WWE MIDCARD ROYAL RUMBLE 2022

[sek69]

2 hours ago, Coffey said:

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. 

It reminded me of so many WCW shows that had good/fun undercards but ended with some nWo bullshit so everyone hated the entire show. 

[Al]

2 hours ago, SteveJRogers said:

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.

 

 

It’s not why Lesnar would do it. It’s that Lesnar was allowed to claim a spot, there was an open spot in the first place and how that spot happened to be #30.

[sek69]

I mean, they could just say Lesnar demanded it, and who's going to say no to a pissed off Brock Lesnar?

[SteveJRogers]

19 minutes ago, sek69 said:

I mean, they could just say Lesnar demanded it, and who's going to say no to a pissed off Brock Lesnar?

Insta-angle, come up with the guy who was going to come in 30.  IDK, Bron, Gunther, etc.  Boom, that’s a match at Blood Money this coming month!

[strobogo]

Legit can not remember a Rumble show that was so meaningless and pointless. No angles started for WM season besides Ronda and Brock getting title shots. In fact angles and stories regressed and the past month and a half of shows were completely pointless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert S]

Considering who was brought back for the women's Rumble over the years, I am somewhat surprised that they have neven brought back Rockin' Robin, Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, or someone from that era. I mean at least one of the semi-relevant 80ies WWF women has to be in good enough shape for a battle royal (and after a quick look, two of them are actually younger than Ivory and Richter is only two months older than Ivory). Leilani Kai is also only slightly older and the Jumping Bomb Angels are the youngest of that list (and Yamazaki even lives in the US).

[Reel]

21 minutes ago, Robert S said:

Considering who was brought back for the women's Rumble over the years, I am somewhat surprised that they have neven brought back Rockin' Robin, Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, or someone from that era. I mean at least one of the semi-relevant 80ies WWF women has to be in good enough shape for a battle royal (and after a quick look, two of them are actually younger than Ivory and Richter is only two months older than Ivory). Leilani Kai is also only slightly older and the Jumping Bomb Angels are the youngest of that list (and Yamazaki even lives in the US).

None of them had music anyone would recognize unless they maybe paid for a Cyndi Lauper song for Richter, none have been on TV in almost 40 years. They would all get the opposite of a pop. 

[SteveJRogers]

33 minutes ago, SteveJRogers said:

Insta-angle, come up with the guy who was going to come in 30.  IDK, Bron, Gunther, etc.  Boom, that’s a match at Blood Money this coming month!

LOL

https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/news-wwe-superstar-claims-brock-lesnar-stole-spot-royal-rumble

[Flyin' Brian]

The more I think about it the more the Lesnar/Heyman/Reigns story makes no sense. I wish Reigns would have came out and cost Lesnar the Royal Rumble victory too if they are going this route. Even better, have Lesnar be Raw champ and Reigns be Smackdown champ and Heyman manage both. He keeps playing peacemaker but eventually egos get in the way and we have Reigns vs Lesnar title unification and for the services of Heyman as manager at Wrestlemania with Heyman doing his best Miss Elizabeth at Wrestlemania 5 impersonation. If they want Heyman to pick a side there and do a swerve that’s fine but would just seem a lot more interesting at that point. 

[KawadaSmile]

They are apparently setting up Sami vs Knoxville and Sheamus vs Bad Bunny. Could be fun undercard matches, but it's still undercard stuff.

WWE needs to pay for better music and stop fucking around with themes.

The event itself is around the 6/10 mark, but the Rumble match is close to 2/10.

[C.S.]

Is there anything to this? Because lole if true.

Edit: Looks like it's BS, because of course it is.

 

[ragemaster]

Anyone else think Brock gave Lashley a receipt for dropping him high on his head with that release German. Brock held on tight and buried him into the mat with those two Germans straight after. 

[sek69]

Shane being an agent seems to be fake news, but it's been reported he will be on the next Blood Money show as well as Wrestlemania.

[Alucard]

8 hours ago, Reel said:

None of them had music anyone would recognize unless they maybe paid for a Cyndi Lauper song for Richter, none have been on TV in almost 40 years. They would all get the opposite of a pop. 

Only 10 years for Wendi. She went in to the HOF in 2010 and then did a RAW Segment with Cyndi in 2012 during the build up to RAW 1000. Still probably true and I know I'd be one of very few but I would lose my shit for Wendi coming out to "She Bop"!

5 hours ago, KawadaSmile said:

They are apparently setting up Sami vs Knoxville and Sheamus vs Bad Bunny. Could be fun undercard matches, but it's still undercard stuff.

