Royal Rumble 2013: By The Book And Still Awesome
Royal Rumble 2013
Date: January 27, 2013
Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield
As the tag line for the show says, FINALLY we’re here. The main events tonight are Punk defending against The Rock and of course the Rumble itself. The shows have been rather awesome lately so hopefully they can keep things going tonight. Hopefully things don’t change that much between tonight and Wrestlemania but odds are they will. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: US Title: The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro
Cesaro is defending and this is mainly happening because of Ric Flair, as Flair was on Miz’s talk show and Cesaro interrupted. Flair “gave” Miz the Figure Four and apparently that’s Miz’s big weapon here tonight. A fast rollup gets one for Miz but Cesaro grabs a headlock to slow things down. Miz comes back with a back elbow for two and hooks a headlock on his own on the mat.
Miz hits the rope and charges into a kind of tilt-a-whirl powerslam to shift momentum again. Off to a bow and arrow hold by the champion which doesn’t last long. A sitout slam gets two for Cesaro and a European uppercut keeps Miz down. There’s the gutwrench suplex for two and Cesaro pounds away in the corner. Miz charges into a kind of Irish Curse for two and a jumping double stomp keeps him in trouble.
Cesaro hooks a double arm lock which is quickly broken, allowing Miz to hit the Reality Check for no cover. Miz pounds away in the corner and hits the running clothesline but the ax handle misses. He may have injured his knee on the landing. They trade rollups for two each and Miz goes after the knee. The Figure Four is easily blocked so Miz kicks him to the floor instead. Cesaro lures Miz in and sends him into a piece of metal under the ring, setting up the Neutralizer to retain at 7:40.
Rating: C-. This was your basic Raw match which is to say nothing special. Miz is floundering right now and this stupid Figure Four stuff is making it even worse. He needs a big moment to really hammer in the change but more than that he’s still the same guy he’s been for years. I actually like his in ring stuff, but he needs to stick with the Finale and be a bit nicer about things. It would help a lot.
On with the show!
Smackdown World Title: Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio
Last man standing with Del Rio defending. After Big Show’s entrance, we cut to the back where Alberto and Ricardo are getting ready. Bret Hart of all people pops up and says that he’s proud of Alberto. Hart sees Del Rio as a Mexican Bret Hart while Del Rio sees Hart as a Canadian Del Rio. Ricardo says he’s a big fan so Bret gives him some sunglasses. I have no idea what the point of this cameo was but it wasn’t bad.
Show chops him into the corner to start and gets seven off a series of shows to the chest. He loads up that reverse powerbomb of his but gets caught in a hurricanrana to put him down. A top rope seated senton takes Big Show down again but the armbreaker is easily countered into something resembling a one armed Angle Slam.
Show heads to the floor to grab a chair but Alberto dropkicks the knee out and cracks the chair over Show’s back a few times. Then he pounds it into the ribs even more but another huge show is deflected and Show hits a chokeslam for an eight. Del Rio rolls to the floor where Show slams him down onto the floor. Alberto kicks him low and superkicks him to get a nine count.
The Big Bald kind of swats Alberto into the floor before throwing him into a piece of the set. Show misses a superkick into said piece of the set so he whacks Del Rio in the back with a light bulb that doesn’t break. Instead Big Show loads up a table in front of that piece of the set. Show climbs onto the set and pulls Del Rio up onto it with him with one arm. A hip toss/chokeslam through the table (it wasn’t a huge fall) gets nine and Show is ticked off. They head back to the ring but Del Rio heads to the floor to hide from the KO punch. Show follows him out and loads up the steps but can’t hit the champion.
Ricardo tries to jump Big Show but gets thrown into the barricade for his efforts. Show misses a spear and crashes through the barricade for a close nine count. Alberto hits a bunch of chair shots to the back and hits a kind of Conchairto on the shoulder using the steps. Then he sprays Show with a fire extinguisher as Show staggers back inside. Is that really going to keep him down? Back in and the cross armbreaker goes on as Ricardo uses duct tape to tie Show’s legs to the ropes ala Cena vs. Batista. Alberto lets go of the hold and wins the match at 17:00.
Rating: B. Good match here but not as fun or special as their first match. I don’t think most people thought Show was getting the title back here so they had a big mountain to get over. Still though, they did a good job of beating each other up here to set up a kind of goofy ending. I’m not wild on Del Rio having to use something clever to beat Show when he had already beaten him using force before. Still though, solid stuff here.
