WWE MIDCARD ROYAL RUMBLE 2022

[PhilTLL]

I'm not going to rewatch either of those obviously, but I don't remember them being so holistically bad as this.

[C.S.]

2 minutes ago, SteveJRogers said:

The year before was also a rock bottom moment.

Agreed. Those two are probably tied for worse.

This wasn't that much better though. 

[KawadaSmile]

8 minutes ago, C.S. said:

The one where Bryan got eliminated early in the match was the worst, but this was bad. 

That depends on how you perceive the booking. That one, despite awful decisions, had NAME VALUE. There were a lot of people coming in that you thought "hey this dude winning would be dope".

Here, we got AJ, Big E, Drew, maaaaaaaybe Orton and Riddle. We got terrible booking AND a fucking AWFUL cast. Lesnar appearing at #30 was far from absurd considering how shallow the talent pool seemed to be.

 

This year's Rumble is going toe to toe with 1997 for the spot as the worst, IMO.

[Afro Steel]

2014 and 2015 were all-time bad with the context of the Daniel Bryan storyline.

This was just 1995 all-time boring/bad. I'll ding it even further for being creatively bankrupt, where as at least Shawn was a fresh main event player in 1995.

[Jmare007]

Yeah, I don't think this was the worst Rumble in terms of quality (it was certainly a really bad RR, don't get me wrong) but it was easily the most depressing to watch. 

[KawadaSmile]

Some things I have noticed is that the match seemed off from the start. Nakamura looks like he slipped and got eliminated early, which is never nice. Then Kofi's usual highlight reel spot doesn't work (really didn't seem like it was planned). Then the big surprise entrant is Shane O'Mac. Just bad vibes all-around.

[sek69]

9 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said:

Some things I have noticed is that the match seemed off from the start. Nakamura looks like he slipped and got eliminated early, which is never nice. Then Kofi's usual highlight reel spot doesn't work (really didn't seem like it was planned). Then the big surprise entrant is Shane O'Mac. Just bad vibes all-around.

Alvarez said the Kofi spot was not planned to end like that, and there were spots planned with him and Big E. 

[SteveJRogers]

51 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said:

This year's Rumble is going toe to toe with 1997 for the spot as the worst, IMO.

Ugh…to quote that year’s winner, WHAT!?

[SteveJRogers]

-Hell of a way to reward a main event heel

-Leads to a great concept for the Feb PPV, puts the title on Bret that potentially gets things right for the Shawn rematch.  

Not their fault that the “knee wasn’t ready and the smile wasn’t found yet” so plan B was belt back on Sid, and fed to Taker, while Austin gets turned face in a loss to a heel turning Bret at Mania.

[Afro Steel]

9 minutes ago, SteveJRogers said:

Ugh…to quote that year’s winner, WHAT!?

I watched this one for the first time in years the other night. Outside of the early Austin stuff, the first half of the match had the same vibes tonight's Rumble had: a lot of junk, minimal spots, and just a real sense of how hollow the roster was at the time. Of course, that changes from the Bret entrance on and you end the match with a pretty insane load of talent: Austin, Bret, Vader, Undertaker, Foley, Terry Funk, and Bluechipper Rocky... and fake Diesel, future Kane.

Tonight, that just never materialized, both because the backend of the Rumble wasn't a lot better talent-wise than the front. But beyond that, it just illustrated once again how this company has managed to cycle through some of the best talent around over the last six or seven years and still have nothing else to fall back on than more Brock.

[RingoPlaysDrums]

Surprised by the extent of the backlash to this show. This is the first WWE PPV I've watched in full since Wrestlemania last year and my affection for the company is at an all time low but I enjoyed it a fair bit. 

Reigns/Rollins was a blast. Seth's Shield entrance was class and I thought the match told a solid story. Rollins was loving himself for pulling off that entrance, getting into Roman's head. He started off super hot and got a couple of big near falls. Then with the second curb stomp he came as close as can be but Reigns still kicked out and his confidence just suddenly evaporated. Finish kind of worked for me. 

