Royal Rumble 2014

[Jmare007]

[Sean Liska]

WWE is trolling us. There's no way anybody in that company could have expected anything except that reaction to Batista winning. They HAVE to acknowledge this on Raw. No way Batista comes out and gives a "thank you for still believing in me promo" on Raw.

I don't think they're trolling. I think they are completely tone deaf and lack self awareness. They wouldn't intentionally sabotage Sheamus, Langston, Batista, and Mysterio. They thought that match layout would work. And they likely won't concede that it didn't. They'll likely blame a rebel crowd. The old "vocal minority".

 

We'll see tomorrow night if it's a vocal minority. My guess is that it is and Batista gets a very good response on RAW.

[fishbaugh]

The only thing that brought the crowd back from doing the wave and chanting for Divas matches was the trading of the other guy's finishers (which live came off really well) and then the Wyatt interference (which just made the crowd think Bryan was going to come out to counter Wyatt). It wasn't that John fucking Cena of all people doesn't know how to work -- the audience didn't want to see him in that spot tonight and nothing he was going to do with Orton would have saved it from an occasional pop at best. If the only way to bring the crowd back is through extreme measures like that (which were obviously planned because they knew people would be shitting on the match), then I don't think anyone on the roster could have salvaged things.

I was being critical of Orton more than Cena. It happens to Orton fairly often. And he pouts about it.

 

That's fair -- he was obviously pouting tonight too. There was one point where he goes up to the top rope expecting everyone to boo him and it seemed like everyone ignored him and he got flustered. I just can't see how they didn't expect this reaction and plan accordingly, so maybe you are right and people are just tone def.

[Steven]

Who gives a shit about what Mick's son has to say?

 

I seriously feel like punching hole in the wall now

Are you the same guy who tackled a door at CHIKARA's last show?

 

People bitch and moan and bitch and moan and bitch and moan. Fucking stop watching it if you really care so much. This isn't a case of "don't like it, don't watch it" either. They live and die by ratings and merchandise. Both of those go down, they start panicking and start experimenting and possibly push Bryan. So sick of fans complaining about the direction and continuing to watch it. Stop watching RAW, buy more Bryan t-shirts and fake beards. That's what got Punk over his hump. The reason he's so protected now is because he pushes t-shirts. Of course, wrestling fans are creatures of routine and can't even resist not sitting down Monday night or Tuesday morning for the DVR users for more than a week. Vote with your dollars, people.

 

Or maybe they're right and if every single whiner stopped watching, it wouldn't affect the bottom line.

[Ditch]

The concept of Dewey Foley as a 20-something adult is mindboggling.

[sek69]

I felt bad for poor Rey, as soon as he came out there was such a palpable feeling of "aww fuck this" in the building. Jesus could have came out in that spot and got booed just as bad. People were doing the Yes chants outside in line to get into the building and all the way up the escalators. It certainly isn't just hardcores or whatever vocal minority they want to pawn it off as.

 

It was something being in the crowd for Orton-Cena, not only did they do the usual chants but in my section there was "Boycott Mania" and "end this match" chants. It was bizarre seeing a championship match get shit on like it was two geeks in a 9:30PM match on Raw.

[tigerpride]

I had #28 in my Rumble pool. I don't see the issue

[Strummer]

I'm really worried that it won't, though, and the fans will get angry enough that we'll see some really ugly scenes in the next few months. This is not good heat. I absolutely don't want anyone to do anything dumb or dangerous like throw trash at the ring (Seriously: Don't do that or anything like that. Ever.), but I'm worried it's going to happen. The sentiment from people who already bought tickets could build into something very ugly in the next few months.

 

 

I guess Bix and I think alike. <_ but i just have this feeling some bad stuff might go down>

[tigerpride]

It's 2014. Nothing is gonna happen

[Jimmy Redman]

Who gives a shit about what Mick's son has to say?

 

I seriously feel like punching hole in the wall now

Are you the same guy who tackled a door at CHIKARA's last show?

 

People bitch and moan and bitch and moan and bitch and moan. Fucking stop watching it if you really care so much. This isn't a case of "don't like it, don't watch it" either. They live and die by ratings and merchandise. Both of those go down, they start panicking and start experimenting and possibly push Bryan. So sick of fans complaining about the direction and continuing to watch it. Stop watching RAW, buy more Bryan t-shirts and fake beards. That's what got Punk over his hump. The reason he's so protected now is because he pushes t-shirts. Of course, wrestling fans are creatures of routine and can't even resist not sitting down Monday night or Tuesday morning for the DVR users for more than a week. Vote with your dollars, people.

