**MERGED** Royal Rumble 2013 & Aftermath Discussion (Keep it in here!!!!)

[a member of wwe universe]

This is where is gets hazy though for me. I agree with Punk 100% first and foremost the rock disrespected punk while punk was in the ring. Punk is also correct that the rock yet once again wanted to make the show all about him. All about Dewayne Johnson and punk just leveled him out! The rock shouldn't be in a marquee matchup whenever he feels like it. Thats where Punk is correct.

Punk might as well tell vince right in front of his face that the rock doesnt deserve to be in marquee match up. Its not about rock having the freedom to come in and go. The Rock is legit move star, a legend and a pure wrestling draw. Vince knows every "Rock match" will draw big. Forget about morale, senority, fairness and all these other craps. Money comes first for Vince atleast.

 

[LFC till i die]

I would definetly prefer to see CM Punk v The Rock, although I did like The Rock and John Cena feud. Punk and Rock are both great on the mick and imagine how great the promos would be. John Cena is good on the mic but CM Punk has the ability to match The Rock's mic ability unlike Cena. What doesn't make sense to is why does The Rock deserve a WWE title match ? Okay he's The Rock but say if he was to win against whoever he faces at the RR, then he's going to vacate the title right ? That's just pointless.

 

[The Hillside]

If The Rock is wrestling at both Rumble and Mania, then it's likely we will see both the matches.

However, if The Rock is only appearing for Royal Rumble then I would like to see Rock vs Punk for the title because we already seen the super dream match between Rock and Cena.

I don't mind Rock vs Cena 2 either, but Cena will be heavily predicted to win the match if that happens.

Rock vs Punk is very likely ever since Punk turned heel on The Rock.

If Rock wins the WWE Title from Punk or Cena at Rumble, then it is very likely that he would defend it against one of them, both or against several men at Elimination Chamber.

So yeah I guess The Rock will be wrestling more then once in the coming months.

I would like to see The Rock vs CM Punk more then Rock vs Cena which is already done, which is a big dream match in its own sense.

 

[The_Midnight_Show]

I love Jack Hammer's idea on how to play this through Mania. That being said I would obviously prefer to see Punk vs. Rock as opposed to Cena vs. Rock. Nothing against Cena/Rock because their promos leading up to WM and the match itself at WM were great. However, does it need to be seen again? While the answer isn't a blaring "NO!" why go down this route when you could just as easily pull off a great, never-before-seen story with Punk and Rock? Promos, in-ring ability, and Punk's seemingly real-life disrespect for the Rock, "This isn't sour grapes, but the fact that Dwayne is in the main event of WrestleMania and I'm not makes me sick!" would make the story awesome. Plus, this frees up Cena for the Royal Rumble match itself, something I like to see because there is always a threat of him winning.

As for the actual match between Rock and Punk and how I would book it? Pretty much the same as JH. Rock has his G.I. Joe movie and even if he didn't he would not appear on the Raws after RR and maybe only via satellite on some of the shows after EC. How can the championship possibly be portrayed as important when the strap holder isn't even on TV? I wouldn't put WWE past doing this, but nevertheless it is something that I would not want to see.

 

[avriltt234]

Punk vs Rock all the way for two simple reasons

1. We saw Cena vs Rock at WrestleMania and it was billed as once in a Lifetime match meaning it would never happen again and quite frankly the match at WrestleMania was boring as hell. So if it did happen again Wwe would be going back on its word and we will have to sit through another boring match at the Rumble and quite possibly one at EC or WrestleMania.

2. Cm Punk and The Rock have already kind of started that rivalry with the exchange of words in the segment on the 1000th episode of Raw and then at the end of Raw when Punk hit Rock with a clothesline that almost took of the Rocks head and then he hit him with a GTS.
So where will that go if it does not happen at the Rumble because they have started it and surely The Rock will wont revenge on Punk and i dont see that happening at Mania because Punk will face Austin.

 

[Kelso1ftw]

Well to win the Rumble, as said earlier by a few people that Chris Jericho would be a good fit as he has never won it.. and considering the fact that we are probably going to get a Wade Barrett vs Sheamus feud for the title in the next 5 months until the royal rumble, I would love to see Jericho vs Wade Barrett at Wrestlemania and that would be my clear choice as a feud I would love to see. Other than that I could see it being Lesner, Punk, or Cena... I think it depends on what they want to do with Lesner and who faces The Rock earlier in the night.

