WWE Royal Rumble 2011 - Aftermath and General Discussion

[Kermit]

1.) That Dolph Ziggler is 100% in line for a future title reign. He took a PPV World Heavyweight Title match and executed beautifully.

2.) Michael Cole elevated his creppiness with his Miz love.

3.) The New Nexus are awesome and have good chemistry. It was great seeing them all work together.

4.) That the 40-Man Rumble played out well.

5.) That Morrison was the most exciting person to watch in the Rumble.

6.) That an official list means jack squat, because i crossed out a couple names who didn't even enter.

7.) I learned how much i dislike seeing competiors who had already fought in the night enter the royal rumble.

8.) I learned that a wrestler can just disapear from the rumble and never really get eliminated. *looks at you Alex Riley*

9.) That the WWE is fully placing chips on young talent at this WM.

 

[DirtyJosé]

This year, the Rumble taught me that it IS possible for a Latino to get a big push in present day WWE without it being talked about as a gesture towards Eddie Guerrero's memory, and instead the discussion is based entirely on his own merits as a performer. This pleases me.

 

[SMKM]

Oh and I almost forgot: Jomo can learn to walk on water and they won't push him. Again FUCK WWE.

LMFAO that was hilarious ok i guess I'll have a go with this:

1.Dolph Ziggler's the man.

2.Kelly Kelly is hot, has a great ass, and made no sense in showing up/

3.Miz put on a good showing, thought he was going to lose

4.Punk vs Orton is set in stone for Mania, as is Miz vs Cena, great just great instead of Miz vs Morrison (WWEs current LONGEST rivalry) we get 2 new rivalries because the bookers are morons who knew what they wanted for Mania maybe 3 months ago now? but decided on making different rivalries first, and switching them last minute with noe real ending, thats just perfect.

5. Natalya lost her title......she was getting good pops for a diva and they just take the title off her and give it too Eve out of the blue (great ass, not much talent).

6. Side note, apparently Divas matches are more important then the WOrld Heavyweight and WWE Championship.

7. Daniel Bryan was this years underdog in my opinion....until they eliminated him, and then Mysterio came out, fuckin A.

8. Gail Kim vs The Bellas.......wait a second, more than one Diva's storyline going on at once O_O BLASPHEMEY! Is it sad this storyline is more interesting than anything Diva related and Miz vs Orton as of late?

9. 40 man Rumble didnt deliver....FUCK!

10. John Morrison got screwed yet again.

11. Booker T made my night, and then got screwed.

12. Super Cena cleared house again, why couldnt WWE do this AND THEN bring Booker out -___-

13. Hornswoggle in the rumble....why? Although I did enjoy his Stunner to Slater, that was pretty sick actually, other than that, why!?!!?

14. Diesel's the MAN!!!!!! And WWE didnt let him do a Jacknife Powerbomb.......disappointing.

15. Kane jobbed to Mysterio yet again.........I give up.

and 16. ADR was the 2nd guy I picked to win after JoMo, I was kind of happy he won and NOT Cena, but when it was Cena, Orton, Barrett, and Rio, I was wholly thinking Cena would win, until Miz threw him out , and then I figured I was right and that ADR would win, until Santino returned.......thank God ADR won. 99% of WWE fans would have quit WWE altogether if Santino would have won, I would have clapped in joy and then realised that means Santino would be considered ME worthy, and then follow suit and quit WWE as well

 

[itssoeasy123]

I learned that, once again there would be aleast a few hundred people bitching becuase thing's did'nt go their way.

Anyway, I liked the Rumble Match. Sure the Nexus stuff got very annoying, but it served it purpose.

Also, Booker T and Kevin Nash, really? My god, even though I did'nt read the spoilers, but I saw some little hints at them returning. I don't give a fuck, I marked out like a 6 year old. It was insane to see those two in a match. In 2011, in WWE! And also, um, did anyone think that we saw Cena and Nash actual trade blow's in a WWE ring, no that really happened. And I bet Nash and Booker were probably thinking "what the hell was I doing for the last 6 years." I mean, really, the pop's they got tonight were probably the loudest pop's they got in years. I seriously doubt Nash or Booker are even thinking about rejoining TNA at all after toninght. Imagine going to a 20,000 people arena and hearing the ovation of a lifetime, and them going to a 1000 arena with free tickets and seeing only the cast members cheer you.

They seemed to play alittle to the IWC to with most of their favorite's out first. Really was funny. And also the Hornswoggle/Cena stuff was obvious to get the "obnoxious, can't have fun, yell at the TV screen," people pissed. I'm surprised Hornswoogle was able to lift Tyson Kidd.

I'm not really gonna put a whole emphasis on the rest of the matches, because the Royal Rumble is the emphasis mostly of the PPV.

Well, anyway. Not seeing Triple H was a bit of a shock, but it did'nt ruin the whole PPV for me like it did for some people.

And the winner, ALBERTO DEL RIIIIIOOO!

I, once again, marked out. It was so cool for once for a non-former champion to win, much less a young talent. Seriously, this stuff it why it's so good to be a wrestling fan. It's so fun and energetic and you can get so into it at any age. Of course there's the douchebags who are mad becuase CM Punk, or John Morrison did'nt win, becuase that's what themselves and their fantasy booking need's wanted to happen.

Overall, a good PPV by the WWE, once again. Very entertaining, good matches, and a new Royal Rumble winner.

Let me say it agian.

ALBERTO DEL RIIIIIOOOOOO!

 

[CJ The Pirate]

I have NO idea what ANYONE sees in Alberto Del Rio, yeah he's decent (not anything past good though) on the mic. He's well rounded as far as technical goes, for in-ring work. But he has way too many plain things about him, or generic items to make him... bad.

1. His character is a mixed gimmick. He's a "rich/royal elitist" yet has never used any ties to do anything. He hasn't "bought" anything, other than cars. And his royal ties don't come into play on anything. So when it boils down - he's a Latin JBL, but without the actual presense of money or power.

How does coming out in a different collectors edition car and having your own staff announce you into the arena not make you appear rich? He has a servant! I drive a Vauxhall Astra! It was £700. It was made LAST CENTURY! I'd have to trade about 1000 of these cars in to even come close to test driving a Bentley or a Rolls Royce. As for his ability. He's a very good in ring worker and I've yet to see him make any big mistakes. Keep an eye on him after this, he's just gonna get better.

2. His entrance isn't unique. It's not quite as "rich/powerful" as JBL's, and without the unique-ness of Eddie's. He basically comes to the ring with an annoying guy announcing him, in a new car that doesn't really hold much appeal. When JBL did it, he came to the ring in a Limo each time to give the effect of power and authority. When Eddie did it, he showed flash and presense. So, which does Alberto wanna showcase? Power and Authority, or Flash and Presense? At this point, him coming to the ring in a different (rich looking) car each time does nothing more than advertise that he has more of this money we keep hearing about, but never see him use on anything storyline wise.

Why does he need to flash the cash anymore than he is doing? Seriously? A Limo? That doesn't show off any more class than Del Rio is doing right now. Why does he need to be exactly the same as what we've seen before? If you are seeing differences to JBL's character then that is certainly a good thing. As for Guerrero. He's Mexican. He comes out in a car... he's about 100lbs heavier than Eddie ever was. He has a much slower, methodical pace to his game. I really can't see any comparison besides the inconsequential.

3. His finishing move is an f'n armlock. Again.. arm.. lock. Do I need to repeat that, because thus far it seems I'm the only one that feels that doesn't make him anything more than a soon-to-be mid-card jobber. Shit, Chris Masters at least gave the Full Nelson a "cool" name. Alberto Del Rio doesn't even call his armlock anything, to my knowledge - and even if it has one, it's still a f*cking armlock. ARMLOCK!

