WWE Royal Rumble 2012 - Aftermath & General Discussion

[klipz.nbd]

So I was re-watching the Rumble just now and noticed that when Alberto Del Rio's music hit there was actually a legit pop from the crowd. I too found myself getting pretty excited to see someone that I used to dislike! Now at the time I laughed like hell when Rodriguez came out in the crappy car and did a few moves in the ring, but upon watching the Rumble a 2nd time round, I started thinking about if they had made a mistake by doing that.

Think about it, Del Rio has been a superstar they have been trying to make get over for so so so so so, so very long and despite what the WWE may think, he wasn't actually that over. When his music hit during the match the pop was very nice! (Probably bigger than the pop he got when he won the Rumble). But now I can only wonder what would have been if he had of returned. This may have been the moment that got him over with the crowd, which made people like myself who used to not care for him, show some interest. Even though he wouldn't have won the Rumble, I think a solid showing eliminating a couple of those many mid-card jobbers we got given during the match, this should have been a night where a lot more fans marked out for Alberto Del Rio than ever before.

It was un-expected to see Del Rio at the Rumble. Go back and listen to the pop. This should have been a night that took Del Rio that once step closer to being an over main event superstar the WWE desperately needs more of.

What happens now when he returns? When you next hear his music are you going to think it is Ricardo? Do you agree that pop was wasted on Ricardo?

 

[you.think.you.know.me]

well when i was watching today's PPV and heard his music i was like WTF this can't be happening... then i saw ricardo! it made me pee my pants haha a very big LOL moment... and the fact he got in there and belted cody rhodes another big LOL! kinda made my rumble match exciting.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

This was one of my favourite moments. Rodriguez has a great personality and is a pretty damn good person for doing what he does. We've not seen him much recently, the same with Del Rio. Then, when Del Rio's music hit, I was quite glad to see him return. Once I finally saw Rodriguez, I was even happier.

His short time in the ring was highly enjoyable, with him eliminating Primo, albeit with a bit of help from Foley. He was finally eliminated after only having a short space of time in the ring, but you can't deny it was fun.

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

Ricardo was one of the surprise entrants I was happy with. I remember reading about ADR's injury, so when I heard his music, I was excited(even though in the back of my head, I knew he was legitimately injured). But when Ricardo came out with his one headlight car, my smile wasn't lost. Ricardo plays the role well and could probably advance well if given so.

Do I feel like the pop was wasted? No, don't understand the question. Next time the E comes to St. Louis, ADR will be ready and they'll get to pop again. Seemed like a good time to guage people's interest in him, and for that minute he was in there, all eyes were on him. I'm happy for him.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I watch 2 WWE matches a year, the Royal Rumble match and the Undertaker's WrestleMania match, and I've got to say the first 1 was pretty dissapointing. The first thing that sprang to my mind while watching the Rumble was...Where are the stars in WWE? The biggest reactions of the night were for Jim Duggan, Mick Foley, Road Dogg and Randy Orton. Three of those guys most likely won't even be featured again and it was in the other one's hometown. Watching the Rumble has given me no reason to start watching WWE again because I didn't see anyone that I'd tune in to see on a regular basis. I marked out for the Road Dogg but couldn't care less about 95% of the other participants. No one stood out or made any sort of impression during that match and the roster seems pretty thin (even thinner than when I last watched). I don't have any issues with who wins the Rumble, but at least put some stars in there for the fan who may only watch the Royal Rumble match. Here's hoping the Undertaker's WrestleMania match is at least worth watching.

I agree completely. You want to throw one comedy wrestler into the Rumble, fine, I get it. But it seemed like the first 20 minutes was just pure, utter nonsense. Keep in mind, people paid $55 for this thing. I mean, each time the buzzer went off I just shook my head. That has to be the worst group of participants ever to compete in a Rumble.
Part of the problem is there are some injuries, and there's nothing WWE can do about it. Mysterio, Christian, ADR, etc. I don't care what they're doing with the Cena-Kane feud, one or both of those guys should have been in the Rumble. All 3 announcers in the Rumble? Give me a fucking break!
Watching this Rumble match really made me question WWE's roster as a whole.
There were some positives though. Miz and Cody Rhodes were great and Sheamus winning was excellent as I've always been a fan of his. The thing is, his Rumble win doesn't look like that big of a deal considering the participants in the Rumble. WWE needs to figure out something for next year's Rumble to legitimize it. This was the 25th anniversary and I had to watch Michael Cole and Ricardo Rodriguez? Not to mention geriatric Foley, Road Dogg and Hacksaw Jim Duggan?