I thought the women's rumble was perhaps the best one they've done (not saying a huge amount, sure). Melina's elimination was super awkward and Sasha's early nothing elimination was really deflating but other than that I thought it was good. A number of memorable spots and exchanges - Deville & Naomi, Molly & Nikki, Mickie & McCool, Rousey & Baszler. Mickie James coming to the ring with the Knockouts title was something. A couple of fun surprises. I've avoided WWE news lately so I didn't know Rousey was going to be there. She did look a bit off at times but I'm still glad to see her back. Should be fun to see her decide between Flair & Lynch. Hopefully we'll get the latter. The match we never got to see. 

GREAT video package for Lesnar/Lashley. I was really looking forward to this. It didn't reach the level I'd hoped but it wasn't too far off. Some good work and I found it all pretty engrossing. That finish was inevitable if you believed the reports that they've always been going with Reigns/Lesnar at WM. 

Crowd wasn't into Lynch/Doudrop and nor was I but it looked fine enough. I tuned out completely during the mixed tag. I can't stand this version of Edge. A heel turn would be most welcome. 

Men's Rumble was pretty rotten, although I don't know if it's the worst of all time as seems to be the consensus. The crowd didn't completely turn on it like we've seen before. Lesnar coming out at 30 and winning was so obvious you might have hoped they'd have done it just a bit differently but hey ho. "Depressing" is a good word to describe the whole thing really. Tired booking and an unwelcome reminder of just who Vince actually sees as the real stars. 

 

[ZThomas]

It's closer to Survivor 03 type booking with the Heyman trope of him Swerving his client. It felt like that turn was supposed to happen at day one. I don't havea problem with Roman and Brock at WrestleMania but I don't think he had to be in one to win the Rumble though.

I didn't see a problem with Ronda winning the Rumble but Obviously I'm probably the only one because everyone else seemed deflated when she won and I think having Charlotte in it as Champ really hurt the match.

Edge means well, He's going to spend the rest of his career trying to attone for being the TLC guy by feeling the need to go over 20 minutes in order for him to feel he had a good match. That's the 2000s HHH train of thought

[El-P]

11 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

It's pretty staggering how this company's troupes are so much worse when you stop watching and just check them out from time to time.

Agreed. I haven't watched a WWE show since the first night of Mania last year, and when you're not used to complete and utter stupidity (which you don't have when you watch AEW or IMPACT), it seems even dumber.

So basically. Roman vs Rollins I thought was excellent. Before the shit finish. 

Like I said, Ronda won the Diva Memorial Royal Rumble so it did not matter that the match wasn't very good. Like, really now, watching this it looks like there isn't anyone new *at all*. Pretty much all the old-timers who aren't big stars (Bellas, Lita) or Taker's Wife got treated like dirt. Much respect to Mickie James and Scott D'Amore BTW, they ain't nuthin' to fuck wit : IMPACT title belt with graphic and a mention by the announcers, Hardcore Country music theme, elimination of Taker's Wife, staying for quite a bit and notable elimination by a legit WWE star and not some jobber. I applaud. So yeah, Ronda vs Charlotte is gonna be interesting if only to see when Ronda starts to melt down and if Charlotte pulls a "Doesn't work for me brother" moment.

BTW, remember when Becky Lynch was the hottest wrestler in the world, was gonna main event Mania against Ronda ? Man, they have done a number on her. No one gave a shit about this match. Doudrop is about a thousand times better than Nia Jaxx, and I mean by that she's pretty good, but this match was kinda there. And everytime I heard "Doudrop" I cringed. Poor Becky.

Lesnar vs Lashley was... there. Lashley bumped straight on his shoulder, no idea how he did not injure himself. Match was nothing after the first few suplexes. Then of course another shit finish with a swerve, because hey.

Miz & Maryse vs Edge & Beth was ok I guess if you don't mind Miz godawful execution. After all these years, he still can't make one kick look worth a shit, it's crazy. Yeah, he does funny faces and the act with Maryse is fun, but he's only tolerable when his wife is around, really. Also, Phoenix really is a product of looking good in the Divas era, much like Victoria, because really she isn't very good at all. Edge got a paycheck, but at least there was one good worker in the match to make it look watchable. Damn, he looks every bit of his age though, especially with that beard. Maryse est super, merci pour elle.

By this point, I admit I only paid half-attention to the men's Rumble, as I was watching something else on Twitch. Just wanted to see the big surprises, ya know, people chanting Judas or Cody Rhodes showing up because he's NOT UNDER CONTRACT (yeah Fightful, we got the clickbaiting point, I mean, how did those ridiculous rumors even started ?), or even I dunno, GUNTHER or Bron Breakker. I got Bad Bunny doing an exploder (which was cool) and Shane-O-Mac (which sucked and will suck even more when he gets yet another unbearable Mania match). Looking from afar, it looked dull as dirt. The finish made it completely irrelevant too, so there.