Please. Go to your local wrestling school and ask them to lock you in an Armlock. It hurts. Watch any MMA event. There are no Figure Fours, Walls of jJricho or Sharpshooters. It's arm locks, leg locks and chin locks. Oh, every now and then you get a sleeper. These 'basic' holds are the most real thing you see in the ring. I personally have always loved these kinds of moves when used as big moves. The Ankle Lock was great from Shamrock or Angle. Triple H used to sleeper for a few months back in the early 00's and I'm really happy to see Ziggler using it now. Chris Masters getting Wrestling 101 - The Full Nelson over was a thing of genius. An Armlock has just as much place as a finisher in that ring if you can accept the 619 or the Skull Crushing Finale as one too.

4. His tights are too generic and plain. That crap only worked for Austin, and for the record I wasn't big on Austin, either. /end rant.

This says a whole lot about your skills as a talent scout. I'll help you out. You're supposed to be looking at what they're doing in the ring... not what they're wearing!

As for the Rumble, I'm glad Cena didn't win and I was 99.98% positive he would. The 00.01% that had a difference of opinion was afraid it'd be Alberto Del Rio though, and that saddens me almost as much. The other 00.01% was simply my wrestling fan inside me hoping McIntyre would shock everyone. EDIT: I also wanted to point out, I had a slight mark-out when Sheamus & Drew McIntyre paired up and worked together. Cole mentioned their "connection" being as a pair of foreigner's who have respect for each other, but it gave me hope that an ACTUAL reformation of the team they had in the INDY's could be brought back.

Despite my confidence that Cena would not win, I still breathed a big sigh of relief when he came out at #22. I felt that that would have been too much an ask and felt sure that the winner would come out after the 30, mainly to sell the fact that the extra 10 men really did count for something. I do have to agree with you that I did want McIntyre to do something. A topic for another time starts with Kelly Kelly turning heel, becoming the top diva on Smackdown and taking Drew with her to the top. It was a pipe dream though, it was never going to happen during the match. As for the Tag Team. Yes, they did work well once before but WWE Doesn't have a tag division and they're both currently desperate to get a singles push so I'd rather this didn't actually happen. I think it was more that they are both the "bully" character on their individual brands. Some kind of respect?

I wish more would've been done with The Corre and Punk's Nexus. The big opening brawl was enough to make a feud progress, but with no real interaction after that.. and ultimately, beyond Barrett's solo performance, and Punk's group keeping him involved and protecting him through the 10-20 entrants range.. neither group had a real big involvement, other than to waste away roughly 9 entrants.

I truly think that the 9 faction members were a deciding factor in the 40 Man event. With the roster so packed out with new talent, it would have been wrong to leave them out but it would have been at the sacrifice of the other lower carders who would normally take those spots. In the end it was only ever about Barrett and Punk. The other 7 were never going to matter. 8 if you count Daniel Bryan as well. As for the Nexus/Core feud. They've sent the feelers out. It's a slow burner but we'll get the war eventually.

I understand why Dolph Ziggler found his way in. A storyline could've been made where Vickie, as acting SD GM placed him in. However, Orton's random entrance, as well as Hornswoggle's.. neither were needed. Infact, I'm almost positive Orton's entire purpose in the Rumble was to help make Cena look less like the main "headliner" to stick out toward the end. Afterall, some of the last men in there were; Alberto Del Rio (winner), Sheamus, Randy Orton, John Cena, Santino, Wade Barrett, Rey Mysterio, Zeke Jackson and Kane.

Firstly, I'm guessing you're over 16 and you must realise that the show is not meant for you. I hated Hornswoggle being there wasting my time but every 9 year old watching absolutely loved it. The inclusion of Ziggler and Orton (especially) was exactly as you said. They were lacking star attraction. It was either this or give Nash and Booker larger roles... but that really wouldn't have made sense. I was disappointed in the way they made Ziggler seem weak. He should have been in there at least until Kane arrived as man #40. Instead he was dumped out without much incident, just like any other mid carder.

In the very end, when Santino came back in - I admit, I marked out, then flatout lost it when he actually HIT the Cobra. I thought they were legit going to let him take it, then end up in a match or something at Elimination Chamber where he'd lose his Mania spot. Santino caused me to do something I haven't done in years regarding the Rumble.. he caused me to think something no one would've guessed would happen.

As for anyone "knowing" Santino wouldn't win because he isn't a big name, or him winning would've "ruined" the value of the match.. screw you. Hornswoggle, Chyna, Beth Phoenix all being in this/past Rumbles has devalued what the match once was. And Cena "cashing in" his Rumble victory at the February ppv a couple years ago devalued the meaning of the actual win. So, yes, Santino could've very well won and made what little history was there to be had.

Again, it'd be great for the Kids but my 7 year old nephew Lewis knows Santino can't wrestle. Everytime we fight he says "I'm John Cena... You're Santino" and I know that that is code for "Carl's Gonna Lose" - I do do an excellent Santino impression however! I expect all 7 year olds figure the same. They laugh at Santino when he does the Cobra. When he does the Trumpet... When he gets his rectum kicked... He's expected to lose.

I felt it lessened Del Rio's win by having him do it twice. Seriously, The Headline "Del Rio dumps both Barrett and Orton... then Santino" doesn't quite have the classic WOW Factor Austin Elim. Rock. Rock Elim. Big Show. Austin Elim. Kane. Mysterio Elim. Orton has.

Kelly Kelly interferring in Edge/Ziggler's match gave me false hope that Drew McIntyre may of ended up winning the Rumble, because beyond something Drew/Edge related - I had NO idea why Kelly was out there. I'm assuming this will result in a Ziggler/McIntyre feud of some kind now - that could still be entertaining.

As for Edge, I don't know if even HE can make Alberto Del Rio interesting.

I hope to see an Edge/Drew feud come from this inspired by jealousy. Drew will believe that Edge is seeing Kelly and the Kelly heel turn will play out as I mentioned earlier. However, the timing for this is all wrong in my opinion.

I suppose Miz "pinning" Randy Orton was better than getting himself DQ'd, but having the Nexus help him certainly hasn't allowed Miz to make himself look anymore "deserving" to move one step closer to Wrestlemania. The only thing that'll help him now is to defend his Championship in the Elimination Chamber (which likely won't be what'll happen), and retain in there.

Miz as Champion, going into Mania, is not what I'd consider a must-see Mega Main Event. And right now, Miz/Cena, Punk/Orton, Edge/ADR are the main 3 match-ups. NONE of them have "headlining Mania" material written on them.

I have to give the WWE Credit. WWE is, famously, having a bit of a major star crisis and the IWC is going stir crazy at the thought of either Cena or Orton (who last year was the golden child) having another title reign. Vince has seemingly listened and gone head first into a whirlwind of young stars making up the main event scene. The Miz. Del Rio. The Nexus. Jack Swagger. Dolph Ziggler. John Morrison. Daniel Bryan. Sheamus. Drew McIntyre. They are all either in the spotlight, or have been there in the past year. Add CM Punk and Kane to that list too... Punk because he's actually getting some reaction after all these years, despite his two previous reigns as champion, and Kane because he's someone different and it gave Smackdown something new.

WWE seems willing to hand these guys the start of this decade and is letting them show what they can do. With guys like DiBiase and Kingston still waiting for that push and Rhodes and Masters soon to be, reportedly, entering big pushes in time for Wrestlemania I'd argue that this is the most must-see Wrestlemania in a long time.

Triple H will make Sheamus look amazing if that match happens.
A win over Mysterio, with a possible injury angle thrown in, would do wonders for Cody Rhodes.
Zeke Jackson could take out the Big Show. Definitely would be worth paying attention to if you have the belt round your waist after that feat.

As for the three matches you named... I'd agree. I'd expect one to be made a stipulation match, possibly triple threat or something but Orton vs Punk... if left to wait for Wrestlemania would be a fantastic match up. Cena/Miz... not so much. As for Del Rio and Edge... I wouldn't judge this one just yet. I have a feeling Edge won't be champion come Wrestlemania. We'll have to see how it plays out. But that's the thing. This is going to make me watch Smackdown and that's a rarity.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

I think Slyfox summed up this year's Rumble pretty good in the Royal Rumble live discussion thread. He basically said that the Rumble was decent but it had the potential to be so much better. I agree.

There were plenty of good things about the Royal Rumble, but there were enough bad things to really drag the match down IMO.

