The Man in Blak Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 That was a really bizarre Rumble match. Somehow, the Styles/Zayn/Owens middlecard stuff ended up being booked really smartly, while everything else was utter nonsense. The Wyatt Family elimination of Brock not only killed the crowd, but further exposed the indefensible psychology of the Reigns beatdown-and-not-quite-stretcher-job. Why didn't the League throw him back in the ring and eliminate him right there? The way that they book Reigns almost makes me feel like they still, even now, have no idea how Daniel Bryan (and, to a lesser extent, even Reigns himself) got so over in 2013/2014. They look at Bryan vs. The System, see the Authority earning nuclear heat through their meta-booking as The Real Cause, and keep sending Reigns out on a kite in a thunderstorm to try to get lightning to strike twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Also, can someone tell me when we actually saw Kofi Kingston's feet hit the floor? Last time I saw him, he was on Big E's shoulder drinking a Pepsi and leading a chant for popcorn. Then the League of Nations went after Roman and they disappeared. What did I miss? When/how was he actually eliminated? Maggle mentioned his elimination - it happened during Roman's attack by the League of Nations - but we never saw it. They showed it on a replay. He got eliminated from a Chris Jericho Dropkick from the ropes when he was on the apron and his feet hit the floor. We missed it because the camera for about ten minutes refused to show the match that the PPV was named after. Heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man in Blak Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Brock just accepting it and walking away from the ring without fighting them all to the back or something made him look like a chump. Compare and contrast with Brock destroying everything on the Raw after WrestleMania 31. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButchReedMark Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Who is Maggle? It's JBL speak for Michael (Cole) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benbeeach Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Good point, everyone, on H being cheered. Although, you act like it was a massive crowd pop, when in reality, the Orlando crowd was pretty muted. Still, returning wrestlers always get cheered. Can't believe WWE was so tone deaf that they didn't expect that kind of reaction. AJ probably would've been a made man in WWE forever had he made it to the final 6 or so. But you know how that stuff goes. Not really. Mr. Perfect returned and made it to the final four in 2002, and it didn't mean a lick. Sure, the Plane Ride from Hell derailed his momentum, but he was booked as a lower midcarder even before that - with his odd couple pairing with Boss Man that screamed "we have no idea what the fuck to do with either of these guys." Felt like the type of random pairing someone would choose in those old WWF Superstars or WrestleFest arcade games. I guess this is an apt comparison, kind of, not really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Like Jimmy Redman said, Sasha Motherfucking Banks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Good point, everyone, on H being cheered. Although, you act like it was a massive crowd pop, when in reality, the Orlando crowd was pretty muted. Still, returning wrestlers always get cheered. Can't believe WWE was so tone deaf that they didn't expect that kind of reaction. AJ probably would've been a made man in WWE forever had he made it to the final 6 or so. But you know how that stuff goes. Not really. Mr. Perfect returned and made it to the final four in 2002, and it didn't mean a lick. Sure, the Plane Ride from Hell derailed his momentum, but he was booked as a lower midcarder even before that - with his odd couple pairing with Boss Man that screamed "we have no idea what the fuck to do with either of these guys." Felt like the type of random pairing someone would choose in those old WWF Superstars or WrestleFest arcade games. I guess this is an apt comparison, kind of, not really It's apt...it's perfectly apt. Mr. Perfect is one of the all-time greats in WWE history. He could have been a big deal upon his return if booked that way. He wasn't. And then the Plane Ride from Hell would've derailed all of that anyway. Still, even with the shitty 2002 comeback, Perfect will probably matter more in WWE history in the long run than AJ Styles ever will. Yeah, we're on a Styles high right now, but let's not delude ourselves here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Mr. Perfect? What are you even talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 They tried to book Perfect that way. He even got a TV main event with Austin just after this. He got zero crowd reaction and couldn't go in the ring anymore, so it didn't work. They obviously were hoping for the Mr. Perfect comeback story in 2002. Instead, they got the Goldust comeback story in 2002. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 They tried to book Perfect that way. He even got a TV main event with Austin just after this. He got zero crowd reaction and couldn't go in the ring anymore, so it didn't work. They obviously were hoping for the Mr. Perfect comeback story in 2002. Instead, they got the Goldust comeback story in 2002. One match against Austin, then they gave up on him cold turkey. Agreed about him not being able to go anymore though. Anyway, my original point was, I think we care more about the final four of the Rumble than Vince does. I'm not saying it's not important, but I bet it's not nearly as important to Vince as the final two is. AJ Styles making it to the final four wouldn't have made much of a difference to his overall standing. He'll still get whatever push he's going to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benbeeach Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 They tried to book Perfect that way. He even got a TV main event with Austin just after this. He got zero crowd reaction and couldn't go in the ring anymore, so it didn't work. They obviously were hoping for the Mr. Perfect comeback story in 2002. Instead, they got the Goldust comeback story in 2002. One match against Austin, then they gave up on him cold turkey. Agreed about him not being able to go anymore though. Anyway, my original point was, I think we care more about the final four of the Rumble than Vince does. I'm not saying it's not important, but I bet it's not nearly as important to Vince as the final two is. AJ Styles making it to the final four wouldn't have made much of a difference to his overall standing. He'll still get whatever push he's going to get. I don't disagree with the push being what it was ultimately going to be (although final 4-6-8 might have said a lot about what KIND of push it was ultimately going to be) but I think the new guy getting that massive pop, then lasting that long and pulling out a bunch of spots and showing the uninitiated crowd what he was capable of and why he belongs in there, would only help to better serve him in the long run. Like others have said, he was no worse a pick for the iron man spot than Chris Jericho. In fact he was a better choice by almost every conceivable metric. I think him having a really tight 7 minute match with Neville or somebody on RAW tomorrow would serve to do essentially the same thing, but I'm just thinking out loud. And yeah perfect was a guy, AJ is a guy. Close enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 The point of the Rumble match was to get over the top star in the promotion, who the company has been built around for quite some time - HHH. That's why Brock and Reigns were made to look like chumps, idiots, et. It wasn't poor execution, the goal of the match was to make sure we understand that HHH is god on Earth. Having said that the Rumble was a very enjoyable experience live. Lots of stuff I really enjoyed, and real drama. It's a shame the company has no stars other than HHH, Cena and Brock, but that's been the case for quite some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I don't think you can ever have a brand new guy win the Rumble so having a "cool" guy eliminate him is fine. It's not like they had Kane toss him in three minutes. Plus you can make kayfabe sense out of it since he's used to competing in TNA where they have reverse battle royals so he was caught off guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 The Iron Sheik @the_ironsheik 2h2 hours ago VINCE SON ALWAYS GET PUT OVER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 They tried to book Perfect that way. He even got a TV main event with Austin just after this. He got zero crowd reaction and couldn't go in the ring anymore, so it didn't work. They obviously were hoping for the Mr. Perfect comeback story in 2002. Instead, they got the Goldust comeback story in 2002. One match against Austin, then they gave up on him cold turkey. Agreed about him not being able to go anymore though. Anyway, my original point was, I think we care more about the final four of the Rumble than Vince does. I'm not saying it's not important, but I bet it's not nearly as important to Vince as the final two is. AJ Styles making it to the final four wouldn't have made much of a difference to his overall standing. He'll still get whatever push he's going to get. Even final two doesn't always matter. Santino made it to the final elimination the year Del Rio won. It was fun and all but ultimately meant shit all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkdoc Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 yea, i don't think final 4 has ever been anything real special. we've had one of the nasty boys, crush (in '95 after spending all of '94 jobbing), and fake diesel make it that far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 my not so original prediction is that Brock faces Hunter at Fastlane for the title and is screwed over by Bray to set up that match. Reigns wins some sort of number one contender match, maybe an Elimination Chamber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I thought they weren't doing elimination chambers anymore? Or