Worst major show I've seen in forever. Rollins vs Reigns was the best match. Before the shit finish. Enjoyed the Ronda part of the Rumble too.

Hey, I tried, and I even got in with a positive mindset. 

One thing is for sure though, Mania is gonna be on fire. Literally.

[Migs]

9 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

Yeah, I don't think this was the worst Rumble in terms of quality (it was certainly a really bad RR, don't get me wrong) but it was easily the most depressing to watch. 

I'd argue the Bryan Rumbles were way more depressing in the sense the company was telling the fans to fuck off more forcefully. This was just dull.

[Migs]

Having not watched WWE in months, I thought the show was real thumbs in the middle stuff, with little that was excruciating but also little to recommend it. They went in so hard on Brock-Roman that I think I'm mildly interested to see it, but I have literally no clue how they'd follow it up at this point. No one was treated with sufficient gravitas to be a transition challenger. They really might need to call up Breakker in April or something.

[Jmare007]

1 hour ago, Migs said:

I'd argue the Bryan Rumbles were way more depressing in the sense the company was telling the fans to fuck off more forcefully. This was just dull.

The 2014 one? I always thought Bryan's momentum was too big and some changes would be made in time for Mania. Of course I wasn't expecting the whole show to be about him, but I was fairly confident he would end up in the title match against Batista and Orton. Also, that Rumble still had The Shield going strong (people wanted Roman to win as a consolation price without Bryan) and the company was coming off one of the best in ring years they had ever had, specially on TV.

This one felt dire. The roster, outside of Brock, Roman, Seth and Lashley (and only Brock was in the Rumble, and lasted a couple of minutes winning easily) felt lifeless, unmotivated and going through the motions. That to me is way more depressing than Vince being stubborn about D-Bry.

[RingoPlaysDrums]

2015 was much worse than 2014, as I recall. 2014 had a fair bit going for it until it was all completely overshadowed by Bryan's non-appearance and the crowd's response. 2015 felt like more of a deliberate fuck you to fans. Bryan being eliminated so early, "shattered dreams", other fan favourites being unceremoniously dumped and Kane & Big Show dominating. Climaxing obviously with the cringeworthy Rock & Reigns celebration.

[SteveJRogers]

2 hours ago, El-P said:

By this point, I admit I only paid half-attention to the men's Rumble, as I was watching something else on Twitch. Just wanted to see the big surprises, ya know, people chanting Judas or Cody Rhodes showing up because he's NOT UNDER CONTRACT (yeah Fightful, we got the clickbaiting point, I mean, how did those ridiculous rumors even started ?)

Pretty much overthinking Mickie’s announcement that she was in the Rumble.

Instead of realizing it was a “yeah we fucked you over on your way out, and this is a “no hard feelings” olive branch until we get to induct you in our Hall someday” move, it suddenly became an “OMG!  FORBIDDEN DOORS ALL OVER ARE BEING OPENED!  WHO ELSE IS GONNA SHOW UP!?” explosion of silly social media “hot takes.”

[Al]

The only booking qualm I have is that there’s no kayfabe explanation how Brock gets to show upon that spot. But that’s probably a me problem. This show didn’t have any bad matches or obvious booking blunders. It was just dull. 
 

fwiw, my wife watched the first two hours with me and the one part she woke up for was Rhea Ripley coming in and kicking ass.

[SteveJRogers]

1 minute ago, Al said:

The only booking qualm I have is that there’s no kayfabe explanation how Brock gets to show upon that spot. But that’s probably a me problem. This show didn’t have any bad matches or obvious booking blunders. It was just dull. 
 

fwiw, my wife watched the first two hours with me and the one part she woke up for was Rhea Ripley coming in and kicking ass.

I could have sworn a heel like Miz may have done that before.  Lose the championship match, only to enter the Rumble later in the night.

I think the kayfabe point is that he cares more about getting back at Reigns than getting his automatic rematch from Lashley.