Striker is with Ziggler, AJ and Langston in the back. Ziggler is going to enter at #1 because he can. Matt says that’s hard to do (remember that Ziggler had to pick #1 or #2, and there’s such a HUGE difference between 1 and 2) so AJ gets in his face. Langston then cracks me up by going into an impersonation of a stereotypical nerdy news reporter asking Ziggler on his thoughts on his chances. Ziggler says he’ll win both titles at Mania. That was awesome by Langston. The others, not so much.
We get a medley of promos from people in the Rumble ala the old days.
Cesaro says he’ll win because he’s foreign.
Young and Titus do their thing.
Orton says he’s winning because he’s awesome.
Cena says what you would expect him to say.
Barrett says he’ll be the first Intercontinental Champion to win the Rumble.
Sheamus says he can win his second in a row because of the Brogue Kick.
Ryback says he isn’t a predator and he doesn’t eat Fruity Pebbles. Just feed him more. He might not be so hungry if he ate Fruity Pebbles.
Tag Titles: Rhodes Scholars vs. HELL NO
The Scholars are getting what is probably their 95th title shot in a few weeks. Bryan and Rhodes start things off with Cody having a leap frog countered into a surfboard. Off to Kane as JBL goes into a mini rant on Dr. Shelby. Kane fights out of the heel corner and slams the now legal Sandow. Bryan comes back in to fire off the kicks as JBL goes off about the hugging on Raw.
Kane kicks Sandow through the ropes and Cody is thrown on top of him. Bryan hits a suicide dive (JBL: “THE FLYING GOAT VEGAN!”) to take out both challengers and the fans seem fired up. Back in and Cody gets in a few shots to take over with a half Boston crab as the announcers talk about 1980s TV. Sandow comes in for the Wind-Up Elbow and some stomping for two. Cody comes back in and gets kicked in the face to take him down. Sandow blocks the hot tag though and brings Cody right back in.
Rhodes hooks an over the shoulder backbreaker for a bit but once the hold is released, Bryan hits a running DDT to take Cody down. Kane finally gets the tag (no reaction) and house is cleaned with Sandow taking a side slam for two. Kane loads up the top rope clothesline (JBL: “That’s a flying taker.”) but Sandow breaks it up. A kind of running swinging neckbreaker gets two for Damien but Cody comes in for a double suplex. Bryan makes a blind tag at the same time though and it’s a chokeslam for Cody and the NO Lock for Sandow for the tap out at 9:30.
Rating: C. Average tag match here, but the booking was pretty dull. To clarify, the Scholars lost every match leading up to the title match, then lost the title match? Well you can’t say one thing doesn’t lead to another I guess. Then again, I would have avoided having the Scholars lose EVERY SINGLE TIME they fought the champions but why would you want to add drama?
Rumble by the Numbers.
Vickie gives HELL NO their numbers for the Rumble. Kane sees Bryan’s and says interesting. Bryan wants to see Kane’s and jokes ensue. Ron Simmons unfortunately doesn’t show up.
We recap Fan Fest which had the NXT tournament.
Royal Rumble
This is earlier than I was expecting. 90 second intervals and Ziggler is #1. He says he’s going to be here at the beginning and at the end. Ziggler doesn’t care who #2 is so he doesn’t mind when……CHRIS JERICHO is #2??? Jericho has a big tattoo on his left arm now and if you remember correctly, Ziggler got Jericho fired last year. Ziggy throws him to the apron but Jericho comes back with a top rope forearm to the head. Jericho clotheslines him to the apron but Ziggler gets right back in. Cody Rhodes is #3 and the double teaming begins.
Ziggler gets knocked down and Cody is put in the Walls, only to be quickly broken up (or down?) by Dolph. Kofi is #4 and Dolph has to duck Trouble in Paradise. Cody and Jericho both try to dump Kofi to no avail and we enter into the lame brawling section. Santino is #5 and throws Cody and Jericho to the apron but no further. The Cobra takes Kofi down but Ziggler superkicks Santino out. The heels double team Kofi but can’t put him out.
Drew McIntyre is #6 and more heel alliances form. Jericho BARELY survives being thrown out by dangling until Titus O’Neal is #7. He picks up Kofi and does the Millions of Dollars dance before hitting him with a backbreaker. McIntyre is sent to the apron and kicked out by Jericho. Ziggler is sent upside down on the ropes but hangs on at the last second. The fans chant for Jericho as Goldust returns at #8.