First off before I discuss my thoughts on the Rumble, I'll say the other three matches were very solid. The two title matches were good (especially Edge/Ziggler), and the Divas Match was solid. I agree they could've picked better choices than Eve. For example, they could've been the perfect opportunity for Awesome Kong's debut (if they have her compete in the Divas division that is) if they didn't put her in the Rumble. Also Beth Phoenix, or Melina, would've made better contenders. But a solid match for a Divas match nonetheless.


IMO the first half of the Rumble match was absolutely stellar. A good brawl at the beginning between Nexus and Corre was a good way to start it off and builds more towards an eventual showdown between the two factions. Then officially starting off the Rumble with both CM Punk (who should've been there at the end, as your "heel who lasts forever") and Brian Danielson was a stroke of genius. Tremendous action (I am dying for a serious feud/matchup between these guys. Screw Punk/Orton, I wanna see Punk/Danielson at Wrestlemania) and it only kept getting better and better. Morrison's "Spider-Man spot" was one of the greatest moments in the entire history of the Royal Rumble. That spot will live on in "Royal Rumble spot infamy" along with Flair's numerous nose-dives at the 92 Rumble, Backlund's hanging on the ropes maneuvers at the 93 Rumble, Luger and Bret hitting the floor at the exact same time at the 94 Rumble, etc. Just great stuff. But the first half of the Rumble was filled with great talents. From John Morrison, to William Regal, to CM Punk, to Brian Danielson, Justin Gabriel, Chavo Guerrero. Excellent in-ring action and spots from these great guys.

I started to get disappointed though when the majority of Nexus got into the ring and started eliminating guys. I thought it was disappointing to see Brian Danielson and John Morrison in particular be eliminated so early in the match. I understood it as Nexus had to look strong. But Danielson looked so good in the beginning of the match (eliminating the first two guys) I was hoping he'd last pretty long. And Morrison is absolutely hot right now, he should've lasted longer too. Those were my first disappointments.

Although the Nexus segment though was still good. Again it made the group look very strong and it furthered their persona of Punk being the "master/"leader of the group.

I was extremely disappointed to see Booker T. used so minimally. I mean, I'm not saying he should've won it, but he definitely deserved to be in there longer than a few minutes. Him and Kevin Nash both got the biggest pops of the night, and I could tell that the crowd started to go downhill when Booker was eliminated. Way to kill the crowd who were cheering him on more than anyone currently on the roster. Curt Hennig made it all the way to the final four upon his return back at the 02 Rumble. Would it really have hurt to play to the crowd and have Booker last a good while?

Then "Super-Cena" comes out and cleans house elminating all of Nexus. I was mad to see Punk be eliminated so early. Punk IMO is the best heel in the company (yep, better than the Miz by a mile and certainly better than Albert Del Rio) and was by far the biggest heel in the Rumble (beings Miz the other big heel of the company wasn't in the match) and should've been there at the end. Punk also cost Orton his championship match earlier in the evening. What sense did it make to have no further action in the feud by having them go at it in the Rumble? If they didn't want to have Punk be there at the end, then why not bring Orton out earlier and have them fight. Another missed opportunity.

Then the worst part of the Rumble and one of the worst moments I can think of in Royal Rumble history. The Hornswoggle segment. This absolutely killed the crowd. It was bad enough that guys that were red-hot with the crowd like CM Punk, Brian Danielson, and Booker T were eliminated, but to have Hornswoggle last longer in the match is an absolute insult to all of those great wrestlers and to wrestling fans. Now I understand this is WWE-PG, and the segment itself was cute and fun for kids, for about a minute anyway. Hornswoggle was in there way too long and it was just stupid. CM Punk and Booker T had the crowd in the palm of their hands. They had them red-hot, then Hornswoggle came in and ruined it all. If it had lasted a minute or two, it would've been fine, as there's nothing wrong with some comedy, even kid-comedy beings that's who they're geared towards. But don't kill the match just to make some 5 year olds laugh. Terrible, terrible booking. Horrible.

Thank God for Shemus who showed some mercy on us fans and put a stop to the non-sense and helped get the match back on track. From there it got better, but kept missing on opportunities for better action and entertainment. Kevin Nash got the biggest pops of the night. He had people actually chanting his name! Once again, why not play up on this, give the crowd what they want and have him last a while.

The Big Show came out right after Diesel got eliminated. How cool would it have been to have seen a showdown between Diesel and the Big Show? That could've been a nod to us old-school WCW fans, and for the new kids today, who wouldn't want to see two 7'0 guys go at it? Or Kane? Diesel and Kane have never fought. How cool would a showdown between them have been? They could've done so much more with Nash, but once again failed on opportunities to excite the crowd even more and make the Rumble more memorable. No we can't have that because we gotta make sure Hornswoggles gets his 15 minutes of stupitidy into the match.

Ezekiel Jackson elminating Big Show was a surprising and impressive moment. I think in almost every Rumble, the Big Show is eliminated when a group of guys get together to eliminate him (except the 00 and 04 Rumbles), so Jackson eliminating him on his own was very impressive and made Jackson look great. Cool moment, though I would've liked to have of course seen Show last longer.

The end picked up and got red hot by the end. Once again I would've loved to have seen Punk or John Morrison or even Sheamus be at the very end, but it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't a bad final four/five Cena, Orton, Barrett (who I agree should've been at the end), Del Rio, and Mysterio were a fine final "5" (and of course Santino being on the outside).

I thought the way Cena was eliminated was absolutely top-notch. Excellent way to get his feud with the Miz going and making it personal. I'm really looking forward to this. If all of the rumored matches for Wrestlemania end up taking place, Miz/Cena should be your main event.

I figured for sure after Cena was gone that it was gonna be Barrett or Orton, but then when Del Rio eliminated them both I jumped out of my chair and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe that WWE went with a non-established main event talent to win it.

Then IMO another one of the best moments in Rumble history was Santino surprising everyone and coming back (who I had long forgotten about) and almost winning it. I was screaming and marking out more than I have since Bret Hart first came back to Raw last year. I think if Santino had won it, it would've been the most hilariously awesome and unlikely moment in Rumble history. It was done so well, as the crowd was on fire for Santino to win it. Now this was an example of comedy that was used excellently. We all love Santino and the crowd was so excited and into it as we all thought for a second that WWE might shock us even more than they just had. It was shocking enough that Albert Del Rio eliminated Randy fuckin' Orton and Wade Barrett to win. But Santino Marella? This would've been the most shocking moment ever. What a fantastic ending. Just for how off the wall, shocking, and unpredictible it was. Everyone can now sit here and say "yeah, I knew Albert was going to win, totally." And I'd call your bluff. Sure he's getting a push and is hot, but he's still a mid-carder. The last time a mid-carder won was probably the 1993 Rumble back when Yokozuna won.

Now I'm not the biggest Alberto fan. I think he's good, I don't think he's as great as everyone makes him out to be. But it was still incredible that WWE took a chance and did something no one thought they would do, and that's give the Rumble victory to a pretty much, newcomer Again that hasn't happened in a very long time. And there are so many awesome mid-carders/young guys right now, plenty that deserve it. From Brian Danielson, to John Morrison, to Sheamus, to Kofi Kingston, to Dolph Ziggler, to Wade Barrett. So it was really cool to see a newer guy win after so many years of established, top main eventers winning every year.

One of my other disappointments was the lack of returns/surprise entrants. Now as someone pointed out, none were advertised, they were just speculated on, but still the Rumble always pulls a few surprises and with 40 guys being in it, they had more than enough opportunities for some surprises. Booker T and Kevin Nash were excellent. But there could've and should've been more. Triple H and Christian are ready to come back. Chris Jericho is healthy and would've made for a great surprise. Awesome Kong is ready to debut at any time. Hell, Undertaker could've come back (I know on the net it's saying that Taker won't be back until Wrestlemania at the earliest, but they said the same about John Cena back in 2007/2008 and he came back at the '08 Rumble). Instead of having Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton make another appearance, and having Hornswoggle out there to kill all the momentum and action of the match, why not bring another legend or someone in. Hacksaw Jim Duggan was supposedly ready to come in. I would've much rather seen him.

