You ever show up at an AEW event we are gonna chant you so fricken hard that you'll feel so singled out and insecure that you'll be forced to ACKNOWLEDGE Tony and his Daddy. You will show praise to Cody and you will drop you your knees and stand before Nyla Rose. We do not know what will happen as you gaze upward slowly, from her boots to hir hips to her glaring eyes. What will happen to you? What will Nyla make you do?

Watched this with a friend today....

Forgot how slik WWE is at their production values.... just blows AEW out of the water.

Opening match was a fun time... Rollins seems fun now... not sure if he has turned face, but it was fun a face with that "flamboyant" swagger/laugh..... The ending was a bit weird, especially with events later on.... I guess they are just leaving this Roman/Seth feud open for another month before getting on to WM. Wish Jon Moxley had come out for the save after the match.....

Enjoyed the women's Rumble.... rumbles are always fun.... was a bit "anti-climactic" at the end with the final two having no real "sequence" but just instantly Ronda winning.... always fun when the final two have an extended battle.... Still was a fun ride....

Becky/Doudrop I didn't really care about and couldn't really get into since it was "obvious" that it was just a "filler feud" and Becky would win.... I did learn that "Doudrop" is pronounced "Dew Drop" and not "Dough Drop" like I've been thinking....

Lashley/Lesnar video package was legit. They do such an awesome job with those. It made me pretty hype for the match..... though it kinda made me want to see them actually fight for real..... instead we got a fake fight filled with mostly suplexes and a finish full of shenanigans that doesn't make Lashley look like the beast from the video package.

Miz/Maryse vs Edge/Beth was pretty "meh" as well.... pretty obvious filler with an obvious winner.... and couldn't help but think the entire time "They are both gonna choose to have this petty and pointless match instead of being in the Rumble and having a chance for a title shot/main event?"

Men's Rumble... the winner was completely obvious the moment Lesnar lost so that took away some of the "mystery".... but Rumbles have had obvious winners before and been awesome..... but this one was pretty "not good"..... no real stories or moments...... Like the women's one it also had a very anti-climactic battle between the final two....

I'd probably say the women's one was better again....

Why would you chant me? :rofl:

Also, page 21 now by the way, R.I.P. AEW :nono:

Solid takes, as always. My biggest grievance with the booking of the show is the Edge stuff too. Why would he be so happy to just watch a Rumble go by. I guess on the reality show it will be because the husband and wives stuff is “so important,” but it would be good if Edge got a title shot from winning. Or if he cut a promo about how he now gets to reinvent his pathway to the top.

I’m not a big fan of the Rumble being used for B programs.

Lol, what a load of shit.

That assumes you’re only aiming to have 1 “A programme”. With 2 shows, and 2 nights of Mania shouldn’t they try to make 2 programmes worthy of headlining? They’ve got the women too so you can do Charlotte/Ronda as the headline one of the nights (not sure if the fans would be more in to Becky/Ronda 1-on-1 though?).

I might be crazy but I’d be wanting to build a solid core of guys so that they’re primed to be in an “A programme”. By using the tools you have to re-highlight your already established top guy you’re keeping everybody else stagnant. To be fair, there weren’t many guys in there with any momentum but that’s more a symptom of the booking.

You only really have one A-program anyway. The WWE Title is basically the IC Title in the current setup. Ronda/Becky should be the other main event. Those are the two driving forces on each show.

Hey, I pitched an idea for Riddle to win. If you’re fine your Rumble being used to build a mid-card match, that’s cool. But I’m not about to blast a promotion because they put their top guy over to get him into position on a platform this big.

Lol. That’s a little bit of a “straw man” you’ve created there. I didn’t say anything about using it to build a midcard match. I’m not proposing Riddle as a winner, although I guarantee whatever you booked for him would have been a more interesting story.

You’re taking things as they are, I’m discussing how they could be. The WWE Title might feel like the IC of yesteryear because that’s how they’ve booked it. They sacrificed whatever story they were telling with that belt because the other champ was taken off the last show. They didn’t have to do that.

They’ve created the setup they have; 2 shows that they want to present as relatively even, with a top champion on each brand. You don’t have to sacrifice everything at the altar of your top guy/top programme. Brock vs. Roman might be the thing that gets the “casuals” to tune into Mania. Does that get enhanced by Brock winning the Rumble? This story has been building since Summer 2020 when Roman aligned with Heyman. I’m not sure what rhe plan was for their match at Day 1 (although I’d guess that’s where the Heyman turn would have happened and we’d end up exactly where we are today with Brock winning the Rumble :lol:) but would they have run the same Brock/Roman match again?

