I think with the way things have been going over the last few weeks we are left with a few options for rumble winners. Orton, Batista, HHH, Edge. For some reason i just cant see HHH or Edge winning. I think the winner will come from Raw. I think Smackdown will have some tournament type thing to see who challenges Hardy at Mania. This leaves us Orton and Batista. To me i think Orton is at the best he'sd ever been right now and seemingly is getting better every week in my eyes. I love how he is depicted as being so calculating. Look at his and Legacy match against Cena and BNatista last week. When he wasnt getting in the ring it could have been depicted by Orton and the announcers as being a coward but it came off as him being cold, calculated and waiting to strike like a snake. I dont think pppl like him but he is getting respect from the crowd. I was in Philly for the Slammy's and i got that feeling. I think Orton should win the rumble outright or somehow get a tainted win by eliminating Batista maybe by a distraction by Rhoads and Manu or something. This way you cann have a Cena vs Orton vs Batista match or hopefully in my opinion Cena vs Ortton.
So in short, Randy Orton should win the rumble, i think it would add so much to him right now. Also setting up a Main Event of Randy Orton vs John Cena to close the show at Mania. This guys are two of the biggest stars currently, Cena being the biggest. I think having gthem close this monumental Mania is great for both cause both have many years left in the business. Clearly who ever faces Cena is closing Mania with him.
The more I think about it...the less I think Batista has a chance. First, he's already won a Royal Rumble, and the WWE seems very unwilling to give people two rumble wins. The only people that have done it are Hogan, Austin, and HBK. For Hogan and Austin, its pretty much a write-off as they're the two biggest stars and whatnot, and for HBK, well they had no other choice in 95 and in 96 he was the hottest thing out there. So it made sense. This time around, we've already seen Cena/Batista, and Batista isn't exactly riding on the winds of uber-stardom right now. He's very popular, don't get me wrong, but he's no more popular than what he's been for a while now.
If they do Hardy/Edge at the Royal Rumble, then clearly Edge has no shot at winning it because he won't be in it. I'd much rather see Hardy/Edge at WrestleMania, though, so I'm hoping he has a shot at it.
The "future", I don't see any of them getting it this time around. What I mean is, I don't see Morrison, MVP, Kennedy, Miz, Shelton, Kendrick, or any of those guys winning. Next year, though, I think its almost guaranteed one will.
Out of the main event people, it won't be HBK, JBL, Mysterio, Punk, Kane, Undertaker, Umaga, Khali, Big Show, Jericho...can't see any of those doing it. Jericho would've had a great opportunity, but we've already seen Cena/Jericho twice and might be seeing it again at the Royal Rumble depending on if he wins the Fatal Fourway.
So in all reality, that seriously does limit it to HHH or Orton (unless Edge is in it).
HHH has won a rumble already...but, you know...you always have to take things with a grain of salt when it comes to him. I'm never the least bit shocked when he wins anything anymore and it doesn't make any sense other than "oh, its HHH" lol. I was surprised he took the pinfall from Edge at Survivor Series, but I wouldn't be surprised if he became one of the 2-time rumble winners.
Orton has the best chance out of everybody. Heels rarely ever win, but he's been consistently booked to look strong in the Royal Rumbles he's entered before. Couldn't do it last year, but in 07 he was in the final four, in 06 he was in the final 2, so forth.
One of the things that makes this so tough to predict (outside of not knowing who will challenge the champions at the rumble, which makes it much clearer), is that both Smackdown and Raw have enough people to warrant an Elimination Chamber. Its not like ECW, wherein you'd be grasping at straws, adding people like DJ Gabriel to it just to fill the numbers lol. Raw has HBK, JBL, Orton, Batista, Mysterio, Punk, Kane, and Jericho...Smackdown has Undertaker, Edge, HHH, Big Show, MVP, Kozlov (ugh), Umaga, and Khali to throw around.....plus you have Morrison and Miz floating on all three shows and they could fit in anywhere. So both Raw and Smackdown have contenders for this year's Royal Rumble, making it very tough to decipher where they're going...
...but my current prediction is that Orton wins the Royal Rumble and has another match with Batista at No Way Out to finish their feud up...HBK/JBL at No Way Out...Cena faces Kane or Jericho...and Smackdown has the Elimination Chamber with either Edge or HHH winning.
Well as a fan looking for anything positive to get out of this upcoming Royal Rumble, I have concluded this: pray to whatever it is you pray to that John Cena vs. Batista II, and Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H are on this card, taht way I don't have to watch them at Wrestlemania 25.
We learned at Raw that we are essentially having a mini-tournament to determine the #1 contender on Raw featuring the 8 former world champions. Presumably HBK will lie down to JBL, I'm guessing Randy Orton beats Rey Mysterio, Batista beats Kane, and Jericho takes down CM Punk, setting up a 3 heel vs. one face match the next week on Raw, perfect for Big Dave to overcome the odds and set up the rematch.
Book It, please god, Batista vs. Cena II, this was we can get Orton vs. Cena at Mania in a proper one on one match without the main event ****e himself interjected himself into.
Same with Jeff Hardy. Hopefully this feud with Triple H is over. What a way to go Trips, new WWE champion, but you make sure you're there in the ring helping him out his first title defense on Smackdown, bravfuckingo. This thing has drug on too damn long, and it's time for Triple H to dow hat he has needed to do, and that's lay his ass on his back, take a swanton, and put Jeff Hardy the fuck over, and we get Edge vs. Hardy at Wrestlemania.
Yes we definitely need Cena vs Orton and NOT Hardy vs HHH at Wrestlemania. I think we are gonna ge Cena vs Jericho at Rumble cause i think Jericho is gonna win some cheap way on Raw and Steph Mac-Lev will say ok Chris you get the shot but if you dont win at Rumble you can forget challenging Cena for the title again. This way we close their feud. As for Hardy and HHH you know HHH wont lose cleanly. I think he will lay down for the three count but someone is gonna have to interfere to make that happen. Maybe at Rumble Edge interferes and costs HHH the match when the ref and Hardy are down which helps Jeff hit the swanton and then later HHH comes down during the Rumble and screws Edge over and he gets eliminated. Setting up Smackdown for the Elimination Chamber with those two and four others. That way we get an Orton win at the Rumble seting up Cena vs Orton to close down Mania and an earlier in the night main event of Hardy vs whoever.
World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. JBL
--Either Cena goes over clean or HBK screws JBL out of it. If its the latter, then JBL will eliminate HBK from the Royal Rumble, because Shawn's got a bit of a track record of getting eliminated via someone that is either already eliminated or not in the match at all.
Women's Championship: Beth Phoenix vs. Melina
--Either Melina wins it here or she wins during her next title shot. She'll be champion by the time WrestleMania is up. Should probably be one of the best Divas matches they could possibly have, because they're two of the best workers. Still, though, I don't care.
WWE Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. Edge
--Well, there you go. WrestleMania is ruined now. Let me guess, let me guess...Edge wins back the title either here or at No Way Out, HHH wins the Elimination Chamber and challenges Edge at WrestleMania, and Christian is revealed as Jeff's attacker, so we have a feud between those two that doesn't involve the title, and HHH walks out of WrestleMania 25 with a title in his hand at the end of the show. Oh the wonder! I can't wait to see him standing around in the ring celebrating! Yaaaay! Fucking yawn. This better not happen.
Royal Rumble Match
--Kane comes in around roughly #8-#13 and eliminates about 4 people, but gets eliminated by someone that he'll start a feud with. Morrison and Miz last a long time but probably won't be in the final four (unfortunately). HBK and Taker have some sort of a little spot between the two, as they've done that the past two years and will hopefully have a Mania match together. HBK won't be in the final four either. Santino will job out in some comedic fashion, most likely when Goldust shows up as a "surprise" entrant, despite how he's been popping up a lot lately and there's no real surprise. They won't have Charlie Haas do any impersonations because people will get pissed that the real ones aren't showing up, as the Royal Rumble is one of the rare times people can make a one-night comeback. Look at Piper/Snuka last year. Orton wins by eliminating either HHH or Kennedy, as there aren't any other big faces outside of HBK and Taker that will be in the match. It'll probably be HHH. He'll want to be #2 for the second year in a row.
