Royal Rumble Discussion Thread

[The Wagon Man]

From a keyfabe perspective at what point are the Rumble participants informed whether or not they'll be in the Rumble and which number they've drawn? Why would Ziggler and Orton ask to be in the Rumble when there's the chance that they might win titles at the PPV anyway? Surely the fact that Edge and Miz didn't enter the Rumble means that they already knew they'd retain and wouldn't need a second chance to get back in the title picture. One can assume that the Rumble contestants and their order of appearance could have been decided mere moments before the Rumble began but that doesn't explain how Booker T and Kevin Nash came to be there, are we supposed to believe that they just happened to be in the area with their ring gear and that someone in the WWE just invited them to participate?

 

I'd imagine the former is a case of whoever loses the title match goes into the rumble. So if Miz lost the belt, he'd go into the rumble.

Not a clue about the latter.

 

It's a risky game to play though, as it devalues the title matches on the show. Next year people will think, "Meh, doesn't matter if [the challenger] doesn't win this, he'll be in the Rumble later anyway".

 

It's bad enough that they meddle with the Wrestlemania matches at Elimination Chamber, but now they're even doing it AT the same show they're setting it all up at! What next, set up the number one contender at TLC and have defend their contendership at the Rumble? It's getting ridiculous.

[Vito]

I'm not sure if someone on the losing end of a title match should be rewarded with a Rumble spot... but then again if they're going to be giving spots to people like Hornswoggle and Tyson Kidd then why not?

 

Am I the only one who thought that when Miz's music hit that The Miz was going to enter the Rumble as the WWE Champion and win the thing to stop anyone coming after him? I can't even begin to describe the disappointment I felt when Miz came out in a suit and I realised that it'd actually be Riley in the Rumble. Then again I'd rather have seen Hornswoggle win the Rumble than fucking Del Rio. You know you're in trouble as a fan when you find yourself rooting for the person you hate least to win the Royal Rumble because there's nobody in the final few that you actually want to see win the thing.

[Snitsky's back acne]

Anyone think, even for just one moment "Fuck me, they're gonna have Santino Marella win the Royal Rumble!!" or was it just me?

[The Wagon Man]

I'm not sure if someone on the losing end of a title match should be rewarded with a Rumble spot... but then again if they're going to be giving spots to people like Hornswoggle and Tyson Kidd then why not?

 

Proof that having 40 men in the Rumble wasn't a good idea. If you'd scrapped the likes of Kidd, Tyler Wrex, Hornswoggle, Tatsu, JTG, Masters or any other jobbers in the match, and had a 30-man Rumble with two minute intervals, it could've been a much better match.

[kickin it wit the kliq]

Anyone think, even for just one moment "Fuck me, they're gonna have Santino Marella win the Royal Rumble!!" or was it just me?

 

For a minute yes, as I thought theyve never had someone like Marella win it.

[The Wagon Man]

Anyone think, even for just one moment "Fuck me, they're gonna have Santino Marella win the Royal Rumble!!" or was it just me?

 

Well yeah, that was kind of the idea.

[Vito]

Anyone think, even for just one moment "Fuck me, they're gonna have Santino Marella win the Royal Rumble!!" or was it just me?

I never even noticed Santino get eliminated, I saw someone bash him out of the ring under the bottom rope then I totally forgot about him until Del Rio won and I thought "Come on Santino! Reappear and eliminate Del Rio" but then the fireworks went off and the show ended.

[Tommy!]

I'm not sure if someone on the losing end of a title match should be rewarded with a Rumble spot... but then again if they're going to be giving spots to people like Hornswoggle and Tyson Kidd then why not?

 

Proof that having 40 men in the Rumble wasn't a good idea. If you'd scrapped the likes of Kidd, Tyler Wrex, Hornswoggle, Tatsu, JTG, Masters or any other jobbers in the match, and had a 30-man Rumble with two minute intervals, it could've been a much better match.

 

Well I'd disagree, because a 30 man one would still have had people like that, and you wouldn't have been able to structure so much time and people to make certain people stand out and allow people to make so many eliminations, for example they may not have put such a focus on the nexus. Chavo for example was class, but no its better if he wasn't there. Same for regal who was clearly well received and so on. It was fun watching the nexus eliminate peopel like Wrex and build to that Cena moment.

[The Wagon Man]

I'm not sure if someone on the losing end of a title match should be rewarded with a Rumble spot... but then again if they're going to be giving spots to people like Hornswoggle and Tyson Kidd then why not?

 

Proof that having 40 men in the Rumble wasn't a good idea. If you'd scrapped the likes of Kidd, Tyler Wrex, Hornswoggle, Tatsu, JTG, Masters or any other jobbers in the match, and had a 30-man Rumble with two minute intervals, it could've been a much better match.

 

Well I'd disagree, because a 30 man one would still have had people like that, and you wouldn't have been able to structure so much time and people to make certain people stand out and allow people to make so many eliminations, for example they may not have put such a focus on the nexus. Chavo for example was class, but no its better if he wasn't there. Same for regal who was clearly well received and so on. It was fun watching the nexus eliminate peopel like Wrex and build to that Cena moment.

 

People stood out and made numerous eliminations in the 30-man Rumbles too you know. Yes, cutting back the wrong people would've hindered it, but there were easily ten wrestlers who contributed absolutely nothing. The Nexus domination didn't need so many eliminations; quality, over quantity, would've had the same impact (maybe more).

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the fact that the match was longer, as it's one of my favourite matches of the year. But they could just have easily told a stronger, more concise story by chopping out some of the deadwood. The Cena/Hornswoggle charade, in particular, didn't need to last for ten minutes.