I don’t think it is a straw-man at all. I’m not saying those are your specifics, just that anything outside the Brock/Roman program is going to be less important than the Brock/Roman program. That’s the problem with two titles. You can’t have two “A1” champions. You just can’t.

Blah.


The Royal Rumble match is one of the few things I still watch live, but not after this year.


Everything they do is always are centered around Lesnar, to the point where it really feels like no one else exists or even matters. Him being in the Rumble doesn't even make sense, if you look at it from "Kayfabe" how was Brock even able to enter, with everyone "getting their numbers" before Saturday?


I dunno. Never thought they'd make the Rumble feel so stale, like nearly everything else.


The fact the Mania event is so predictable from so far out is sad. We've seen the match before and there's zero interest. Whatever happens at Chamber won't matter.


Rollins v Reigns was the most exciting part of the night, because of Rollins. As predictable as that match was, there were a few legit "oh shit" moments that were generated.

In terms of kayfabe it's weird to me when they allow one guy from the earlier title matches to enter the Rumble but not the other.

Like yeah, we definitely have a spot for Lesnar but nah, fuck Rollins, send out Ridge Holland instead.

For me it turns into a "well, we know who's winning now" - kinda making the past 45 minutes of "fun" all pointless.


Felt the same about Rousey, but at least (for now) she hasn't been the ONLY women's wrassler who matters. Also, she's pretty good to watch in the ring, loads better than 99% of the current roster.

Ivory being 60 feels ridiculous, looks like she hasn't aged a day since 2001.

And that might just be her worked age. She started out in GLOW at 24/25 years old but with it being Hollywood there's always a chance she adjusted her age down on the way in.

DOB: 11/26/61 - math czechs out as well as Damn iNator's accu-weather Doppler predicterator 9000!

That was the plan, Heyman turning and Roman beating Brock at Day 1. Rumble booking was to get things "back on track". Brock would have just been an announced participant of the Rumble.

Like.... Cesaro would have been a better pick than Shane.

Maybe to you or me. But would it have helped Cesaro or been a bigger deal to the average fan?

The average or casual? Is it the casual fan which no longer exist? Does that then make the average fan "hardcore"?





The casual fan wouldn't know who either are, presumably, especially when there are a LOT of other people in the match. Unless the casual fan = hardcore fan and by that logic, they would definitely have wanted Cesaro over Shane.

As for it helping Cesaro. He could check every single box and still not be utilized.

Not going to argue with anyone, but that show was more mid than MJF. No interest in watching or supporting WWEs efforts with the Saudis, so I'll see you at the Wrestlemania Thread, brother. *points to Wrestlemania thread sign that is literally on fire for some reason*

:|

Casual fans do exist. And believe it or not, there are regular WWE viewers that like Shane, or at least respond to the McMahon family drama. There are plenty of people who like Cesaro too. But how many Royal Rumbles has he been in, where he comes storming down, looking peachy keen, to hit a couple of European uppercuts, swing a person or two then get dunked out? I remember him being in the 2015 Rumble.

Cesaro is utilized. The company has invested millions of dollars into him. He might be used the way you want. You’re allowed to have that opinion. But he doesn’t check every box (unfortunately) and they decided to leave him out of this one. It is what it is.

The casual fan doesn't exist, because CM Punk didnt draw them back, so it is not on him of course, they just dont exist, because Phil said so :roll:

I don't like casual fans, they don't know the history of this business, the greatest business of them all, pro wrestling. When I come across a casual fan of wrestling I make sure they know it by calling them "a casual". Fucking nerds don't know shit about wrestling. Don't come up to me talking about Kofi this and Rhea that, who gave Flair his first crack at the belt? Who was The Hulksters last match with for Verne brother? How many time has HBK been fired by Vince? Come on casual! Lets go!

:wtf:

That's what he's been "written into" though isn't it? Again, this is why it "isn't for me" anymore. I still watched the Rumble because it is usually quite good and one of the last things I watch, WWE wise. It was bland AF this year.



This year it was just another event, really. No one was surprised by anything and the results wouldn't have been different if you had a #1 contender tourney on RAW or some other weak stuff. Rollins was the star of the night for the Rumble PPV, given his showing.

So drave is a “casual fan”?

I just can’t believe how many people I’m seeing are acting like the Royal Rumble hasn’t lost something before this. The last must-see Rumble was probably 2015, and that’s being generous. The 2020 Rumble match itself was good. I heard good things about the 2018 match too. But come the fuck on with this “the Rumble is the last special thing” crap. We’ve had Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus as winners — and that was over a decade ago now.

Sheamus is awesome.

The 2015 was the one where Kane and Big Show eliminated all the fan favourites, right? Awful match. It might have been “must see” before the event but they “shit the bed” with that one too. Which I guess is more evidence for your point than against it tbf.