NOT CONFIRMED
ECW Championship: Matt Hardy vs. Jack Swagger
--He attacked Hardy and Grisham said something about using Henry to soften Hardy up for him...so I guess they'll push this, for some reason. Idk why. Swagger's only been here for a little while and he's done absolutely nothing impressive. He can't cut a promo, he's average in the ring, and he gets no reaction. Why this guy is on ECW instead of in the midcard on Raw/Smackdown escapes me. Hardy retains.
And, while I would love to see Edge come back to win the '09 Royal Rumble, I think WWE really screwed him this past year. His ignominious losses to Punk and the Undertaker, in my opinion, made his stock drop drastically. Unfortunately, it seems to me that Edge will have to build up his credibility (yet again) when he comes back.
I really think his 8 month feud with The Undertaker up'd his stock bud. There's not many that can say they battled The Undertaker in the main event of Wrestlemania while also facing him in both a TLC match and a Hell in a Cell, both of which were pretty good. The HIAC match is in the top 3-5 best of all time (of course mankind/taker is classic, hhh/hbk, 6 man, hhh/y2j was cool too). Edge has been a main event player for a long time.
Edge will win the 2009 Royal Rumble. It's been 10 years since a heel won it.
Well Edge is in the WWE championship match so I think he's out of the running for winning the rumble. Though they could always do something crazy like having him lose to Jeff and then make a surprise entry into the Rumble and win that match.
My personal favorite to win is Randy Orton. Like everyone's been saying, it is time for a heel to finally win the rumble, and Orton is one of the biggest heels WWE has right now. I'd personally be excited for a Cena/Orton at Wrestlemania. Sure, it's been done before but they always put on a good show. Hopefully if this is the case, Orton will win the championship also.
ECW Championship Matt Hardy (C) vs. Jack Swagger
This one will open the show and probably will bore me as Swagger continues to assault Hardy during the build up.. SNOOOOOOOOOOORE! Hardy beats swagger in a decent opener.
Women's Championship Beth Pheonix (C) vs. Melina
Yes, more assaults from everyone involved (including the planted fan) as the match ends with a double DQ and more matches open in the near future.
World Championship John Cena (C) vs. JBL (w/Shawn Michaels)
Okay, this one is going to see more uneasy HBK moments. Cena will then do the good guy speech and Shawn will nail JBL with the Sweet Chin Music for Cena to win and make the two wrestle one-another
WWE Championship Jeff Hardy (C) vs. Edge
A strong twenty minute match is in order with the ref taking a Spear (by accident) as pretty much every lower to mid card heel assault Hardy, the Big Show comes out and kills everyone with a Chokeslam, Show puts Hardy on top of Edge for the pin.
The Royal Rumble Match
So the 30 men go for a shot at Wrestlemania. #1 & 2 will be mid carders (someone like Shelton & Kofi) as the next ten will be a mixture of midcarders, top men & Bottom Dwellers. Then the suprise enternts will arrive in Umaga, some legend from the 80's/Early 90's and Christian. The mixture fluxes until #30 comes out and we get a final six of...Umaga, Christian, HHH, Randy Orton, Edge & Rey. Edge is in thanks to Vickie, but is eliminated by HHH before Christian and Edge take care of him, Umaga is taken out by Randy Orton before Rey eliminates Christian. Leaving us with Orton & Mysterio. They go back and forth for about 5 minutes before Rey nearly eliminates orton like he did in 2006 but Orton sneaks back in and eliminates Mysterio.
After something NoFate said, I'm not confidently sold on Randy Orton being the guy to win the Royal Rumble this year and go on to Wrestlemania and face John Cena. Raw's Heavyweight Championship match will NOT be "the" Main Event of the program, but neither will Smackdown's.
I firmly believe the Shawn Michaels/Undertaker rumored match will showcase the company's 25th annual Mania. With that said, why not Orton v. Cena?
While it may be done to death, it isn't dried up. Randy Orton could win the Rumble and become yet another name to have won it. He could then instantly turn around and say he (more than anyone else) has the best chance to defeat John Cena for the Championship at WrestleMania.. because he did something greatly similar last year. (Orton retained by pinning Cena)
So yes, I'm confident and sold that Randy Orton will be the guy to finally win the Royal Rumble and add that to his list of accomplishments.
After something NoFate said, I'm not confidently sold on Randy Orton being the guy to win the Royal Rumble this year and go on to Wrestlemania and face John Cena. Raw's Heavyweight Championship match will NOT be "the" Main Event of the program, but neither will Smackdown's.
I firmly believe the Shawn Michaels/Undertaker rumored match will showcase the company's 25th annual Mania. With that said, why not Orton v. Cena?
While it may be done to death, it isn't dried up. Randy Orton could win the Rumble and become yet another name to have won it. He could then instantly turn around and say he (more than anyone else) has the best chance to defeat John Cena for the Championship at WrestleMania.. because he did something greatly similar last year. (Orton retained by pinning Cena)
So yes, I'm confident and sold that Randy Orton will be the guy to finally win the Royal Rumble and add that to his list of accomplishments.
Especially with the possibility that they could very well end up having Austin/Hogan, that would definitely trump Orton/Cena, so yeah, why not have Orton win it? If you don't have a strong matchup going into WrestleMania that you could use the Royal Rumble to elevate towards (HBK at WM 12...Austin at WM 14....Batista and Cena in 05...) why not just give it to Orton? It'd do him more good than it would to just give HHH a second win and put him in there against Edge, and then really, who else is there for an option? We won't be having Cena against anybody but Orton most likely, and we won't have a Smackdown championship scene without Hardy, Edge, and/or HHH. So really, there's no point in NOT giving it to Orton. But I can't see Orton winning the title from Cena at WrestleMania either, since he retained by pinning Cena the last time around. So the WWE won't want that to be their main event as 1) no championship changes hands 2) the face retaining would be getting a mixed reaction of boos, rather than just solid cheering, and why would you want your biggest ppv to end with a face being booed?
If I was betting money, I'd bet it all on Orton winning this Royal Rumble.
Just a thought... But does anyone els have a feeling that Christian is going to turn up at the Rumble and assist Edge in getting the title from Jeff and setting up a Jeff v Edge match at WM??
The whole Christian thing has been building for a while on this site and others but no word at all from WWE or Christian if he is indeed returning or not, but i reckon he is coming back, just when will it be.... I have a feeling that he will either assist Edge in beating Hardy OR will be a surprise entry for the Rumble...
Imagine if Christian won the Rumble, Edge got the title from Hardy and set up triple threat between the 3 of them at WM??? That would be awesome!!!
Forgive the increase in text size. The length of this post pretty much needed it for organizational purposes.
ECW Championship: Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy
--Not much to talk about here. Matt puts up a good fight in the opening match for the ppv, but comes up short as Swagger retains. They took the belt off Matt for a reason. He won't be winning it back this soon.
Women's Championship: Beth Phoenix vs. Melina
--This is a bit tricky. All three of the lower championship matches have the potential to have interference lead to the end of the match. But I doubt the WWE will do that. Rosa may play a small part, but I don't think she'll cost Melina the match. She might just attack her afterwards. If I had to guess, Beth will retain, we'll have a Diva's title match at No Way Out, and then Kelly will challenge Beth at WrestleMania as she'll probably get the Playboy push. So in order for that to happen, Beth has to retain.
World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. JBL
--I fully expect HBK to turn on JBL here so they can have their match at No Way Out and NOT at WrestleMania. Even if HBK doesn't turn on JBL, I'd be completely shocked to see Cena lose the title. And just to keep it so JBL saves face, Cena won't make him tap out. He'll pin him with the FU. I mean, the Throwback....unless they change the name again.