 

Or maybe they're right and if every single whiner stopped watching, it wouldn't affect the bottom line.

 

The problem is that if people actually do try to speak with their wallet and boycott the show or whatever, WWE will never give them what they want in a million years because "they're not spending money on the product or watching the shows, why should we book for them??"

 

Then they'll get told "you can't criticise the show if you don't watch it", and we'll have come full circle.

 

There's no real good answer to this particular problem except, as you say, if Bryan's merch suddenly went through the roof overnight. Merch seems to be the only thing that is remotely in the hands of fans wanting to support a particular wrestler these days. Ratings largely follow pre-established patterns. Buyrates are sinking and PPV promotion is terrible. And soon it will all be obsolete once the Network kicks in.

[KrisZ]

The chants have now become "part of the experience" for people as Dylan is totally right about the Cena chants and how stuff like this has become part of the deal. You knew what kind of crowd this was by the huge pop that Dolph got. Dolph's push has been scaled back quite a bit but this crowd loved him.

 

I think WWE's philosophy now more than ever is that it doesn't really matter what kind of reaction you get as long as you are box office that's what matters. Now in Bryan's case he has a spotty track record in being box office but that's because of the way he has been pushed more often than not. He's done his job in the ring but his portrayal has been lacking.

 

Another thing to think about here is you have Bryan, Brie Bella, and other people that work for WWE tweeting their disapproval about the whole thing.....makes you think.

[fishbaugh]

People tonight were so pissed that they calmly exited the arena in an orderly manner. The days of people losing their shit is over. I once threw a soda at Buff Bagwell for saying people from Montana were essentially Canadians -- I'd be locked up for that nonsense today. People just don't even think of causing a scene at live events, and no matter how badly their favorite gets screwed everyone is just going to walk out and head home like they are on their way out of the latest superhero movie.

[jdw]

"WWE will be awesome when HHH takes over creative because he's a wrestling guy"

 

Does anyone still believe that garbage?

I'm 170 posts into this thread, and finally something to make me laugh hard during all the morbidity of this card.

[Cobra Commander]

I'm really worried that it won't, though, and the fans will get angry enough that we'll see some really ugly scenes in the next few months. This is not good heat. I absolutely don't want anyone to do anything dumb or dangerous like throw trash at the ring (Seriously: Don't do that or anything like that. Ever.), but I'm worried it's going to happen. The sentiment from people who already bought tickets could build into something very ugly in the next few months.

I guess Bix and I think alike. <_ but i just have this feeling some bad stuff might go down>

 

so we'll get lots of really ugly crowd chants?

 

It's not like someone is going to launch Occupy WWE (note to self: trademark "occupy WWE", sue anybody trying to use that phrase) or like some idiot is going to pee on a knife and try to stab Randy Orton during a show.

 

Bix is pretty awesome overall, but it seems incredibly hyperbole-a-riffic to think that angry crowds are going to escalate into something really ugly. They'll either stay angry, get over it, or stay home. I know there's a lot of violence in public places on the news this year, but that quote is overdramatic at best.

 

Also, nice quote in Bix's BR piece about "everybody involved in making the Royal Rumble should hang themselves".. that's totally not a jackass statement from Mike at all. Holy shit Mike, step off the ledge and think about what you're saying.

[NintendoLogic]

When has Orton ever been box office?

[jdw]

Bryan's tweeting about being held out of the Rumble by "the machine" and for fans to keep it up.

 

There's no way he's doing that on his own. They're going to try to spin this into something. They really have to.

But it might only be something for Raw, or possibly the next PPV. Whether it changes their Mania plans... who knows.

[Jimmy Redman]

When has Orton ever been box office?

When he reached 6'4".

[jdw]

Where are the numbers to show that Roman Reigns isn't just someone people are popping for, thus making him worthy of a push? What about Bray Wyatt?

Roman Reigns: 6'3" 251 lbs.

 

Daniel Bryan: 5'10" 210 lbs.

 

[Strummer]

Brie was tweeting about Bryan and the Rumble and then minutes later about about jay Z and Beyonce at the Grammys. Sort of lessens the effect. But I give her credit for at least trying

 

well I guess thta Nikki tweeting about the Grammys but still...

[Dwide Schrude]

Ended up ordering the ppv and boy was I letdown. I kept doing the math thinking there was still a chance they'd send Bryan out, but once we got to 29 and 30 and I knew Big E and Rey weren't in yet reality started to set in. So disappointed.