is it just as an event they are doing away with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 The most over guy in the match was someone who had wrestled zero matches in the WWE before tonight. If that's not insulting enough for the bookers the second or third most over guy was wrestling his second main roster match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I enjoyed the rumble. It was nice to have one with no Daniel Bryan chants or crowd "hijacking". Marked out big for Sami throwing out Owens. I hope that's a mania match somehow. Even if it is a preshow match. Only part that bothered me was the Wyatt/Lesnar stuff. I don't mind the match per say but the family being able to eliminate Lesnar and the refs doing nothing was some bullshit. Why didn't they just stay and eliminate everyone else? Also, I bow down to HHH winning one for Lemmy. Still waiting on the selfie with AJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Great show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KobASHi Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 AJ to be in the IC clusterfuck and win at Mania. Congrats on all your hard work Becky Lynch, you won't be in the probable match between Charlotte, meta face/booked heel Sasha Banks, heel Nikki Bella and a face Paige who will act like a heel. Why couldn't Ambrose win and get screwed at Fast Lane? Reigns to beat Triple H in a fake epic at Mania, DVD in years time will overblow the match and who it defined and made. I hope I'm all wrong, lets check out till the summer lads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Full review on my blog forthcoming, but some quick notes - * I definitely don't think Lesnar was booked as "just a guy." He tossed out Swagger in under 20 seconds. The Miz wouldn't even get in the ring with him. He turned the Rumble into Suplex City and blasted Braun Strowman so hard in the mush that I wouldn't be surprised he can't eat solid food for a few days. * What bothered me more than Lesnar's elimination (which didn't bother me) was BRAY WYATT's elimination. He was the one that was booked like "just a guy." They should've had Lesnar come back and toss him as the rest of the Wyatts were being forced to the back by officials. This "eye-for-an-eye leaves everyone blind" twist would've established that, like Lesnar only losing because the Wyatts ganged up on him, Wyatt only lost because Lesnar got to him alone. Instead, Wyatt was tossed by either Reigns or Triple H in a routine fashion that made him look like nothing special. * Equally stupid was the League of Nations attack on Reigns. The Rumble has one very basic, ultra-important rule. A rule that Vince McMahon knows well (considering he masterfully subverted it to win one a decade or so ago). The heels not actually eliminating Reigns was flat out dumb. After TLC, I was on board for Sheamus to get a bit of a second look as a major heel act and possible Taker opponent for Mania, but the League of Nations garbage and the stupidity displayed at the Rumble has me back to not caring about him. * People are overstating Triple H's babyface reaction. Yes, he got cheered when he came out...but there was a definite shift in fan responses as the crowd (correctly) recognized and became disappointed in what that meant for the outcome. Triple H was cheered for his entrance, but when it came down to him and Ambrose, it was obvious that the audience wanted Ambrose to win. The fact that Ambrose was positioned there also tells me that they knew exactly what the responses would be - that Reigns would likely get a mild reaction (and that his elimination would be cheered) and that Triple H would initially be viewed as a "savior" but that they could keep him heel by having him eliminate perennial underdogs/fan surrogates like Ziggler and Ambrose. * I'm going to FastLane so I'm eager to see how that card shapes up. In my mind, though, if this match was about building Reigns up, it seemed to do the exact opposite. I can name 4-5 guys that came out of this one with a fair amount of shine (Styles, Owens, Ambrose, even Jericho and obviously HHH), but Roman Reigns would not be on that list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 To me, it's very telling that they apparently were very aware the guy they so desperately want to be the next top babyface was going to be booed yet again. I'm sure it will get chalked up to those darn smart fans rather than booking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 There was nothing more symbolic of JBL's deterioration as an announcer than during the opener. Ambrose and Owens were in the middle of a bomb throwing war, and Ambrose throws a chair at Owens so hard that it wraps around his head. JBL: Reminds me of that old Mork and Mindy joke - that's not how you use a chair! Well, OK. The JBL of 2006 would have been screaming about these two warriors killing each other, wrestling like they're in someone else's bodies and whatever. Current JBL just makes jokes and stupid arguments and says Maggle a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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