The Rumble lacked in off-the wall surprise entrants which was disappointing.

I don't think this Rumble was one of the best Rumbles ever (I laughed when I read someone call it the best ever, it's nowhere near that), but it wasn't one of the worst ever either. There was plenty of good stuff. It was just disappointing and missed out on plenty of opportunities to make it even more memorable and better. It had tons of potential that it didn't capitalize on.

I'd give the Rumble match probably 3 stars out of 5.

 

[itssoeasy123]

Becuase that what was booked to happen. It's obviously WWE does see something in Morrison, Morrison himself just can't find it.

Anyway, it's not injustice and "oh my god, he's getting buried, WWE have no faith in him." He was'nt booked to win. Simple.

what subverse said holds so much truth to some of you people. Just becuase he got eliminated early does'nt mean jackshit IMO, at all. He's just another midcarder who got eliminated in the Royal Rumble.

Also, Morrison's lucky nobody has a spilt soda on the wall or he would be out for a few months.

 

[jduong]

1.) Now that the HIGHLIGHT of the night is covered, WTF????? You OPEN UP with Edge/Ziggler??? You're telling me that F'n LAYCOOL, aka: the walking bathroom break and the Divas title match is closer to to the main event that EDGE Vs. ZIGGLER, WTFF?????????????????? That made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE what so ever!!!!!!

WWE knew pretty well everyone needed a bathroom break before the 40 man rumble which would take longer....makes sense to me.

Now what I learned:

1. Dolph Ziggler is definitely able to hold his own
2. WWE couldn't get Kaitlyn to come so they got Kelly instead
3. When did Kelly have beef with Vicky? And wasn't she in some storyline with Drew McIntyre?
4. Michael Cole is still Miz's B*TCH
5. Michael Cole can praise Miz for hours but proceed to return to being a regular, but still lame and crappy commentator the next second
6. WWE never likes it when we know what's going to happen so instead of giving us a debuting Kong to kill everyone, we get...EVE?!?!
7. Apparently you can win the Diva Search (which no one cared about), win the title and still have no one care, become R-Truth's (crappy) back-up dancer, have no obvious feud with any of the other divas and STILL win the title again...That my friends, is the career of one Eve Torres. (At least Kong will now have Implants to bust)
8. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and William Regal can put on a better match than John Cena
9. JoMo is DEFINITELY a ninja ^^ (Even though he totally could've hopped back into the ring on one foot considering that BOTH feet have to touch the floor...but that's not fun at all so they make him do that only to bury him...for the 92018403294801398th time!)
10. Booker T and Kevin Nash both got bigger pops than Cena and Orton
11. Cena and Orton can no longer be in the same match...EVER
12. Khali and Booker T can't eliminate the Nexus but Cena can take them all out in 30 seconds
13. Hornswoggle is still with the WWE?!?! What's next? Cena and Hornswoggle as Tag Champs?!?!
14. (Should have mentioned this earlier, but it slipped my mind...) Chavo Guerrero can give 1000 suplexes to everyone and look uber hot only to get demolished while trying to do an Eddie tribute
15. In order to "fool the fans" they didn't give us ANY returns we want and instead put Ziggler and Orton back in the ring.
16. The Santino Cobra's attack power is OVER 9000 in any given match...except when he uses it in the Royal Rumble and tries to eliminate the guy after wards.
17. Alberto's ring announcer is almost as annoying and useless as Michael Cole
18. WWE couldn't have been any more obvious in their WM storylines
19. A 40 man RR is just as useless as the Bella twins
20. Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania are gonna be hard to digest this year considering how obvious the storylines are (praying for the biggest swerve in the world!)

 

[Theo Mays]

I was a bit bummed to see Morrison tossed so early, but reason seems to be that it made the New Nexus look stronger as I believe they were the ones to chuck him. I figured Morrison was gonna be a dark horse and really surprise some people, but I doubt his push is anywhere close to over. He had the single most impressive move in the whole Rumble with his spiderman-esque move onto the security wall, it was simply amazing.

Though it makes you wonder if that blog of the ex-creative writer holds some truth in that Vince doesn't see Morrison as a top face. Back on topic though. Morrison moving onto the US title would be a step down in my mind and I think they just need to continue to make him look strong, which shouldn't be too difficult. Morrison performed rather well in the Elimination Chamber last year and I'd expect the same this year. Continue the build and Morrison could be an early favorite to win the Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania if they chose to have one.

 

[bigJOE]

only thing holding Morrison back is his ability on the mic. he's not terrible on it, he just doesn't rein you in and grasp your attention when he's talking. you gotta exude confidence in the ring (which he does) and on the mic. those are the guys that WWE puts the strap on; they never give the belt to guys who are all ability, little talk.

not all of it is morrison's fault, he really doesn't get a whole lot of opportunities to talk and help develop that personality.

that's why i think he hasn't been in the title picture. as far as why he was tossed early, i thought he should've at least been in there up until the final 10 started entering. but ya know, CM Punk didn't last much longer after Morrison was tossed, so I don't think getting eliminated early means the company doesn't like a certain guy. I think Punk should've been in at least up until the end, if he wasn't gonna win the whole thing.

 

[itssoeasy123]

WWE knew pretty well everyone needed a bathroom break before the 40 man rumble which would take longer....makes sense to me.

Now what I learned:

1. Dolph Ziggler is definitely able to hold his own
2. WWE couldn't get Kaitlyn to come so they got Kelly instead
3. When did Kelly have beef with Vicky? And wasn't she in some storyline with Drew McIntyre?
4. Michael Cole is still Miz's B*TCH
5. Michael Cole can praise Miz for hours but proceed to return to being a regular, but still lame and crappy commentator the next second
6. WWE never likes it when we know what's going to happen so instead of giving us a debuting Kong to kill everyone, we get...EVE?!?!
7. Apparently you can win the Diva Search (which no one cared about), win the title and still have no one care, become R-Truth's (crappy) back-up dancer, have no obvious feud with any of the other divas and STILL win the title again...That my friends, is the career of one Eve Torres. (At least Kong will now have Implants to bust)
8. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and William Regal can put on a better match than John Cena
9. JoMo is DEFINITELY a ninja ^^ (Even though he totally could've hopped back into the ring on one foot considering that BOTH feet have to touch the floor...but that's not fun at all so they make him do that only to bury him...for the 92018403294801398th time!)
10. Booker T and Kevin Nash both got bigger pops than Cena and Orton
11. Cena and Orton can no longer be in the same match...EVER
12. Khali and Booker T can't eliminate the Nexus but Cena can take them all out in 30 seconds
13. Hornswoggle is still with the WWE?!?! What's next? Cena and Hornswoggle as Tag Champs?!?!
14. (Should have mentioned this earlier, but it slipped my mind...) Chavo Guerrero can give 1000 suplexes to everyone and look uber hot only to get demolished while trying to do an Eddie tribute
15. In order to "fool the fans" they didn't give us ANY returns we want and instead put Ziggler and Orton back in the ring.
16. The Santino Cobra's attack power is OVER 9000 in any given match...except when he uses it in the Royal Rumble and tries to eliminate the guy after wards.
17. Alberto's ring announcer is almost as annoying and useless as Michael Cole
18. WWE couldn't have been any more obvious in their WM storylines
19. A 40 man RR is just as useless as the Bella twins
20. Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania are gonna be hard to digest this year considering how obvious the storylines are (praying for the biggest swerve in the world!)