 

[TheHeartbreakPunk]

CM Punk- I would want this guy to win for a couple of different reasons. One, is the winner of the royal rumble has been on smackdown for the past 3 years, so we need someone from raw to win for once. Also, i would rather see cena face rock at the rumble, and have punk be the one to face the rock for the title at wmania. CM Punk has never won the RR, so it would be good for him. It also looks like they are building up a feud between rocky and punk, so this would be the best way to do it.

Wade Barrett- If it is not Punk, then it HAS to be wade barrett. This guy is gonna get a monster push when he comes back, as he was scheduled to win mitb. I think that sheamus vs. barrett at wmania would be golden.

 

[Irig]

IMO Punk vs Rock should be done on RR and the loser of that match enters Rumble match and wins and challenges again so we basically get Punk vs Rock on Wrestlemania too.

 

[Ross421]

We all now that The Rock will face the WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship, but the question is, who will he face? The 3 most likely to me are CM Punk, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar(least likely of the 3, but still possible)

The scenario I have in mind is have CM Punk retain at SummerSlam. Then have him interfere in the Lesnar-HHH match later in the night in favor of Lesnar, starting an alliance with Lesnar and Heyman.

Punk goes on to feud with Cena over the title until Hell In A Cell and dominate throughout the WWE(With Lesnar sometimes absent, can't use up all of his dates this early) Before Hell in a Cell, Lesnar shows some jealousy with Heyman supporting Punk so much and attacks Punk after his Hell In A Cell match with Cena, setting up a match for Survivor Series where Lesnar wins the title and wins back Heyman as his manager. Lesnar wins the rematch at TLC setting up Lesnar vs. The Rock at the Royal Rumble with The Rock winning.

As for the fallout of that match, Punk and Cena are the final two of the Royal Rumble match and eliminate themselves at the same time setting up CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania 29 for the WWE Championship where Punk pins The Rock, which seems like the best idea to me. Punk going over The Rock just might give WWE their second golden boy.

So that's the scenario that I'm rooting for. What scenario would you like to see? Punk, Cena, Lesnar, or even someone else? (Keep it plausible and also please feel free to give a scenario like I did, its always cool to hear others' ideas.)

 

[rge2010]

Well to win the Rumble, as said earlier by a few people that Chris Jericho would be a good fit as he has never won it.. and considering the fact that we are probably going to get a Wade Barrett vs Sheamus feud for the title in the next 5 months until the royal rumble, I would love to see Jericho vs Wade Barrett at Wrestlemania and that would be my clear choice as a feud I would love to see. Other than that I could see it being Lesner, Punk, or Cena... I think it depends on what they want to do with Lesner and who faces The Rock earlier in the night.

Chris Jericho? They had their chance at RR2012 and completely fucked that up! Jericho isn't a main eventer anymore IMO. His stock has dropped since his horrendous return. He's basically a talent enhancer now (glorified jobber). Watch Dolph get revenge on Raw or Smackdown and send him packing so we all forget about his Summerslam victory. Ziggler was right in that promo, he has lost his touch!

As for who else could win it...Lesnar, Punk, Cena or Rock look like the safest bets. A Lesnar/Taker angle at the Rumble would be good to plant the seeds for a WM bout. I would have Cena win the Title at NOC. Rock to beat Cena at Royal Rumble. Punk to win Rumble. Rock vs Punk at WM29 where Punk wins.

Rock as champion leading towards Wrestlemania 29 = ratings. Ratings equal more PPV buys.

 

[random1234wwe]

I think the rumble is down to three or maybe four people.
1) Chris Jericho: he has never won a rumble, and if he does win, assuming dolph ziggler is world heavyweight chamopion at the time, they could face off at wrestlmania with jericho eventually getting the victory.

2) John Cena. If wwe is planning John cena vs the rock 2 at wrestlemania, this would be a good set up.

3) CM Punk: Same as John cena. If wwe is planning punk vs rock at wrestlemania, this would be a good set up

4) Wade Barrett. A guy deserving a really huge push, what a better way to recieve a push than win the rumble.

 

[streicher187]

I may be in the minority but don't see the Rock winning the championship at the Royal Rumble. Isn't the elimination chamber match between the Rumble and Wrestlemania?

I really don't see him defending the championship at the elimination chamber and it would be pointless to not have the title defended at that event. I can see him winning it at Mania then losing it the next night or later that night but to have the champion not wrestle on a ppv seems silly.

 

[The Hillside]

Umm it's no big deal, they can have one Elimination Chamber for WHC and second one to determine the no.1 contender for WWE Title at Wrestlemania 29.

It's easy from here, Rock beats Punk at Royal Rumble to win the WWE Title, Cena wins at EC to become the no.1 contender and face The Rock at Wrestlemania 29 for WWE Title to become the champ.


