Royal Rumble - Royal Rumble General Discussion & Aftermath thread

[mooseman]

As my Rumble tradition I watch each Rumble the week leading up to the current years edition. When was the last time it was a shock who won? Maybe Cena a couple years ago however once he showed up you knew he would win. Maybe Vince in 99? Not really cause they couldn't have Austin win 3 years in a row and that was a weak Rumble roster. I think you have to go back all the way to the 1st 2 when Duggan and Studd won them. Clearly they have been building up towards one of Cena/HHH/HBK winning. I'm gonna eliminate Cena and Batista. I think the plan is Cena vs Rock at Mania but they want to leave Batista open just in case The Rock falls through. I don't think they want HBK vs Taker for the title. I'm assuming HBK will cost Taker the title at some point. So I will knock out HBK. Barring a set back it will be Edge vs Jericho at WM. I have to say it will be HHH who wins. Nobody else really makes sense unless they go the surprise route which they haven't since 1989.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Nobody else really makes sense unless they go the surprise route which they haven't since 1989.

Well think about it for a second though. The WWE has actually been throwing many surprises at us for a few months now. Kofi Kingston being pushed huge, Bret Hart returing to the WWE and the biggest surprise of them all being Sheamus defeating their beloved John Cena for the WWE Championship! I think that this year, out of any, there is a high likelyhood we could see a surprise winner. Maybe thats the reason why they keep mentioning on every broadcast that this is the most star filled Rumble match in history because when someone like Kofi Kingston or John Morrison wins it, it will give them that much more credibility.

 

[y2jnumber1]

I'm predicting a Jericho win and not because I'm a fan of his... It's because it would be unpredictable... the way Jericho has been jobbing like crazy for well over a month now as to lead some where. Not only that you can't have an Edge vs Jericho when one of wrestlers lacks credibility right now. Then their the fact he never won the royal rumble. So him wining would shock the casual fans more then seeing the same 4 win it ever year.

 

[Bowzer]

In reality, HHH or Cena will win. But I would much rather have this happen.

HBK wins the Rumble, and Jericho wins the World Title from the Undertaker at Elimination Chamber. Then HBK tells Taker that he's more than willing to give up his guaranteed title match at WM to face him one more time. Taker finally gives in and HHH gets the RAW title match in a one night, 4 man tourney, while Edge comes back to challenge Jericho for the WHC for Smackdown.

 

[spiketbear]

My favorite Roads to Wrestlemania have been the ones where the unexpected happen, and underdogs go on to win the impossible. I like when new stars are skyrocketed to stardom at WM via the Rumble. There was the year Mysterio won, and the Benoit/Guerrero combo, and the Cena/Batista year. Awesome.

This time, I hope either Kofi Kingston or John Morrison win the Rumble and topple the heel champ at WM. Which ever of the two doesn't win, should get into the other heavyweight title match via a #1 contenders Elimination Chamber. It would be helpful in that regard if Undertaker lost the World Title to a heel at EC.

 

[Jpeart]

I love the Royal Rumble, its so exciting. I really have no idea who will win this year which makes it even better. If I had to choose I'd go with Batsita.

I'm not sure what suprises there will be this year, maybe an appearance by a legend like Piper or Dusty Rhodes?

I have a bad feeling Hornswoggle will enter.

Whatever happens I can't wait,

this article sums up my feelings quite well

http://wwewrestling.suite101.com/article.cfm/why_the_royal_rumble_is_so_special

If I had to choose who I would like to win it would be Morrison or Punk but either way I'm happy, what will be will be.

 

[ascott1984]

With the Rumble hours away i've been thinking about who may be competing tonight. Around 27/28 participants are confirmed to appear leaving 2/3 slots. Who do you guys think will fill these spots? Will they be surprise entrants? such as a WWE Legend, a returning superstar from injury or maybe even a TNA star. Who do you want to see fill these spots?

 

[Caustic]

Usually the Royal Rumble is the PPV I enjoy the most, sometimes more than Wrestlemania. It is the most exciting hour in wrestling.

As I look into my crystal ball I see:
No Edge. But I am an Edgehead. Its probably smarter for him to rest up at this point and be ready for WM instead of coming early and possibly reinjuring.

RVD making another surprise Rumble appearance. Possibly a return! Dun dun daaaaaaaaaa

Mike Tyson. Yup. Just for shock value. Don't worry, he will be in the ring for 5 minutes, eliminate someone quick (I nominate Santino!), take someone's side, then get eliminated by probably HHH...haha

My bet is on (sorry all) Cena to win the Rumble and challenge Taker. I don't want it to be Cena, but there is no one else. Michaels will be ticked and will attack Cena on every show until Cena asks for a Triple Threat. No one on one for Taker this year methinks, its something different.

Taker will beat Mysterio, Mysterio will go into the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.

If Orton wins tonight, then I expect HHH to win the elimination chamber for Raw and face Randy at WM. What sucks about the above predictions is the situation of the Unified Tag Team titles. If DX is split in the WM main events, that title won't get defended. 2 titles actually...I expect Legacy to NOT split up, and instead beat DX as they start to argue over the direction their careers are going. There will be no big DX blowup, they will just part ways and come back next year. Or be reunited in the draft.

Bring on the Rumble!

P.S. Someone else mentioned it would be awesome for the Rock to enter at #30. I'd freakout, especially if it was he and Cena staring each other down. Something great like that for a Cena vs. Rock and WM. Commaaaaaaaaaaan WWE, do it!

 

[LamaNamaneumi]

I was just thinking what if Orton wins the championship tonight, and Kofi Kingston win the rumble. Their feud could end on the grandest stage of them all Wrestlemania.

I get the feeling that the feud between the two is far from over,and a main event match at Mania is a great way to finish it.

although, I still think Legacy is going to end up costing Orton the match tonight. This will most likely be the beginning of the speculated break up of the stable.

With all the old wrestlers showing up on TNA it would be interesting to see if any former talent shows up as a surprise.