Bad Bunny's got two tours lined up the rest of this year. He'll be doing 3 shows in Miami on WM weekend so this was just a one off. Knoxville's run is also said to be done as he was just around to promote the new Jackass movie which comes out this week.

[sek69]

I could see Johnny Knoxville coming back for Mania. Not that I think he will mind you, but he seems like a dude who would be all in for more rasslin'.

[kas]

10 hours ago, C.S. said:

Is there anything to this? Because lole if true.

Edit: Looks like it's BS, because of course it is.

 

If it's ever from Ringside News, there's a 99.9% chance it's BS

[KawadaSmile]

9 hours ago, Alucard said:

Bad Bunny's got two tours lined up the rest of this year. He'll be doing 3 shows in Miami on WM weekend so this was just a one off. Knoxville's run is also said to be done as he was just around to promote the new Jackass movie which comes out this week.

That's a shame. As a celebrity guest he is one of the all-time greats. Really helped Priest too (who got eliminated in a very dumb way)

8 hours ago, sek69 said:

I could see Johnny Knoxville coming back for Mania. Not that I think he will mind you, but he seems like a dude who would be all in for more rasslin'.

Plus it feels like Zayn vs The Jackass crew would be full of schtick and bullshit.

[DMJ]

I didn't hate this show as much as others, though I'll admit that I didn't watch it the same way as most (in chunks, on a treadmill, then on the couch to wrap it up). 

- Thought Seth/Reigns was good, not great. I really don't understand any argument for Seth Rollins winning this match and would need that explained. We've seen what he can do when he's a World Champion and it is not entertaining, interesting, or "needle moving." He's a B+/A- player, very reliable to deliver good matches, sure, but c'mon, even this most recent character feels a bit forced and like a hodge-podge of stolen pieces from better, more interesting characters (a touch of Sami Zayn's histrionics, a jacket that reminds me of Marty Scurll, Barry Windham's glove). I liked him coming out in his Shield gear as a mind game, but yeah, I think my favorite Seth were those weeks when he was a zombie. Reigns has been on too much of a roll to have lost here and should've just got the clean W (with Seth maybe taking some time off until maybe a Mania return to set-up his next feud).

- I watched the Becky/Doudrop match around mile 8 of a 10-mile run/jog so maybe it was the endorphins or not really being able to hear the crowd over the sound of my treadmill, but I thought it was a fine, physical match and that the most noticeable issues were that it was heel/heel and, at various times, it felt like they were both working face too. They were in a tough spot, too, because to my ears, Ronda's return got a huge reaction as did her win (after a Women's Rumble that I enjoyed from beginning to end and felt like had a good mix of "old" and "new" without needlessly dipping into the NXT 2.0 roster of complete unknowns). I dunno, I just didn't see it as some sort of huge trainwreck certain reviewers did. 

- Lashley/Lesnar could've been better. I think Lashley should've had more offense in the early going to make it seem like he might win with the Hurt Lock (which came outta nowhere). Lesnar got the visual pin and dominated too much for my liking. 

- Big E has really been done dirty over the past few months, which is sad because, at one time, I think he could've been everything the company wanted and needed in a top babyface. Tonight really highlighted a few things I hadn't noticed before, namely, his new entrance music is terrible and seemed to be completely unknown by the audience. When Kofi came out, the pop was huge and I think part of that was because people thought it was Big E. When Big E came out to his new music, it got zero reaction because I'm guessing there are many, many, many fans in attendance who, like myself, don't watch the weekly TV but would theoretically go to a big show like the Rumble. Big E's elimination was also really, really poor and treated like a non-event. I'm not sure why they had Orton be the one to do it when you could've had Big E last a bit longer and get eliminated by Lesnar. If you're going to be tossed out, you might as well be tossed out by the winner.

- Damien Priest also seemed to not get as much of a spotlight as one would expect considering he seemed like he was getting a sizable push last year. Him being the dummy who Chad Gable told to go at Omos first when they all decided to gang up on him (only to get eliminated with ease) sure didn't make Priest seem very smart or tough. I was genuinely shocked he was put in that position.

- Drew McIntyre wasn't gone long enough for me to care that he returned here. Again, as I don't watch the weekly TV, I didn't even know he was really out injured. 

- I know plenty of you old school 'rasslin' fans will tell me that Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss are doing their job well if I don't like them. Okay. But there's a line there where a heel can make you want to see him get beaten up and a performer (or pair of performers) make you glad you don't tune in weekly. When I see them, I'm glad I'm not tuning in weekly. They're not terrible workers, they're not terrible gimmicks, but, boy do I not give a single shit about them or think they should be getting the amount of "shine" they got in this match. 