Another scenario can be that Cena costs The Rock his match against Punk at Royal Rumble through interference. Cena turns heel and then later at night The Rock interferes in the Royal Rumble match to get Cena eliminated. At Elimination Chamber Cena wins the WWE Title and defends it against his rival Rock successfully at Wrestlemania 29.


Few of the fans think Rock vs Cena vs Punk is in the making which can take place at Elimination Chamber or Wrestlemania 29.

 

[Degenerate88]

I would hate to see Rock vs Cena II at Mania! Personally, i'd rather Punk drop the belt to Cena anytime before the Rumble. Have Rock beat Cena (yes, twice in a row) for the belt and have CM Punk vs The Rock at WrestleMania. That gives CM Punk the spotlight that he deserves. I'm not saying Punk would win, but who knows. I just don't care to see Cena get anymore Championships, let alone Championship matches.

 

[Wwe Fan 4Eva]

Before he won The Smackdown Money In The Bank Ladder Match I would have said that Dolph Ziggler was the one who was going to win The 2013 Royal Rumble Match, But since he won The Money In The Bank Ladder Match I see him holding the World Heavyweight Championship going into the Rumble, So here are three other people I would like to see win it...


1. Wade Barrett- He was being heavily pushed before he got injured and if he was around he probably would have won The Smackdown Money In The Bank Ladder Match instead of Dolph, So I see him winning the Rumble.

2. Brock Lesnar- Since coming back to the Wwe Lesnar has been all about taking people out like Cena and Triple H, So I say after he has finished his feud with Triple H (Hopefully at Survivor Series) He should enter himself into the Championship picture and then enter the Rumble, Dominate it, Win it and then win the big one at WrestleMania.

3. Cody Rhodes- I know a lot of people dont think Cody has the tools to win the World Championship at any point in his career but after his lengthy Reign as Intercontinental Champion last year I think he does deserve a World Title run and he should be able to win it at the Big One which is WrestleMania.

 

[Fansince1992]

Just to recap what The Rock was involved in last time he appeared :



-He announced that he would be booked into a WWE Title match at The Royal Rumble in January. (about 6 months down the road from his announcment)

-During Punk vs Cena title bout at Raw1000 The Rock rushed to Cena's aid, only to be put down by a heel turning Punk.

-In a segment with Punk and Daniel Bryan, The Rock got in Punk's face and said he would take the title at The Royal Rumble.



All of this suggests to me that CM Punk is going to retain the title at all PPV's before Royal Rumble, hence why i think all Title matches before The Rumble are to predictable with Punk retaining. I think it will be Punk vs Rock at the Rumble.

The Rock probably isn't due back in WWE until around the new year to build up to his big title match at Rumble. The Rock is probably going to want payback on Punk for intervening his peoples elbow at Raw 1000. Doesn't make sense to me when Rock makes his return if there is another WWE Champion other than Punk. (The Rock probably wouldn't fued with Punk for revenge after the heel turn at Raw1000 and fued with a New WWE Champion at the same time in the weeks prior to Royal Rumble)



The Big Question is :

Should The Rock of Announced he was challenging for The WWE Title at a later date than 6 months before The Royal Rumble?


I can understand it in a way, as it keeps The Rocks Millions of fans excited for 6 months in anticipation for his title match at the Rumble.

On the other hand (just my opinion) it makes the WWE title scene a bit to predictable for 6 months of 2012. At Night of Champions Punk vs Cena would of been a LOT more Un-Predictable if we didn't know about The Rock's Title match at The Royal Rumble. Everyone would of backed Cena to win in his home base of Boston.

I keep thinking now that The Rock has a big score to settle with Punk, so i think Punk will remain Champion for the rest of the year. Rock will come back, slot into the Title Match and probably beat Punk, then go onto to lose the belt to Cena at WM.

I feel The Rock should of made the announcment nearer the end of the year to keep the Title Picture more Un-Predictable. What do you think?

 

[Azane]

I've had this problem with a lot of the part timers getting guarentee'd big spots, and it actually had me stop watching WWE for a few months, as I love the Rock, but I can't stand the Via Satelite 4 appearance a year showhogging gimmick he's running now.

Granted, that we had this same issue last year, when we had Cena telling The Rock they'd wrestle at WM for the World Title, we all expected Cena to walk into that with the title, but that didn't last long.