 

[bythehorns10]

I expect the obvious candidates to be there at the end, like Shawn, HHH, Cena, etc, but I wouldn't mind someone out of leftfield winning it, even like Kane. I don't hate young talent, but it seems like too big a move to give it to some young guy. This is the Wrestlemania main event we're talking about, and there's plenty of time for the young guys to grow into that superstar level. I browse these forums a lot and see people hate on Sheamus as champion, I'm not saying that's wrong, but if it's some young guy I don't know if he/WWE can pull off huge hype for a Wrestlemania main event.

Something like this should really be a writer's dream though, it's a free pass to get creative, so I'm anxious for tonight, but also in a bad way (if they fail to deliver)

 

[MizisAwesome]

the 5 mystery entrants (spoilers ) just kidding, these are predictions

Hacksaw comes out first and is attacked by Orton who just got destroyed by sheamus

The Rock comes out 27th and rock bottoms and eliminates Cena

Vince McMahon 28th eliminates HHH

Edge 29th knocks out Orton, Rock, Big Show, illegally eliminated by Jericho who was already out

Bret Hart 30th, eliminates Vince after sharpshooter and low kick to gut,

then either Hitman wins and HBK wins at EC, triple threat at mania with vince

or

HBK wins, takes on Taker and wins

Rumble 2011, Punk wins

Taker wins title at EC

HBK wins MITB

Punk vs Taker casket match, taker wins
HBK cashes in, iron man retirement match vs Taker

 

[donp71883]

I'm going to throw a swerve out there, just to see the response. Here we go.

Comes down to Jericho, Christian, and DX in the ring. DX has already tried a few times to throw each other over the rope, resulting in a little bit of a distrust. DX looks at each other, and goes for Jericho and Christian. Just before DX gets to the other two, HBK stops, screws HHH, and HHH goes over. HBK starts to eliminate Christian, but HHH pulls Michaels over the rope, screwing him back. Jericho sneaks up on Christian, ALMOST gets him over the rope, and Edge comes through the crowd, decks Jericho, throws him over, and we end the show with Edge and Christian staring each other down uneasily in the ring.

 

[Tougie]

For the first time in a long damn time I am so glad i watched the Royal Rumble. I've been sticking with TNA as of late, but with their ring and ramp changes even with Mr. Anderson who is the only man who makes a difference, TNA is just generic. Maybe it was that iMPACT seemed more compelling. But, yeah Edge just won as I was typing this. WHICH IS AWESOME!!!!! But from top to bottom Royal Rumble was awesome. The ECW title match was decent I was a little shocked at how into the match the crowd was, but it had a decent ending. The teddy long backstage segment pissed me off cause of the singing. The Miz - MVP match was kinda stale but i'll give it to em that it was better than 80% of TNA ppv matches. The WWE title match, although I was a fan of both I'm glad Sheamus retained and that WWE pushed the Legacy breakup. And it was a pretty good match. The one match that pissed me off was the Woman's Title match. For once i was semi interested in a woman's match and didnt consider it a bathroom or snack break. Why would u make a hype video (the only match that had one besides the royal rumble) just for it too be a squash match with about 3-4 minutes or pre and post match crap. If your gonna waste our time do it with something entertaining. The World title match was ok. Just the generic world title match from the past 3 years. I would have to say the Anderson-Jarrett impact match was better though. And then everyone's favorite match of the night. During the match I wrote down some pro's and con's to it. Overall it decent, but its the Royal Rumble i cant rele see how u can call a royal rumble terrible unless its less than 30 minutes. But my pros and cons for the rumble match.

Pros
-Edge won (I mean come on thats an obvious pro, helps that Orton and Edge are my two favs as well)
- MVP/Miz fued (It started with their match, then Miz attacking MVP during his entrance, good start to a fued)
- Rumble Rookies (Just good to see a lot of new faces in the rumble)
- HUGE PRO, Beth Phoenix becomes the second woman to enter the rumble and eliminates Khali, I mean come on thats just awesome.
- Striker mentioning the last time HHH won the rumble was in the ATL
- HBK eliminated HHH, I mean there are some many places this can go, I want to see HHH and HBK at mania as opposed to HBK-Taker and HHH-Cena as this site has posted some rumors on Mania plans.
- Edge enters 29 (Wasent expecting it at all, I was expecting Santino or Batista then Edge at 30 so that completely shocked me and was a good call by WWE
- Im completely confused on whats going to happen at mania now, and thats the way it should be. I mean you have Sheamus, Cena, DX, Edge, and Taker are the major people who I hear about as far as mania, but i cant wait to see who faces who.

Cons
-R Truth eliminates Henry and Big Show (Makes no sense to me, John Cena can't but Truth can cause he is the fresh man? WWE really needs to decide if their pushing truth, I look he's being pushed, i look again he's not?)
- is it just me or is HHH pretty hefty?
- Chris Masters jobs (Yes he took steroids, got fired, before that was pushed, Orton takes steroids, doesnt get fired, doesnt lose his push. hmm)

Both
-John Cena entrance breaks up a DX collision (Good because it left the fans really wanting to see DX fight, bad because Striker called Cena a pop culture icon)
-The ridiculous eliminations of Matt Hardy and Legacy to set up the DX staredown (Hardy was in the ring for 30 seconds and Legacy got man handled by HBK of all people, but it did set up the above)
- HBK basically has a breakdown after being eliminated, yeah I know WWE wants us to feel bad for HBK but that was a bit to much for me, but if HBK-Taker 2 happens and Bret refs it, I'll be happy.
- Punks Dominance and speeches really made the crowd, and myself and friends mark out. Its good to see punk is staying notable, but being eliminated before 15 pissed me off

So yeah I crossed the line to TNA, and I just jumped back after watching the Rumble and Edge's return. So now that im done marking out what did u guys think of RR?

 

[Underbaker]

Yea it was a great show, I mean Edge, my favorite wrestler comes back and wins also setting up a match at mania vs jericho, the legacy vs orton feud started, and we saw the deadman bleed in what was for the most part a boring match. But then again Sheamus is still champ, and christian who is ready to move on retained a rather pointless title on a forgotten show . I was happy mostly because it set up so much, like hbk vs hhh or edge vs jericho.

 

[Kenny Powers]

This was a pretty good PPV. This was the first time in a long time I didn't regret forking over money. Even though the price was a little steep, but that's not going to change. I liked every match on the card. I could of done without the Woman's title match. As many of you probably agree with me. I guess it wouldn't of been bad if they would of had an actual match instead of doing their ridiculous piggy james skit.