Goldie goes right for Cody to a big pop and there’s the kneeling uppercut. Cody hangs on to avoid elimination as the fans cheer for Goldust. Otunga is #9 as the ring is getting too full. JBL goes into a weird series of insults to Lawler about how Cole kept beating him which goes nowhere. Heath Slater is #10 as we need someone to come in here and clean some people out. Jericho puts Ziggler onto the apron again but can’t get him out.
Sheamus is #11 and after a bunch of forearms he dumps Titus and Otunga. Slater tries to jump Sheamus resulting in a big heel beatdown. Tensai is #12, giving us Ziggler, Jericho, Rhodes, Slater, Goldust, Kofi, Sheamus and Tensai. Cole talks about Jake Roberts being the first person to eliminate someone in 1998 (you read that right) as people keep fighting by the ropes. Brodus Clay is #13 complete with the Funkadactyls who are rocking some shorts.
There are way too many guys in there at the moment as Goldust sends Rhodes to the apron. Cody pulls his brother to the apron and slides back in where he whips Goldust into the post to eliminate him. Cool sequence there. Rey Mysterio returns (kind of) at #14 in a weird looking low cut singlet. He hits a few 619s and the top rope splash on Jericho but has to fight off Rhodes.
Darren Young is #15 and joins a group of guys to eliminate Brodys. Kofi low bridges Tensai for an elimination. Ziggler knocks Kofi off the apron where he lands on Tensai’s back and is dropped onto the announce table. Kofi teases jumping off the announce table to the ring as the camera stops focusing on the match at all. He asks for JBL’s chair as Bo Dallas is #16. Kofi hops with the chair to get back to the apron and gets back in. Ok, last year it was a cool idea but this took like a minute to work which makes it WAY too much.
Kofi dumps Darren (who looked to injure his knee on the landing) but gets Disaster Kicked out by Cody. Godfather returns at #17 and is dropkicked out in two seconds by Ziggler. Gee I’m so glad they wasted this spot on him. We’ve got Ziggler, Jericho, Rhodes, Sheamus, Dallas, Mysterio, Slater and now Barrett at #18. Barrett and Jericho try to put Sheamus out but Mysterio breaks it up for no apparent reason.
Cody and Barrett are the only ones on their feet as Cena is #19. All of the heels stare him down and it’s a dog pile as he gets into the ring. There goes Slater (immediately checked on by referees) and Rhodes as well but Jericho blocks an AA attempt. Dallas goes after Cena so points to him for trying. Sandow is #20 and Rey tries to rana Barrett to the floor, only to get kicked to the floor. Sheamus goes after Barrett because that’s the law anymore.
Jericho busts out the Walls on Cena but can’t quite hook them. Now he gets them on as Daniel Bryan is #21. There are the kicks for Ziggler and some for Barrett as well. Daniel is the only one on his feet at the moment but he and Sheamus can’t put Jericho out. We get dueling Cena chants as Cesaro is #22. Nothing of note happens so Khali is #23. This is his 7th Rumble which is really surprising. WAY too many people in there again.
Ziggler hits a kind of stunner on Cena as Cesaro tries to put Sheamus out. Kane is #24 and sends Ziggler to the apron for about the 17th time. More people lay around until Zack Ryder is #25. There’s a Rough Ryder for Dolph and Kane dumps Khali. Bryan dumps Kane but Cesaro knocks Bryan right into Kane’s arms. Kane isn’t sure what to do but eventually he drops Bryan to the floor, more or less turning him heel for one night only.
Orton is #26 and fires off a bunch of clotheslines and a powerslam for Ziggler. Bo Dallas manages to stay in, only to be caught in a double Elevated DDT at the same time as Ziggler. Ryder eats and RKO and is gone. Jinder Mahal gets lucky #27 as we now have ten guys in there at once. Cena dumps Cesaro and slingshots Ziggler to the apron but can’t put him out. The Miz is #28 and gets in a fight with Cesaro in the aisle. Apparently Miz has a bad ankle from the pre show match and is limping a bit.