WWE Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. Edge
--I don't know...something is just bothering me about this. Maybe its just my intense hope that we don't get HHH/Edge at WrestleMania. But something sort of tells me that the whole "Christian interferes and Edge wins the title, then Hardy and Christian have a WrestleMania match" scenario may not happen the way we're all expecting. If I had it my way, we'd have a fatal four-way at WM XXV between Edge, Christian, Hardy, and HHH, with Hardy coming out winning the title. I don't want another HHH title reign hogging up a main event spot at WrestleMania, and I don't think it would make sense to have Edge close out WrestleMania by winning the title as he's a heel. If I had to bet, I'd bet that Edge wins the title just because of all the crap they're doing with HHH and Vickie, which most likely WILL set up Edge/HHH...unfortunately...and if that happens, I'll be really pissed because it'll kill all the fun for WrestleMania for me in an instant. I still think they should've just had HHH versus Hardy at the Royal Rumble with HHH finally letting Hardy go over him clean, and then build to Edge/Hardy at Mania.
ROYAL RUMBLE
--Ok, for this, I need more than just the one paragraph. Brace yourselves. This is gonna be long, tedious, and extensive, even for me lol.
WHO WILL PARTICIPATE IN IT?
The current list is: HHH, Big Show, Vladimir Kozlov, Shelton Benjamin, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, John Morrison, Kane, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, Santino Marella, R-Truth, The Brian Kendrick, Carlito, CM Punk, Finlay, Mark Henry, Chris Jericho, The Great Khali, and Chavo Guerrero.
There are seven slots left. Outside of the impossible task of predicting any legends that may show up, out of the normal roster there are a few people that have a very good chance at filling in those seven spots. The three most likely people you could point out are HBK, MVP, and a returning Umaga. Batista and Evan Bourne arent cleared to wrestle, but were not sure about Kennedy. Many people have virtually no shot at participating (like Kizarny, Ortiz, Gabriel, Goldman, Braddock, Jesse, or even Cryme Tyme). Boogeyman wont be in it unless he enters in the first or second slot, as they wouldnt want the red smoke to block the view of the ring. Goldust has a very good shot at participating due to him showing up in previous RRs out of the blue. Some rather likely people are Knox (particularly to be eliminated by Mysterio), Gregory Helms, and maybe even Manu and/or Sim Snuka.
ROYAL RUMBLE STAPLES
Comic Relief Segment = Most likely something incredibly stupid that isnt funny at all and involves Hornswoggle.
The person that gets eliminated the fastest = Santino, clearly. Thats an obvious thing.
Entry #1 or 2 = R-Truth so he can do that stupid rap of his. Ugh.
The person who gets screwed over by someone who is already eliminated or not involved in the first place = Either its HBK getting eliminated by JBL or its Kane being eliminated by Legacy members that have already been tossed out and just acted as a distraction so Orton could throw him over.
Shock entrance = A returning Umaga or Mr. Kennedy, unless theres a legend that shows up, in which case we have absolutely no way of guessing that.
Ongoing Feud = Usually, theres at least one feud that continues during the rumble match. Last year we had Noble/Palumbo, Punk/Chavo, and Kennedy/HBK. This year, despite how they havent announced Knox as being a part of it yet, I could see him being eliminated by Mysterio. I could also see Kane continue to face Ortons Legacy group. The only others I can think of is Kozlov being eliminated by HHH and Shelton/Taker. I dont think any new feuds will start from the RR match this year.
The person who gets attacked before he can enter the ring = My guess is, Kozlov gets eliminated a few seconds before a jobber face comes out, and before that jobber gets to the ring, Kozlov attacks him and prevents him from entering the match. This person needs to be bad enough that nobody would care that he isnt in it, or solid enough that he could start a feud with Kozlov. Therefore, if they go the jobber route, it could be anybody like Goldman or Wang Yang, and if they go with the feud concept, I have no clue.
Big guy who gets eliminated by lots of people = Obviously it needs to be Big Show or Khali, but this might not happen this year, cause HHH has a good shot at wanting to eliminate Big Show by himself in a power move.
The House Cleaner (shows up in the teens to eliminate a lot of people) = Kane, roughly around entry spot #11. If not him, itll be Kozlov or HHH. Khali isnt as important as he used to be and he had that distinction back in 07.
Final Four = Im just gonna venture a guess here and say Orton, HHH, Jericho, and CM Punk. No clue why Punk, but theyd need a face, and I just dont know about the Undertaker being in the finals, but he easily could be.
WHAT ENTRY NUMBER WILL WIN?
Over the years, weve had the following statistics:
Entries 0-10 have only come out with 6 total wins - Ric Flair ('92), HBK ('95), Steve Austin ('97), Vince McMahon ('99), Chris Benoit ('04), and Rey Mysterio ('06)
Entries 11-19 have only come out with only TWO total wins - Jim Duggan ('88) and HBK ('96)
Entries 20-30 have come out with 14 total wins - Big John Studd ('89), Hulk Hogan ('90), Hulk Hogan ('91), Yokozuna ('93), Bret Hart & Lex Luger ('94), Steve Austin ('98), The Rock ('00), Steve Austin ('01), HHH ('02), Brock Lesnar ('03), Batista ('05), Undertaker ('07), and John Cena ('08)
Judging by those stats, we can pretty much assume the winner will be somewhere in the 20s. However, since 2003, weve had a winner at 28, 29, and the last two winners were both #30. That pretty much guarantees that the winner WONT be one of those four spots, especially #30. Its also a little too soon to do another winner from the 1st or 2nd slot, as weve had that recently. Therefore, Id say the most likely candidate is whoever comes out between slots 22-26, since 27 has been done a lot.
WHO WILL WIN?
Outside of the possibility that a legend like Austin or Hogan comes back, or Batista or Kennedy returns from injury (which almost assuredly wont happen), there are only a few people that are high enough on the WWE Hierarchy (check my thread if youre not sure where people currently stand) that they could logically walk away with the win. On top of that, you need to factor in that this winner is going to end up facing Cena, Edge, or Jeff Hardy, barring some unforeseen circumstance like injury. If JBL was to beat Cena for the title, then wed be looking at HBK facing him and nobody else. This select group of possibilities consists of: HHH, Big Show, Vladimir Kozlov, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, HBK, and MVP. Lets break these down.
Vladimir Kozlov Hes almost completely run out of steam and if they wanted to pull the trigger on him, they wouldve done it by now, rather than have him remain undefeated by default of not facing anybody in a long while. Plus, I doubt theyd trust Kozlov with a main event spot at WrestleMania. They mightve been keen on him before, but he doesnt seem to click with the crowd. While he has a better shot than some, and deserves to be mentioned in possible winners, I would be very shocked to see him be declared the actual winner.
Big Show Now, here is a guy that could win it at any time, but he wont be winning it this year, because he just doesnt have any real momentum. Big Show is more of a reliable veteran like Kane. If you needed him to win it, he could, and the fans wouldnt question it too much. But more often than not, Big Show comes up short. He has the clout to win, but not the foothold.
Undertaker Could win it, but he just did two years ago, has no current storyline going on with any champions, and hes been taking lots of time off. Plus, his WrestleMania match is looking like it will either be with HBK or with Umaga, and neither would be for the title. Anybody else in Undertakers position would be almost as bad of a chance as Finlay, but just because hes the Undertaker, you have to give him some pretty decent odds. Id be surprised if he won it, though, too.
MVP If anybody is promoted to the main event spot that hasnt already achieved it, and it isnt Kennedy, it will be MVP. Because of his loss record they had going on, and how he only defeated Big Show with HHHs help and NOT in a clean fashion, I cant see them throwing the win to MVP. Plus, I cant picture him main eventing WrestleMania just yet, nor can I see MVP/Cena, MVP/Hardy, or MVP/Edge being a bigger draw than some other options.
Chris Jericho While he would have a pretty decent shot, this year isnt his year. Why? Well, Hardy is involved with Edge to the point where its obvious one or both will be involved in the title picture at Mania. Jericho/Edge makes no sense and Hardy/Jericho would be a bit odd as that would involve both a brand jump AND ignoring Edge. That only leaves Cena, and unfortunately for Jericho, weve already had Jericho/Cena twice within the past few months. They gave it away and it no longer has any appeal for being something we hadnt seen in a little while.
