Dr. Alan Grant’s Royal Rumble Adventures

[LaGoosh]

15 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

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? 

Unlike the Jim Johnson stuff that was all done in house under WWE's publishing label the CFO$ stuff has an outside publisher so WWE have to pay that publisher royalties - hence why they fazed the majority of the old themes out.

As for the new music...well maybe they're happy paying pennies for shit stuff. Doesn't seem to be affecting their popularity. 

Edited February 2, 2025 by LaGoosh

[Kamran]

This was the first time in decades I stayed up to watch a PLE, with the 11 pm start time I thought I might as well.

5 hours ago, 300 said:

What is the point of selling every seat in a 70,000 seat stadium only to make it so FUCKING BLUE that you couldn’t see anyone in there!? 
 

Just me? 

I was thinking this too, they had such a big crowd, I'm surprised they didn't show it off more.

I didn't like Barrett on commentary, he was a little OTT, e.g. how diabolical Sonya Deville was and then when PFC did some teamwork apparently they were depraved, it was giving me Matt Striker vibes.

Women's Rumble - It was OK...Bliss got a great reaction, Charlotte's wasn't too bad either. Jordynne looked great in it, Chelsea was good fun, I liked the tease with Bianca/Naomi/Jordynne. I'm not surprised that Charlotte won.

Tag Match - I was wondering if they were piping some crowd noise during the Women's Rumble...then when both teams came out with no reaction I thought nope. It was alright, would have been a fine TV match.

Ladder Match - Thought this was excellent, some brutal bumps in it, I liked Cody standing over Kevin at the end and the continued Kevin/Sami teases.

Men's Rumble - I thought this was good. It was so obvious Penta was eliminated, I found it funny when Pat asked for VAR and they didn't replay anything for obvious reasons. Joe Hendry got a great reaction, I thought Jacob/Bron both looked excellent, I was surprised Ludwig didn't last long but I guess that sets up an angle for the future. I don't know who IShowSpeed is (besides what I've seen of him on WWE), but his bumps looked great, I was surprised he took them like a pro. Very surprised that Jay won however I quite like someone so totally unexpected winning it. He gets a great reaction every time, I can't say I'll be looking forward to his match at Mania but I'm sure the crowd will enjoy it. 

Overall I thought it was pretty good.

 

Edited February 2, 2025 by Kamran

[RedTwoster]

3 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Unlike the Jim Johnson stuff that was all done in house under WWE's publishing label the CFO$ stuff has an outside publisher so WWE have to pay that publisher royalties - hence why they fazed the majority of the old themes out.

As for the new music...well maybe they're happy paying pennies for shit stuff. Doesn't seem to be affecting their population. 

Ah, makes sense. And you’re spot on, no one has ever tuned out of a wrestling show because the theme music was crap. I hope they address that in the future though, if MJF can come out to royalty-free stock music that is both memorable and character- fitting, surely to goodness WWE can produce cheap theme songs that you can at least remember once the show is said and done. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

3 hours ago, LEGIT said:

 

A bit of criticism I agree with @Snitsky's back acne that the 'come in, hit your big moves, then lie in the corner formula" is a bit tiresome and predictable. It maybe works for the way they film it and let's the important bits take center stage but it's a bit lame when it happens over and over again in every Rumble. 

 

Yeah the Rumble always used to be all action, non stop. You'd have stuff going on everywhere all the time. Rick Martel was in the Rumble 50 minutes and you knew it because he was sweating and looked like he was dying. It felt like an ordeal. It was a big deal to come in early and last a long time 

Now it's 'They've been in for over an hour' - yeah and for forty minutes of it they've been laid in the corner waiting for their cue. 

Just grinds my gears 

[Egg Shen]

4 hours ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Kids will love Speed, but if you're over the age of 20, you're not gonna know who that bellend is.

 

My daughter is 7 and was watching youtube next to me on my phone and she popped for Speed when she saw him, she knew who he was. She thought the whole few minutes with him involved was hilarious. 

Not a lot to add, other than like everyone else I was genuinely shocked with the finish. I thought Cena was nailed on when it came down to that final 3. I don't watch a lot these days so very rarely catch a moment like that in the context of watching an entire show so it was actually pretty cool to see it before I'd seen any spoilers.

[Doog]

Jey Uso, christ. Awful on the mic, awful in the ring, but somehow over like shite so can see why they picked him.

No way he main events either night though, Charlotte v whoever will main event night 1 and Cody v whoever will main event night 2 for the real title. 

You're not ending Wrestle bloody Mania with Jey Uso as your last match.

[DavidB6937]

3 minutes ago, Doog said:

Jey Uso, christ. Awful on the mic, awful in the ring, but somehow over like shite so can see why they picked him.

Is he though? I'm not sure he's awful at either thing to be honest. He's more than good enough as a character and he's had decent matches before. He can do more than enough to get by.

[FLips]

Personally I think he’s fantastic on the mic.

[d-d-d-dAz]

2 minutes ago, FLips said:

Personally I think he’s fantastic on the mic.

Let's not push it.

I'm all for him winning, but he always sounds breathy, knackered, lost for words and desperate to blurt out the next yeet.

[RedTwoster]

17 minutes ago, Doog said:

Jey Uso, christ. Awful on the mic, awful in the ring, but somehow over like shite so can see why they picked him.

No way he main events either night though, Charlotte v whoever will main event night 1 and Cody v whoever will main event night 2 for the real title. 

You're not ending Wrestle bloody Mania with Jey Uso as your last match.

I’d say he’s average in ring, but he’s certainly capable of having a good match. I do think he’s good on the mic, though. 

There’s no way at all he’s closing night 2, but if they’re looking to establish him as a top level star, I could see them having him close the show on night one.

I thought earlier that Logan Paul might be his opponent, but I’m wondering if the stuff with KO and Sami might lead to an extension of that storyline, with Owens winning the World Heavyweight title, and Owens/Jey being the match we get, with Sami playing a part in some way.

Edited February 2, 2025 by RedTwoster

[Chico Torres]

Curious to learn more about this hot young superstar who’s the surprise winner of the rumble only to learn he’s been in the company for 15 years and he turns 40 this year.

[d-d-d-dAz]

2 minutes ago, Chico Torres said:

Curious to learn more about this hot young superstar who’s the surprise winner of the rumble only to learn he’s been in the company for 15 years and he turns 40 this year.

Curious to see any examples of anyone describing him as young.

[Hannibal Scorch]

3 hours ago, TheScarlettChad said:

He can't do Canadian destroyers and kick out at 2 and a half so he's shit. 

Scotch Mist? https://makeagif.com/gif/the-usos-avalanche-canadian-destroyer-and-usos-splash-b_47fc

1 hour ago, TheScarlettChad said:

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

The Jericho Cruise is already at sea

[d-d-d-dAz]

The Joe Hendry stuff was fun, but I think the thing that really belittled him wasn't the commentary, it was Sheamus watching him smiling and then confronting Jacob Fatu with a sort of arch 'I was enjoying watching that' after Fatu had smashed Hendry.

I'm sure they're mates and it's fine or whatever, but it just felt a bit like something that'd have happened with Santino back in the day.

[TheScarlettChad]

4 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Scotch Mist? https://makeagif.com/gif/the-usos-avalanche-canadian-destroyer-and-usos-splash-b_47fc

The Jericho Cruise is already at sea

He was announced before the Rumble though. Enough time to bury him