1-6) I agree
7) LOL
8) Their close, but Cena's better. Just becuase he does'nt do 15 moves a match does'nt mean shit. Look at Hulk Hogan, or Steve Austin.
9) So, A guy was buried for being eliminated in a Royal Rumble match? What's next?
10) Well, that makes sense, considering both of them have not been in WWE for over 5 years.
11) Why?
12) Becuase um, it's John Cena! Wait, isn't he the guy who's been fueding with them for the last, I don't know? Month?
13) I would love to see that!
14) So, what are you implying?
15) What returns "we want," that only one I though "for sure," was Triple H. It didn't happen, am I'm not complaining one bit!
16)Well, of course, Santino was obviously not gonna win the Rumble.
17) Ricardo is a good accusition to Del Rio.
18) Cena-Miz, Orton-Punk, Del Rio-Edge. I don't give a flying fuck if their
obvious, they seem like very entertaiing storylines to me.
19) It helped alot of guy's ,like Tatsu and Ryder to shine in the spotlight for a bit. It also made room for the surprises!
20) How are the storylines obvious? Sure, the opponents are, but how are the storylines. What, did you fantasy book the storylines already? The PPV just ended. Oh, and this is WWE, there are no SWERVES!!1, swerves don't make good quality televsion, just confuse and frustrate the hell out of you, see TNA.

 

[egreed]

Listen, guys. John Morrison is everything you and everyone else thinks he is. We live in a instant gratification society, we want it now. But this is wrestling. Vince played the instant gratification card for 10 years. Now he realizes that true stars need to be molded and crafted, not thrust into the spotlight unless they are truly capable. Sheamus, Miz and Del Rio come instantly to mind in this gen for those that have "it" and can live up to the pressure. Morrison has "it". But I liken Morrison to HBK. When he was a Rocker, you didn't hear the announcers talk about him. But you knew he was special. Morrison just has to show up to be admired. Just like all the greats. They are going to show that this man his the goods every week until it kills everyone to watch him fall short yet again. And then, BOOM, he will explode and become the new face of the WWE. When Cena did it, no one saw it coming. I know I didn't. So sit back and enjoy the show. It just started.

 

[X]

WWE Royal Rumble 2011
January 30th, 2011
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,000+​

The build for this Rumble has been very good with the WWE continuing their effort to push young talent through 2010 and into the new year of 2011. For the first time ever the Royal Rumble has been expanded to 40 participants instead of the usual 30, and both World titles are on the line tonight.



Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Matt Striker


WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Edge (C) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler won a number one contender's match against Cena a few weeks back leading us to this title match tonight which many inside the company see as Ziggler's big chance. If he excels here he could be destined for the main event on a more permanent basis, but if he flops it's back to the midcard. Vickie comes out first to remind Edge that if he uses the spear or gets disqualified he will lose the title to Ziggler. The crowd can only be described as electric tonight. Quick lockup to start off as they begin feeling each other out, exchanging blows in the corner. Edge tosses Ziggler hard into the turnbuckle and nails Ziggler with knees to the abdomen. Gutbuster on Zigger by Edge, a move you don't really see too often anymore. Another near fall for Edge. Outside the ring Edge tosses Dolph into the barricade a few times before tossing Ziggler back in. Big kick from Ziggler before Edge can make it back into the ring and a suspension neckbreaker for two. Ziggler goes to work now, kicking away at Edge's midsection and laying in elbows. Ziggler chokes Edge with the ropes and tries another pin attempt but doesn't even get a two. Crowd is fired up now, chanting "Let's Go Edge!" while Ziggler slaps on a chinlock on the Rated R Superstar. Ziggler gets catapulted headfirst into the turnbuckle for a two count but he recovers quickly with another neckbreaker for a near fall. Ziggler keeps wearing Edge down with the chinlock but the crowd is still completely into it because of just how excited everyone seems to be tonight. Elbow to the heart gets another two count for Ziggler. Edge gets tossed into the barricade again but is only down for a two count back in the ring. Back to the headlock for Dolph. Edge eventually breaks out of it and they collide in mid-air from attempted cross-body blocks. Ziggler gets pancaked in the corner and both men are out for the count again. Edge tries a comeback but Ziggler delivers a jaw-jacker to him instead. He goes for the Rocker Drop but Edge catches him in a sitout powerbomb for a close two count! Edge and Ziggler fight on the top rope for awhile before Edge attempts a splash that Ziggler rolls through for another close 2 count that everyone in attendance and at home totally bought as a finish. Small "Let's go Ziggler!" chants break out as he hits a dropkick for a quick near fall. Edge catches Ziggler in a bit of a modified sharpshooter briefly until Dolph gets the ropes. Ziggler then is able to hit the Rocker Drop on Edge for another close two count, another finish the fans buy into. Vickie is screaming outside while both men are spent inside the ring. Big boot from Edge, Edge thinks about the Spear which gives Ziggler the chance to try to lock on his deadly sleeper hold, only Edge reverses THAT into a big Impaler DDT! Edge is pulling out old moves he hasn't used in years, trying to beat Ziggler. Vickie breaks up a pin attempt but Kelly Kelly of all people comes down to ringside and lays her out. While Edge is distracted by this Ziggler runs up behind him and hits the Zig-Zag! 1-2---NOOO!!!, everyone including Michael Cole and myself just totally bought into that finish there, I legit thought that was a 3 there now. Ziggler locks on the sleeper-hold now, wearing Edge down again, his constant gameplan throughout the match. Edge wildly flails around with Ziggler on his back and knocks out the ref. Edge hits a bit jaw-jacker on Ziggler and with everybody laid out Edge sees the opportunity to give Ziggler the SPEAR, and then lays down beside Ziggler luring him in and then finishing him with the Killswitch Engage/Unprettier, the finisher of his longtime kayfabe brother/partner Christian at 20:47!. This was one HELL of an opener as the crowd was red-hot and Edge and Ziggler pulled every trick out of their bag trying to put the other one away, Edge was bumping all over the place like it was 1999 and Ziggler brought everything he had and what we got was an incredible world title match that still made Ziggler look like a million bucks even in the loss. This has to be considered one of the first true Match of the Year candidates for 2011 thus far. ****1/4



WWE Title Match
The Miz (C) vs. Randy Orton

Orton is hugely over as this crowd is still red hot from the brilliant opening match. Good luck following THAT guys. Miz makes a cheap shot at Tom Brady for some delicious cheap and intense heat. Cole, as per usual, verbally ******es Miz for awhile before the bell rings and the match is finally off. Orton takes the quick advantage laying in forearms and uppercuts. He tosses the Miz around for a bit into different corners, laying in shots all the while. Alex Riley is getting antsy outside and rings Orton's neck over the top rope while the Miz distracts the referee. Miz tries to take advantage but Orton hits him with a big clothesline. Orton hits the steel post and The Miz takes the upper hand, running into the corner with a big clothesline for a two count. Riley interferes again and gives a high five to Michael Cole afterwards. Some nice heat from the crowd here because of the whole Cole association. Miz slaps on a headlock for a bit and then hits a kneedrop for only a one count. Forearm to the face gets a two. Cole and Lawler bitch about The Apprentice for some reason while Orton tries to comeback, only to eat another elbow from Miz. Orton eats a knee with his head draped over the side of the ring for another two count. And back to the sleeper from Miz. Miz doesn't exactly seem motivated here. Orton gets out of it with a back suplex. BIG boot to Orton's face for another two count that Cole buys into. The Miz goes to the top but Orton catches him and delivers a huge superplex from the top rope! Orton hits a series of clotheslines on Miz and then hits his trademark backbreaker. Miz tries to escape and Orton goes for his second-rope DDT, only to have Miz backdrop him all the way to the outside and take a cheapshot from Riley outside the ring. Back in thering Miz gets a 2 count and follows it up with a double axe-handle off the top rope for another two count. Orton gets tossed the outside and Miz follows, catapulting him into one of the steel ringposts for his efforts. Back in the ring Orton hits another clothesline and a quick powerslam. The crowd comes alive after a neckbreaker and a near fall for Orton. Orton goes for the RKO, but it's blocked and Orton reverses that with a back suplex for a two count. Miz has had enough and bails outside the ring, grabs his belt and is promptly clotheslined by Orton for even attempting this. Orton rolls him back into the ring but Miz gets a cheap shot for two. Orton gets a rollup for a near fall, then catches Miz in the ropes with his signature suspension DDT. Orton goes into his whole Viper routine, pounding the mat waiting for Miz to rise. Suddenly the new Nexus comes out to distract Randy Orton,who avoids Riley's interference again and delivers an RKO, throwing him out of the ring and onto Nexus, sending them all tumbling. Out of nowhere CM Punk slides into the ring and delivers the GTS to Orton, and the Miz gets the cheap win at 19:50 Very good match here as they had to follow up the excellent opener on the show and put on a damn fine world title match with a hot ending and a creative finish. ***1/2


Promo for next month's Elimination Chamber PPV.