HHH You can NEVER rule out HHH, in anything, due to who he is. You could have a HHH cant win this match gimmick where he doesnt even participate and the WWE might find a way to give him the win. Even though I dont think he will win it, hell most likely get second best and be the last person eliminated again making him look strong again
HBK Although he isnt currently announced as a participant, his status gives him the same position as the Undertaker is in. Most likely, if he is in the match, he will just get screwed out of it by JBL interfering and causing his elimination. However, theres that slight, slight, slight, ever so slight chance that JBL could defeat Cena, reward HBK with a spot in the Royal Rumble, and he can win and the two can face each other at WrestleMania. I HIGHLY doubt that would happen, but its worth mentioning. That is, of course, if HBK is even IN the match period.
Randy Orton The odds on favorite. Not only does he have the momentum, but two of his allies are in the match, hes the most viable option to face Cena, he hasnt won a Royal Rumble yet, and hes of notable status in the company that him winning wouldnt come out of the blue and leave the fans scratching their heads as if someone like Primo Colon won it. Whats frustrating is that Orton/Cena happened last year (albeit with HHH squeezing his way in there for no apparent reason), with Orton pinning Cena, so this year if Orton wins the Royal Rumble, it will be almost a mirror reflection. Cena wins the RR, Orton wins the RR. Cena is pinned by Orton, most likely this year Orton will be pinned by Cena. Its been done, but it sort of looks like the WWE is moving these two into a sort of Rock/Austin rivalry, wherein the two have an on-going feud for years. Cena has nothing going on with Stephanie or Vince, so that doesnt really complete the circuit, but then again, they cant throw all their eggs in at once especially when theyre going to be building up this match for 4 months lol.
All in all, my prediction boils down to Orton winning to face Cena, making it so No Way Out features a Smackdown Elimination Chamber, as well as a blow off match for the feud between HBK and JBL.
Thank you for reading all that. You deserve a gold medal haha.
WWE Championship Match: Jeff Hardy won't go into Mania with the belt, so it's a question of Rumble or No Way Out. I think it's best that he loses it next month. It's pointless having the title change hands on three PPV's in a row.
I also think that if Christian appears at the Rumble that gives him 8 weeks or so to lose momentum going into Mania, I just don't see him gaining any. I'd hold it off for a month. Have Edge not be able to beat Hardy without the help of Christian. So this month he loses, next month he wins.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: I'm undecided of the outcome. I now suspect that Orton will be involved in his own match with the Legacy, Jericho & McMahons. So I don't see him vs. Cena. As a result I think Cena will get a match with Austin or Hogan, definitely a match with Austin involved.
If that's the case then he won't defend the WHC belt. It wouldn't be needed and you can hadly leave it off the show. So he'd have to drop it. He'd still have the biggest match on the card and the belt would enhance the probably JBL/HBK match, which really would need it.
I don't know if I'm right with the JBL victory prediction.
Women's Championship Match: Beth will either be facing that stalker, Kelly Kelly or the Diva's champion at Mania. She wins.
ECW Championship: They didn't take it off Matt Hardy just to put it back on him again. This isn't TNA.
Royal Rumble: Triple H wins, Vickie screws him and he wins the Elimination Chamber match as well. After watching him dominate on Smackdown over the past month I don't see how it'll happen any other way.
Other Rumble tidbits -
*Umaga or Kozlov eliminates Taker, setting up a Royal Rumble match.
**The Miz either eliminates Morrison or Morrison eliminates The Miz.
***Santino lasts less than a minute.
****It would be a great oppertunity for some of the new ECW talent to shine, they won't be allowed to.
TheOneBigWill’s ‘take’ on the Royal Rumble, January 25th, 2009:
Opening Segment: They opened the Royal Rumble with an expected Rumble clip, highlighting the previous Rumble’s over the years, however a Randy Orton clip cut everything off, as they showed highlights of Orton punting McMahon in the head from this passed Monday Night Raw.
They showed the announcer’s and it was mentioned that the McMahon’s are keeping the health of Mr. McMahon silent, but it’s expected that Randy Orton will face punishment for his actions tomorrow on Raw. They start the show.
Hardy took the action and most of the match to Swagger, but throughout the entire thing Hardy played off not seemingly feeling confident about anything. As the action progressed, it looked like Swagger may of wanted to get counted out, but Hardy would have none of it. In the end, it was a similar ending to their first encounter, only minus the missing turnbuckle. Hardy went for a shoulder block, missed, and got dropped in Swagger’s spin-out Powerbomb.
After the match, Hardy sat on the ring steps and looked almost depressed. They continued to show him seemingly to the point of thinking he’d cry, but finally cut away. Winner: Jack Swagger
In the end, Santino may have been at ringside but he didn’t do anything of interest. Melina went for her split-leg drop, however Beth countered by ducking, then attempted her finisher, which was double countered into a roll-up as Melina became the new Women’s Champion. Winner & NEW Women’s Champion: Melina
Back and forth action, with H.B.K. barely moving an inch until the end, however he moved enough during the match to cause Cena to apparently believe he was going to do something, which allowed J.B.L. to get the only offense of the match in at that point.
In the end, it was the referee taking a bump, which saw Shawn Michaels entering the ring, then making the choice he was told he’d have to make. He opted to Superkick J.B.L., only to then turn around and Superkick John Cena. H.B.K. would leave the ring, seemingly no longer employed by J.B.L., as Cena would come too and hit the F-Throwback-U, to pick up the victory. Winner: John Cena
The match itself, in complete honesty, was boring until weapons and items starting being introduced. The fan’s decided it’d be better to start tons of Christian chants than it would be to actually pay attention to the match.
Once things began to pick up, so did the interest in this contest. Hardy brought out a ladder, then proceeded to crash and burn off it. He took Chavo out for his trouble though, so that’s okay. Edge went for a con-chair-to, but it never happened. As Jeff Hardy seemed to have everything under control, Vickie Guerrero came to the calling of the Christian chants. Apparently Christian means Vickie in Spanish. This was followed up by the (your’s truly’s personal guess) arrival of Matt Hardy. Hardy gave his brother Jeff a chair, then grabbed another only to blast Jeff in the face, helping Edge win his 7th World Heavyweight Championship!!
Edge seemed shocked that after all he’d done, it apparently seems that if you screw someone’s girlfriend, in time they’ll come around to help you achieve something great. LOL Winner & NEW W.W.E. Champion: Edge
30 Man Royal Rumble Match: The match started out with Rey Mysterio, followed by John Morrison. Carlito was soon added, as they claimed it was every 90 seconds but I’m almost definite that it didn’t quite happen that way. This trio showed off some great high-flying moves before The Great Khali and Vladimir Kozlov joined the action and ruined the fun.
Triple H. entered 7th, followed by Randy Orton who came in 8th. They seemed to battle back and forth, but this year’s Rumble seemingly didn’t allow for too many one-on-one confrontations as it normally had 6 or more individuals in the ring at one time.
In the end, it was Legacy against Triple H., with Randy Orton coming out on top like many had suggested. Nothing flashy, outside of pyro. No big moments, outside of Rob Van Dam’s seemingly one-night only return, seeing as to how they were in his “neck of the woods”. And the Undertaker was the odd man eliminated by someone not “technically” being legal, as Big Show pulled him off the apron. (Let’s hope we don’t get a renewal of the Taker/Show rivalry) Winner: Randy Orton
Below are the Rumble Entries, followed by the Rumble Eliminations.
