Dr. Alan Grant’s Royal Rumble Adventures

[TheScarlettChad]

I get the feeling they had Jey win so that Gunther can be established as the second champion. Like "look, someone chose Gunther! That belt is legit!" Won't work probably but that's the thinking, I assume 

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I think part of not liking Jey as the winner- other than his actual wrestling, and his obnoxious character- was that I was expecting to come out of this Men's Rumble knowing what the REAL main event was.

So now we've either got Jey as the Night 2 main event (hell no), or the Night 1 main event (also not ideal for me)...

But I suppose he could challenge for Gunther's world title in essentially a midcard or opener spot. Charlotte main events Night 1, Cody main events Night 2. Much more palatable.

Edited February 2, 2025 by Shane O' Mac Version 2

[d-d-d-dAz]

8 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

I get the feeling they had Jey win so that Gunther can be established as the second champion. Like "look, someone chose Gunther! That belt is legit!" Won't work probably but that's the thinking, I assume 

I'm probably being mean, but Gunthers title reign has been fucking horrendous. Absolutely useless in every regard.

And he can wrestle. So maybe it isn't everything.

Edited February 2, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[DavidB6937]

The idea of people only being over for one thing (like Jey and the yeeting) isn't a new thing at all. It often just takes one thing for people to catch on to and it absolutely transforms someone.

If you'd looked at Drew years ago you would've laughed at the idea of him being a title holder or a Mania main eventer or going over Brock Lesnar.

But he got the Claymore countdown over and people started getting behind him. It doesn't take much. But he's been able to stay as a consistent upper card guy since then.

We shouldn't be under the illusion that only those with the complete package get to be main eventers in WWE. That's far from the truth. You don't have to be the best wrestler by any stretch of the imagination. It's far more of a business decision.

[RedTwoster]

I’ve always wanted them to have someone totally unexpected win the Rumble one year, but I didn’t expect them to actually do that. This was about as big a ‘holy shit’ moment for me as I’ve seen in some time. I’m stunned, but I absolutely love it. I don’t think for a second we’re getting Gunther/Uso at Wrestlemania, though. I suspect he’ll drop the title to someone else - maybe Logan Paul - and that’ll be our Wrestlemania match. 

Did Joe Hendry piss off someone backstage or something? Cole’s commentary about him was unnecessarily dismissive and harsh. Very odd.

I’m pretty sure the live crowd felt similarly to most of us on here as far as entrance music is concerned. There were quite a few instances of a hushed silence when a theme started, with the reaction only coming when the audience saw the wrestler. There’s so much generic entrance music in WWE right now.

I’m gutted that Fatu was eliminated immediately before Cena came in - that’s a match I really want to see.

Maxxine Dupri is surprisingly over - long gone are the days of fans booing her for not being quite good enough. She’s definitely better than she was, and if she continues to improve she might have a bright future.

Sonya Deville is someone I’d like to see jump to AEW. She’s seriously underutilised.

Overall, I thought it was a brilliant show. Roll on, Wrestlemania!

[TheScarlettChad]

10 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Did Joe Hendry piss off someone backstage or something? Cole’s commentary about him was unnecessarily dismissive and harsh. Very odd.

 

He's doing the Jericho cruise, so maybe they're burying him for that?

[garynysmon]

I enjoyed the show for what it was but have always been a fan of the Rumble anyway.

I didn't like some of the bumps in the ladder match, some of them seemed unnecessarily painful and without any reasonable means of protection. Real career shortening stuff, particularly the back bump Owens took on the ladder in the ring. The angle in which he landed, you can't protect yourself from that.

I enjoyed the women's rumble more than the men's version.

I'm basically a Saturday Night's Main Event, Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania viewer, so without having the insight of watching regularly I've generally found the Uso's to be pretty annoying and had no idea that either were anywhere near that high up the card or were even in the conversation for winning something like the Royal Rumble.

So the ending was a bit of a damp squib for me, was expecting a Cena win. The finish and stuff on the apron was a very hokey and over acted wasn't it? 

For a company with so much star power, there were probably 10-12 wrestlers in it that you could genuinely main event a Wrestlemania with, that was a choice I suppose.

Edited February 2, 2025 by garynysmon

[HarmonicGenerator]

I was properly surprised by the men's Rumble result, but I like that they didn't go with one of the multiple "obvious" winners that they might have done (who all looked good in the final stretches of the match anyway, so they've got things set up for them that don't require the win). Shows that in the Rumble, anyone can win. And Jey is very, very over, so why not give it a go?

Roxanne Perez was great in the women's Rumble but I preferred the men's match.

Tag title match and Ladder match didn't do much for me. Some horrible bumps Owens took, even Darby Allin might have thought twice about that back body drop.