- I would've called a weird audible and maybe had Lesnar come out at #29, decimate and eliminate a whole bunch of people (maybe everyone except Riddle?). Then, at #30, you have Orton, who got a HUGE hometown hero welcome. With Orton, Lesnar, and Riddle in the ring, you'd have had a cool dynamic and reached the same conclusion while furthering a Orton/Riddle storyline. 

- Ultimately, Lesnar didn't need to win this Rumble and his dominance on the show really did solidify just how much of a bigger deal he and Reigns are than anyone else. I don't understand why Lesnar, having been screwed by Reigns, wouldn't automatically be the number one contender for the WWE Championship anyway just based on that fact alone? Meanwhile, the RAW/Universal Championship scene really got buried as not only was Lashley's win complete BS but all of the potential top contenders - AJ, Big E, Orton, Riddle, Owens - got pulverized too. Hell, some of them even had to sell for Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon too*.

[Alucard]

On 1/30/2022 at 11:51 AM, SteveJRogers said:

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?  

They count just Kane with 18 according to the "All About the Numbers" video as the record. Dolph Ziggler is #2, having been in 15 Rumbles. 

[Kadaveri]

18 hours ago, kas said:

If it's ever from Ringside News, there's a 99.9% chance it's BS

Dave Meltzer is also reporting this:

"Just to clear up a few things. Shane McMahon was a producer of the men's Royal Rumble. He is not a regular producer for WWE, but Vince gave him the assignment for the match. He helped produce the Royal Rumble in both 2020 and 2021 but was way more hands on and taking control this year than in the prior two years. Both matches were constantly changed. Those on the inside knew who the winners were all along even if there were apparently many in the company told differently, but as far as what would happen in both matches, they were constantly changing. The stories about negativity toward McMahon regarding the men's match are pretty accurate. As noted here, he is booked for both the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania shows."

[El-P]

So, this pathetic rich daddy's boy attention whore basically booked himself to eliminate Kevin Owens, whom they just have signed to a fat-ass contract. It's hilarious. This guy is such a joke and the fact he's seen by the WWE audience as the "cool" McMahon is such a con-job. He's gonna crap Mania again with yet another one of his shitty match and get TV time that should be allotted to build new stars. Not to mention get some Blood Money because he really needs the paycheck, ya know. I wonder if that also doesn't mean he's slowly getting actual power back now that Lesveque has seemingly been wiped out of the picture. Can you picture Shane-O Mac running the creative ? Holy shit, the horror.

[kas]

8 hours ago, Kadaveri said:

Dave Meltzer is also reporting this:

"Just to clear up a few things. Shane McMahon was a producer of the men's Royal Rumble. He is not a regular producer for WWE, but Vince gave him the assignment for the match. He helped produce the Royal Rumble in both 2020 and 2021 but was way more hands on and taking control this year than in the prior two years. Both matches were constantly changed. Those on the inside knew who the winners were all along even if there were apparently many in the company told differently, but as far as what would happen in both matches, they were constantly changing. The stories about negativity toward McMahon regarding the men's match are pretty accurate. As noted here, he is booked for both the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania shows."

In my defence I said 99.9% 

[PeteF3]

Ringside News, against all odds, has actually been breaking some legitimate stuff lately. They were the first outlet I know of to say that Shane and Bad Bunny would be in the Rumble.

[PhilTLL]

In the latest example of WWE not giving a shit about their fans, much of the stadium had blinding lights pointed into the crowd for everything except the entrances. Numerous chants of "turn the lights off!" and Twitter complaints resulted. Brilliant.

https://twitter.com/cubbiefan1021/status/1487619539084922881?t=phWC0AmAN_t7tvr27NmehA&s=19

 

[MoS]

19 hours ago, DMJ said:

I would've called a weird audible and maybe had Lesnar come out at #29, decimate and eliminate a whole bunch of people (maybe everyone except Riddle?). Then, at #30, you have Orton, who got a HUGE hometown hero welcome. With Orton, Lesnar, and Riddle in the ring, you'd have had a cool dynamic and reached the same conclusion while furthering a Orton/Riddle storyline. 
 

They did exactly thus, and did it very well, when Lesnar won the royal rumble the first time in 2003. As soon as he had beaten - run through really, Brock v. Big Show matches back then used to be awesome - the Big Show in the opening match, everyone knew that Brock was going to win. IIRC they had him come out at #29, and Taker came out at #30. Taker wasn't the hometown hero I don't think but he was making a comeback after a while, so got a huge pop, and it was actually a clever little twist on the obvious finish/winner. If not Orton, maybe McIntyre could have come out at #30.