ROYAL RUMBLE Entry:
1. Rey Mysterio
2. John Morrison
3. Carlito
4. M.V.P.
5. The Great Khali
6. Vladimir Kozlov
7. Triple H.
8. Randy Orton
9. J.T.G.
10. Ted DiBiase Jr.
11. Chris Jericho
12. Mike Knox
13. The Miz
14. Finlay
15. Cody Rhodes
16. The Undertaker
17. Goldust
18. C.M. Punk
19. Mark Henry
20. Shelton Benjamin
21. William Regal
22. Kofi Kingston
23. Kane
24. R-Truth
25. Rob Van Dam
26. THE Brian Kendrick
27. Dolph Ziggler
28. Santino Marella
29. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
30. The Big Show
ROYAL RUMBLE ELIMINATIONS:
1. The Great Khali
2. M.V.P.
3. Carlito
4. Vladimir Kozlov
5. John Morrison
6. The Miz
7. J.T.G.
8. Goldust
9. Mark Henry
10. Shelton Benjamin
11. William Regal
12. Kofi Kington
13. THE Brian Kendrick
14. Dolph Ziggler
15. Santino Marella
16. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
17. R-Truth
18. C.M. Punk
19. Mike Knox
20. Rey Mysterio
21. Finlay
22. Rob Van Dam
23. Chris Jericho
24. Kane
25. The Big Show
26. The Undertaker
27. Ted DiBiase Jr.
28. Cody Rhodes
29. Triple H. 30. WINNER: Randy Orton
Overall Thoughts: The one thing that annoys me about the more recent Royal Rumble’s are the fact that the company wants to rely solely on believing that the Rumble itself is all that’s really worth it. They sign World Heavyweight title matches to the card, but outside of the random match other than that.. That’s it. I liked the Rumble’s from year’s ago when we’d get other titles on the line. Like the Intercontinental, or Tag Team. Hell, I liked the Rumble’s from a decade ago, when we’d get random “grudge matches” that’d happen. Now all we seemingly get are 3 “World Heavyweight” title matches, and the occasional Women’s Championship match. That’s not enough.
I liked tonight’s Rumble, but as I said before, I feel truly sorry for the endless amount of people who’re gonna be bitching and moaning, thinking that Christian was EXPECTED to return tonight, when similar to the Chris Jericho re-debut.. Nothing (outside of I.W.C. talk) was ever mentioned of Christian even coming back to the W.W.E., much less at the Rumble.
I’m happy that the Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy feud won’t be for a Championship, and I truly hope they don’t flake on ruining it this time around. In 2002 they more or less destroyed Matt’s attempted heel push, but having the entire thing more or less tossed out. Only for the Hardys and Lita to reunite some 3 weeks later, and be killed by the Undertaker at that year’s Rumble.
NOT having Shawn Michaels in the Royal Rumble was the best possible thing they could’ve done. I’m sure people will bitch that someone like Dolph Ziggler, or J.T.G. was allowed in over him, but in the end, Randy Orton would’ve been the winner anyways.. And this pretty much leaves the J.B.L. storyline up in the air. Did he do his job by Superkicking Cena, or did he “quit” when he Superkicked J.B.L.? While I’m pretty sure Bradshaw didn’t whisper into Shawn’s ear to blast HIM in the face, my guess is by having H.B.K. kick Cena it was Shawn’s way of saying he isn’t helping anyone, and he’s his own man again.
Something else I found funny was the fact that Tommy Dreamer was NOT involved in the Royal Rumble. I find this funny because he set a personal goal for himself to win a Heavyweight Championship. (okay, the E.C.W. title) Yet he wasn't involved in a match that, SHOULD he of won, he would've been guaranteed a Heavyweight title shot. (Granted, I wouldn't of expected him TO win.. but its just the point.)
In the end, I’d say the Royal Rumble was good, but not the best. I’ll give it a 7 out of 10. Every match went the way I assumed it would go, with the happy-shocking delight of Edge actually winning the Championship. I didn’t actually see that coming, as I assumed it’d make the title look worthless. (it’s changed hands 3 times in the past 3 months.. Compared to the E.C.W. which has only changed hand’s once in the past 4 months.
Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy-Decent match, I still am only marginally impressed by Swagger, but he has the title for a reason, mainly feud with Dreamer then drop to Bourne. So the proper person one the match besides Hardy is going on to...well can't say bigger or better but different things, Swagger Bomb and we have a retaining champion.
Beth Pheonix vs. Melina-Ended differently than expected, could have ended better, in my opinon. But no santino/Rosa business and Melina gets the roll-up win, new Womans champ.
John Cena vs. JBL-Really, had no idea what creative was thinking. I cant see any plausible couse of action in this match. Even with the eventual rumble winner the was this worked just didnt work for me. First off why did Michales just kick Cena and rouse the referee. I mean I see the who catch him by suprise stuff, But I still didnt work for me, the was a little too much Supercena for me. And another thing, What the hell went through Michales head, if JBL won it was total win for him, but he makes a stupid dicision and kicks him, up until now the HBK/JBL thing was ok, now it has gotten completely unbeleiveable.
Jeff Hardy v. Edge-well the match became a no DQ by order of Vicky. In the match Chavo disgraced his lying, cheating, and stealing heratge by being a nonfactor. Hardy hits some ok spots and over all a decent match, well we have a swanton, vicky interefearance, then Matt comes out looks like a conchairto on Edge, but then out of no where Matt creams Jeff with the chair and edge picks up the victory. Now in my opinion the Christian rumors are in jeopardy. With him not anywhere close to being involved in the match, it looks as if the Captain Charisma rumors have become myth. But we shall see.
The Royal Rumble Match: Overview-Here are my high points
Carlito's double springboard moonsault
MVP goes to town and hits the Ballin elbow, though he was eliminated far to quick for my tastes
Koslov eliminates Kalhi
JTG double headed coin antics
6 RKO's Miz, Morrison, JTG, Rey Mysterio, Golddust, Big Show
CM Punk hits the GTS on Triple H (I never thought I'd See H sell that move)
RVD's Return
Santino's 1 sec elimination
Hacksaw goes to town.
Big Show hangs on and avoids elimination
Randy Orton wins
Now there were some bad points mainly MVP's quick elimination, and the wasted spot on both Dolph Ziggler (should have never been there) and Brian Kendrick (eliminated to quick), plus if Hacksaw would have eliminated the Big Show I would ahve found that entertaining. I am not pleased with the Big Show/Undertaker fallout. But in the end the rumble match delevered quite nicely.
Final Thoughts: Very good PPV. I marked out hard when RVD showed up I finally am able to leave a PPV impressed.
Fun, entertaining show! I enjoyed it. But, alas, the critic in me comes out. How much more obvious was that Randy Orton win? I still expect a swerve coming on Raw, but come on, they practically said, "Hey, why watch the show at all, we'll show you the winner in the opening video package!" It was obvious from the outset that it would be Orton, and I think what you might see at Wrestlemania, I guess to spice it up a bit considering Cena/Orton has been done a handful of times is that, you might have Vince in Cena's corner and Stephanie out there with Legacy. Other than that, fun Rumble, but very predictable.
Also, they didn't do enough to push anyone that needed to be pushed. Kofi Kingston could've used a good showing and didn't get it. The Miz was in and out. John Morrison should've been in there at the end. CM Punk lasted a while but was unceremoniously thrown out. Vladimir Kozlov's elimination was anti-climatic. Shelton Benjamin has looked good on Smackdown! and would've got a huge boost eliminating Taker, but it was the other way around, and etc.
The guys who looked the best were the likes of HHH, Orton, Undertaker, Rey, Kane, Big Show, Jericho, and RVD. WWE had a lot of younger talent in there, but the veteran stars who are already established main event stars all looked the best.
*Watching the PPV with me were a few friends that have varying levels of knowledge about the WWE. So when you see the asterisk, this is some insight as to what someone outside of our little IWC clique thought about the product.
ECW Championship: Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy
--Meh. Didn't expect any better from those two.
*One person said Matt Hardy's gotten fat. One person said he should lose because he's more boring than Swagger. Nobody was impressed by Swagger at all.
Women's Championship: Beth Phoenix vs. Melina
--I didn't expect Melina to win the title here, much less during a sunset flip type of pin.
*Everybody liked Santino despite how he didn't do a whole lot. They all thought the girls were hot and everybody actually enjoyed this match.
World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. JBL
--I have to admit, once JBL added that HBK would have a spot in the rumble and such, we all sort of thought that JBL might actually walk out with the title. And then when the ref went down, we were debating as to whether or not he'll just cause JBL to win or he'll turn on JBL.