I'm kind of thinking WWE is also giving us another swerve, because they tend to change everything on the drop of a hat, especially when people start calling them predictable, Punk or Rocky could have something big pop up between them in the next few months that could make Rock change plans to fight Punk non-title (if Punk loses it), or something of that nature. We also have a chance of seeing a 3 way match or more, Cena could fit into a Punk Rock Cena 3 way very seamlessly, and the star power for that would be intense (This is assuming that The E would want to keep it's main event for WM as a 1v1, and Royal Rumble being a huge draw either way, could just play up a 3 way easily). This would also help Rocky pace himself, as the ring would have 2 of the greater performers of our time on top of Rocky's veteran status, would also give him even more time to showboat.

But, To the original point of the question, Wrestling stories aren't always meant to be grandiose and huge mysteries, simple booking can work wonders. The casual fan isn't even buying into any of the hype, as they don't buy into the entire Kayfabe world. WWE is notorious for throwing swerves into obvious storylines to keep us guessing, that 3 way pitch is just 1 way they could pull it off, and it would make perfect sense.

In all reality, for the ratings; the earlier Rocky announced his big match, the more it will draw, even if it does mess with kayfabe logic.

 

[thedon2001]

if it was me i would of had the belt change hands a few times between RAW 1000 and the Royal Rumble. I'd of let Bryan, Big Show, and Punk shuffle it back and forth with Punk finally capturing it a couple months before the Rumble. Sticking with the PG perspective; Rock would beat Punk at the Rumble, Cena win the Rumble, Cena challenge Rock at Mania for a rematch, have the Rock carry the strap during promotion of his movies, and finally lose the belt to Cena at Mania 29.

I'm sure the IWC would disagree, but remember i said "sticking with the PG perspective". Obviously Vince feels comfortable letting Punk carry the title for this long and I'm sure there's an important reason and or plan.

 

[keehlnate]

There are two reasons why CM Punk and the WWE Championship won't change hands before Royal Rumble, thus making the title picture predictable.

#1 The Rock announcing that he will face whoever is the WWE Champion at Royal Rumble. There are only three superstars that can main-event the Rumble together with The Rock. They are Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and CM Punk. Since Lesnar is aligned with Paul Heyman and CM Punk, most likely he will not go for the WWE belt as long as the alliance stays intact. John Cena can face The Rock, but I'm sure they are not giving that up as a Rumble main-event since that match should only happen at Wrestlemania. So CM Punk, the obvious choice since he attacked The Rock at RAW 1000th, thus setting up a future match with him along the road and CM Punk will keep that title all the way to Royal Rumble because of

#2 CM Punk is counting the days of how long his reign as the WWE Champion. wwe.com even presented the statistics of the longest reigns in the last 25 years. John Cena's number is the one to beat, and by January CM Punk will already surpass that and most likely The Rock will strip that belt off him.

 

[RJJ]

I think you're jumping to conclusion here. Yes, I know it seems predictable to alot of people, but to be honest, I don't think Rock will beat Punk at the Rumble. I mean, that would kill Punk's momuntum. I believe Punk will "survive" just like he did in almost every single title match he had since his heel turn. How? Either by a Cena interference(Which would set either a WM rematch with Rock-Cena or a Rock-Cena-Punk WM M-E which I'm really hoping for) or a Lesnar intereference(Which would set Rock-Lesnar rematch). Yep, let's not forget that Lesnar is a paul heyman guy also, and there were alot of rumors surronding Rock-Lesnar.

I'm pretty damn sure one of these three scenerios will take place. I'm praying for Cena-Punk-Rock for the title at WM.

 

[Phil]

Looks obvious to me, Punk will keep the strap all the way up to the Rumble and loose it to the Rock. Cena will win the Royal Rumble, Punk gets his rematch on the following RAW or at the chamber ppv and looses again with Punk's Mania opponent interfering and costing him the match. This sets up Rock vs Cena 2 at mania 29. I can even see Vince making this into a trilogy and going for the rubber match at Mania 30.

Personally I would rather see Punk or Lesnar 'attempt' to try and end the streak at Mania 29, or have Punk vs Lesnar and build it around a Heyman angle. Just my opinion though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Yeah pretty much. That's the reason that Cena vs. Rock at WrestleMania this year wasn't for the WWE Championship. The Rock isn't going to stay around and be a full time wrestler, or even a part time wrestler for that matter. Everybody knows that because his movie career has really picked up over the past year or so. In 2011, he made almost a total of $40 million for the movies he played in. Next year, he has six different films scheduled to be released including a G.I. Joe and the next film in The Fast & The Furious franchise. Having Cena face Rock at WM for the title would've given away the ending long before there was even a match.

