The 2018 Royal Rumble - Going the Distance

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

That was the best weekend of wrestling that I can remember. Takeover + Royal Rumble is going to be hard to beat.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Loved Nakamura winning. First Rumble winner in forever that I've been excited for. The final 6 with the generation vs generation stand-off was great stuff. Towards the end I seriously thought Finn would eek out a win.

Asuka winning was expected in the best way. Enjoyed the women's rumble overall, especially Sasha's apparent heel turn (which better stick). I laughed out loud when it came down to Asuka overcoming THE BELLAS of all people.

The Rousey thing was cool but felt weird. Why wasn't she just in the match? Will she challenge Asuka's leftovers for a title at Mania?

 

[Bernkastel]

Maybe Rousey will be a special guest enforcer. That makes more sense than her actually working a match.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

Rousey makes me think Dan Severn's music. That requires a comeback.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

I don't see why people are mad that Rousey "upstaged" Asuka. It was clearly done intentionally and Asuka took exception to it. And it's not like Asuka was treated as an afterthought. She was very much involved in what was going on. She rejected a handshake by slapping Rousey's hand away which got a huge reaction and she was standing tall amongst the other women.

It seems clear that she's going for Charlotte and Asuka is gonna get Bliss but there's a small part of me that can't fully believe that's actually what they're gonna do. WWE likes to put their big draws on RAW, Rousey is arguably gonna be their biggest draw, at least for the immediate future. Putting her on Smackdown feels so out of character for them.

 

[Bernkastel]

Rousey makes me think Dan Severn's music. That requires a comeback.

Same with the sweaty grey tee shirts.

 

[shafe_41]

ESPN reporting Rousey signed a full time contract with WWE. So we might be seeing a lot of her.

 

[Da Prophet]

Can't wait to see idiots suggest Rousey have Heyman as her manager so he can do the talking. Just ignorant to the fact that Rousey is better on the microphone than pretty much every other woman.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Can't wait to see idiots suggest Rousey have Heyman as her manager so he can do the talking. Just ignorant to the fact that Rousey is better on the microphone than pretty much every other woman.

Count me as one of those idiots. Why would you risk her blowing it when Heyman is free 75% of the time?

 

[Lee]

My personal top three pops:

1) Hurricane
2) Molly Holly
3) EXCUSE ME!!!!

 

[Da Prophet]

Count me as one of those idiots. Why would you risk her blowing it when Heyman is free 75% of the time?

Because having Heyman be a manager has worked so well for anyone not named Lesnar or Punk?

And Rousey is going to be green as grass in the ring. The one advantage she has on these women is her natural ability to sell a fight. It's beyond stupid not to use the thing that has made her the BIGGEST SELLING FEMALE PPV ATTRACTION EVER.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Having a man speak for a woman may give a few the wrong idea, too.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Because having Heyman be a manager has worked so well for anyone not named Lesnar or Punk?

And Rousey is going to be green as grass in the ring. The one advantage she has on these women is her natural ability to sell a fight. It's beyond stupid not to use the thing that has made her the BIGGEST SELLING FEMALE PPV ATTRACTION EVER.

While I do agree with you, a part of me does think Heyman could work because he works best when his clients have a mystique about them. Brock is Brock, a human tank and Punk was in the midst of a historic title reign when they hooked up. His run with Punk wasn't as effective, but Punk had an aura about him. Rousey has that mystique that Heyman is really good at accentuating.

She isn't a random jobber like Curtis Axel, or a lost cause like Ryback. She won't be treated like a joke like Big Show, and if Lesnar is leaving soon, then she won't get the Cesaro treatment and be overshadowed by another of his clients.

A lot of people just see the MMA connection though and want to throw them together.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Both Rumbles had a Corporate vs Fans feeling at the end. Reigns/Cena vs Balor/Nakamura and Bellas vs Asuka. WWE did some smart booking there by using the heat Reigns/Cena/Bellas generate.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Because having Heyman be a manager has worked so well for anyone not named Lesnar or Punk?

And Rousey is going to be green as grass in the ring. The one advantage she has on these women is her natural ability to sell a fight. It's beyond stupid not to use the thing that has made her the BIGGEST SELLING FEMALE PPV ATTRACTION EVER.

Heyman would work perfectly for someone like Rousey right now as she is breaking in and is green as hell.

It will only add to her allure.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

The final 6 with the generation vs generation stand-off was great stuff.

This reminded me of this post from about two months ago

Here goes nothing...


Step four - nearing the end of the Rumble, leave three groups/generations of wrestlers in the ring. One group being Owens/Zayn/#3, The Shield, and then Cena/Orton/Jericho (can't think of anyone else right now that works better).

I'm not saying WWE did exactly what I said. Clearly not. If you read the rest of that post you will see that I said a ton of stuff that never came close to happening but the generational stand off did happen. Coincidence? Probably, but I still want my check.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Notes from the show

I'm working on devising a game built around coming up with the most accurate parallels to what Lee's mark-out for the return of The Hurricane looked like

1. Charging onto an old-time battlefield

2. The final stand against an alien race when hopelessly outnumbed

3. Defending the honor of his family against a superior-equipped fighting force in feudal japan



Myself, Sam and J-Glass reacted like teenage girls during a beatles concert when Rey Mysterio came back.

The rumble was fucking tremendous. An exhausting experience of tension and elation. The place was in pure shock that they actually went through with Nak winning, and the way they played the former generations chosen ones vs the new generations fan favorites was sheer fucking brilliance. I cant complain much about anyones use, though Ziggler stealing that 30 spot and then doing nothing of consequence was a bit of a waste.


Let me assure you....no matter how quiet and awkward the RAW tag title match seemed on tv, it was ten times more quiet and awkward in person. It was library quiet in that place. A graveyard would have been a louder, more active venue. I have never seen anything like it.


The womens rumble was a bit of a fucking mess, but was still a fun time. Did we truly need Torrie and Kelly Kelly? Did they need to take up two spots that could have been filled by Peyton Royce and Billie Kay?

It feels like they were faced with a tough situation and took the easy way out with Rousey and Asuka. Have it be clear that Bliss's had planned with other heels to eliminate Asuka in a super bullshit way, and give Rhonda the win at 30.

Speaking of which, that number 30 marked a new thing for me...there was literally a pop for the 10 second clock, because everyone just knew it was Rousey.

A pop for the 10 second clock.

A rousing, successful weekend on all counts. Lee and Sam are "top lads" as I heard people called on a gritty british documentary on Netflix.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

NorCal has just exploded.

I absolutely did. Maybe my pop of the weekend

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Nakamura and AJ had an incredible match at Wrestle Kingdom 10. I'm sure they're gonna steal the show at Wrestlemania.

lol...........