WWE Royal Rumble - January 30, 2011
Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler - Excellent match to start the show off with. They used the first 5 minutes or so to slowly build things up and then kicked things into gear. Dolph Ziggler continues to impress me and he gave another stellar performance tonight against a legit main eventer and multi-time World Champion. There were several great, believable near falls during the match and I liked how the incorporated Edge kinda sorta cheating to ultimately get the victory. As the ref is distracted with Vickie, Edge hits the spear on Ziggler and eventually follows it with the unprettier for the win at the 22 minute mark. It was a great match and I'm so glad that they didn't use the no spear stipulation to give Ziggler an unremarkable beginning to what would most likely be a shitty first World Championship reign. Thumbs Up
The Miz vs. Randy Orton - I thought this was a great match as well, but I didn't like it quite as much as I did the WHC match. The Miz & Orton put out a highly competitive match that hit some nice spots and helped paint The Miz in something of a different light than what we're used to seeing from him. The interference of CM Punk was something of a surprise as he was able to hit the GTS on Orton to help Miz retain the title at the 20 minute mark. I would've preferred to see Miz retain the title cleanly, but I wasn't all that optimistic about that happening. As I said, a really good match. Not as good as the opener but The Miz retains here and that's the right outcome in my view. Thumbs Up
Natalya vs. Eve Torres vs. LayCool - The Raw GM makes this a fatal fourway match and you could just tell that the crowd wasn't really into this. However, I thought that the four women did a good job with the time that they were given. This match was basically filler but there was some good action going on. Natalya putting LayCool in a double Sharpshooter looked sweet. Eve eventually hits a moonsault and winds up winning the title about the 5.5 minute mark. No Awesome Kong appearance here or anything but there were some good sequences during the match. As I said, the Divas did a good job with the time they were given and I've got no real complaints about the effort here. Thumbs Up
Royal Rumble Match - I enjoyed the Rumble match overall and have no major complaints about much. The match was a little slow in some parts but that can only be expected in a 60+ minute battle royal, or really any match that lasts that long. Anyone expecting otherwise is a delusional ass. I found myself hoping that CM Punk was going to wind up winning the match but he had a good showing for himself and he & Nexus managed to generate heat for themselves. Daniel Bryan did about as well as I expected and made it to about the 22 minute mark before Punk eliminated him. I was a little disappointed that JoMo didn't last longer as I would've liked to have seen him make it closer to the end. Booker T and Diesel were used EXACTLY the right way tonight in my view. They offered a great nostalgia moment, did their thing in there for a while before each of them is eliminated by a young. I could've done without Hornswoggle being in the match, but at least he didn't eliminate anyone. Seeing Big Zeke eliminate The Big Show was an impressive moment and another big power display. I was as happy as can be to see John Cena get eliminated by The Miz, even though Miz wasn't in the match. Ultimately, Alberto Del Rio wound up winning the Rumble a little past the 70 minute mark and I'm thrilled. Del Rio is a great talent and anyone that can't see that is a fucking idiot in my view. I thought it was a great tease there at the end when it looked as if Santino was going to eliminate him for the win. I bet plenty of IWC smarks were about to shit themselves right then and there. Del Rio wins the match and it's great to see a guy win the Rumble that actually got some real benefit from the win. Thumbs Up
Overall Show - I thought the Rumble was a great show from start to finish. The WHC and WWE Championship matches were both great matches, especially the WHC match in which Ziggler shined once again. The Divas match was pure filler but they did a good job with the amount of time they were given and put forth a good effort. Reading some of the complaints thus far about the show just goes to show how idiotic some wrestling fans are these days. There are actually people complaining that Santino was the last guy in there with Del Rio. If he'd actually fucking won the match, then there'd be something to bitch about. A lot of these criticisms stem from people that had a certain set idea for how they felt that the Rumble should have gone. They didn't get their way, so they're pissing and moaning like a bunch of 1st graders whose mommies wouldn't get them a toy at Wal-Mart. So Awesome Kong didn't debut, so Triple H didn't make his return. Big fuckin' deal. It was never advertised that any of those things would happen. Fans simply took it upon themselves to speculate that it would happen, that speculation turned into belief and they were let down when it didn't happen. Grow the fuck up. As for Del Rio winning the Rumble, great decision in my view. Del Rio's one of the best on the SD! roster and winning the Rumble match actually meant something in his career. I know that the idea of a major televised wrestling company actually creating new stars and pushing young talent is a brand new, maybe even frightening concept for some fans.
Grade: A-