It was nice to see some dissension between Legacy and between HBK and Triple H. I don't think we will see DX be all rainbows and sunshine tomorrow night. Hopefully DX is dead along with Hornswoggle. Striker gave some good commentary tonight. Sheamus and Orton had a decent match with a good finish. Undertaker and Mysterio surprised me. Mysterio is a talented worker, but he shouldn't be anywhere near a main event.

The Miz and MVP are continuing their feud. The sad thing is does anybody care about MVP? The audience doesn't. That's true not just for tonight's audience, but audiences around the U.S in general. I hear crickets chirp every time MVP comes to the ring or says anything. Ballin' is the only chants you here. Cheap pops. It was great to see Edge come back and win the Rumble.

It's interesting to see who Edge will face at Wrestle Mania, and what the future holds for HBK. CM Punk was great in his role at the rumble. Eliminating participants while talking trash between eliminations. Something we haven't seen since the days of Austin and Rock. I was pleasantly surprised with the Rumble. Why in the blue hell was Beth Phoenix in it though? she even eliminated Khali. That is pretty sad.

No disrespect to Beth, but divas don't belong in the rumble. That's why Chyna entering the rumble was lame also. I usually have ill will for WWE, but not tonight. I'm actually excited for Wrestle Mania.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Royal Rumble Review

This was a pretty good show, with a really good crowd topped by the shocking return of Edge (shocking to me, since I doubted him even making it back for Mania, let alone the Rumble)

Christian vs Ezekiel Jackson: This was a surprisingly good opener. Christian proves once again that he can pull a good match out of pretty much anyone, and this was Zeke's best outing yet. He dominated alot of the match, with Christian picking his spots and getting quick offense. Regal was ejected from ringside early on, leaving it one-on-one for a majority of the match which was nice. It'll be interesting to see where Captain Charisma goes from here.

MVP vs. The Miz: a match that was announced on the ppv by Teddy Long, this was an okay match though I didn't see the point of doing something like that if the title wasn't going to change hands. This was surprisingly long, since I was sure it'd be a quick squash with MVP taking the title; boy, was I way off. Instead, Miz beats MVP cleanly; okay....what was the point of that? MVP beats Miz down afterwards, which would've made a little more sense if Miz cheated to win, but alas. On a side note, did anyone notice how quick MVP hit the Playmaker? He didn't awkwardly hop around or anything, it was as quick as an RKO. Incredible.

Randy Orton vs Sheamus: This match was pretty boring to be honest. Orton is slow and methodical in the ring and needs someone explosive and energetic to play off of (ex. Cena, HBK). Sheamus is just dull in the ring all together, so this didn't go to well. However, the ending was great with Cody running interference and getting caught, causing Orton to be DQ. Orton snaps on Cody, Ted runs to try and smooth things over, then gets and Orton beat down before Randy is booted by Sheamus. Other than that, a dull match.

Mickie James vs Michelle McCool: with the surprising amount of time the US title match was given, I knew this match would be a squash. Michelle's promo at the beginning with Layla once again donning the Piggie James fat suit pretty much confirmed that suspicion, with James coming out, quickly dispatching of Layla before a quick DDT on Michelle for the win and the title. With all the build up this match got, I was hoping for something more so this was a letdown.

Rey Mysterio vs. The Undertaker: a solid match; not great ,not crap. Undertaker dominated a lot of it (as he should have), but Mysterio got in some pretty good offense (the back-to-back 619 was cool). Undertaker's nose got busted open midway, and I dreading the arrival of the PG squad to fix him up. Thankfully, they didn't as it'd be weird to see Undertaker getting patched up during a match; it just doesn't fit his character. For the first time in ages, Taker wins the match with the Last Ride to retain.

Royal Rumble Match: Overall, this was an okay Rumble, though it could've been better. There weren't enough people in the ring at one time for my liking (I like my Rumble's to, at some point, become clusterfucks' which never happened) but it was still pretty entertaining with a damn good ending. I'll just list some random thoughts

-CM Punk was priceless tonight. I was legit pissed when Triple H eliminated him
-Alot of the superstars were eliminated WAY too quickly.
-Beth Phoenix eliminating Khali was great, and I marked out when Punk GTS'd her.
-Yoshi Tatsu had some sweet gear tonight. It was like a modern version of Ricky Steamboat's attire. Too bad he was eliminated so quick to admire it.
-HHH being eliminated by HBK midway
-speaking of whom, HBK was awesome tonight. He had me on the edge of my seat with all his near-eliminations, and when he finally did go, his little meltdown afterwards was great.
-FINALLY getting to see Cena and R-Truth mix it up for a bit. I've been wanting to see that since Killings returned.
-I screamed aloud when Edge's music hit. Him going after Jericho and eliminating him and spearing everyone was awesome.

So overall, a pretty solid Rumble. Not the best, but it set up some big potential storylines for Wrestlemania. I can't wait to see all three shows this week.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's WWE Royal Rumble 2010 Review:​

1. E.C.W. Championship: Christian © v. Ezekiel Jackson:​

As usual the Rumble kicks off with the lesser of the Third Heavyweight titles. And ironically enough, probably the most competitive and best of the three Championships, in my opinion.

I really believed that Jackson’s time was now, and considering Christian has held the title for the majority of the previous year - I figured it was time for a new Champion, and what better choice than the man being deemed to have just as big a body, as the icon Hulk Hogan.

The back and forth action in this match proved two things to me. First, it showed me that Christian can hang with guys twice his size, and make it look realistic and entertaining. Second, it showed me that Jackson’s time as a World Champion will happen. Maybe not soon, but someday I can see him being a monster similar to Batista or Lesnar with a manager in his corner.

The ending of this match was just as amazing as the motion and chemistry between these two. My only problem with the entire thing is that nothing ever came of William Regal re-interfering, nor did any altercation of Kozlov and Jackson come through. It was a simple one-on-one match for the most part with a clean ending that makes any type of re-match almost unlikely. I hope I’m wrong, as this is my Match of the Night.