Backstage Todd Grisham reads a letter from Cody Rhodes who is apparently in hiding because of his broken nose and vanity.

We get clips of them getting Royal Rumble predictions from a plethora of fans in Boston. A simple but nice little touch in building up for the Rumble later.


WWE Diva's Title Match
Natalya (C) vs. Eve Mendes vs. Michelle McCool vs. Layla

Before the match can even begin the lights flicker and we get the inbox sound as Michael Cole has recieved an email from the anonymous Raw GM. He says that instead of a tag team match, it's going to be a fatal fourway with them and......Eve Mendes! Eve Mendes? Really? Everyone, myself included, thought that was about to be Awesome Kong's debut for the company. I almost marked out there. Almost. LayCool quickly take advantage of Eve with double team moves before Natalya starts handing out clotheslines and catapults Layla into Michelle. Laycool tumble outside where Layla clotheslines Natalya. LayCool tease wrestling eachother as the only two in the ring for a bit until Natalya and eve return. Natalya puts the sharpshooter on both Layla and Eve at the same time! Michelle breaks that up pretty quickly and hits modified Michinoku driver. though and tosses Eve to the outside. Natalya dominates Laycool for a bit until Eve returns and sends her out of the ring. Eve climbs to the top rope and hits a moonsault on Layla while McCool rolls up Natalya and the ref counts only Eve's pin for the 3 at 5:14. Wow, pretty good women's match here actually, not too long and they had a few nice spots. **1/2


Backstage Daniel Bryan (with Gail Kim) gets interviewed by Josh Matthews but they're interrupted by the Bella Twins who initially try to apologize to Bryan but instead end up in a fistfight with Gail Kim, screaming "GET AWAY FROM HIM!". Damn, Daniel Bryan is booked like he's god damn Shaft with the women.

Very good little promo for Wrestlemania, followed by the same Royal Rumble numbers breakdown promo they've been playing all week, but is still great.


40 Man Royal Rumble Match

First out is CM Punk, who gets a strange mixture of heat and adulation. Number two is Ezekiel Jackson apparently, but the entire Corre group come out with him and surround the ring around Punk. Inside the ring they all hammer away on Punk briefly until the rest of Punk's New Nexus run to the ring and we've got a good old-fashioned 1950s Outsiders kind of rumble. But of course the lights flicker to interrupt this great start with the GM's email saying that all of both the Corre and Nexus must go backstage and leave Punk alone in the ring. Number two? Daniel Bryan. Oh yeah, now we're talking. They start the Rumble off strong with some solid wrestling, exchanging lariats. Bryan hits a big missle dropkick but misses the Shining Wizard in the corner. Justin Gabriel is number three and quickly starts to brawl with Punk in the ring. Gabriel goes for the 450 splash but Punk rolls out of theway and Daniel Bryan eliminates Gabriel with a back suplex out of the ring. Bryan Danielson marks everywhere are going wild right now (myself included). Zach Ryder is next out and gets some nice heat from the hot Boston crowd. He attacks the already hurt CM Punk momentarily and then Daniel Bryan eliminates Ryder with a backdrop. Next out is William Regal who gets a nice reaction from the crowd and quickly hits a few variations of suplexes on CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, which the crowd loves. European uppercuts to Daniel Bryan as we've got a battle of the master and trainer as Regal was integral in training Bryan. Bryan takes both Regal and Punk down with stiff kicks. Next out is Ted DiBiase who comes in fired up and heads straight for CM Punk. Bryan superkicks Regal on one side of the ring as DiBiase nearly goes over. Next out is John Morrison, to a big pop. He jumps right in and takesout everyone with a slew ofdropkicks and springboard kicks. He hits the Spanish Fly on CM Punk! Regal gets tossed out and it appears so does Morrison, but Morrison lands ontop of the barricade! He's not TECHNICALLY out, his feet haven't touched the floor! That's utterly brilliant, really. He walks the barricade around and leaps back to the steel steps and climbs back into the ring, never having set a single foot on the ground. Next out is Yoshi Tatsu who quickly gets taken out Punk. They brawl for a bit until Husky Harris comes out. Husky protects Punk for a bit and takes the punishment from the other wrestlers in his place. Next out is Chavo Guerrero who goes right for CM Punk. They trade counters and suplexes for a bit, putting on a mini-match in the middle of the ring. Punk interrupts the 3 Amigoes suplex only to have his 3 Amigoes interrupted....suddenly 3 Amigos Suplexes EVERYWHERE. Literally, everyone in the ring including Daniel Bryan deliverst the move while the crowd goes apeshit for CHAVO GUERRERO of all people.

Next out is Mark Henry, who quickly eliminates Chavo with ease. Yoshi, who has teamed with Henry in the past, tries to chop the big man down but gets eliminated himself by Henry instead. Entry number twelve is JTG, you know, that guy who is just kind of there. King tries to speak ebonics and a single tear of laughter is shed on my part. Morrison and DiBiase start going at it with DiBiase teetering on the top of the turnbuckle. #13 is Michael McGillicutty, another member of Punk's Nexus group who comes in fired up. JTG is quickly eliminated and McGillicitty goes after Morrison. Daniel Bryan meanwhile delivers a very stiff dropkick to Punk's face. DiBiase gets eliminated and next out is Chris Masters who locks the full-nelson on CM Punk and threatens to eliminate him briefly until Nexus makes the save. Next out is David Otunga meanwhile Daniel Bryan gets eliminated after about 20 minutes, which the crowd boos. Masters is out next and after a valiant effort so is Morrison. Now it's just Nexus versus Mark Henry and they eliminate him quickly. Who comes out now you say? To face off against the entire Nexus?

Why...TYLER REKS of course!(?!) Who is quickly beaten down and tossed out in no amount of time. Next out is Vladimir Kozlov who tries to fight them off and then falls to the mat, where Husky hits him with a senton. Punk throws Kozlov out with ease as ifhe were garbage and gets HUGE heel heat from the Boston crowd as he raises his fist for Nexus. He sits down indian-style in the middle of the ring like a true guru and next out is R-Truth. Just like the others they beat down on R-Truth for a bit and then Punk calmly eliminates him. Crowd is all over Punk who just soaks it in. Next out is....The Great Khali! Would it be appropriate to make a joke about the shooting he and his bodyguard were involved in weeks ago in India at this time? Khali tosses out Husky Harris and next out is Mason Ryan, a guy who got his job entirely because he looks so much like Batsita. He quickly eliminates Khali and it's the waiting game again. Next out...CAN YOU DIG IT...SUCKA?! Booker T returns! Crowd pops huge and everyones marking out, including Striker who literally tells us he's "marking out". Booker T hits the ring and hits his signature scissor kick, followed by a Book-End. Crowd is flipping out for Booker T and so is Striker as we see the first SPINAROONIE in many years in a WWE ring and Striker sounds like he just jizzed himself from marking out. After a few more signature spots Mason Ryan eliminates Booker T, pissing the crowd off big time. No need to worry though because next out is John Cena! He sprints to the ring and makes short work of Nexus, eliminating everyone besides Punk. Next out is...Hornswoggle? What the shit? The fun doesn't last long though as Punk kicks Hornswoggle's face off in the ring. Punk tries to dump Cena out but John ends up slamming him over his shoudlers, over the tope rope and eliminating CM Punk! Cena helps Hornswoggle up and they wait for the next entrant, and it's Tyson Kidd who gets stuck in between Cena and Hornswoggle and suffer a tilt-a-whirl slam and then AN FU! No, really, Hornswoggle just gave Tyson Kidd the FU and he sold it and everything. That was just funny. Heath Slater is next out and he doesn't long either as Hornswoggle gives him a STUNNER and then a tadpole splash, leaving Cena to eliminate Slater. Good lord, this Cena/Hornswoggle team is actually working! Next out is the Intercontinental Champion, Kofi Kingston who has a nice showdown with Cena briefly until Swagger comes out and starts delivering slams to everyone. Kingston flies off the top to take out Swagger and hits the BoomDrop with Hornswoggle as a step-ladder of sorts. Next out is Sheamus who takes it right to Swagger and then takes down Cena with a backbreaker. Sheamus shoves Hornswoggle down but Hornswoggle starts doing the HBK foot stomp "turning up the band" move, and delivers Sweet SHIN Music! Somewhere Mick Foley is marking out. Sheamus finally eliminates the little guy with a big boot just as Rey Mysterio comes out at number 29.