I'm curious to see where they go with Sheamus and also Jericho. The Rumble as a whole though was a major disappointment

 

[juggalotus]

Yeah I was sitting there for a second thinking, "Wow this entrance music sounds really familiar, but I haven't heard it in a while, who is this?" And before Ricardo came out I remembered it was Del Rio, and I guess I was fine with Ricardo. It was funny seeing him in the ring up to the point that Satino came out.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I didn't expect Ricardo to look like the Pillsbury Doughboy. The white trunks that look so good on Alberto Del Rio looked like a diaper on Ricardo. This guy was a wrestler in his own right, yes? Kind of embarrassing to be seen like that.

The segment he and Mick Foley did was intended to be comedy; the ring was cleared of serious competitors at the time so as not to make a mockery of the whole event. Good thing.

Still, Ricardo reminded me too much of that short, grossly fat guy who shows up every few years and dances with that stupid smile on his face. I don't remember his name, or if he even used one. Ugh.

I'll look forward to seeing you in your tuxedo from now on, Ricardo.

Gracias.

 

[Workrate]

I've got to be honest: I really enjoyed the Ricardo/Santino/Foley part of the Rumble. My jaw is typically on the floor during their comedy segments, but this one had me actively laughing. I don't really know why. It was entertaining.

 

[theBec2101]

That cought me so off guard. I was like what kinda car is that, then the zoomed in, I was like hell naw. Shit was funny. when I saw that it reminded me of the movie "employee of the month" with the p.o.s. car the little hispanic guy driving it.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Sheamus winning was the best moment of the night, and that doesn't say much, if anything.

1.The Cena/Kane match was dreadful. Weird countout, stupid brawl, Zack Ryder being flushed down the drain even more [as if this is Vince's way of saying "this is your favorite guy, he flopped and now I'll make him Kane's jail bitch" to prove a point].

2. The Diva's match was horrible, as usual.

3. Thank you for a total of 10 minutes of nothing but Rock/Cena individual promos. And how the hell did a Rock promo for WrestleMania turn into a movie ad? FILLER MUCH?!

4. A squash match on a Pay-Per-View? Are you kidding me?

5. Punk vs Ziggler was great ... for a few minutes. Then we had the over-booked grape soup for 3-4 minutes which consisted of Ziggler tapping out miliseconds after Punk locked up the Anaconda Vice and getting pinned a couple of times, before getting buried again by getting pinned for good and then eliminated during the Royal Rumble match like a bitch. Youth movement at its finest.

6. Royal Rumble match - ... dear .. fucking ... Christ. You know, this is what happens when Elmo is booking. In fact, it's Elmo Russo, the love child of Vince Russo and our favorite furry red bastard. This was such a clusterfuck. Most of it was comedy bullshit, the rest was some weird stalling until the countdown and the buzzer hits, heralding the coming of another boring comedy persona, and of course a total of 2 minutes of actual action in 20+ minute match.

I have zero issues with Sheamus winning the Rumble. He's a young guy, has the look, has the support, has the skill - why the fuck not. However, what happens to Jericho now? He's been trolling everyone for such a long time and now he gets flat out eliminated and there's no controversy no nothing? It's like Hogan joining the nWo and then losing clean to fucking Rey Mysterio on the very next night.

Not to mention the lack of talent on this cursed roster. My GOD I've never seen a poorer, sadder collection of people ever. I knew it was bad but now I saw how bad it is.

Horrible PPV, full of unnecessry promoting of social networks and movies and all sorts of bullshit we don't need, unfunny skits, overbooked matches with nonsensical finishes, burying of good talent, old and new alike, random crap no one cares about topped off with wrestling that had no quality whatsoever. It's sad to see the WWE go from what it used to be and become what it is now. Thank the Lord almighty you have Rock on that fucking WrestleMania, Vince. Otherwise it's scary to think what would've happened.

Whoever bought this - I feel for you.