Winner: Christian (Grade B+, Rating 4.0)

2. United States Championship: The Miz © v. M.V.P.:​

Its nice to see that the “last minute” added match can out perform almost 50% of the pre-set matches. Miz and M.V.P don’t have the best chemistry and to be perfectly honest I have no desire to see M.V.P in a position he’s been in for a year, once before. Its like watching someone continuously hung in “rewind” mode.

The truly disappointing situation to me is that The Miz, as a result, didn’t have a bigger role in the Rumble. While its nice to see they’re trying to build a new reputation and positive outlook on the United States title the fact that all this will likely lead to is maybe a 2-month feud in which nothing changes other than more disappointment for M.V.P fans. (and by that, I seriously mean even if he wins the title - all it’ll be is a step in the wrong direction, considering he’s been there before and done nothing with it.)

As far as this match went, it was a damn fine match. I don’t know what more to say of it though, because as I’ve already mentioned I just had no ambition or desire to care for this feud. They’re trying to rehash the Prison-bad choices made history of M.V.P. Whats the point of bringing it up? To prove that even if you do something seriously wrong, you can still make a great living in the end?? Okay kids, lets go hold up a bank. In 7-10 years we can all become W.W.E Superstars.

The ending of this contest was a simple roll-up by the Miz, with the classic heel escaping danger and fluke-like retaining his title. Afterwards M.V.P laid out Miz and apparently thought he wouldn’t have to pay for that later. Riigghhttt..

Winner: The Miz (Grade: C+, Rating: 3.5)

3. W.W.E. Championship: Sheamus © v. Randy Orton:​

This was without question the worst match of the night. It was long, boring and way too many rest holds made it a piss-break worth taking. But then again, anyone who thought this was going to be a 5 star contest was liking smoking crack and thinking way too highly of either individual.

I can’t remember the last time two heels went at each other for a Heavyweight Championship, but I do seem to recall at the Royal Rumble a few years back - J.B.L and Kurt Angle each had heel factions, and Big Show stood alone in a triple threat match that J.B.L retained his title in. At least that match had something worth caring about though. This match, on the other hand, seems like it was something thrown in to make Sheamus not seem like such a failure as a Champion on his way to likely losing to John Cena all over again.

The ending was more interesting than the 15 (plus) minutes of boredom I had to sit through to get there. Building up to this match, both Cody and Ted tried getting in Orton’s head about the other. As a result, Cody cost Orton the contest in a way that I don’t even think WWE Writers can explain, beyond saying it’s a piss poor attempt to cause more friction to a faction that’s no longer relevant. As a result of this whole thing, Orton lays out Rhodes - then DiBiase, only to have Sheamus lay Orton out as if it mattered. It didn’t.

Winner: Sheamus (Grade: F, Rating: 0.5 - for the ending, alone)

4. Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool © v. Mickie James:​

This, in my opinion, was likely the second best way to have the entire match.

First and foremost I have to explain that I felt like this storyline was quite possibly one of the worst ones ever done. And that falls into the category that I felt it was more disgusting than the Hassan’ attempted strangling on the Undertaker following the subway bombing, the Triple H funeral scene, and even the hanging of the Bossman in Hell in a Cell. The thing that made this different is simply put because terrorist attacks are World Wide, hangings used to happen all the time in front of public audiences, and well the funeral scene was just in poor taste - but still had humor to it. This storyline, on the other side, affects likely over 80% of the American population. (obesity)

I’m glad they decided to bring up a sore subject of how its “wrong” to be fat, but they definitely went about it in the most distasteful and disgusting way. Again, Mickie James isn’t even “fat” as comparable to 70-90% of the rest of the American population. So for them to carry this out as long as its gone on was a bit much. It did, however, finally give McCool some heel heat. Which shes been unable to gain until this point.

Moving on from that rant - the one of two ways I felt were best to finish this match were; the ending that happened in which no match technically were to take place, just have Mickie come in and win. Or the ending that didn’t happen, which would’ve been total domination of Mickie over McCool. This storyline has gone on for over 2 months. A total domination match should’ve taken place here, in my opinion.

Winner: Mickie James - New Women’s Champion (Grade: N/A, Rating: N/A - outside of saying I‘m happy Mickie did what everyone likely felt she was going to do - there wasn‘t anything to judge on.)

5. World Heavyweight Championship: The Undertaker © v. Rey Mysterio:​

Great match, way too foreseeable ending. That pretty much sums everything up about this contest.

When I first heard that Rey Mysterio was going to get a match-up against the Undertaker, I thought to myself - okay, Batista will likely be added because a one-on-one match-up is just stupid in my book. It’d be a complete miss-match and make the Undertaker look incredibly weak. Well, to be perfectly honest it did exactly what I thought it’d do. Mysterio didn’t just make the Undertaker look “defeat-able” he actually busted him open. He, point blank, made the Undertaker look less than human.

While in the end it took like 3-4 619’s and not even all of those could keep Taker down, no one should’ve ever thought it was going to. Even when I read “possible reports/spoilers” about how Mysterio could win the title, I thought to myself - Okay, so then someone has to help him because there is no way its believable for Mysterio to defeat the Undertaker.

The ending of this contest was perfect for what it was. There isn’t many more ways I could’ve said they should’ve ended this, than make people firmly come to as much realism of Mysterio’s chance to win as possible - only to destroy whatever small thoughts and hopes may have formed - instantly.

Winner: The Undertaker (Grade: B+, Rating: 4.0)

6. Royal Rumble:​

Instead of discussing the Royal Rumble as a whole, I’m going to talk about specific individuals who were IN the Rumble. Ending with the winner, and my final thoughts.

John Cena: While they never truly have him any type of build-up, I can’t help but sigh at the fact that he was the final individual eliminated from the Rumble. Cena’s presence in the Rumble was, in my opinion, nothing more than to give people thoughts of one more big name “likely” to win. Beyond his seemingly current storyline of “never being able to beat Sheamus”, he had no true reason or purpose to win this year’s Rumble. He certainly doesn’t need to perform in the Main Event of Wrestlemania just to prove he can beat a guy like Sheamus, who’ll likely be back performing in the mid-card before the middle of the year is up.