Rey's a house of fire in the ring, hitting his spots on everyone in the ring before being taken down by a lariat from Sheamus. Out of nowhere Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise on Swagger, who then eats the 619 from Rey and is eliminated. Next out is Wade Barrett, the leader of the Corre. Barrett goes for the Wasteland on Kofi but Cena interrupts and they go at it. Out next is number 31, Dolph Ziggler out for the second time tonight after the incredible match with Edge earlier in the night. Out next is...DIESEL! Yes, you heard right, fucking DIESEL! Kevin Nash with his beard dyed and all came out to the music and Diesel ring gear. Crowd erupts in a giant collective mark-gasm. Nostalgia for all! Alex Riley is next out which gives Miz the chance to jump on commentary. Drew McIntyre follows but is eliminated within minutes as Diesel gets eliminated and has a staredown with the Big Show in the aisle. Ezekiel Jackson comes out next and he quickly eliminates the Big Show! Next out is Santino who manages to last more than one second like years before. Cena starts trying to work on Ezekiel's mid-section but he's too strong. Entry number 38 is Alberto Del Rio who arrives with his trademark car and Ricardo Rodriguez doing his announcements. Lots of stall time basically for Del Rio here. Eventually he makes it to the ring just as number 39 comes in, and it's Randy Orton. He delivers a few RKOs and quickly eliminates both Kofi Kingston and Sheamus, leaving it down to Orton and Cena as the only two standing. At number #40 we get Kane, who is known for his elimination records in the Rumble and they've been hyping it for weeks. Kane dominates Orton in the corner for a bit until Ezekiel Jackson gets inbetween them. Kane pulls the ropes down and eliminates Ezekiel. Rey and Kane square off and Mysterio manages to eliminate him just long enough for Wade Barrett to eliminate Mysterio. We are down to the final Four now with Cena, Orton, Barrett, and Del Rio! Cena teases being eliminated but comes back with a sidewalk slam on Barrett. Cena and Orton start going at for a bit and Cena almost eliminates Orton but Barrett breaks it up. Del Rio takes the Attitude Adjustment from Cena but then Riley comes out to distract Cena while The Miz comes into the ring and eliminates Cena himself! Orton, Barrett, and Del Rio remain. One...no, two of these are not like the other. Barrett and Del Rio double team Orton in the corner but Orton fights back and hits backbreakers on both men, going into Viper mode and he eliminates Barrett, but Del Rio eliminates Orton! Del Rio has won! The crowd is in total shock...but wait! Santino was never officially eliminated before and returns to the ring where he's promptly eliminated by Del Rio to end the match at 69:55. Unbelievable, nobody could have predicted the winner of this year's Rumble, nobody. The match itself was absolutely brilliant from start to finish with several stories, feuds, and surprises, this was flat out one of the best Rumbles ever in my book. The Diesel and Booker T cameos were awesome moments, and we got great performances in the match from a wide variety of great workers like Daniel Bryan, John Morrison, CM Punk, and William Regal. This was a fantastic Rumble match and even managed to somehow one-up last year's stellar Rumble match. ****1/4

Bottom Line: This was a great show, simply put. Ziggler and Edge had a serious Match of the Year candidate to open things up, Miz and Orton had a fine match, and even the divas showed a bit of effort. This had to be the best Rumble in years as the match itself delivered a huge surprise winner in Alberto Del Rio and they were able to integrate several angles and feuds into the match to set up the road to Wrestlemania. WWE definitely delivers big time with their first PPV of 2011, easy Thumbs Up.


Score: 9/10​

 

[GameOver]

Because not everyone can be "the guy." Because they need to play up the luck of the draw concept. Because even though we thought he might be a contender doesn't mean they thought he was. Because early eliminations don't mean irrelevance or a lack of push. Because the internet (you) read way too much into minute details that don't actually mean anything.

This. just cause someone gets eliminated earlier than others doesn't make them weak. Morrison came in, did some speccy stuff then got outed just like 39 others

 

[MonMan10]

Because WWE knows a great main event needs a heel and face to draw fans. In the WWE right now they are lacking in "Heel Power" and who other than Alberto Del Rio to take the cake.

 

[jduong]

1-6) I agree
7) LOL
8) Their close, but Cena's better. Just becuase he does'nt do 15 moves a match does'nt mean shit. Look at Hulk Hogan, or Steve Austin.
9) So, A guy was buried for being eliminated in a Royal Rumble match? What's next?
10) Well, that makes sense, considering both of them have not been in WWE for over 5 years.
11) Why?
12) Becuase um, it's John Cena! Wait, isn't he the guy who's been fueding with them for the last, I don't know? Month?
13) I would love to see that!
14) So, what are you implying?
15) What returns "we want," that only one I though "for sure," was Triple H. It didn't happen, am I'm not complaining one bit!
16)Well, of course, Santino was obviously not gonna win the Rumble.
17) Ricardo is a good accusition to Del Rio.
18) Cena-Miz, Orton-Punk, Del Rio-Edge. I don't give a flying fuck if their
obvious, they seem like very entertaiing storylines to me.
19) It helped alot of guy's ,like Tatsu and Ryder to shine in the spotlight for a bit. It also made room for the surprises!
20) How are the storylines obvious? Sure, the opponents are, but how are the storylines. What, did you fantasy book the storylines already? The PPV just ended. Oh, and this is WWE, there are no SWERVES!!1, swerves don't make good quality televsion, just confuse and frustrate the hell out of you, see TNA.

I see the points you make but i do have reason for my points.
8. In terms of a wrestling standpoint, Cena's got NOTHING on Punk, Bryan and Regal
9. I'm saying they didn't capitalize on his whole ninja thing. They got us excited by making him a ninja but they just killed it by eliminating him that early on
11. Did you hear the lack of crowd reaction when they had a staredown? I think Big Show and Kevin Nash had a bigger reaction for their staredown.
12. I would've expected Khali to take out Mason Ryan or at least stand a chance. Same with Booker. The fact that Cena came out and single handedly threw Nexus out was a pretty big slap to the face to the people who came out before him because it made them look totally weak compared to Cena
13. Really?! As if the Tag division isn't as dead as it is already...
14. I wasn't implying anything...
15. Christian, Evan Bourne, Undertaker to name a few?
16. I would've wanted someone who was more deceiving to do what Santino did (but with Edge out of the question, who else could've pulled that off)
17. Sure he adds character to the character but that doesn't change the fact that he's annoying and most of the time useless
18. I don't think Miz winning every match dirty is helping establish him as a credible champ, Punk and Orton, sure why not? and Edge vs. Del Rio, I think ADR is still a little too green (remember when they monster pushed Kozlov? That killed what little momentum he had)
19. They had the spotlight for a good couple minutes before being eliminated by Nexus/Corre. If you think about it, those 10 spots added were basically for the Nexus/Corre. Without them, we wouldn't have needed a 40 man Rumble
20. I did not fantasy book anything. I'm just saying that some of the bookings made storylines apparent (Cena pissed off at Miz for costing him his WM shot...that is a storyline, is it not?) aside from the Rumble match, the other two storylines revolve around screwjobs. And if memory serves me correctly, we HAVE been swerved before in the WWE (not for the better for a lot of the time). Some recent examples include Sheamus winning the WWE title for the first time at TLC...everyone had expected and predicted Cena to retain, BOOM swerved in the face. Or Matt Hardy revealed to be Jeff's attacker a few years back. Everyone thought it was Christian as it made sense...Swerved once again. Or the infamous Hornswoggle being Vince's son angle (Everyone didn't expect it/expected it to be Mr. Kennedy)...Swerved once again. And mind you, swerves (when executed correctly) keep things entertaining...I personally liked it when Sheamus beat Cena for the title because it made things fresh again.

