Royal Rumble 2014: The Night The Crowd Died
Royal Rumble 2014
Date: January 26, 2014
Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler
Tonight marks the official start of the Road to Wrestlemania. We’re ten weeks away from the biggest show of the year and barring some surprising changes, the main event will be set in place tonight. The odds on favorite for the Rumble would seem to be Batista, but for the life of me I can’t imagine anyone but Daniel Bryan winning it. He isn’t entered yet, but there are about ten slots left open. Give him a late number and listen to the roof blow off the place. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust
Cody and Goldust are defending and lost a non-title match to the Outlaws to set this up. Road Dogg starts with Cody and is taken down by a quick shoulder block. Back up and Roadie hits his shaky fist but has to duck the Disaster Kick. Gunn comes in off the tag but is quickly sent to the floor for a top rope clothesline as we take a break. Back with Road Dogg dropping a knee on Goldust for two and putting on a chinlock.
Goldust fights back up and a double clothesline puts both guys down. Billy breaks up a tag attempt as the announcers brag about how Gunn hasn’t aged a bit since the 90s. For 50 years old the guys is in good shape. Goldust finally makes the hot tag and Cody speeds things up, including a double springboard missile dropkick to put both Outlaws down. Cross Rhodes lays out Road Dogg but Billy saves at two. Billy comes in off a blind tag as Cody hits the Disaster Kick to Roadie, setting up the Fameasser for the pin and the titles at 6:30.
Rating: C. I was surprised here. Not only was this not the result I was expecting, but the match was better than I thought it was going to be. The Brothers had been on one heck of a roll since the fall, but this likely leads into the Authority being corrupt storyline. That doesn’t make sense given that the Outlaws just won the match clean, but I’m assuming that’s the idea.
The opening video focuses on a countdown and how the Road to Wrestlemania begins tonight.
We recap Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt. Daniel joined the Wyatt Family a few weeks ago but only lasted two weeks in the group before turning on Bray in the huge face turn, despite him barely ever being a heel. Tonight is the showdown we’ve been waiting for.
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt
The Family is with Bray here, despite the idea of the match being that they’re not supposed to be here. Daniel fires off kicks to the leg and takes Bray down with a running knee but Bray gets in a shot of his own to take over. The Wyatts get in a few blows of their own and are ejected, with Bray saying he doesn’t need them to fight this war. Back in and Daniel gets in some kicks to the leg and a high cross body for two, only to be sent to the floor. Bray misses a charge into the steps and injures his knee again, giving Bryan the opening he’s been needing.
Daniel hooks something resembling an Indian Deathlock before stomping Bray’s face into the mat for two. They slug it out on the apron with the fans chanting YES/NO in time. Bray headbutts Daniel to stagger him and wrings his arm down onto the apron to take over. Back in and Bray is in serious mode now. We hit the chinlock but Daniel quickly fights up with forearms, only to be backdropped to the floor.
The annoying fans chant Jerry Lawler as Bray rams Daniel’s head into the post and drives in forearms for good measure. A running senton backsplash has Daniel in even more trouble and Bray asks the fans why they don’t help him. Bray catapults Daniel throat first into the ropes and we hit another chinlock. Wyatt does his spider walk out of the corner and the announcers of course laugh at Linda Blair jokes. He stays on Daniel’s neck with another chinlock but Daniel gets in a shot to the head and shakes the ropes before firing off even more strikes.
A drop toehold sends Bray into the middle buckle and there are the YES Kicks to the chest and leg. Daniel hooks a hurricanrana from the middle rope to send the big man flying but he’s out at two. Now the fans are into it by saying this is awesome and there’s the moonsault in the corner. Daniel loads up the clothesline but thankfully Bray knows what’s coming and hits a running elbow to stop Bryan’s comeback.
Bray misses a charge and falls to the floor, allowing Bryan to hit a running tornado DDT off the apron. Awesome looking move. There’s the running dropkick to knock Bray into the barricade and the missile dropkick puts him down back inside. Now the real YES Kicks have Bray in even more trouble as the fans are going nuts. The big kick to the head gets two and Daniel loads up the running dropkicks in the corner but Bray clotheslines him inside out for a very near fall.
Sister Abigail is countered into a rollup for two and there’s the YES Lock but Bray bites the hand for the break. Bray’s superplex is countered with headbutts and Daniel hits a top rope splash to crush Wyatt. Daniel loads up the running knee but Bray bails to the floor. Bryan dives at him with the FLYING GOAT but Bray catches him in midair and hits a wicked Sister Abigail into the barricade. Sister Abigail connects for the pin at 21:37.
Rating: A. Well that was awesome. This was a good example of a match where both guys could look great and only one could win. Daniel losing here isn’t a bad thing as he could still come back later and win the Rumble to make up for this. Both guys look better coming out of this and Bray was the one that needed the win more. As soon as he loses, a lot of his mystique is gone. Outstanding match here and something Bray needed.
The expert panel (HBK, Flair, Duggan) are impressed. Shawn seems fine after his fight with Bryan a few weeks ago.
Paul Heyman says Brock wants a title shot and talks about how great Big Show is. It doesn’t matter though as Brock is going to destroy him and then take over the WWE.