 

[drummerboy144]

Maybe they did it to see how the crowd would react, and as we heard there was a pretty good pop for del rio,showing that when he comes back people will care

 

[ironsheik84]

Still, Ricardo reminded me too much of that short, grossly fat guy who shows up every few years and dances with that stupid smile on his face. I don't remember his name, or if he even used one. Ugh.

It's "Big Dick" Johnson and he's actually quit the WWE (he was a writer) so I don't foresee him (specifically) showing up anytime in the future.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

However, what happens to Jericho now? He's been trolling everyone for such a long time and now he gets flat out eliminated and there's no controversy no nothing? It's like Hogan joining the nWo and then losing clean to fucking Rey Mysterio on the very next night.

I agree completely with everything you said but I wanted to comment on this. I think this was a matter of WWE switching up the finish becase we all "knew" Jericho would win. They should have just stuck with Jericho to streamline their storyline. Now they have to complicate it just because we figured out who was going to win the Rumble. It's very weird that there was no controversial ending or anything with Jericho. There's no doubt that he'll now win the Elimination Chamber in some sort of controversial manner.

I'm happy for Sheamus but I'm sad he had to win that Rumble. That thing was absolutely pathetic. Go and look at the final list of participants. It was disgraceful.


It's even more pathetic when we found out today that Christian was in the locker room and cleared to wrestle. So why the hell wasn't he in the match? I'd rather see him in there then say Michael Cole... or Ricardo Rodriguez. He would have gotten a big pop too.

 

[The Deadly Viper]

It is great to see Ricardo in the ring, as he's worked in FCW right? Apparently he's alright, can't say I've seen his matches, but definitely one of my moments of the night. Bit of a shame they made him look like a wuss as I wanted to see some good old stuff from Ricardo, but meh made me chuckle.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

Oh god. One of my favorite moments of the Rumble was when Ricardo showed up. I thought the injury to ADR was kayfabe at that moment and then I saw the shitty car and knew right away it was Ricardo. Ricardo definitely has a future as a comedic gimmick if they ever break him away from ADR. His segments in the Rumble were great and he looked slightly credible, but in a comedic way. Not enough to take him seriously, but not a COMPLETE joke. He's credible enough to the point where they could build a storyline around ADR and Ricardo having to tag team together possibly as a weird face/heel tag team. Let's face it. Ricardo has grown on all of us and last nice, Ricardo made a face turn. Comedy is the best way to make the crowd love you. Last night what they accomplished was breaking Ricardo out as someone they could potentially use as a semi-regular in-ring competitor. Also, it reminded the crowd that ADR still exists.

 

[j2dlyc]

I let out a massive groan when foleys music hit but tbh the cobra/socko clash was hilarious, I was just dying watching it, ricardo was the cherry on top of that masterpiece!

 

[Pedigree1]

That was a funny little moment there!! Ricardo coming out in the 1985 Nissan with Duct tape hefty bag in the back windshield!! Yah Ricardo is not in the best of shape but the music for a second i was thinking ADR is back and he actually got quite a few cheers!! WWE most definitely was gauging the interest people have in him and its good!! I cant wait for ADR to offically return but last night was a possitive indicator in his upcoming return. God that was funny as hell when ricardo was in the rumble

 

[stephenjpunk317]

http://stephenjpunk.blogspot.com/2012/01/royal-rumble-aftermath.html

All my thoughts can be found in that handy dandy link, but I will say Sheamus picking up the win is good for him. I was surprised at how physical Jericho was. Expected that Mick Foley would last longer, but this wasn't the match for him. I still think Foley will be involved at Wrestlemania, and of course Jericho will be in there, so them not winning tonight doesn't hurt them. I think Rhodes and Miz should have been part of the last four, but they will probably be involved next month at Elimination Chamber so no biggie there. But Sheamus needed a win to really get him going in some direction and maybe this will help get him back up there in the main event picture.

 

[Ithil]

I didn't expect Ricardo to look like the Pillsbury Doughboy. The white trunks that look so good on Alberto Del Rio looked like a diaper on Ricardo. This guy was a wrestler in his own right, yes? Kind of embarrassing to be seen like that.

The segment he and Mick Foley did was intended to be comedy; the ring was cleared of serious competitors at the time so as not to make a mockery of the whole event. Good thing.

Still, Ricardo reminded me too much of that short, grossly fat guy who shows up every few years and dances with that stupid smile on his face. I don't remember his name, or if he even used one. Ugh.