However, things will be a bit different for next year's WM if Rock is able to compete. There's still a question as to whether or not he'll wrestle with such an intense schedule. After all, the new G.I. Joe movie is slated to open one week before WM so Rock will have to devote a ton of time and energy into promoting the film, giving interviews, going to premieres, etc. If he is able to compete, however, and it does turn out to be a Cena vs. Rock rematch for the WWE Championship, the WWE isn't counting on unpredictability. If Cena & Rock wrestle each other again, it's a pretty safe bet that John Cena will win. I think a lot of people think that as well. I just don't see John Cena losing to Rock in two straight WrestleMania matches, especially if this hypothetical second match is for the WWE Championship.

If the match does take place, I just don't think it'll have nearly as big of a feel about it because people will be expecting Cena to win the match in order to even things up. And, as has already been pointed out by other posters, nobody is going to expect Rock to walk out of WrestleMania as WWE Champion. WWE could get by with having Rock carry the title for a month or so after the Royal Rumble but Rock will be gone again after WrestleMania and everyone knows it. So yeah, if this match goes down, the WWE will probably build the match as John Cena's search for redemption after losing the biggest match of his career to The rock at WM 28.

At the same time, however, as I said, there's a question as to whether Rock will have the time to wrestle at WM. There's also John Cena's current injury issues to consider. As of right now, there's no real solid clue as to whether John Cena will compete against Punk at HIAC. There's talk that he'll wrestle HIAC before taking some extended time off to heal up. Aside from recovering from his elbow surgery, Cena's pretty banged up and has a lot of issues going on with his neck, his back, his hips, etc. In comparison, Cena's elbow issues are pretty minor. What I'd personally love to see happen would be for CM Punk to go into Royal Rumble and beat Rock as it goes right along with his search for "respect" and to further solidify himself as the "best in the world" before ultimately facing John Cena at WM in some sort of huge blow off match to their feud. I don't think that'll happen, however, as I'm sure Vince has his heart set on Cena vs. Rock II. I'd just personally love to see Punk get a win over The Rock.

 

[rge2010]

No, I dont think it is predictable at all. Lets remember, everyone was sure that Chris Jericho would win the Rumble and in a major swerve he didn't. Before that, people were obsessing with Randy Orton winning it because it was in his hometown. It seem WWE like to tease and play with the IWC, who in all fairness are 10% of their audience. Casually WWE fans take it for what it is, simply entertainment and enjoy the ride.

As far as The Rock goes, there are many possiblities being thrown about for WM29. I have heard he will fight Cena in round 2, heard it could be Rock vs Brock and also heard a triple thread between Rock, Cena and Punk.

Rock isn't nailed on to win at the Rumble. He will be very busy promoting upcoming films during the RTWM. A few fans make light of the fact Vince would love his big move star turning up at Premieries and on Talk Shows with the WWE belt, but can Rock committ to turning up on Raw every single week and carrying the show? I am not sure.

Rock vs Punk looks like a lock at this stage. However, I wouldnt be surprised to see Rock screwed out of the title win. Maybe Brock Lesnar could setting up a match for WM29? Maybe Punk will screw him setting up a Triple Threat, or maybe he does win and Cena wins The Rumble. Who knows. Enough possiblities to keep this from being predictable.

(For what its worth it will probably be more likely Brock vs Taker or Triple II)

 

[BearJew13]

I disagree with the OP just for the simple reason that he's defending against John Cena at these PPVs. We all know of the Cena/Rock feud. If Cena were to win the WWE Championship at one of these PPVs then it would set up Rock/Cena for the Championship. So no I do not think the title picture is predictable. Especially with Hell in a Cell coming up. I hope Punk wins and ultimately defeats Rock at Royal Rumble but I'm not sure if all of that will happen.

 

[Wwe Fan 4Eva]

I have just read online that Wwe are considering a Mick Foley vs Cm Punk match at Tables, Ladders and Chairs and it got me thinking.

Could Wwe have Mick Foley defeated Cm Punk in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match at TLC, winning the Wwe Championship in the process and then have Mick Foley vs The Rock at The Rumble.

I said a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for one Reason...

1. It is the only match I have not seen Foley compete in.

But now I have a Few Questions....

1. Do you think Mick Foley can/will compete in a TLC Match

2. Can he handle holding the title which means he will have to show up at every Raw from TLC up until Royal Rumble

3. Would you like to see The Rock vs Mick Foley at Royal Rumble

4. Would you like to see Cm Punk vs The Rock vs Mick Foley in a Triple Threat Match to the Wwe Championship at The Rumble.