Sheamus knocks Mahal out and Miz hits the Reality Check on Cena. Sin Cara gets #29 and totally misses a kick to Ziggler’s head as he comes in. Sheamus puts Cena on the apron as Bo Dallas pulls Wade Barrett out in a big surprise. Miz and Jericho fight on the apron as Barrett pulls Dallas out of the match. There’s Dallas’ first feud I guess. The Bull Hammer lays Dallas out as well. Ryback gets #30, giving us WAY too many people for me to list at the moment.
Ryback dumps Sandow and Sin Cara and glares at Miz for trying to toss him. There goes Miz and we’re down to six: Jericho, Ziggler, Cena, Sheamus, Orton and Ryback. Jericho fires things up and dropkicks Sheamus to the apron but poses too much and gets superkicked out by Dolph. Orton and Sheamus go at it which is probably a title match at Mania. Ryback goes shoulder first into the post and walks into an RKO as does Cena. RKO to Sheamus and an Elevated DDT to Ryback but there’s no one on their feet to eliminate.
Ryback counters an RKO and clotheslines Orton out. The Brogue Kick knocks out Ziggler at roughly 50 minutes and we’re down to three. It’s Cena, Sheamus and Ryback left and Ryback gets double teamed. Now the two superheroes look at the sign and slug it out. Cena fires off his finishing sequence by Ryback breaks up the Shuffle with a Meathook. Sheamus escapes Shell Shock and hits White Noise on Ryback. The pale one loads up the Brogue Kick but gets dumped out by Ryback.
So we’re down to Cena vs. Ryback and after a catchphrase battle, Cena walks into a spinebuster. There’s the STF to Ryback and the bald one passes out. Cena tries to pick him up but Ryback is dead weight. Cena is fine with that though and sits Ryback on the top, only to get caught in a kind of Thesz Press off the top. Ryback puts him in a kind of powerslam position but Cena escapes and throws him out to win at 54:50.
Rating: C+. I’ve seen worse but this wasn’t the best Rumble or even close to it. The first part was pretty dull stuff after Jericho returned and after that it didn’t pick up for a good while. Cena winning was kind of predictable but that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong choice. I’m really not wild on him facing either Rock or Punk, but maybe he’ll go after the World Heavyweight Championship. Well not likely as that title doesn’t exist at Mania time but it was worth a try.
We recap Rock vs. Punk which means the Divas Title match got scrapped. That’s likely a good idea. Anyway you should know this by now: Punk doesn’t like Rock because he thinks Rock has too much handed to him while Rock got this shot because he won a match nine months ago. The main idea here is that Shield might interfere against Punk’s wishes but if they do, Rock gets the title.
Rock goes on a rant about not getting drafted into the NFL which turns into a longer rant about adversity and his mom having cancer. Oh she’s here tonight. That’s a relief. Anyway, Rock talks about Punk saying the fans don’t count but insists they do. He reaches out his hand ala Dusty Rhodes in Hard Times (look it up) and says tonight he and the fans are one. Good ending to an oddly started promo.
Raw World Title: The Rock vs. CM Punk
Shield attacked Rock on Monday so he has some bad ribs. Rock wins a fast slugout but can’t hit the Rock Bottom. Punk gets knocked to the floor but gets in a shot to Rocky to slow him up. The champ (Punk) loads up the Spanish announce table….and then puts it right back where he found it. Well at least Mama Punk taught him well. Rock sends Punk into the barricade so Heyman hits him in the back. Heyman: “MOMMY!” CM comes back and messes with the table again before we head back inside.
Punk hooks a bodyscissors to slow things down and knees Rock in the stomach for two. Off to something like the cousin of the Anaconda Vice before Rock comes back with some right hands. Punk will have none of that as he leg lariats Rock right back down. Rock gets draped over the top rope as we get a dueling catchphrase chant (Knees 2 Faces and Rock’s version of the same line).
Punk fires off a kick to send Rock to the floor but he might have hurt his knee in the process. He goes up top and hits a forearm to the head but hurts his knee again in the process. The suicide dive keeps Rock down as they seem to be in second gear or so here. Back in and Punk misses the springboard clothesline so Rock goes after the bad knee for the first time. Both finishers are blocked as is the Sharpshooter but Punk counters into the Vice.
