his first world title when he was 36 years old.

Yes he was, very true. But you can't tell me that you're comparing 1988 with 2011. Two entirely different eras.

Had Savage won the title as a young green guy in his early 20s it most likely would have sucked ass.

Again, there were only 2 or 3 major titles in 1988 (one WWF Title, one NWA Title, one AWA Title) as opposed to what is going on now-a-days. The territory system, though on life support, still existed. There were not even 4 pay per views yet, as opposed to 12 or 13 like there are today. Main eventers didn't wrestle big matches on live TV every single week. Those who did often wrestled jobbers. It's a different world, where youth and physical fitness is imporant.

I'm just confused as to why the kids and the adults with kid-like mentalities want to watch young guys with young guy bodies? Are male wrestling fans gay? Do they think that a younger wrestler means they can compete better in a fake sport? Do younger guys get male wrestling fans excited in their pubic regions?

At the risk of exposing you as a naive and foolish homophobe, I'll offer you this - the physical act of professional wrestling is more demanding nowadays than it has ever been before. While the schedule may not be as demanding, the matches are moreso. Action is faster paced, spots are more impressive. Just like in many other sports, fans like their athletes to be athletic. The days of guys like King Kong Bundy getting by on weight and size alone are largely gone.

There has to be a good balance of established stars and green up and comers.

I totally agree with this. Cena, Orton, Edge - all examples of established stars.

To me, Edge only started coming into his own AFTER he was 33.

Yep, that's true as well. In all fairness, he also arrived at a time when the roster had guys named Austin, Rock, Angle, HHH, Undertaker, Kane, Foley - most of whom were in their mid-to-late 30's at the time. Tougher ceiling to bust through.

I don't want to stare at green guys with perfect abs all day,

Man, those bodybuilding martians are shit outta luck with you, huh?

That's what i don't get about today's wrestling fan. They want new new new all the time, and they don't respect anything old.

I agree 100% with this point. But at the same time, you can't dismiss the fact that the older guys you seem to be pining for are broken down and on their way out. How much longer does HHH need to put himself through hell in the ring when he has his executive role waiting in the wings? How many others are gonna look at Shawn Michaels home with his family, dignity and legacy in tact, and want to follow suit? Do you really think guys will want to end up like Ric Flair, a foolish shell of his former self?

This doesn't make any sense how these fricken no names just walked in here and beat these veterans who aren't even that old.

The veterans do this because it's a benefit to them. Creating a feeling of competition draws more people in to watch, and thus puts more money in their pockets. Hey man, if you wanna see the veterans on top while the young guys struggle along the way, that's cool. Watch WCW from 1999-2001. You probably won't get much further than that though, what with the whole, you know, hemmoraging money and going out of business thing.

Wrestling's for dorks now. Give WWE credit where credit's due, they've reached out to the dork community and alienated the more intelligent fan who doesn't like their intelligence being insulted.

I take it that you consider YOURSELF to be the "intelligent fan" then? We'll see.

There's only enough talent for one world title.

I agree with this too, but again, the wrestling landscape is saturated with shows and PPV's and a demand to see titleholders in action. That makes it harder for one man to shoulder.

I'm completely disinterested with 95 percent of WWE's wrestlers.

I think you'll find yourself in the minority.

I'm only interested to see Booker T, Kevin Nash, or Santino do something. I'm only interested in seeing Roddy Piper come back, Bret Hart GMing or Randy Savage returning. I'm only interested when Triple H comes back, or Taker rises, or Shawn enters the Hall of Fame. I only care if the old guys come back and run programs with the young guys.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're listing 40 - 50 year old veterans...and Santino? Am I the only one that makes no sense to?

Anyway, if that's all you want to see, then put on your favorite nWo wolfpak shirt, sit back, and watch TNA.

Without the legends and established stars, the guys of today are not going to mean shit to anybody but the obsessed internet geeks who are also obsessed with other dorky internet things. Big deal. Wrestling's for dorks now. Give WWE credit where credit's due, they've reached out to the dork community and alienated the more intelligent fan who doesn't like their intelligence being insulted.

Again, you may be giving yourself a TAD too much credit. Besides, how else can you create and establish these stars in today's market? Hell, society in general is a momentary society. Look at American Idol. We want to be on the cutting edge of greatness at ALL times. It's always about what's new and what's hot. Pro wrestling, as a business, is successful when it reflects society and culture. That's what WWE is doing right now. Embracing a time of technology (the internet, Twitter), youth (last night) and shock. That's what earns now-a-days. Not just in wrestling, but in society.

Austin was no spring pup when he blew up, he was, ahem, 33.

The same age as del Rio. Ahem. Did you just make my point for me? WWE took a risk and listened to fans with Austin. They're doing the same with del Rio and others. Maybe some will flop miserably (Swagger) and maybe some with succeed huge (Punk). You need to roll the dice from time to time.

Benoit was built up for years before blowing up in WWE when he was, ahem 33, Eddie the same when he was, ahem, 33.

Again, thank you for advancing my point.

Lesnar was just a flash in the pan. A big huge roid pumping fat ass.

Okay, now you clearly have no clue what you're talking about. Lesnar was a world class athlete before he even hit the WWE. And the steroid comment is a cop out. Hell, 75% of the guys you're extolling from the old school roided worse than Lesnar ever did.

Hogan, Savage, Luger, Hall, and Nash all said goodbye, not the other way around, and for bigger money, better competition and they wrestled in the better promotion for four or five years.

And then that promotion folded. Bully for you.

WCW's youth movement was better than WWE's, WWE just stole WCW's younger guys when they were years older and made stars of them like Austin, Show, Benoit, Guerrero, Jericho, etc.

Okay, you're not smart. Those guys weren't stolen by WWE. WCW underused them and pissed them off so they requested their release. Eddie did a shoot on it in the ring, Jericho wrote about it in detail. Geez, just read a book, would you?

anyway, i can sit here all day and argue logic.

Really? When does that start happening? I haven't seen it yet.

I just find the wrestling fan today eats dumbass columns like this up and dumbass columns like this are written to appeal to the dumbass crowd and leave intelligent people like myself feeling alienated.

It is a good time to be a wrestling fan if you are being told to be buy a guy posting columns on a wrestling site who depends on hits for a paycheque

I don't get paid - I do this for fun.

it's a terrible time to be a wrestling fan if you grew up with wrestling for 20 to 30 years and appreciate a good balance of young and old.

I'm 29, been watching since I was 11.

Wow, this was terribly entertaining. Thank you for reminding me why I went to college.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Can't agree with you any more IC. Last night's show was very, very entertaining. The fact that I've been shattered since the end of the show should tell you something. Very few shows have left me so drained following watching them and this year's Rumble was one of them. Ziggler and Edge put together a quality opener, Miz & Orton had a solid brawl, but the Rumble itself had to be the highlight.

Full of so many entertaining moments, from the initial Corre vs. Nexus brawl, to Morrison's parkour survival, to Nexus cleaning house, to Striker marking out over Booker T's return, to Cena taking out Nexus, to the best use of Hornswoggle since his days with the heel Finlay, to Big Daddy Cool's return to Alberto Del Rio's entrance to Miz screwing Cena, to Santino's shock return and finally to the ultimate win of the Essence of Excellence, I loved last night’s show. One of my favourite Rumble’s.