I'll look forward to seeing you in your tuxedo from now on, Ricardo.

Gracias.

Ricardo is still a wrestler, and a damn good one. He might have a thick body set, but he's a hell of a lot more agile than he looks, before he was in WWE and FCW he was a luchador in Mexico.

He's seen and used as a joke character, but unlike most joke characters he's got good skills behind it. I would hope this is the start of him moving towards being a wrestler full time.

Also, he normally wears a singlet when wrestling, not trunks.

 

[IHW]

Ricardo and Del Rio are the future of the Tag Team Division!

The pop was good, and it was a great moment. I loved it.

It, along with the 3 announcers, Road Dog, Hacksaw, Kharma, and Kofis Handstand were all GREAT moment overall.

It was a good RR PPV. And Ric.Rod is a truly great guy!

 

[The Scarred One]

I enjoyed seeing Ricardo, Foley and Marella all in the ring at once. It really made the Royal Rumble match entertaining. If anything, I think Ricardo's involvement got him more over than Alberto Del Rio.

 

[HorsemenNo4]

I don't think the pop was wasted on Ricardo. He's a wrestler after all whose just being used for mic work at the moment. He'll likely get into the ring in the near future.
As others said, Ricardo, Foley and Santino added some comedy in the middle of the rumble. It also gave guys like Miz, who would go on for 20 or so minutes more, a chance to rest.
I see where you're coming from this possibly getting Del Rio over with a few people but I don't think it would have. Surprise returns always get a strong reaction from the crowd no matter if they're heel or face. I don't think WWE plans on turning Del Rio a face soon since Punk, Cena, and to a degree, Ryder are taking those top pops. Del Rio would go back to the mid-card if he was to turn face and that's not where he should be when he returns.

 

[Otacon]

Bro's, Ricardo Rodriguez has stolen the show two PPV's in a row. Got a huge pop at the rumble last night and had the best spot in the TLC PPV. I've seen some of his FCW matches and he wears a mask, but he has a great luchador style.
As much as I like to see him doing his thing, the fact that he is actually a good wrestler is always in the back of my head

 

[Scofield]

I see alot of distain for Ricardo Rodriguez & his attire...all i can say is I hope there is a big female population here on these forums because I don't judge a wrestler on his physique!

I have seen Ricardos work in FCW, he is a legit in ring competitor...albeit the singlet
works alot better for him.

I give him props though aswell as Kharmas return, this was one Rumble moment that had me smiling because 1. WWE is finally acknowledging Ricardo as a wrestler and 2. Did you not hear the reaction for the man?

RICARDO RODRIGUEZ v RITCHIE STEAMBOAT from FCW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MDef5JUtlI

 

[Mr. HD]

Why the hell would CM Punk or Daniel Bryan enter the Royal Rumble? They have absolutely nothing to gain from it. Mark Henry is injured and was basically on one leg so obviously he wasn't going to enter. Kane and Cena made absolutely no sense from a storyline standpoint. The Rumble and the entrants were fine. The WWE doesn't exactly have a current roster stacked with elite superstars. It also doesn't help that guys like Del Rio, Christian, and Mysterio are injured. This Rumble seems to be getting a lot of hate and I don't get it. I've seen every single Rumble and this was one of the more fun ones.

I agree completely.

People are bitching about Michael Cole, Kharma, Road Dogg, etc... being in it. It said ANYBODY is eligible to enter or did people forget to read that part?

This was really one of the better Rumbles and beats out last year's Rumble by a mile.

Sheamus deserves this. He's been on a great Face run and I feel he and Bryan can put on a great match. Now that roles are reversed and Sheamus is a face while Bryan is a heel, it should make for an interesting feud.

Also, can people be quiet about Jericho already. You act as if he NEEDED to win the Royal Rumble. His Build isn't even finished yet. The payoff hasn't come yet. I said this earlier. This makes the Jericho angle a lot more exciting than if he actually had won the Royal Rumble. Vince knows what's he's doing. He wouldn't have Sheamus win the Rumble and Jericho lose without having a bigger plan in mind.

Rumble winners are usually decided upon months in advance and Sheamus was the best option at the time as he was starting to overcome Orton as the top SmackDown face.

Come on guys, must we complain about everything?