In a smart move, Rock rolls over into a cover so Punk has to leg go to escape. A DDT puts Punk down for no cover but Punk rolls through the Rock Bottom. Now the Sharpshooter is hooked but Punk finally makes a rope. Rock loads up the announce table but doesn’t set it back like Punk did. If nothing else, Punk wins the manners battle. Punk gets placed on the table but escapes with a kick to the face. A GTS is countered into the Rock Bottom but the table collapses underneath them. Rock is holding his knee but pulls off a Rock Bottom on the floor, presumably to buy some time.
That gets two back inside and Rock’s knee seems ok. That’s a good sign. Rock picks Punk up but gets caught by the high kick to put both guys down. A slugout goes to the Great One and there’s the flying clothesline to set up the spinebuster. Rock loads up the People’s Elbow….and there go the lights.
We can hear something happening at the announce table and flashes of light show the Shield. Rock is put through the announce table but the referee didn’t see it so the match doesn’t end. DOES VINCE NOT WATCH THESE SHOWS??? Punk is all like “oh dear what an unfortunate turn of events.” He insists he has nothing to do with the Shield and rolls Rock back in….for the pin at 21:30.
Rating: B. Good stuff here but they didn’t hit their stride until the middle of the match. The Shield stuff is pretty stupid if it stands as Vince isn’t stupid enough (kayfabe of course) to let it go. Rock looked like his usual self but this was nowhere near as good as Cena vs. Rock at Wrestlemania. It’s good, but it’s not great.
Thankfully Vince comes out and says not so fast my friend. He says that he saw the Shield so as Chairman he has to….be cut off by Rock. Rock says Vince doesn’t take the title from Punk because that’s what Rock is here for. He wants the match restarted and Vince says do it. Punk immediately stomps Rock down in the corner and hits the running knee. There’s the Macho Elbow for two more as the fans are getting into this. The GTS is escaped and there’s the People’s Elbow for the pin and the title at 26:47. There was only about two minutes of extra stuff so the old rating stays, but MAN that was a fast ending for Punk’s reign.
Overall Rating: A-. This was a pretty awesome show but the ending was kind of sketchy. Anyway, Rock vs. Cena II is set up, presumably with Punk getting his rematch next month. I’m not wild on the way Punk lost the title as it wasn’t even to the Rock Bottom. I mean, if he can spinebust Punk can’t he hit the Rock Bottom? Either way, good stuff here and I can’t say I’m complaining about Rock winning the title again. Very good but not excellent show here.
Results
Alberto Del Rio b. Big Show – Big Show couldn’t answer the ten count
HELL NO b. Rhodes Scholars – NO Lock
John Cena won the Royal Rumble last eliminating Ryback
The Rock b. CM Punk – People’s Elbow
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews
I don’t have a problem with the Rock becoming the champ. I just think they should have waited till elimination chamber. If the let Punk beat the Rock at the Rumble,it pretty much makes Punk untouchable for the rest of his career. Instead they make Punk look weak as hell by letting him get pinned by the People’s Elbow?!?! At least make him get pinned by the Rock Bottom. This is just one man’s opinion. I am sure I will be ripped apart by everyone here. Haha.
Cena and Taker have never done it at Mania? Christ on a Cow that must happen asap.
There have been some horror show Rumbles over the years, this one was decent, which makes it good.
Is Punk v Del Rio a viable feud/Mania option?
Also, the comments about Rock being the mega-draw fit in with how he won. This is like Hogan v Savage. It’s a great battle, but Hogan goes over superclean and finished with authority. Punks got a looooong way to go in pure drawing terms. Rock needs to be mega strong for Cena/Taker. The Elbow needed to finish it. Buyrates people, Buyrates. This whole reign was set up so Rock could beat him and gain momentum for Mania. Probably.
Punk vs. Del Rio would work I think as a Smackdown title match, but there are a lot of other people that could get that title shot instead.
You must be a real killer at parties, eh?
Sometimes Predictable is not a bad thing.
How does a solid show get such a high rating for merely being solid? If it did it’s job but had nothing overly spectacular shouldn’t it be more suited to a B and not something in the A range?
Good read as always.
Not really. Sometimes going with what is expected, which is what this show did, is the right move.
I wasn’t trying to say it was too predictable, I could care less if it was predictable as long as it made sense and was satisfying for the viewers. I was just going off the basis where just meeting the requirements for it to be a good show doesn’t necessarily qualify it as being a GREAT show but that may be a clash of opinion that can’t be changed.
I wouldn’t call it a great show either. It was better than above average though.
BEST! RUMBLE! EVER! A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sorry couldn’t resist doing it one more time.