Triple H.: With the exception of Shawn Michaels, I honestly felt like Triple H got the second most spotlight on winning this year’s Rumble. When he dumped out Shawn and told everyone he was going to win, that was pretty much all it took. While many would say “that’s hardly a ton of spotlight” it’s the fact that from that moment on, when Triple H dumped out the one guy many believed would win it all (HBK) it just deflated a bit of the Rumble for me.

Similar to Cena, in my book, Triple H had ZERO reason to win the Rumble (again) and compete in the Main Event of Wrestlemania (again), on route to winning yet another Heavyweight title that’ll be added to the list of titles that mean nothing. (AGAIN)

So when he finally came in, beyond his small little spurts of power and dominance, he did almost nothing and in retrospect to how much I believed they built him up - they truly didn’t allow him to take hardly ANY spotlight. For that, I’m proud of the company.

Shawn Michaels: My only question is.. With all the build-up to Shawn Michaels winning this year’s Rumble, why wasn’t HBK the final man eliminated? Why was he instead knocked out 3rd from the last guy out? He was the first of the final four, eliminated. And by Batista, who’s elimination of HBK doesn’t even make for an interesting side story.

HBK had a ton of eliminations, possibly the most in this Rumble. So as a result, is that like saying hes the “blue-chipper” who makes a statement and has a bright future? WTF?!

C.M. Punk: Without question my second favorite part of the entire Royal Rumble, was watching C.M. Punk’s entire performance. It was like watching poetry. A beautiful set of mini-stories all rolled up into one with the commentary and preaching by Punk in between his domination.

I’m really in love with this storyline that they have him in, and I can only hope it leads him to some Gold and a more important role than just random mid-card insertion.

Carlito: Simply put.. What the hell?! Why was Carlito’s role in the Rumble bigger than that of Triple H’s, Big Show’s and even Jericho’s?! Literally, Carlito hit his finisher on like 4 people and at one point was the sole man standing in the ring after hitting his finisher repeatedly. Why? At what point did someone in the back say to everyone else “Hey, Carlito hasn’t been given a proper push lately - lets have him fucking dominate for a solid minute plus in this thing.” There is NO reason why Carlito shouldn’t be holding the new record for elimination in a split half second right now.

Misc: The first person I’m going to talk about in this little misc. discussion, is Kofi Kingston. Does anyone else recall not even a full month ago - Kingston was going head-to-head with the former Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and winning?? Who exactly did he eliminate and prove to everyone he was still deserving to be on top here? Jack Swagger? R-Truth?! What did Kingston do of importance in the Rumble, that will make people remember him for being a future Heavyweight Champion? NOTHING. That’s what.

Next on the list; Beth Phoenix. I get that she wants to be something important, and that she also realizes that the Women’s division is such shit that she can’t do anything more in it. But really? What did having her enter the Rumble accomplish that hasn’t already been done? Wow, she eliminated a massive giant that hasn’t done anything of relative importance since 2007. That’s amazing. Wait, I got it.. She let C.M. Punk knock her the fuck out. Congrats on being forgotten AND getting a fat lip. Hope it was worth it.

Legacy; really? Where was the dysfunction between these two? Why even add to the story some much building up to the Rumble, if they weren’t going to be involved in being the down fall of each other? Just another meaningless and forgotten storyline.

Chris Jericho: Another man who should’ve had a much larger role, with the type of ending he had. They needed to build up to his elimination, not just bring him in and let him dominate for 90 seconds (if even) only to get tossed following the next entrant.

Jericho needed to be an entrant in the single digits, or early rounds. Like #13, or 12. He should’ve been tossed at the very most only to “not” be eliminated, then bring him back in toward the end, right before he’s due to be tossed. Make it at least moderately look like he’s being eliminated for a better purpose than to be used as a stepping stone.

Royal Rumble Winner: Edge: Well, well, well. What can I say? Not only did I do every bit of the marking out I said I would. But I’m probably sure I lost my voice in the process. Edge has now done something that not even Hulk Hogan has done! No, not winning the Royal Rumble.. Adding this to his collection of achievements to make him more elite than he already was. He’s now one of very few, if hardly any others at all - to win the Rumble, King of the Ring, and every other Championship available to him at the time.

While I’m sure the Hogan remark will likely strike someone’s attention and dismay the fact remains this was a huge way to kick off the new year for the WWE and Edge’s return is a great way to kick off the Road to Wrestlemania. Oddly enough - I DO NOT believe he’ll face the Heavyweight Champion at Mania, barring the Champion suddenly becoming Chris Jericho.

Edge against any of the current Champions (minus Christian) either just isn’t believable, or has already been done before. So if Edge is to keep his Mania Championship Main Event ticket, he’s going to have to find a new Champion to face that isn’t one of the current three.

Final Thoughts:​

How ironic is it that on the night Edge returns, I do the very same for posting in a positive form? Honestly I had already planned to return to reviews; starting with the Rumble - but I must say Edge’s victory has made my return much more enjoyable. Now then, my overall final thoughts are this.

We have 56 days, I think it said, until Wrestlemania. As a result, we have roughly 1 main show from now til then, to realign the entire Championship line-up. I can not and DO NOT wish to see Sheamus carry the Heavyweight Championship into Mania. So the only question now remains, how and who will defeat him come the Elimination Chamber? John Cena? Triple H? Possibly Chris Jericho in a bizarre entry into Raw’s Chamber?!

The Undertaker carrying the title to Mania is fine, but his likely opponent’s right now are either Edge or Batista. Two guys he’s already defeated at the event. While a rematch of last year’s Mania between Taker and Michaels isn’t “new”, its still something I’d like to see than the title match between Edge or Batista. (unless of course Edge is to end the streak, which would be amazing - but arguably not possible)

So, to finalize everything. This was an above average Royal Rumble. It wasn't the best, but had a very solid Opening and Ending. I can only hope that some day the Company will return to form with realizing they DO NOT need to fill this ppv with stupid Championship matches that everyone knows mean next to nothing.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Will, silly, clearly, HBK will cost Taker the title in a match with Jericho, so that Undertaker will be so pissed that he will accepts Shawn's challenge, so he can beat the shit out of him. Innit.

Allow me to discuss why this was the best fucking Rumble EVER

Perfect way to start, Ziggles and Bourne. Let these too flip flop and fly, and get the crowd even more primed than they already were. Awesome, great idea.

