Rumble 2013

[PunkStep]

Yes but don't forget WWE didn't have 5 hours of high profile TV and monthly PPVs back then. They could easily have gotten away with not having their champ wrestling for 2 months.

[ColinBollocks]

You're mental if you think The Rock won't win the title at the Rumble.

[Loki]

Although I can see the benefit of Cena winning the Rumble, I don't think it's necessarily needed. They can arrange Rock-Cena for the title other ways.

 

I prefer it when the Rumble is used to cement someone's arrival in the main event scene, rather than set up an already established guy for a title shot. To that end, I guess I can see Ryback winning it and getting a shot at whichever title Rock's not got at that point.

 

Isn't there also an outside chance of Jeff Hardy being back in WWE by that stage? If so, I could see it being him.

[ItsClobberingTime]

Ryback facing the WHC - I'd be ok with that, although I certainly wouldn't consider that to be the 'main event' by a long shot. Ryback vs whoever would probably be mid-card at best.

[PSF]

Am I the only one who really doesn't want to see Cena/Rock again at Mania? I wasn't even that fussed about it this year, still not seen the whole match as I fell asleep and woke up for the finish.

[air_raid]

I honestly can't see the Rock having another WWE title run, purely due to the fact that he won't be able to commit to appearing consistently at house shows or TV tapings.

 

Why won't he appear on TV? He appeared on a fair few in the build up to last years Survivor Series and to Mania 28. He might not wrestle, but he'll show up. Or he might even surprise us and wrestle. Like I said earlier, who gives a fuck about house shows? Everyone who buys tickets to the house shows won't be told they are getting the Rock, so it's irrelevant they don't get him. If you have that run of shows with Cena v Punk on top, no-one will care the title isnt involved. Plus, they used to run two tours of shows prior to the introduction of the World Heavyweight title where half of them didn't have a title match. If you saw the piss weak lineups they actually cart out on the SmackDown shows (even with a World title match) you'd see how much they care about house shows having strong cards. They're perfectly happy that people will pay to see "WWE" and once they're in the building you can feed them any number of FCW guys and Usos.

 

Yes but don't forget WWE didn't have 5 hours of high profile TV and monthly PPVs back then. They could easily have gotten away with not having their champ wrestling for 2 months.

 

They still can. The Rock can still be on TV like I said, talking smack with Cena in the buildup to Cenas choice, and also with Punk who will be after a rematch in case Cena chooses to go after the other title instead. Personally I think The Rock is far more effective as a hype machine for building excitement to the important matches rather than actually wrestling on TV anyway. "The Rock wrestling" really doesn't matter as much as people think if it isn't a big time match, as evidenced by Survivor Series 2011 buyrate being nothing special.

 

As for that other title I mentioned, might it be a good opportunity to really make that belt important and a focal point of the shows if the WWE title/champion WAS to be inactive between the Rumble and Mania? People talking about TV "without the champion" as if there is only one champion, and given that I've read people referring to that belt as currently being as important as the European title used to be, it could be a shot in the arm to centre a few Raw main events/closing angles around the SmackDown title scene, and have the Rock/Cena/Punk Monday Night Talk segments open a few.

[zep81]

Am I the only one who really doesn't want to see Cena/Rock again at Mania? I wasn't even that fussed about it this year, still not seen the whole match as I fell asleep and woke up for the finish.

 

Id wager by the general consensus, not many wish to see Rock/Cena 2, me included, the whole build up was awful imo and the match went too long too.

[LaGoosh]

And what an amazing argument against my point. Please elaborate rather than just spouting bollocks.

 

I am of the opinion that Ryback is nowhere near ready to be main eventing Wrestlemania. He's not that over, he's not that great in the ring, and I certainly wouldn't have him to be the one to beat Punk at Mania for the belt. I don't think it'd solidify him as a bona fide main event, and to be honest I think it'd be a very weak main event.

 

"Wrestlemania main event" is a very dodgy term these days, as Bryan/Shaemus, Taker/HHH, Jericho/Punk and Rock/Cena were all promoted (or atleast described) as main events by the WWE in the run up to Wrestlemania last year. Also Ryback seems to have handled everything the WWE have thrown at him, I have confidence he could handle a big match at Wrestlemania with the right opponent, no problem.

 

Personally I would go with Ryback vs. Big Show at Wrestlemania for the World Heavyweight Championship with Ryback going over.

[DJM]

I read a while ago that WWE were thinking about having Ziggler vs. Orton as one of the main feuds at the start of 2013. So maybe we will see a heel Orton take the World title from Show (in a 3-way with Sheamus) at the start of next year and then feud with a face Ziggler between Rumble and 'Mania (the only problem is that Cena and Ziggler seem to be starting a feud).

[King Pitcos]

If Ryback can do his finisher on Big Show, that's a WrestleMania moment. If he tries and falls on his fookin' arse, that is as well.

[ItsClobberingTime]

He seems to have enough trouble with Tensai half the time, though I'm sure Tensai isn't exactly helpful.

 

Show seems to be a guy who is willing to go with those big moments, and the commentators always like to act like it's the first time anyone's picked him up regardless of how many times Cena/Sheamus etc have done it.

[olliej149]

Don't get me wrong I'm a huge fan of the Rock and would love to see him have another title reign. But I just don't think its credible that the Rock will become champion at Royal Rumble, and then make maybe as little as three of four TV appearances before defending the title in the main event at Wrestlemania. CM Punk currently appears on Raw virtually every week, as does all the main contenders to the title (Cena, Ryback, Del Rio etc.), so I just don't think WWE could justify the next champ making only occasional TV appearances and only defending the title once in three months. Just my opinion.

[ItsClobberingTime]

They can justify it when it's The Rock.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

When the main drawing cards are two people who don't wrestle more than twice a year, a 50 year old near cripple who wrestles once a year and a bloke who's such a big draw he wrestles on every single show and doesn't need to hold the WWE title again, not defending the WWE title really doesn't matter. The belts mean fuck all these unless you are building to a big match. Hulk Hogan held the WCW title in 97 and had a string of PPVs where he never wrestled. Filming Shadow Warriors was just that more important than Spring Stampede and World War 3, I'm afraid.

 

Maybe you could have Rock beat Punk and have Punk win the Royal Rumble to swerve the people. People would be happy the Rock has won, and in true sneaky heel fashion, Punk gets his heat back at the end. Even do the Luger Uncensored 97 finish, where it comes down to Cena and Punk and his mates, and have Cena eliminate all of them but Punk. But (!!!) earlier on Punk's feet touched the mat or something, and the next night (in Royal Rumble 97 fashion) Vince could return and put the Rumble title shot up at Elimination Chamber. Cena could get his win back and wrestle the Rock at the PPV. Even have the Undertaker come out and help Cena while they are beating on him, because Punk vs Undertaker is probably a dead cert now, and that gets him involved and gets another big name in the build up to Mania. Fuck, you could even do a thing where Vince sacks Vickie for putting Punk in the Rumble (after he'd already had a match) and that could get Flair in to return as GM. There's a million ways to keep the belt on the Rock and fill up TV with compelling angles. CM Punk and Cena have had to carry WWE on their back for the last year. Hows another month going to hurt?

[ColinBollocks]

I'm sure WWE will be arsed with how credible The Rock's title run is when they're counting the money they make off his 'Mania title match with Cena. The Rock's only holding it for a couple of months (and he'll be all over TV for at least a month leading up to 'Mania) before staring at the lights for Cena. The Rock becoming WWE champion, for those couple of months, is one of the best plans WWE have had in ages.