*Everybody LOVED how HBK kicked both of them haha. Nobody liked JBL. One said "that's Bradshaw? He used to be kind of cool. Wow, he really sucks now."
WWE Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. Edge
--Gotta say they got me on this one. I didn't think that they would turn Matt heel. I guess this means WrestleMania won't in fact be Hardy vs Christian, as I could see Christian being brought back to HELP Jeff against Edge instead. I just really hope that we don't get HHH vs Edge still lol.
*This was a fun match, but everybody was aching for more weapons to be used. Everybody was cracking up at how Jeff almost missed with the ladder, too lol.
ROYAL RUMBLE
--Hard to just say a paragraph, so I'll just list a bunch of notes instead.
1. Figures HHH has to look incredibly strong throughout the ENTIRE Royal Rumble. How many times did someone come in, kick everyone's ass, and then HHH would stop them? And as soon as they showed Undertaker and Big Show going at it, I just knew that HHH would have to beat all 3 at the same time and get eliminated by Orton in a really quick and cheap fashion. Now, really guys, ask yourselves: does HHH look weak in this scenario? He enters early on, beats EVERYBODY up that comes in his way, and then he takes on all 3 Legacy members and STILL only get eliminated because Orton has to pull a fast one. HHH pisses me off so much with that stuff.
*I didn't explain the backstage segment crap to people until they started pointing it out. Now, keep in mind, none of my friends that were over today follow wrestling right now. Some used to, some check in every now and then, and one of them hasn't seen it in a really long time and has no clue about anything going on. And STILL, people were saying "why does HHH have to be beating everybody? What is he, Superman or something?"
2. No Chavo was a bit of a surprise, but then again, not TOO much of a surprise. I'm just a bit shocked that they didn't have Chavo in there instead of Dolph Ziggler.
3. I counted 12 people in the ring at once. Is that the most there's ever been? They were really hesitant to eliminate people this year.
4. Shame that Morrison and Miz didn't make it far. But then again, whhho do you have to blame for that? Beats them both at the same time...
*Morrison was well liked.
5. MVP was looking really good at first, until he was eliminated.
6. Rey Mysterio. Goddamn. Why do they keep booking him like he's not 5 foot tall? Lol.
*The two most hated people for the match within my group were easily HHH, and Rey Mysterio. The most repeated phrases of the night were "there's HHH again" and "why the fuck is Mysterio still in this?"
7. I counted 6 RKOs I think. Everybody loved those spots.
8. Santino's elimination was great. Did he officially beat the Warlord's record?
9. Dolph Ziggler's elimination was great too.
10. RVD, totally didn't see that coming. That came out of nowhere.
11. As soon as Kozlov started eliminating people, I immediately knew HHH would be next to eliminate him. And right after Khali came in, I figured the next entrant would eliminate him.
12. Nice top rope move from Carlito early on.
13. Shelton kind of got screwed again.
14. Undertaker's the man. We all loved him coming out and everybody, even the one who has no real clue who the Undertaker is, popped pretty loud.
15. Kofi really didn't matter at all. He didn't do much. Same for R-Truth, thankfully lol. Finlay too, but nobody cared about him whatsoever. Regal was filler.
16. CM Punk must've made a record for how many times he held onto the top. He must have done that like 16 times.
17. Mark Henry's elimination was gay.
18. The Brian Kendrick: Shame he was made to look so bad. However, despite the incredibly short amount of time that he had in there, he was able to get my friends to dislike him enough that when he got thrown out, everybody cheered.
19. Rhodes and DiBiase were like the stars of this RR, but they didn't do anything too out of the ordinary. We figured Goldust would be eliminated by Cody once he came out.
20. Hacksaw??? Hacksaw?? Hahaha. That was a hilarious point in the match.
21. Kane's officially back to being a face I guess. He had a more important role this time around, which was decent. Called that DiBiase and Rhodes would eliminate him.
22. Surprised that JTG was in it and that he lasted as long as he did.
23. Jericho I thought had a chance to win it until I noticed that he wasn't doing ANYTHING to get the spotlight on him at all. Once I noticed that, I knew he had no shot at all. Usually the winner gets the focus on and off, on and off, but Jericho came out and basically was just another one of the guys until he was thrown out.
24. I'm shocked that Knox lasted as long as he did. I thought when he came out that Mysterio would just eliminate him real fast and that'd be it.
25. I was a bit surprised that neither Umaga nor Kennedy made their returns, but then again, they really didn't have a chance at winning it in the first place, so it probably would've been useless to bring them back just for them to lose. Their returns could be used better on Smackdown.
26. Shame HBK wasn't in it.
27. Did anybody see Taker kicking Hornswoggle out of the ring? Hahahaha.
28. Nobody got attacked before they entered the ring. Guessed that wrong.
29. This means the 7th time someone has won from entry point 1-10. I guessed that the winner would be around 22-25, but clearly I was wrong.
30. Anybody else think the reprimand for Orton will be that he might have to give up his title shot?
If you saw the opening video as I said in the last thread you knew or were almost positive of the whole outcome. This PPV IMO sucked. I thought the rumble was one of the worst I have seen. Nothing exciting besides RVD's return happened. Nothing we havent seen before with although I will say a lot of "hang ons" (hanging on the ropes with feet dragging) happened including the impressive one from Big show
MVP was out way to short and Morrison should of been the final 6 at least. MVP should of won!!
HHH had to go out 2nd, couldnt go 4th to elevate Legacy. I'm pissed Orton won, but at least they could of had it be Rhodes Dibiase and Orton the top 3. Orton better choose Edge by getting kicked off of Raw as I dont want to and we deserve better then Orton Cena 4.
Well, another year, another WWE PPV, and another blurb from the aG3Nt_0f_cHa0s
ECW Championship: Jack Swagger vs Matt Hardy
TBH i expected something a little more from this match. The only other match i've seen with Swagger was his Extreme Rules match against Tommy Dreamer, and that was a great match, but this match seemed more like a Raw TV match than an ECW PPV match. I was impressed with Swagger's counter wrestling but found it weird (and always do) that he worked the arm all match, but didn't end the match by attacking the arm? What's the deal with that? Attack the arm, attack the arm, attack the arm, powerbomb. An arm breaker would have made more sense imo, but hey, i'm not the wrestler.
Women's Title: Beth Phoenix vs Melina
LOL, i'm watching this match again right now, and i think what i always think when the Glamazon wrestles. She is an amazing talent, and now i have a new found respect for Melina. Best part of the match was definitely when Beth was hitting her in the back of the head with her own foot. My only 2 complaints were the fact that Beth dropped the title due to a quick roll up..... AGAIN! and the fact that the crowd were more into Santino than the match. Also, i can see this being a transitional title reign for Melina. It's one of those 'Hey you got hurt and your back, here have a title' scenarios, but unless some other diva on Raw is going heel, she's only going to be defending against Jillian and Beth repeatedly. I mean i can't imagine Melina defending againts Eve can you?
WHC John Cena vs JBL w/ HBK
This match wasn't about the title really was it? It was all about HBK and how he was going to act. This match was no different than any other JBL/Cena match, or if i'm honest, any JBL title match in the last 2 years. What i really want to know is, is if HBK was going to put JBL over Cena, why didn't he revive the ref rather than just walk off? This means that next month, we'll probably have JBL v HBK, which i doubt any of us want to see. What interested me the most however, was the segment before the match, where Taker appeared to advise HBK. To me, it screams that these two WILL be facing each other at WM25. Decent match for someone watching it for the first time and not the 5th or 6th.
Now they're (kayfabe) assuming that it was Edge who attacked Hardy so he could get the title..............................
But what if it wasn't?
If Edge were revealed as the attacker what purpose would that serve? Surely he'd just turn around and say 'Yeah? And? Got a problem take it up with my wife who, after she's certain that you've excused her, will tell you it's tough tits!' And it would only garner more heat for Edge which he doesn't need anyway.
After watching his promo on Sunday night and the one again this week on SD! I think the assailant could very well have actually been....... wait for it......
A lot of you guys said i was crazy or over thinking the angle when i suggested that Matt was behind it all, and while i did get swept up in the Christian return hype, i always considered Matt to be an option for the assailant role. And to everyone who didn't believe.....