CM FUCKING PUNK. Priceless. Fantastic. Amazing. Positive adjective. Positive adjective. Holy shit man. Everything, his work, the mic work, the whole fucking thing was just TOO damn awesome for words. I wouldve preffered it went a bit longer, but I wont nit pick. This fucking kicked serious ass, especially when he DID A FUCKING GTS ON A WOMAN He EVEN held his own one on one with the King of kings, something I really was doubting. I was all but sure Trips was just gonna toss him out like a sack of trash, but they even got THAT part right. Awesome.

Beth Pheonix....Epic. I have never been that pumped by anything any woman has ever done in wrestling. When that music hit, and she fucking CHARGED the ring....BAD fucking ass. We probably got D-Man a fucking noise complaint for that. The best part is they totally took that from Chyna's nasty no talent ass. Thank fucking goodness. Beth is hotter, a better wrestler, less annoying voice, and isnt a fucked up druggie waster ****.

In no Rumble ever was I in so much doubt as to who would win. Shit, at the beginning of the night, I thought Batista or Trips, with a possibility of HBK. I had no clue who would win until Cena's feet hit the floor. Even then, I was in total shock. Holy shit.

They let pretty much EVERY young guy get their shine on. J-Mo, Mycnitire, Kofi, and Swagger especially got good spots in. SHIT even fucking CARLITO was rocking everyones ass for a while. We also had the advancement of a HOT feud, between Mizzle and MVP. Fantastic. Also, did I mention what they did with CM Punk?????? Well if not, let me say, it was fucking awesome.

The troubles with DX. Fucking sick, WHAT a shocker, to not only see Triple H gone before the Rumble was even CLOSE to being over, to be kicked in the fucking face by HBK to do it. Jaw dropping.

HBK in general, had a fucking amazing night. He is so damn good, everyone in the house was wondering if him being eliminated was a fuck up

Speaking of which....NEVER has there been SO many interweaving storylines played out in one contest...HBK's fight for survival, his only chance to get back at the deadman....The descension of DX....The SES - DX rivalry, and The CM Punk character in general...A possible Trips - Batista showdown....Mizzle and MVP hate each other....

Edge. Fucking Edge, man. First of all, I cannot overstate the utter fucking brilliance of having him come in at 29 instead of 30. Everyone wouldve expected it at 30. NO ONE expected it at 29, and the crowd fucking shit all over itself. As a matter of fact, they had already filled all 5 of the wild card spots, so when I say no one saw it coming, um no one saw it coming. I legit said to IC and D-Man "shit, that was the last open spot...No Edge *sad face* " and then that fucking music hit. Holy motherfuck. If he didnt get a noise complaint for the Pheonix moment, he DEFINATELY got one for the MTFO we had for this shit. Gosh damn. The only slight issue I have, is you can tell they totally rushed him back, becuase his physique looks like absolute shit. Like, even for Edge. I bet he has only be medically cleared for weeks, if not days. Oh well, I was over it pretty quick, he has never looked like John Cena anyhow.

Fucking amazing.

 

[Guilty]

TheOneBigWill's WWE Royal Rumble 2010 Review:​

The back and forth action in this match proved two things to me. First, it showed me that Christian can hang with guys twice his size, and make it look realistic and entertaining. Second, it showed me that Jackson’s time as a World Champion will happen. Maybe not soon, but someday I can see him being a monster similar to Batista or Lesnar with a manager in his corner.

Funny...I said the same thing to my buddies while i was watching the match. First off hes a BEAST. Impressive look. Wrestling ability....for a big man...isnt bad.


Rumble was awesome in my opinion. Best ever?? No. But the TV shows have been poor and i enjoyed the ppv

 

[ShadowrealmBG]

I think that the PPV was really good i am not a Edge mark but i really thought that Michaels wil win but i don't know if you notiec but when Edge came out Michel Cole said "Holly ......" I think he was planing to say Holly Shit , but i think is interesting how the Main Events are going to resolve .

 

[AndyUK]

The undercard was as incredibly dull for me but as usual, I really enjoyed watching the Rumble. It did seem a little short but it was full of great moments. I'm talking about CM Punk's performance, Beth Phoenix entering and eliminating Khali, HBK eliminating HHH, HBK's elimination and reaction and of course Edge's return and win. I'd give the PPV as a whole about 6.5/10 just because of the Rumble.

 

[Dagger Dias]

My thoughts on the Royal Rumble PPV last night.

ECW match
I correctly predicted Christian's victory, and the match was a good opener. Ezekiel did better than I thought he would. Not much else to say here though

US title match
Not bad. I'm glad Miz retained because MVP does not need another US title reign, he already had a good one and a bad one, no need to add a pointless one to the list. I was also glad they added this at the last minute.

WWE title match
I wasn't thrilled with this match, but it will be really interesting to see what Orton does to Legacy on Raw tonight. I'm a little sick of complicated finishes to matches right now. Either guy would have benefited from a clean victory, which sounds ironic since both are heels.

WOMENS title match
I thought Michelle would retain here. Mickie winning means the feud might continue, and I hope it does because it is Wrestlemania worthy as far as the divas go and the best angle we have seen for them since Trish left. One thing is for certain though, if Mickie gets even one more title then I riot. Trish's record should be left intact.

WORLD title match
I'm glad Taker retained. It will be great if he gets to defend a title AND his streak at Wrestlemania this year. This was the best match of the night other than the Rumble itself, and I enjoyed some of Taker's counters of Rey's moves.

ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
This was great. Everything about it was good. Even Phoenix's involvement. I had predicted for HBK to win and I was almost right, he got 4th place. Edge's return was awesome and people were probably expecting him to return at 30, so when his music hit at #29 I marked out. Funny thing is, I had also told some buddies that Edge would return at #30 and win it if HBK doesn't win, and they sarcastically answered "yeah right". Well, they were wrong lol.... Edge's win and return was awesome.


Other segments
The segment in the office backstage was rather terrible and the only good thing about it was that Tiffany was in it. I found it really cheesy and cringed a bit at some of the lines.