[Vito]

I lost interest in the whole thing when CM Punk got eliminated but Regal looked absolutely amazing in his little exchange with Punk and Danielson. The company would be crazy to let him retire now as he's still got a lot of juice left in the tank.

[undercover elephant]

But, fast forward to 2011, and we're now in an Internet-dominated era, and it's certainly not unreasonable for WWE to expect its fans to access information about its brand online. When I read earlier in the week that Diesel and Booker T were scheduled to compete, I was disappointed that the surprise had been ruined. However, for once I didn't feel that I personally was to blame. Going on a site such as PWTorch isn't exactly 'digging deep' for information, and even the casual fan that came to watch the Rumble at my house last night - who generally knows nothing about backstage goings on - knew full well of the Nash/Booker appearances.

 

So in this instance, I think WWE is partly to blame (and possibly the talent involved, too). They did such a great job of concealing Cena's appearance at the 2008 event, so I know they're capable of keeping surprises. Could they not have arranged for Nash and Booker, who were spotted at airports, to have been transported by limo instead? And couldn't they have sworn them to secrecy? I'm sure it's hard to do with wrestlers not under contract, but I'd imagine those involved would be wanting to maintain the surprise element as much as the WWE.

 

I'd agree to an extent with that. Do you think the WWE roster several years ago would have known that Eric Bishoff was being sworn in for Raw, or was the look on Booker T's face on that episode just an act? Makes you wonder though when you have talent in mind making a return. Maybe the leak was a deliberate one this week with Booker and Nash. More buy rates etc. Would people have ordered the RR on the knowledge that these two were returning to make an appearance? I just wonder!

[Paul]

I'd agree to an extent with that. Do you think the WWE roster several years ago would have known that Eric Bishoff was being sworn in for Raw, or was the look on Booker T's face on that episode just an act? Makes you wonder though when you have talent in mind making a return. Maybe the leak was a deliberate one this week with Booker and Nash. More buy rates etc. Would people have ordered the RR on the knowledge that these two were returning to make an appearance? I just wonder!

 

As a viewer that has only a casual interest in the WWE product, I was on the verge of ordering the replay based on wanting to see 'Diesel' in particular as I'm a Nash fanboy. What blew it for me was some prize asshole spoiling the whole event for me elsewhere. However I do think the leak worked on me

[The Wagon Man]

But, fast forward to 2011, and we're now in an Internet-dominated era, and it's certainly not unreasonable for WWE to expect its fans to access information about its brand online. When I read earlier in the week that Diesel and Booker T were scheduled to compete, I was disappointed that the surprise had been ruined. However, for once I didn't feel that I personally was to blame. Going on a site such as PWTorch isn't exactly 'digging deep' for information, and even the casual fan that came to watch the Rumble at my house last night - who generally knows nothing about backstage goings on - knew full well of the Nash/Booker appearances.

 

So in this instance, I think WWE is partly to blame (and possibly the talent involved, too). They did such a great job of concealing Cena's appearance at the 2008 event, so I know they're capable of keeping surprises. Could they not have arranged for Nash and Booker, who were spotted at airports, to have been transported by limo instead? And couldn't they have sworn them to secrecy? I'm sure it's hard to do with wrestlers not under contract, but I'd imagine those involved would be wanting to maintain the surprise element as much as the WWE.

 

I'd agree to an extent with that. Do you think the WWE roster several years ago would have known that Eric Bishoff was being sworn in for Raw, or was the look on Booker T's face on that episode just an act? Makes you wonder though when you have talent in mind making a return. Maybe the leak was a deliberate one this week with Booker and Nash. More buy rates etc. Would people have ordered the RR on the knowledge that these two were returning to make an appearance? I just wonder!

 

Until the match played out, I actually had a suspicion that the Nash/Booker inclusion was a red herring to throw fans off the scent. I did expect them to show up, but thought WWE might have been happy for everyone to concentrate on these guys whilst they secretly smuggled Papa Shango (or Triple H) in through the back door.

[Arch Stanton]

I called the end of the match with about 5 guys to go, but still enjoyed it nonetheless. Partly because I felt smug about calling it, but mostly because I think they put the right man over. None of the other main contenders need a Rumble win to build towards a big Mania match. Overall I thought it was a great Rumble, I loved the appearances of Booker and Diesel. My mrs was even marking out for Booker knocking out a Spinaroonie!

 

I think the extra 10 men allowed them to play out the angle with New Nexus dominating for an extended period. I don't think they would have been able to kill off so many jobbers in a 30-man Rumble. That angle was actually pretty effective in building up to Cena's entry. Nexus were killing the match dead, so when Cena's music hit, even I wanted to see him kick some ass.

[Vito]

Maybe the leak was a deliberate one this week with Booker and Nash. More buy rates etc. Would people have ordered the RR on the knowledge that these two were returning to make an appearance? I just wonder!

I think you're placing a little too much faith in the drawing power of Nash and Booker T. People like Austin or The Rock would be names worth advertising as they're huge stars who could definitely draw an audience, but Booker and Nash? I for one hope that Booker has be properly signed by the WWE, anything that keeps him out of TNA is fine by me.

 

Nexus were killing the match dead, so when Cena's music hit, even I wanted to see him kick some ass.

Totally disagree with Nexus "killing the match", the point of it was to make the viewers think "Who can stop these guys?". The answer obviously being Cena which is why the audience went mental when he came out. I think that Khali nearly ruined it by looking too strong against Nexus. I was disappointed that the Cena/Nexus thing occurred so early in the match, they should have saved it for the final quarter to build up the suspense.