I really have no issue with Rock winning with the People’s Elbow. Its not the first time he’s won the Title with it. Good Show overall,the Rumble was fun,both Title Matches were solid,and the Tag Title Match was decent.
If they’re doing ANYTHING @ 30 it’s gonna be Cena-Taker and (maybe) Rock/Brock.
HHH ISN’T WRESTLING ANYBODY WITH THAT RIDICULOUS HAIRCUT. Only Taker can pull that shit off. The Summerslam 2012 match was a build up to Lesnar-Taker, NOT HHH-LESNAR II….. If HHH went over, why would anybody wanna see Lesnar-Taker @ 30 anyways ?
Do you read what you type? Who WOULDN’T want to see Lesnar-Taker at 30? HHH going over Lesnar, in a match that won’t happen, wouldn’t kill Lesnar at all. Lesnar and Taker have some bad blood, as evidenced by the UFC event Taker was interviewed at where he argued with Lesnar. Lesnar was a former UFC champion, and Taker is undefeated at WM. Sounds like a great match that would draw amazingly.
Yeah but you’ve got also think who wouldn’t want to see Cena vs Taker at Mania 30?
Evan says:
“if they’re doing ANYTHING @ 30 it’s gonna be Cena-Taker and (maybe) Rock/Brock.
HHH ISN’T WRESTLING ANYBODY WITH THAT RIDICULOUS HAIRCUT. Only Taker can pull that shit off. The Summerslam 2012 match was a build up to Lesnar-Taker, NOT HHH-LESNAR II….. If HHH went over, why the heck would anybody wanna see Lesnar-Taker @ 30 anyways ?”
You were a little off brother. Instead we got the 3 match series between Lesnar and H that no one wanted to see.
I’m laughing at all of the Rock haters. You guys have no idea how big of a draw Rock was for Wrestlemania last year. Do I agree with the booking for it? No, not really. It was too far in advance, and the Elbow hurts Punk’s credibility, but at the end of the day, Rock is, and always will be, a bigger draw than Punk could ever dream. Punk’s reign was amazing while it lasted, but Rock is going to draw at Wrestlemania. At the end of the day, WWE cares about the money. It doesn’t care about the fans or anything else. The Rock give them more money than Punk does. Quit being a smark saying “Punk should have won because he’s a better wrestler”. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. But you guys really need to chill out. I agree with KB’s A- 100%. While the matches themselves weren’t the greatest, and the Rumble was below-average, the booking makes perfect sense. It allows Del Rio to move on (hopefully) to a new feud for WM. It makes Cena vs. Rock II. It helps move The Shield forward. It frees Punk up for his rumored match with Lesnar. Instead of bitching about Punk losing, look on the bright side. This is building up to be a great WM.
He will be. If you can’t see Lesnar-Taker happening from a mile away you’d be blind. That leaves Punk with one thing and one thing only ; The main event. Punk’s character revolves around having that belt.
I’d actually expect Lesnar-HHH…
But even if it were Lesnar-Taker, what’s to say Punk doesn’t have a match with someone like Ryback or Sheamus?
I hope not. I’m planning on going to Wrestlemania 30 which might be Lesnar vs. Taker.
Even though it’s obvious that Cena vs Rock is going to be the main event, Would you like it if Punk was added to the match?
Allow me to answer this, no!
As someone who loathes triple threats and hates them even more at Mania, not at all.
LOL – 2 C-, 1 B = A- show?? Really how??
Well first of all it was
B
C
C+
B
If you’re going to insult my ratings at least get them right.
Second, it was a solid show overall with the big matches being solid all around. It’s not a masterpiece or even a great show but it did what it was supposed to do: started us towards Wrestlemania.
Well, since Hunter probably isn’t going to Wrestle @ Mania with DAT hair, and Punk has a legitimate case that he should have won that match, it’s going to look like this @ Mania ;
Rock-Cena-Punk
Lesnar-Taker W/ HHH as referee
Seriously, Trips is involved in ALL OF TAKER’S SHENANIGANS these days, and it only makes sense to capitalize on the real life bad blood between the two. Punk gets his WM main event so that the NY crowd doesn’t shit all over Rock-Cena II, Cena gets the title back, and Taker-Lesnar steals the show again. AWESOME.