I never said it didn't lose anything before this year. Remember what you told me earlier, (for me) it was indeed the last thing I looked forward to with any semblance of positivity.


I also can understand that the product isn't "for me" anymore, and I'm okay with that. I don't have any issue with Lesnar winning either. Just more of the fact that there's really no other outcome is there? For this, for Mania, etc.


Not faulting them for putting their "biggest names" either. That's what entertainment companies do.


It just..... yeah. First Rumble I didn't finish watching (albeit, it was over anyway wasn't it) nor even cared for the follow up of "OMG WHAT CHAMP IS GONNA GET KILLED" - but we all knew. We all knew last year.

Yeah this was the first year I didn’t even watch the Rumble matches. Always looked forward to them.. just don’t trust WWE not to waste my time anymore.

I wish AEW would do a Rumble. They would have some super fun surprises.

Yeah I like the idea of the Casino Rumbles but in practice they end up a mess.

Shame AEW will probably never do a traditional Rumble though due to the optics of copying WWE's most popular match.

He’s a talented guy, but the stories heading into Mania that year were Cena/Rock and Punk/Jericho. Him winning the Rumble was building up something low priority on the card. And the most it did was accidentally get Bryan over.

That’s the one. And I’m not trying to argue everyone for the sake of it or anything, but was this Rumble really that much flatter than Del Rio, or Sheamus, or the matches that all blur together. Remember when we got Triple H repeating from #30 and Roman spent most of the match taken out by The League of Nations? Are we really saying this was worse than that?

I’m caught between “The Rumble has sucked for years” and “this Rumble actually had some good stuff,” but that’s just how I feel about it. Has Shane EVER been in a Rumble? That is probably interesting to some people. You had AJ anchoring the first section of the match (from what I hear), before a big guy comes in and eliminates a bunch of people before getting eliminated themselves. You have a few cameo appearances and then the winner cleans up.

It just seems…fine by Rumble standards. Pretty textbook for a Rumble, really.

By the way, if AEW did a Rumble it would absolutely suck. Have you ever seen Rumbles on the indies? They suck. It would be too self-aware and everyone would interact with everyone. Bad idea.

Not only has Shane competed in a Rumble, it was the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Agreed you’re not trying to argue with anyone; it seems we’re all in agreement that the Rumble was “fine” - albeit you’re arguing from a position of “on paper”, when some of us have actually watched it (more fool us, right?). :lol:

It seems we depart along the following lines; I think it’d be great they actually did something interesting, you’re resigned to the fact that they won’t.

“Fine by Rumble standards” and “textbook for a Rumble” shouldn’t be where they are aiming.

I cannot remember much about the Greatest Royal Rumble, so I honestly did not even register that as a possibility.

I appreciate you’re trying to see my point of view. I’ll mainly agree with what you’re saying, except I don’t even think that it was as bad as people are saying. It’s not my idea of good, but a lot of what I am seeing suggested are just things they’ve done countless times in other uninteresting Rumbles.

We don’t need a cliche NXT appearance every year. Or Cesaro doing his signature spots…again (and I love the guy). Would this Rumble really be improved by a Headbanger appearing as a “surprise?”

What entertains the hardcore fan is very different from what appeals to more general audiences. Shane McMahon, Bad Bunny and Johnny Knoxville are probably way more effective in that role than most of the other suggestions I have seen.

Compare this Rumble to the 2001 one. You had lots of tag teams in that, with very few of the members meeting up. Drew Carey was in. D’Lo got shafted. You had Grand Master Sexay but no Scotty. No fun Kaientai spots. A bunch of talented guys like Saturn, Raven and Tazz got eliminated by jokes. Did Taker even do anything special? All we got for surprises were Haku, Big Show and Honky Tonk Man? Really? Did really need to be the runner-up, the marathon man and get the most eliminations ever? Why did they protect Rock so bad with the Chokeslam through the table? Why bring back Big Show just to have him lose so easy? Rikishi didn’t do much. Billy Gunn in the final four? Bradshaw and Albert sucked. I can’t believe The Hardys went so early. No Shawn Michaels. Why did Austin get to enter after being laid out on the floor? Couldn’t they have just let Kane win? Austin didn’t need it and winning 3 times is overkill.

Y it can do this with so many Rumbles. I’m not saying this was as good as 2001, but it was structured in a pretty conventional way. I think what the internet wants is so far away from what would even be considered a good Rumble anyway.

Just wanted to say I didn't mention Cesaro specifically for any reason. Replace him with anyone on the roster, really, and it's better than what we had.


At least Bad Bunny looked good doing his ring work.

That’s my point though — it really wouldn’t be.