Overall thoughts
The bad news is that last night was not one of my better predictions, as I usually get at least half the card right, and only got 2 out of 5 matches correct. I disregarded the MVP match since that was added at the last minute. The GOOD news however was that this was a really great PPV and what a way to kick off 2010's PPV's for WWE! Great show and I enjoyed every minute of it except for that segment in the office backstage.

A-

 

[WWEIsLife]

I was at the Royal Rumble last night here in Atlanta and what an Awesome Show.

ECW Title-Pretty solid opener with Christian & Big Zeke. Ezkieal looked pretty good to me. Of course Christian was on top of his Game and was glad he Retained.

US Title-Decent Match here,I kinda thought Miz would lose the Title but made sense later in the night.

WWE Title-Probably the 2nd Best Match of the night behind Taker/Mysterio before the Rumble Match itself. Looks like Legacy may be on the outs after Cody cost Orton the Title and then Orton attacking Dibiase afterword as well. I thought Orton would win it though but Sheamus didn't look too bad.

Womens Title-A quick one here and glad Mickie won the Womens Title for a 5th time and got some payback on Michelle in the process.

World Title-I liked this Match also,loved all the counters by Rey into the 2 619's. Glad Taker Retained,bloody nose and all.

Royal Rumble Match-Lots of highlights here:

CM Punk
HBK eliminating HHH
R-Truth eliminating Big Show & Mark Henry
Beth Phoenix Entering just like Chyna and dumping Great Khali
Edge's Return and winning it was sweet

I got the Bret Hart New Shirt and the Official Royal Rumble Shirt. So overall a Great way to start 2010 and the Road To Wrestlemania. I do plan on going to WM 27 here next year at The Georgia Dome as well.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

All things considered, after the smoke cleared and the dust settled, this year's Royal Rumble was probably one of the single most disappointing Royal Rumbles in the history of the event.

It gets a solid C. And that is terrible, being that the Royal Rumble is one of my favorite WWE events to look forward to.

The matches were extremely underwhelming, for starters.

Ezekiel vs Christian I think exceeded a lot of expectations and those two deserve credit for working hard. 3 stars.

Miz and MVP was just meh .... no title change despite being a bonus match, and clearly was filler.

Orton and Sheamus was very disappointing. Finally, after months and months of build they took a step at disassociating Legacy from Orton, however STILL did not even officially break the group up. Match ended in a DQ. No different than what you see on Raw every single week with Orton's matches. 2 stars, which is awful for a title match.

Michelle McCool vs Mickie James- absolute DUD. I absolutely despise when a feud builds and builds like this one has been doing on Smackdown, only to end the feud in seconds. What about dishing revenge out for all those insults for months, Mickie? You just want to pin McCool like that? Awful.

Undertaker vs Mysterio- okay for what it was. And I do give credit to them for not involving Batista, since everyone was expecting that to happen. So hats off to WWE for that. 2 1/2 stars.

Now for the Royal Rumble itself.

Probably one of the most underwhelming Royal Rumbles in history, where nothing noteworthy happened other than CM Punk preaching to the fans and attempting to save superstars.

Oh, and of course Edge returning, which everyone was pretty much expecting to happen anyway, and continue to live up to his "Ultimate Opportunist" gimmick, which is about 5 years too old now. Yawn. Edge wins.

Event gets a solid C.

This Royal Rumble is a typical and classic example of the Cruise Control booking philosophy of WWE. And fans prove time and time again, that they lap it up every single time.

Does this make Vince a genius? No.

Does it make his fans look like a bunch of spoon-fed zombies? Absolutely.

WWE fans prove time and time again that they will tolerate absolutely ANYTHING that Vince gives them. Gotta admire the concept of "Blind Loyalty".

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Well, I guess i'll throw my two cents in.

ECW Title Match

If you'd asked me before watching that match, if i would actually want to, i'd say 'yeah, just for Christian i'd watch,' thinking to myself that Zeke is just this decade's Ahmed Johnson, but last night, Big Zeke made a believer out of me. After originally being paired with Kendrick, and then being lumped with Kozlov, i thought his career was pretty much going nowhere from the starting line. Now i can see the potential for this guy to put on some good matches, especially if he's working THAT well with a guy with the level of talent as Christian. TBH, i thought this was the best match of the night. It was the only one that i said to myself 'That was a good match' whenit was all said and done. I'd expect Zeke to be moved back to the main roster later this year, and hope they don't make him 2010's Umaga or Vladimir Kozlov, as in rise him to the highest level and then abruptly push him off of it.

US Title

Ooooo, a bonus match, probably a rush decision to make up for how horrendous the preceeding segment had been up until Miz walked in. This was about as good as you would expect it to be, but to be honest i thought Miz might actually lose the title and end up lasting until the final four or something. Considering that the poll on WWE's webiste showed him as the fans #1 choice to win, i thought the 'E' might have considered pushing him a little further up. Now i'd never believe he'd actually win the Rumble, but by lasting long in the Rumble, the fans would be more receptive to the idea of him hanging with the Big Dogs in the ME tier, instead of liking him purely because he's the only guy on Raw who can cut a promo without seeming lame or childish for their age.
I also didn't get why fans boo'ed MVP attacking Miz afterward. Granted there were Miz fans there, but last night it seemed like everyone was booing MVP after that spot.

Women's Title

I don't watch WWE tv unless it's a quick recap show or i look up certain matches online, so thankfully i've missed all this Piggie James garbage they've had on SD these past 2 months. Sadly though, the 2 minute video package was enough to have me cringing in pain at this angle. What made it worse, was that the match was a damn squash. I know a LOT of people think Michelle McCool is shit, and i get where your coming from. I personally think she's good in the ring even if not on the mic, and obviously Mickie knows what she's doing, even if she has been getting sloppy lately, so as surprising as it is to type it, i was actually looking forward to this match (if only slightly). Squash matches for titles are always a bad idea in my book.

WWE Title

Well what did you expect? Did you expect the Viper to suddenly start delivering flashy offense and working up the crowd? He's supposed to be Raw's top heel. Just because everyone hates Sheamus more, doesn't mean Orton's suddenly going to turn face for this one match. I watched to see Sheamus try and prove himself in the ME tier, and unfortunately, this match didn't prove anything to me. Having the DQ ending to set up the end of Legacy was ok, but when you then realise that we've got to put up with Sheamus as the champ for another 3 weeks until EC, then you really wish they'd gone a different way, at least, i know i do. Both these guys work similar styles. Slow and methodical. When you put guys like that together, you don't usually get great results, and this match was a great example of that imo.

