I'm rewatching the 2012 Rumble...

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

...and it's amazing how much the talent pool has shifted in WWE over the last 5 years. 2012 was a rumble full of jobbers and gimmick entrants, whereas 2017 has one of the most stacked line-ups in history, with huge part-time names like Taker, Lesnar and Goldberg, as well as plenty of people in the upper mid-card to the very top of the card. It made me reflect on 2012 as a whole, and reminded me just how much better we have it now. When the worst thing on our screens is stuff like The Shining Stars, instead of farting Natalya, Embrace the Hate or domination of screen time by dull authority figures, you know that WWE is doing well for itself, especially with NXT.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I just finished watching TLC 2011. I'm actually watching Royal Rumble 2012 right now as well. After this, I'll be watching Elimination Chamber 2012.

 

[Radical]

Yeah, I saw the 2012 Rumble again too. WWE has it on their YouTube channel.

I too, was surprised how pretty uninteresting their talent was for the Rumble. Lots of jobbers and gimmick entrants, as you said.

The crowd hardly reacted for most of the entrants, which shows WWE was doing a very poor job building new stars. Back then Ziggler was basically nobody and a guy like Swagger actually got a half-decent pop compared to all the other jobbers.

Really hardly any serious big names. No Undertaker, Kane, Mysterio, Triple H, Morrison, Christian or anyone like that.

I didn't check who was champ at the time but I think it was Daniel Bryan and I guess at the time it was CM Punk on the other side so Cena wasn't in the Rumble.

But yeah, pretty weak rumble in terms of star power.

Say what you want against the WWE today but at least there are big names in the Rumble this year and most entrants should get a decent reaction because they have some credibility to their name.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

This was during Embrace The Hate, so Cena was fighting Kane. I was happy with Sheamus winning ultimately; I've always liked Sheamus and think he gets a bad rep. I've always preferred him as a badass face beating the shit out of everyone.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

2012 was one of the least talented Royal Rumbles in history. A bunch of wrestlers weren't in the Rumble for various reasons.

Cena was already wrestling The Rock at WM28, so he wrestled Kane at the PPV.
Punk and Bryan were World Champions.
HHH and Taker were part-time.
Edge and HBK were recently retired.

Because of all this, the Rumble is full of jobbers like Justin Gabriel, Brodus Clay, Alex Riley, Hunico, Primo, Epico, Jinder Mahal, Great Khali, Ezekiel Jackson, and David Otunga. Some of the wrestlers could have worked out, but none of them ever did. WM28 was a fine show but mostly due to part-timers. WWE was trying to create new stars, the talent wasn't there until wrestlers like Owens, Zayn, Cesaro, the Wyatts, the Shield, and a few others hadn't debuted yet.

 

[Da Prophet]

This was during Embrace The Hate, so Cena was fighting Kane. I was happy with Sheamus winning ultimately; I've always liked Sheamus and think he gets a bad rep. I've always preferred him as a badass face beating the shit out of everyone.

It's unfortunate that Sheamus ran into Daniel Bryan before anybody knew what was about to happen. If he wins in 18 seconds against pretty much anyone else he's all good but doing it to Bryan really hurt him. I believe Sheamus has said as much in interviews that beating Bryan in 18 seconds is where the problems first started in regards to fans turning on him.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

It's unfortunate that Sheamus ran into Daniel Bryan before anybody knew what was about to happen. If he wins in 18 seconds against pretty much anyone else he's all good but doing it to Bryan really hurt him. I believe Sheamus has said as much in interviews that beating Bryan in 18 seconds is where the problems first started in regards to fans turning on him.

Many fans didn't like him immediately upon learning he worked out with HHH. It's textbook rebellion and the exact reason Reigns is so hated.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Many fans didn't like him immediately upon learning he worked out with HHH. It's textbook rebellion and the exact reason Reigns is so hated.

I do think that little bit of info plays into it.

Sheamus was pushed pretty hard pretty fast, so I think when people learned he was Trips workout buddy, people just assumed things about his push.

Harthan and I had a little chat about the benefits of being Trips workout buddy back during Mania when The League of Nations went over New Day for no reason. Must be good to rub elbows with the boss.