That’s what I see as well Evan. I’m not the biggest fan of back to back Mania rematches. The way Punk has been built up in the last year it’s hard to see him not involved in the WWE championship.
Also, in reference to the elbow, Hogan jobbed to the elbow.
Just like Austin, HHH, Undertaker, Foley and probably a bunch of other names I’m forgetting.
True, but Hogan’s a dick. If he agreed to job to the elbow it should be fine for anyone.
Disappointing in a way that we had to sit through six months of shit to get to the predictable out come. I feel it would of been much better if the title match was announced i don’t know 4-6 weeks ago so that the shit between August – December (well more after Night Of Champions – December) wouldn’t of been so dull.
Yeah I’m not a fan of these matches being announced that far in advance. I didn’t like it with Cena and I don’t like it now.
Cole and JBL were both great tonight, they should consider adding JBL as third wheel on Raw fulltime. Loved the oldschool backstage promos, loved the Jericho surprise, and seeing the Godfather will always make me smile. It’s also CRAZY seeing Rock as champ, imagine that thought two years ago.
Oh, and Big E Langston is going to be a star.
It was a good show results were predictable.
klunderbunker
So why did so many people buy it when Rock was in the main event and not CM Punk? Rock is a huge draw, Punk isn’t. It’s really that simple.
This is incorrect, it’s Wrestlemania it will draw regardless. I still don’t understand why you don’t like punk. He is very much is a draw. People want something new and he’s it. They don’t want to see Cena, Rock, 2 you admitted it yourself. Why not try something new? No risks are taken anymore
You’re really not that good at this.
1. Wrestlemania does indeed draw. Rock in the main event drew more money than any Mania ever. Rock wins.
2. No risks are taken? So you wouldn’t call putting a guy with one match in ten years in the main event of Wrestlemania a risk? What exactly do you classify as a risk?
3. What makes you think Punk is a draw? This should be interesting.
lol you don’t need to be insulting.
1. Wrestlemania has always and will always draw. Am i saying put 3mb in the main event no. However the notion that one match or indeed one person is responsible for a show success is laughable. If you say that the rock is the sole reason for that show’s success then he could have wrestled anybody.
2. No I wouldn’t considering it’s not some random guy off the street but The rock who had a wrestling career. A risk would be trying some new stars so you have a business 10 years from now. Grow a new crop
3. People pay to see him wrestle, thus he’s a draw. I’m just not foolish enough to think that he or anybody else is solely responsible for the success or failure for that matter of wrestlemania or any show.
I enjoy your writing, I just don’t agree with it all the time.
have a nice day:)
LOL KB doesn’t like Punk??? Read his earlier reviews around when Punk first started to around his shoot promo.
While I agree that the Rock = Money he didn’t need to win the championship. He’s going to be on the mania card in a big match either way and will draw.
Or they could take him and make the title seem more important again, which is one of its biggest criticisms no?
Of course the title is important. I’ve always believed the title is important. I just think that Punk(C) vs Cena vs Rock would be a much better mania match.
Would have much rather seen the elbow countered with a GTS attempt.. Of course leading to another counter into the Rock bottom for the pin, eh? 434 days and punk loses to an elbow… Riiiiiight
I wasn’t wild on the Elbow ending it either. That was kind of lame.
Can’t lie, for a brief second I hoped Lesnar would interfere after the restart. Next best way to keep the title on Punk without him
Going over Rock clean, which definitely wasn’t happening
Way to high of a rating. Rock match and Rumble were bad. I don’t see at all how this could be an A level show.
The matches weren’t bad. The Rumble was a bit weak but it certainly wasn’t bad.
Sorry KB 2 B’s and C+ doesn’t = A- to me. It was good sure but I think when you do a redo this will will be WAY down like other events you reviewed again. Deserves about a B.
Nothing bad, a bunch of solid matches, logical booking, some decent returns. That sounds like a very solid show to me.
Not ragging on the review at all but I think it’s just because the show is new and fresh after a 2nd viewing the quality will sink big I think. That is all.
Very possible indeed. It’s happened before.
The Rock doesn’t need to win the WWE Championship. He’s only a part-timer. I would of had the shield take out Vince at the end of that segment.
Not if you want people to buy Wrestlemania.
People are going to buy Mania regardless if the rock has the championship or not.
So why did so many people buy it when Rock was in the main event and not CM Punk? Rock is a huge draw, Punk isn’t. It’s really that simple.