World Heavyweight Title

I'm shocked that Batista didn't interfere in this. I would have thought that Rey and Dave's fued would have lasted at least until WM.

Also, why did Matt Striker think it was a good idea to downplay the mystique of the Undertaker? I was sat there thinking 'shut up you idiot, just stop talking.' I know we're not stupid enough to believe the undead gimmick, but that's like stepping on Superman's cape isn't it? Anyway, this match was exactly what it should have been. Rey Mysterio getting flattened in a short amount of time. Yes, this was done just to make sure Taker isn't hurt before Mania. Yes it's a cop out if you think about it, but at the same time, every Rumble has lackluster title matches, and has done for the last 7 or 8 years, but kudos for giving us something different in the SD ME scene. Plus regardless of title matches, injuries, etc this match would only ever make sense if:

a) Taker got jumped and busted open before the match began. Well that wouldn't happen, everyone who's said they want the WHC has surpisingly wanted Taker to remain the champion until their shot, plus PG shit would mean no savage beatings on TV anymore so, no blood, and you wouldn't believe Taker was THAT hurt without it.
b) Someone ran in and tried to stop Mysterio from winning, only to accidentally end up helping him win. Again, why would anyone think that Rey could beat the Undertaker on his own?

Rey has beaten giants bigger than him before as we all know, but this one wasn't a 500lb idiot, or a burnt psycho with mask issues, or a stupidly strong but strongly stupid Animal. This was the Dead Man. A 20 plus year vet who's got ungodly endurance and power and can intimidate and psyche out just about anyone, after 20 years of destroying people smaller, equal and larger than him, why would anyone believe that he'd lose clean to a man half his size and weight? This match, quite simply put, made sense. The live audience knew Rey'd get squashed, and so should everyone else.

The Rumble

I've never laughed so much during the first 10 minutes of a Rumble. I laughed when they showed the close up of Ziggler and Bourne shouting that the WM spot was 'theirs' at each other. I laughed when Punk came out, eliminated them both, and then started preaching, i laughed when Kahli came out, looked like he was going to sign up and then chopped Punk down, paused in shock when Beth Phoenix came out, laughed as she eliminated Kahli, laughed a lot harder when she took the GTS, and then nearly collapsed with laughter when Punk smacked Ryders head in mid-sentence. CM Punk made the first 1/4 of the Rumble, really fun to watch, and then it slipped back into typical Rumble mode, with the ME guys in for ages and the other talent just appearing for a cup of coffee.

The problem for me, is that no one except HBK was made to look like they were a dark horse, or an outside chance that they could get the 'W' when the curtain went down. Usually someone from the first 5 or 6 entrants ends up being one of the final 6 eliminated, making you think throughout the match that they could win. This year, no one from the first 15 entrant lasted longer that 30 minutes. I thought that with everything they've been doing with Kofi and Morrison lately, that one of them would have hung in there for a quite a while, and if they weren't going to push someone, then Jericho would have been an obvious choice. I completely agree with Will when he said Jericho should have been in for ages, looking like he'd go out but hanging on until Edge appeared to eliminate him. It would have been remiscent of the Foley/Orton fued where Orton entered the Rumble at #2 and Foley came in at 21 and eliminated him. Instead they came out one after the other, making the order of entrance seem that little bit less random than they like to make out in the build up. I was shocked that HBK didn't win. Since he had all the focus from the moment he entered, i assumed my prediction would ring true and we'd have Taker v HBK II for the WHC. Well unless Edge is challenging for the WWE title or is going to lose his WM title shot all together, then i guess that's not going to happen.

Am i glad Edge won? Well, yes and no. No, because i'm sick of seeing the guy just turn up and win things. Like Sid said, that gimmick is way too old and has done so much damage to the ME scene that it needs to end. The days of long built up fueds and classic battles for significant titles has been shat on repeatedly ever since the very first MITB cash in 5 years ago.

And yes, because if Edge is now a face, then i imagine the 'Ultimate Opportunist' gimmick will now take a back seat to the Rated R gimmick, or it'll change somewhat. Edge will now win his matches by capitalising on mistakes made by his opponents during matches, instead of taking other people's title shots or defeating battered champions in 30 second matches, and i've been waiting to see just how well Edge does as a ME face, because he's never done it before.

Other thoughts

Everyone assumes it's going to be Orton v Ted at WM. Sure it won't be Orton v Cody?

I took JRs comments of 'it's hard for a 3 man announce team, especially when they don't work together that often' to mean 'yes the commentary was poor last night, and i blame Striker mainly'. They spent more time during the US title match banging on about MVPs rap sheet and what celebrities find him attractive than they were talking about what was going on in the ring, and this sort of shit happens far too often.

VINCE, YOU ARE NOT AN ENTERTAINMENT MOGUL, YOU ARE A WRESTLING PROMOTER. THE FANS OF YOUR COMPANY ARE WRESTLING FANS. WE WATCH WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT FOR WRESTLING. TRYING TO MERGE IT WITH OTHER FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT IS RUINING YOUR FAN BASE. WE WATCH WRESTLING TO GET AWAY FROM ALL THE OTHER SHIT, SO PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GO BACK TO FOCUSING ON WRESTLING.

Sorry, i felt the need.

The King's memory never fails to amaze me. Not because he remembers so much, but because he remembers so little. Last night he said Stephanie McMahon got punted by Orton when she was RKO'd and DDT'd, and that angle wasn't even a year ago. Wrong again Jerry, but still, you're nowhere near as bad as Striker is.

'Blood is blue', what an idiot.

I marked out twice during this PPV. First when Taker caught Rey and hit the Last Ride, and second when HBK kicked HHH out of the Rumble. 'Go on, go on, kick his ass out!' where my exact words if i recall.

Why does Carlito keep having sporadic bursts of trying to prove he's a valuable talent and then giving up? A flash of dominance from Kane, a flash of dominance by HHH, a flash of dominance by.... Carlito? WTF?