 

The crowd shitting on the Rumble and the title match was a silver lining for me, though. Since Bryan got the shaft I'm glad the crowd made the whole show suffer. The night ended up still being memorable because this was a first for me. Sure, crowds turn on stars all the time, but I never saw this kind of reaction in the closing moments of a Royal Rumble. It was hilarious.

[Cobra Commander]

WWE is trolling us. There's no way anybody in that company could have expected anything except that reaction to Batista winning. They HAVE to acknowledge this on Raw. No way Batista comes out and gives a "thank you for still believing in me promo" on Raw.

Actually, they kinda should do that. Just start it off that way to crank up the temperature before going in for the kill and making the turn. It'd be kinda stupid if he just came out and was all like "well, I guess i'm bad now, so watch me do bad things".

 

Buy balloons, unveil a big fucking Batista poster, have a celebration, and then... "I have to thank the people who got me here, the real fans! Not the fans you heard last night. Not the fans yelling tonight. The real fans are thrilled that I am back to save the WWE. The rest of you can stick it because I'm here and it doesn't matter what you think"

 

It really would be the stupidest motherfucking thing possible to have face Batista/heel Orton at Wrestlemania, when they could just turn Batista, hopefully get some sort of non-XPac heat out of him, and have him against someone who isn't Orton for the title. And we live in a universe with some pretty stupid Wrestlemania builds.

[Blehschmidt]

Just home from the show, and wow, what a night.

 

Outlaws/Rhodes Brothers was an interesting dynamic, because even though I think the NAO are supposed to be heels, everyone wants to chant with Road Dogg. Dustin is fucking amazing. Wasn't happy to see the title change, but oh well.

 

Wyatt/Bryan was fantastic, and hands down the best part of the show. It was slightly odd, because I think had the Wyatts been against ANYONE else they would have gotten massive cheers. Anyway, really fun live.

 

Brock/Big Show was strange. I really don't know what else to say. The beating at the end went on way too long, and I used that time to go to the bathroom and the merch stand.

 

 

That brings me to a point I wanted to make.....Bryan doesn't sell merch because all of his shirts fucking suck!! Wrestling fans really seem to like black shirts, and the only black shirt for Bryan has a fucking cartoon goat on it. The gray beard shirt is kinda silly, and everything else is maroon. If they made a black shirt, with Yes! Yes! Yes! on the front, and Daniel Bryan written on the back, I think it would sell just fine.

 

Orton/Cena was next, and wow the crowd didn't give two shits. I heard Boring" "You both suck" "Randy Savage" "Y2J" "End this match" "Daniel Bryan" We want Angle" "CM Punk" "Take it home" "This is awful" "We want Divas", and then there was The Wave and The Fandango. I also don't think people were so much popping for them using each others move, so much as hoping the match was going to end. I don't know if the "Thank You Wyatts" chant made the PPV, but it was quite loud in the arena.

 

Before the Rumble started, they showed interviews with some of the participants (again I don't know if it was on the PPV) and Rey Mysterio got soundly booed when he showed up on the Titan Tron, so it wasn't totally just him being #30, though that was a big part of it.

 

Anyway, The Rumble itself was fairly well received until the end. Punk was way over, huge pop for Nash, huge pop for Sheamus. The highlight of the night for me was the "You Still Got It" chant that JBL received after being in the match for twenty seconds.

 

Batista's reaction was mixed at best when he came out, bordering on the booing side. When Rey came out at 30, the boo's were incredibly loud and the majority of the arena was immediately pissed off. Punk's stupid elimination by Kane further deflated whatever hope people had left.

 

Once Sheamus was gone, the Roman Reigns chant was deafening. Batista winning was met with NO, Bullshit, and Refund chants.

 

 

In closing, I think this "vocal minority" wouldn't have been angry about Bryan not being in the Rumble had Punk, or Reigns, or Ziggler, or just someone different had won. It just seems to me that the crowd has grown tired of seeing Cena, and Orton, and Batista, and Mysterio and all of these other guys who have been solidly pushed down our throats for the last ten years......and Daniel Bryan has just become the face of this revolution of the product that people want.

[Jimmy Redman]

Blehschmidt's signature GIF reminds me of Punk doing that spot in the Rumble with An Uso, which I enjoyed tremendously and I assume he did as well.

[sek69]

The best part of the show was as everyone was leaving, the arena staff was passing out flyers for the Smackdown taping in June....that had Bryan's "Respect the Beard" logo as the whole front side.

[Strummer]

Punk on twitter:

 

 

The view never changes.