 

[Steven Robert Gill]

The crowd was hot most of the night but when they realised HHH wasn't coming out you could see the atmosphere fade. Nash and Booker should of gotten longer than a minute or so each and the Hornswaggle stuff is just bullshit. Pretty crap overall.

Yeah, i remember a similar vibe during the Vengeance 2001 ppv, when HHH was a no show, to be fair some of the promotional pictures of the PPV actually had pictures of HHH in them :facepalm:

As far as the RR ending goes, well, i'm not sure how i feel, Cena and Miz is still a go for WM, but my guess is that higher ups figured the WHC match needed some spice added to it.

On a side note apparently Vince Mcmahon as of a few months backa was hell bent on the world championships being unified as soon as possible, but people in creative kept getting him to hold of on something as big as that until Wrestlemania, looks like it won't even be happening then.

 

[Mr_Ratings]

One thing thats funny about all of this is the hypocrisy of the WWE "Universe". Cause when Nash was in TNA it was "Omg hes so old" "Omg he had 13 knee surgeries" "Hes 51 years old!" "He cant wrestle anymore"... Now that hes in WWE its "Omg did you hear the crowd reaction"... "Lets sign him to a deal" "I would love to see him and so and so wrestle"

Most of the same can be said about Booker T

You people amuse me

 

[CoachT]

I learned alot.. Now guys this is my 1st post so correct me if I am wrong but can't keep my mouth shut for long

1. This was of 45$ and since I been watching since I was 3 which makes 23 years this is the worse rumble I have in my memory

2. Paying 45$ to see hornswoggle and John Cena eliminate everyone is terrible.

3. The ring didnt fill up so alot of things were predictable

4. I still cant understand why CM punk and miz ched opponents for mania. I think Punk and Orton will draw but will Cena and Miz?????

5. If Nexus gonna eliminate people the way they did it shouldve been jobbers ie.. Chris Masters, Zach Ryder and ect

6. Where was Triple H? What More better way to use him than tonight to throw Shemus out he didnt have to officially be put in the rumble.

7. If its going to be an Undertaker/ Barret match at mania why not have the taker show up by turning the lights off his music play Wade is looking at titian tron and someone throws him out or he comes out to the ramp and leaves.

 

[GameOver]

1) I was actually cheering for Cena and Hornswoggle - Shoot me now.....
2) Nash and Booker was a good suprise, and both looked the best they have in years.
3) The Raw GM is a tool interrupts the womans match but no other? what was even the point of that match?
4) Dolph is Main Event material both in and out of ring, Miz is not
5) Santino Santino Santino
6) Orton is effectively dead from the title scene for the time being.
7) They changed the elimination rules yet again, so now in the Rumble anyone can come down enter the ring and eliminate someone and the result stands?
Referees are powerless? LOL yeah i know it's wrestling there are no set rules.

 

[Planetslick]

what i learned from the Rumble last night...

1. (& most importantly) Michael Cole has the best star jump celebration ever i call it a Cole jump
2. A 50yo Nash can get a bigger pop than Cena could dream of & can get the crowd to boo Rey Mysterio after a 619
3. The Spineroony still rules
4. Ziggler... Mr Perfect v2.0 is here to stay
5. CM Punk v Daniel Bryan should be a PPV Main Event
6. the WWE doesn't know how to book a Royal Rumble Match
7. Drew McIntyre, Edge, & Kelly Kelly are most likely gonna have a love triangle
8. John Cena is less flexible than Robocop
9. Sign Guy is more interesting in the front row than a Diva's match
10. John Morrision has velcro for hands or is Spider-Man
11. Del Rio needs a lot of work to get properly over in time for WM
12. Sheamus NEEDS HHH to return restart his career
13. The WWE is seriously seriously lacking star power once you take Cena, Orton, & Edge out of the picture

 

[Gansher]

The show was simply great and a very excellent way to open up 2011. Here's where I was disappointed!

1) The Diva Match: When I heard it was going to become a Fatal Four Way the first name that came to my mind was...AWESOME KONG! But when Eve came out, I lost total interest in the match.

2) Hornswoggle took up way too much time in the ring! This time could have been given to others who could have benefitted from it. Example, Diesel and Booker returned, yet they didn't last a good amount of time.

3) Did not like the fact that Ziggler and Orton got into the Rumble. As far as I know, you don't qualify to be in the Rumble if you are fighting for a World Title in the show. Taking you back to 2005, when Angle stole Nunzio's number to get into the Rumble because he lost a WWE title match earlier in the night.

 

[CJ The Pirate]

Unbelievable, nobody could have predicted the winner of this year's Rumble, nobody.

Score: 9/10​

I did actually. Many of us did!

But that doesn't take away from a very enjoyable report on the whole event... with added mark out moments too. I like that!

 

[GameOver]

First off, I gotta agree with RKOx7: John Morrison DAMN SURE is a true ninja, lol!

1.) Now that the HIGHLIGHT of the night is covered, WTF????? You OPEN UP with Edge/Ziggler??? You're telling me that F'n LAYCOOL, aka: the walking bathroom break and the Divas title match is closer to to the main event that EDGE Vs. ZIGGLER, WTFF?????????????????? That made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE what so ever!!!!!!

3.)Del Rio wins the Rumble?? Gee, thanks for that!! Not a soul in the whole damn arena cared when Del Rio won!! That's the least heat I've ever heard for a heel Rumble winner EVER! The WWE better find a way to get some heat on this douche bag over the next couple of months or they're gonna have one hell of a lopsided WM main event on they're hands!!

4.) Hornswoggle??? Thanks for wiping your @$$ with my $45.00 then smearing it in my face!!!!

Obviously missed the point.
Start the show with the 2 title matches, get if off to a high, then give everyone a break b4 the Rumble. does it matter where the Diva's match was. it still would've sucked.

and it gave the combatants of the title matches a long breather b4 entering the Rumble. DER!!!!

Hornswoggle was comedy relief, i'm sorry you're so angry that you can't accept some entertainment in a sports "entertainment" show.

There was some stupid commentry as usual though. Seems they just say the first thing that comes to there heads whether it remotely makes sense or not.

Quotes
1) in regards to Natalia doing a double sharpshooter.
King - I've never seen that b4 in my life. Um she did it at the last PPV

2) King again, Striker mentions the Michinoku Driver. King - noone knows what that is, um he always use to pay out Michinoku calling it the Michi-no-clue driver during the attitude era

3) Undertaker is the tallest person to ever compete in the Rumble. Um Andre the Giant competed to and he was taller, as did the Giant Gonzales and he was almost a foot taller then Taker

3) CM Punks apparent time in the rumble (35 mins 20seconds). he comes in at 1 and every 30seconds-1minute there's a new combatant. yet he survived 35mins by entrant number 23? at most he lasted 25mins Maybe i missed something there. unless they were adding the 5-10 mins wasted at the start with the nexus vs Corre war b4 the match officially started

 

[Unsold Bacon]

1) Dolph is great competitor I already knew that as I have been a giant fan of his since around Wrestlemania last year but tonight he proved that to everyone.

2) Morrison is a ninja.

3) I thought the rumble was decent the only two things I didn't like was Booker and Diesel getting eliminated so fasted and when the Nexus kept eliminating all the participants when they came out. I liked Santino being in hte final two and the look on his face when he was about to deliver tthe Cobra was pricelesss.

4)Booker and Diesel are more over than 90% of the WWE roster. I would love for BUKKHA to come back and I wouldn't mind Diesel in that matter as Nash is still entertaining.

5) I learned that WWE is no pulling Russo's with the random switching of RAW's two main feuds that never came to a conclusion.

Overall the rumble gets a B+ from me.

EDIT: I am also very upset that there was no Trent Barreta couldn't of he replaced a filler like Orton. Most time the clock started it's countdown I was hoping for Trent.