 

 

[NintendoLogic]

Becky Lynch did it three years ago. She lost the Smackdown women's title match to Asuka in the opener and then entered the Rumble and won. They at least tried to justify it in kayfabe by having her take the place of Lana, who was injured in the pre-show.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

As with most WWE shows, the less engaged you are with the company, the more tolerable the show is.  I didn’t think either Rumble was particularly good but I’ve used four hours in worse ways before.  I haven’t watched any full WWE show since last Mania so this was primarily just inoffensive to me.

[Coffey]

4 hours ago, RingoPlaysDrums said:

Surprised by the extent of the backlash to this show.

I think a lot of it is just because it ended on such a bad note. Roman/Seth was good. Women's Rumble was fine & Ronda's return was cool. Lesnar/Lashley was fine & did a good job setting up the future. Even the mixed tag had a fun ending couple of minutes. 

But Becky/Drop & the men's Rumble were both the shits & that's what the crowd goes home with fresh in their minds. 

That men's Rumble could have really used a few cool return surprises & a lot less filler. I also think it's not a good look when the "big stars" of the match, the people that should get pops, are guys like Big E, Kevin Owens & Drew McIntyre. Those guys are all so far below top guy star level that it makes them look even worse when they come out to a ring full of scrubs. 

[SteveJRogers]

BTW, speaking of kayfabe, what is Kane’s official record total of Rumble appearances?

Out of kayfabe they of course acknowledge Glenn Jacobs’ assorted characters, but two of them made a Rumble appearance each.

So is the record the portrayer’s total of 20, or the “Kane” character total of 18?  

[strobogo]

We all know WWE has been creatively bankrupt for ages but man this show was such lazy bullshit

 

Roman/Seth was actually very, very good until the finish, which as part of the story I think was fine but it is ALWAYS lame to do a DQ in a title match on PPV, especially one of the big four. Far and away the best anything I've seen Seth involved in in a long time.

Women's Rumble was bad. You can really see how little WWE gave a shit about their women's division for so many years when the only women they can bring back for these kind of these are the same 5 or 6 from 2010 or women they've fired in the past year. It was amazing that Torrie Wilson wasn't in it this year. I can't think of a single thing the match set up going forward besides Ronda vs Charlotte (or Becky, I guess) other than the continuation of Naomi vs Sonya which seems like it's been going on for over a year now despite also appearing to have multiple blow offs and not making sense anyway. They're still giving all that shine to the retired Bellas, retired Michelle McCool, and so on. No memorable spots, no memorable eliminations. Even the face off with Ronda/Charlotte was bizarrely short and without fanfare.

Becky/Doudrop also was bad and went on way, way too long for what was very clearly a filler feud and a filler match. I don't think Becky has been good at all since returning, either in the ring or in her character/mic work.

 

Lesnar/Lashley was cool in the opening with Lashley suplexing Brock back, but then turned into yet another match of Brock ragdolling his opponent with ease, then another fuck finish and swerve in a title match at the second biggest PPV of the year, in a match people have been wanting for nearly 20 years. All it accomplished was resetting the Brock/Roman storyline to a month ago. It made Lashley, an absolute freak of nature who has been pushed and booked very, very strong for the past year, look like a punk who got his ass handed to him and only won because he was lucky enough to be a plot point in the Roman/Brock storyline. 

Mixed tag was very enjoyable. Certainly no complaints about it. It was exactly what it needed to be, was fun, had some surprising spots like the Maryse rana, and a satisfying ending. I think it's the first time I've seen the male in a wrestling relationship hit the woman's finish in a match, where it's always the women doing her boyfriend/husband's spots in matches. "The Grit Couple" is pretty bad, though.

 

Men's Rumble was just as bad as the women's. The "surprises" being Shane and Bad Bunny, both of whom were in the final four and eliminated people. Brock coming out, dumping everyone left, and now we're back to exactly where we were prior to Day 1. Not only did they make no attempt to give anyone shine (except for Bad Bunny), it almost felt like they intentionally were making everyone look like completely nothing afterthoughts. No memorable eliminations, no memorable spots, guys getting just limply tossed out with no fanfare or reaction. It didn't feel like ANYTHING was set up to go into WM season besides Brock getting revenge on Roman. Again. 

 

One thing that also stood out, having not watched any weekly TV in ages, is that it feels like 80% of the roster has had their entrance music changed and all of them were the most nondescript, bland nothingness.