Little bit of age statistics, IShowSpeed is the youngest ever competitor in a men's Rumble - his 20th birthday was only a week and a half ago. He's also the first competitor in a men's Rumble to be born in the 21st century. Despite that, the combined age of the 2025 match was the second-highest ever for a 30-man Rumble.

[d-d-d-dAz]

7 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Little bit of age statistics, IShowSpeed is the youngest ever competitor in a men's Rumble - his 20th birthday was only a week and a half ago. He's also the first competitor in a men's Rumble to be born in the 21st century. Despite that, the combined age of the 2025 match was the second-highest ever for a 30-man Rumble.

My wife, who can't stand the stuff and barely pays attention, said at one point during the Rumble that it felt like all the people she remembers me liking when we first met are still the big names now.

Whilst that's not technically true, we met in 2008, I do think there is an unusually high proportion of big name, main event male wrestlers who feel like they've been around forever.

It's probably as good an argument as any for them giving it a go with Jey.

[FLips]

This thread is bonkers. Jey Uso is one of the best winners they’ve had in forever. Charlotte winning is a crime after they finally built up a main roster not around her or the four horsewomen. They’ll never cement new stars when she main events the women’s match every year.

Here’s some casual comments from my wife:

- on ishowspeed - “oh? him? Didn’t a load of shit come out about him and aren’t all his fans kids?”

- on Damien Priest doing his old school - “not a very smart move to do in a match like this”

- on Charlotte Flair - “she looks gaunt and saggy”

- on Sheamus - “is Sheamus still in it?”

- on Chad Gable - “That’s Chad Gable? Isn’t he in a tag with Jason someone?”

- on Penta eliminating himself by mistake - “oh…”

- on half the women’s entrants - “who’s that?”

 

[DavidB6937]

42 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I'm pretty sure the live crowd felt similarly to most of us on here as far as entrance music is concerned. There were quite a few instances of a hushed silence when a theme started, with the reaction only coming when the audience saw the wrestler. There’s so much generic entrance music in WWE right now.

Worst one for me was Finn Balor. Genuinely didn't know it was him and I'm a regular viewer!

Had AJ gone back to his original music before or was that a choice to dump it now?

[Cannibal Man]

Loved the tag match and the Owens/Cody match. Be happy to see more of that at Wrestlemania. Women's Rumble being run in, hit moves, kip up then pose over and over again was like torture but they seemed to knock that on the head after Bayley. Poor old Mia Yim got one of the funniest reactions i've ever seen. A match full of people walking out to mostly confused muttering until their name shows up, or cheers if you're a genius like Chelsea who starts hers with her name, and she gets the most notably silent reaction out of all of them. Quite a few of the performers came out of this match looking pretty good though. Forget her name but the one who Charlotte was struggling with at the end? v good, Giulia getting the Mia Yim treatment was quite funny too.

Men's Rumble was alright, liked Otis. Looks like he reeks of shit. Could not give a fuck about the Uso bloke and all his smiling and hugging and merchandise and shit. Absolutely fuck the lot of that in it's face. Was nice to have Cena book but he looks like a kids TV presenter being made to dress up in his old jobs costume for an anniversary episode so everyone can laugh at him. Just the perfect looking tit. Jacob Fatu? amazing, Otis? amazing. Trying hard to remember anyone who isn't an obvious name but I can't. Nice to see Penta get a good reaction. the TNA guy irritates the fuck out of me and he has the same as as a shark and/or Tony Hart.

no idea who Speed is, I understand he's the bloke dressed as the milk bottle from last year or the year before's WM shite who was following that hateful little shitbag bastard who slithered out at 30? but I think the slightest suggestion (that I made up in my head) that HHH was about to run out there in his suit was the most excited i've been in years. Years of Fluoxetine and Sertraline use were suddenly overwhelmed and then no mate it's some kids Youtuber. Shame.

Someone needs to be in jail for a spell for using airtime to show off that Mackafee gobshites footy career.

For all the improvements loads of WWE still very much isn't for me, but it's been nice joining in. Cheers.

Edited February 2, 2025 by Cannibal Man

[RedTwoster]

Just now, DavidB6937 said:

Worst one for me was Finn Balor. Genuinely didn't know it was him and I'm a regular viewer!

I felt exactly the same!! 

I’d love to know why they’ve changed almost every wrestler theme from the 2010s to generic slop - it can’t be a rights/royalties thing, can it? Surely they have absolute rights to the old theme music? And surely they must be aware that the new music is as bland as it is? 

[Cannibal Man]

another point now he's been mentioned - Finn Balor looked like a tit wrestling in shop bought trousers and trainers, and again it was mad to see him enter to a golf clap. I don't know what he's supposed to be though so maybe it fits, are Judgement Day instagram coaches?

[d-d-d-dAz]

The Finn Balor one was especially jarring as he's been a generic rock guy for years. I didn't see his switch to generic hip hop coming.