No DQ ruling at the beginning must have confirmed to everyone that this wasn't going to end cleanly in any fashion. This was a pretty good match imo, but i gotta say i'm not interested in a rematch between the two unless it's a gimmick match. We've seen Edge v Jeff like a million times in the last decade, we don't really need to see it again. Wasn't Chavo supposed to be in the Rumble match? Why is he so eager to help Edge out when Vickie keeps treating him like crap? I did honestly think that Jeff had ruined the whole angle with that botched ladder spot. He came dangerously close to injurying himself in that split second and he's damn lucky he didn't. Again, decent match, and typical of the sort of title match you'd expect from the Rumble.
Royal Rumble match
Well, even before they made it blatently obvious that Orton would win with the opening segment and all the others during the show, i said that Orton would win. If i could find a quote of me saying so i'd include one, but trust me, i said it.
Anyway, these are the main things from the Rumble.
-This is probably the first Rumble i've watched where there were 11-12 guys in the ring when #30 came out. It somehow, led to a LOT of guys standing around doing nothing.
-I was surprised that MVP was cheered, but then i haven't watched SD since Hardy became the champ, so....
-If they were trying to turn Kane face, then the usual ploy of 'have him and Taker team up' worked like a charm. If they weren't trying to do that, then they need to learn that these guys can't work together because they won't boo Taker, they'll cheer Kane.
-Finally we had a Rumble where a stable actually worked together to dominate the match. In fact, it happened at least 3 times with Miz/Morrisson, Taker/Kane and Legacy.
-Hornswoggle getting in the ring was pointless
-JR's memory is getting worse and worse. MYSTERIO WAS NUMBER 1 FOR GOD'S SAKE!
-I honestly thought it would come down to Orton/Jericho/HHH/Mysterio
-If they don't have HBK v Taker at Mania, it'll be Taker v Jericho
-Did Big Show and Taker need to square off 3 times?
-Carlito certainly showed his skills off during his 5 minute stint in the Rumble didn't he?
-Koslov should have been #30, not Big Show.
-I marked out for RVD. Don't know why, because i haven't missed him.
-I'm going to watch again and count how many times CM Punk climbs the turnbuckle only to simply get off of it again.
-At least Brian Kendrick eliminated someone before he was dumped out by HHH.
-Duggan and Goldust were wasted entries. If they wanted cheap heat for Rhodes a singles match followed by a Leacy beat down would have done the same thing.
-I wish we'd seen Shelton's double top rope DDT from another angle.
-Santino and Ziggler's elimination's were classic.
-I agree with NoFate's mentioning of random guys that lasted a long time. Knox was the biggest shock for me personally.
-This has got to be the first Rumble in quite a while that Tommy Dreamer wasn't a part of.
-Can someone point out how Taker got busted open?
-Again, Big Show's knockout punch was only used once. Such a simple move, that's supposed to be SOOOOO devastating and he only uses it once. Why wouldn't he just walk in, knockout everyone with a punch each, an then just dump them out? I know he wasn't booked to win, but he's still supposed to amke us think that he really wants to.
-Thank the good lord that R-Truth didn't sing his way to the ring. I officially hate him.
-Where was Gregory Helms? And Umaga was backstage but also wasn't involved. He's been healthy for quite a while now, when is he coming back?
This was a typical PPV considering how the ones in 2008 panned out. Not the best of Rumbles, mainly because there was (for me, and apparently for a lot of guys) no suspense and no mystery as to who would win the Rumble, seeing as how they suddenly started a McMahon angle and featured a video package focusing on that before the PPV even started. If anyone truly thought that anyone other than Orton was going to win, then you are blind!
I'm also going to state for the record, that all the Christian return hype not cultimating last night is probably what made it all seem so shit for a lot of people. I too was disappointed, but didn't let it ruin the PPV for me.
I'd give the 2009 Rumble a 6/10 overall. The Women's match made up for a sub-par Swagger PPV debut, the SD title match was the better of the 2 (but only just), and the Rumble was still enjoyable even if it was stupidly predictable.
I'm now going to officially count down the days to WM25.
Is it me or is WWE trying to replace Cyber Sunday with a new PPV called Never In A Month Of Sundays, to go with the new TNA PPV called No Mics Allowed (What a short PPV that would be!). Recently weve seen titles go to Jeff,Swagger,Melina,Maryse,Primo.Kofi & the Edge Heads.Good wrestlers-yes,but World Champions?!-over & above everyone else on the roster.?!
Is it that or just a wrestling promotions usual no win situation that a title holder,s either "Him again" (Had to mention Cena somehow) or when someone else gets a look in "Whose he!?"
As for the Rumble it was so good to see RVD again.Its a pity this 3 brand Rumble limits the appearance of surprise guest legends.
Does anyone else feel 3 brands in one company is too much for both star quality & creative storyline,especially now as (& III whisper this softly to Vince) both TNA & NWA BoTH have TV shows now.(Oh dear,he,s conked out again!)
Speaking of which,III probably find out soon enough but WherE WaS Christian.Wasnt HE meant to get Matts betrayal gig as ConstanT internet rumour suggested.Just shows you you cant believed everything on the web!!!
ECW Title - Jack Swagger vs Matt Hardy
The Rumble is the only pay per view that I order every year, so of course I was interested in basically every match. This opener was good actually. I thought it was much better than their match from ECW 2 weeks ago. Jack Swagger impressed me a lot during this match, and Matt was his usual underrated self. Swagger still needs to be booed more though. His character isn't heelish enough for my liking.
Womens Title - Melina vs Beth Phoenix
I was very impressed with this match. They both worked so well of each other and it was funny how Beth used Melina's own leg to attack her. I predicted the title change, and I was indeed correct. This match was very good for Womens standards and it really showed why these two are some of the best female workers in the company at the present moment. I'm glad we are over the Beth reign of doom. She never did anything with the belt apart from defeating Candice Michelle.
World Heavyweight Championship - John Cena vs JBL w/ Shawn Michaels
Was it just me, or was this match very good? I loved it personally. It's the best Cena vs JBL match that hasn't involved a gimmick of some sort. Both worked well, JBL lifted his game a little and Cena was good as always. It was great how HBK hit JBL with his finisher right before nailing it on John Cena as well. I was scared JBL was going to get the pinfall when the 2nd referee came down to the ring. Thank God Cena retained. That's one of the very few match results that I was happy with. I wish I could say the same for the next 2 matches. This match went for a good length in duration and it was hardly ever boring. Only smarks will say it sucked.
WWE Championship - Jeff Hardy vs Edge (No DQ)
The second Vickie announced that it was no disqualification, I knew Edge was going to win the title. Too damn predictable. The match was good, very good actually. It met my expectations. The Hardy/Chavo spot was decent, but Jeff almost missed the fricken table! When Matt Hardy came out, I assumed Christian was soon follow suit, but it was not to be. I did not expect a Matt Hardy heel turn and betrayal, I just didn't think it would happen for some reason. When Matt hit Jeff with a chair, me and my friends were literally in shock. Then that other prick crawled on top of Jeff Hardy and won his 7th World Title.
Great, just fucking great. Triple H vs Edge at Mania for the title, and Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy. How worse can this Wrestlemania possibly get at this point? Not to mention that the whole Jeff Hardy 2008 push was a complete waste of time. A whole year of pushing leads to a 1 month title reign. I'm beginning to think that Vince Russo is silently working for the WWE. Edge is shoved down our throats more than anybody else on the roster. That is all. No smarks can deny that, so next time you call John Cena superman, just think of the amount of title reigns your "hero" Edge has had within the past 3 years.
Royal Rumble Match
It was good overall, but last year's was better. There were too many people in the ring for a majority of the match. Finlay, Mike Knox, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and a few others lasted way too long while guys like MVP and Carlito barely had any time in the match. Santino was gold in the match, it was my favourite moment of the night. When it was down to the final 6 or so, I just knew Randy Orton was going to win the match. Way too predictable for my liking. When Punk got eliminated, there was seriously nobody I really wanted to win the match. It's sad when I'm cheering for fricken Rob Van Dam to win the match because all the others were veterans who had already won it before, or they were already main eventers who didn't need the push.
No Mr Kennedy, no Umaga and no Christian. Shame on you WWE. Undertaker's little kick to Hornswoggle was classic. The match got a little boring at times as half the guys were down for most of the time. And how many times did somebody grab the ropes and barely hang on so they weren't eliminated? It was complete overkill. It happened at least 20 times in the match. Nobody else looked like winning except for Orton in all honesty. Priceless had a great showing in the match. Both guys really stood out to me. But overall it was a good match, just not as great as last years, mainly because the result was too damn predictable.
Overall though, the whole show was very good. All the matches were at least good and entertaining. The last two match results weren't the best, mainly because it made Hardy look like shit, and the WWE once again wasted the Royal Rumble on one of their already established stars. The upper mid-carders need to be pushed, and soon. No major feuds were started in the Rumble match unfortunately, and the smarks still have erections over that Undertaker/HBK segment. I'll give the show 7.5/10. I'm sick of Edge's title reigns personally, and I think it will make Smackdown more boring than ever. That's my main complaint for the pay per view. But the Rumble was worth the money.
Yeah, Shame on you W.W.E. for not advertising, promising, or promoting a Christian return at the Royal Rumble. Shame on you W.W.E., for allowing all those smarks to read a rumors site and actually come to find out the rumors were wrong. Damn you to hell.
This is Chris Jericho, all over again. People were in a tissy when Jericho didn't return at No Mercy. Dispite never being advertised, or mentioned to. Christian was never a lock for the Rumble, and yet people still get greatly disappointed when it turns out to not happen. I don't get it, I simply don't.
If he's going to return, why can't any of you merely just let it happen naturally and be shocked by the "surprise" of when it does. Instead of hoping, pleading and begging it to happen at any one event.. then post later that night, or following day that you were "so excited and shocked" that it happened.
BigWill's High's & Low's:
Highs: Jack Swagger getting a clean victory. Melina getting beaten to death with her own leg. H.B.K. & Undertaker in a small promo. H.B.K. Superkicking both Cena & Bradshaw. Matt's heel turn. Punk's G.T.S. on Triple H. R.V.D. returning for one night only. Cody/Dustin encounter. Taker kicking Hornswoggle. Orton winning the Rumble.
Lows: Too many jobbers in the Rumble. Too many lasting longer than they should've. Hardy's "fall" from the ladder. The W.W.E. title being hot potatoed. Cena having to win via his own finisher. No Kennedy or Umaga. Kendrick's early dismissal from the Rumble. Taker & Big Show's eliminations.
Overall, I still enjoyed the show. I wasn't wrapped up in the hype of Christian returning like oh so many others were. I called the Matt Hardy heel turn, but after seeing it I'm unsure on if I want it.
While I'm a huge Edge fan, I think the overall issue of Hardy's reign being forgettable, mixed with Edge becoming similar to Triple H. & Ric Flair in having meaningless reigns is an ever growing issue.
I was mainly disappointed to not see Mr. Kennedy enter as a surprise, or Umaga dispite it being reported that he was actually there, backstage.
I stayed up to watch this royal rumble, 1-4 in the morning but i was pleased that i did. Here were some of my fave parts:
Matt hardy heel turn- thank god, thank you WWE, it was well overdue and came over very well, i cheered when he hits that great steel chair shot, but on the other hand, it gives edge the WWE title. Even though i like edge, he still shouldnt have won. This opened a wide window of oportunities for WWE to pick at.
HBK kick JBL- hardly anyone has mentioned this so i thought i would pick it out, this is a good thing for us as fans cos we dont have to see JBL in the main event at WM25, unless ofc he wins the E-chamber which i dont think is going to happen. But i like what WWE had done here, i believe JBL vs HBK at WM will be a good match despite them both being past it. I think it will be just as exciting as Flair vs HBK because of them both being in their hometown.
ROB VAN F'N DAM - I was so so pleased to see his return, staying up was worth it just to see him return to the ring, obviously only for one night but what a return and what a pop he got also.
RKO and Legacy- The most predictable Royal rumble winner of all time, but i still love it, my signature picture says it all. I was pleased to see Rhodes and DiBiase go so far in the rumble match itself and to see HHH not win it, was a bonus but he will still sneak his way into the main event just like he did last year and how HBK did 2 years ago against Cena.
My bad points on the rumble:
First of all; I, like everybody else was predicting Christians return last night, i was waiting very patiently for his music to hit and for him to come out but obviously it didnt happen. It got to #28 and i knew automatically he wasnt coming in cos Santino nor the Big show made an apperance in the rumble yet so. Anyway this was obviously a bad point and no need to express it more than it already has been so i will move on.
Only 1 suprise entrant-I was happy with RVD's return as stated above but i wanted more, i was expecting christian as i said and Umaga or Kennedy or even Batista but it didnt deliever.
- Hes should have kicked that little twat in the face haha but seriously though someone should hes starting to do my head in. Hornswaggle obiously.
Overall i liked the RR and rate it 8-9/10 well done WWE
I agree with people criticizing the predictability of Orton's win... I haven't been following the developments on RAW too closely (because it isn't on regular TV here while Smackdown is), but alone from the conversation he had with Jericho, it became so obvious... with Jericho going like "Well, Monday will be your last night in WWE bla bla"... and of course it leads you to think - "Well yes, but what if he is the Rumble winner and thus has a guaranteed spot at WM? Can Vince fire him? Etc..."
But in any case, Randy Orton was nonetheless the logical choice, since Edge and Jeff Hardy (who would've been my picks some weeks/months ago) were both already involved in the title scene in the past couple of months while Randy was being built up for the re-entry into the title picture... so good choice with Orton; the only other interesting choice would have been Jericho - a Rumble win that he gets somehow "sneaky" would have worked perfectly for his current character. But Orton is the logical choice. Though Orton/Cena again at WM? Well let's see who else adds himself into the mix...
The other matches were mostly ok though I didn't expect Swagger to retain... BUT in light of Hardy's turn, it's quite logical they need Matt to be "available" for the new feud.
And speaking of Matt's turn... finally we get the brother vs brother feud, heh. Actually, I believe it was some months ago that I first thought about this type of angle, but with reversed roles actually - when Jeff kept trying and trying to take the belt, but couldn't do it... and Matt had already won the ECW Title, which - technically - should be the same level as the WWE and World titles (while we all know it isn't), I'd have expected Jeff to turn in Matt out of envy... now we get the roles reversed (though the reasons will still have to be explained), but to be honest - I definitely would have wished to be a Matt vs Jeff feud in that respect to be around the title; that is, if they go with some typ of "envious brother" storyline. Of course grudge match will work, with both guys being over... but if you had the brother vs brother storyline, a one on one match at WM for one of the two big belts would definitely be something... but I guess we'll also have to wait and see how this goes on; especially if Triple H can stay out of the WM title main events for a change and leave it to guys who can be worked into the storyline in a purposeful manner... which now is quite possible, given the history the Hardys have with Edge as well... and of course a Christian return would also be fun in that mix, but I guess this one is in jeopardy again - but at least this makes things interesting, hehe.
All in all I think it was a good start for WWE into the new year - a definitely surpring turn of Matt Hardy which was a good thing (if they can now work it into a decent storyline, especially since neither he nor Jeff are the most able guys on the mic), a not-so-surprising, but definitely deserving Rumble winner... and another nice twist to the HBK/JBL storyline.
Tonight's RAW should be interesting, to say the least.
Oh and yeah, RVDs return was nice... I've never been too much of a fan of his, but the huge pop he got alone was worth the cameo - its moments like this we watch wrestling for, actually.
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but i was pleased that i did. Here were some of my fave parts:
- I was so so pleased to see his return, staying up was worth it just to see him return to the ring, obviously only for one night but what a return and what a pop he got also.
- Hes should have kicked that little twat in the face haha but seriously though someone should hes starting to do my head in. Hornswaggle obiously.