We recap Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar. Show doesn’t like Lesnar and is tired of him being a bully so tonight he’s standing up to him. He also stuffed a Lesnar takedown attempt on Raw earlier this week to show how strong he was.
Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show
For once this is under regular rules. Brock takes him down before the bell like an MMA fight and just mauls Big Show before blasting him over and over with a chair. More chair shots put Show on the mat as Jerry butchers history, saying Big Show gave Brock his first loss at the 2002 Royal Rumble (it was the 2002 Survivor Series). Show is beaten down even more with chair shot after chair shot. The bell still hasn’t rung.
The referee runs from Brock and Big Show says ring the bell. Brock comes at him with the chair but walks into the KO Punch which knocks Lesnar silly. He rolls to the floor and Big Show throws him around with ease. Back in and Brock ducks another KO Punch and gets caught in the F5. Lesnar WALKS AROUND WITH BIG SHOW ON HIS SHOULDERS and hits the biggest F5 you’ll ever see, making it more like an AA, for the pin at 2:05.
Post match Brock destroys him with even more chair shots, each one louder than the last. He bends two chairs over Show’s back so he goes to get a third and beats on Show’s leg. Show is left in a heap after what was much more of a segment than a match.
The Shield won’t tell each other their numbers. Rollins says the only number that matters is three.
Randy Orton says he’ll beat John Cena tonight and send him to the back of the line. Renee Young mentions Batista, Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt wanting title shots. Orton: “Bray Wyatt? He’s a Duck Dynasty reject.” The crowd laughs as Orton says it’s not John Cena’s night.
We get a LONG recap of John Cena vs. Randy Orton. Randy beat him at TLC for the Undisputed Title in a TLC match but tonight it’s one fall with no stipulations. On top of that Orton attacked Cena’s father a few weeks ago on Raw to make it personal.
WWE Title: Randy Orton vs. John Cena
We’re ready to go after the big match intros. The fans chant for Daniel Bryan and then that the match is boring. Cena takes him down with a headscissors and the chant shifts to the usual dueling Cena chants. Orton grabs a headlock and suplexes Cena down as the chants go to WE WANT ANGLE and Randy Savage. There’s a Y2J chant…..AND CENA TRIES FOR A LIONTAMER! It shifts the chants to Undertaker as Orton suplexes Cena back inside for two.
The fans think it’s boring as we’re in a chinlock less than five minutes into the match. They head outside with Cena being sent into the steps as the crowd is restless again. Back to the Bryan chant and Orton actually shouts that he’s the champion and not Bryan. A nice DDT puts Cena down for two and the fans think both guys suck. Cena comes back with an electric chair for two and the shoulder blocks followed by the ProtoBomb. Orton counters the Shuffle with the powerslam but Cena comes back with his half nelson slam into a neckbreaker for two of his own.
Cena loads up the top rope Fameasser but first has to block a superplex attempt before connecting for two. Orton throws him to the apron but Cena backdrops him to the floor to counter the Elevated DDT. The crowd has calmed down a bit now. Orton comes right back with the Elevated DDT on the floor and holds a finger to his ear for the crowd. Back inside and the RKO is countered into the STF as the crowd just does not care, probably because they know a title match isn’t ending less than fifteen minutes in.
Randy crawls over to the rope and gets in a shot to the head for a breather on the floor. Back in and Cena grabs another ProtoBomb followed by the Shuffle but Orton grabs the rope to block the AA. The referee gets bumped and there’s the STF, making Randy tap but there’s no referee. Randy hits him in the face with the belt for two as the doctor revives the referee.
The fans think this is awful as an AA gets two for John. An RKO gets the same and the fans still don’t buy that the match is ending yet. Orton poses as the fans say they want Divas. With nothing else to do, Orton puts Cena in the STF but Cena is quickly out and has Orton in a Crossface. That’s countered into a rollup for two and Orton hits an AA (done more like Cena used to do it without going down) for two more.
Cena of course hits an RKO for two of his own before loading up the middle rope AA, only to have Orton get free pretty quickly. A tornado DDT puts Orton down and sets up the STF in the middle of the ring….and cue the Wyatts. Cena chases them off but walks into the RKO for the pin at 20:53. Orton was surprised by the Wyatts being there.
Rating: B. The worst part about the crowd: the match was good. Trading finishers was something new for these guys, which is impressive as they’ve had about a dozen matches on PPV alone. The Wyatts interfering would seem to set up Cena vs. Wyatt at Mania, which is interesting to say the least. Good stuff here, as the show continues to rock.
Cena is destroyed as Orton bails. Bray hits Sister Abigail after shouting BEHOLD THE CREATORS OF THE NEW WORLD.
The New Age Outlaws tell Renee Young to put some more onto their intro. We look at the end of the preshow match and it’s a new record for longest time between title reigns at 14 years. They have two words for Renee: new champs.
We even get old school Rumble promos!
Miz will do whatever it takes to headline Wrestlemania again.
The Usos say only one can win and go to Wrestlemania.
Langston is ready.
Fandango wants to go to the Big Dance.
Batista: “Exactly.”
Sandow says insanity means trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. He won’t make them again.
Ryback says his unlimited energy takes him to Wrestlemania.
Rey Mysterio says he’ll shock the world again.
Back to the expert panel. Shawn picks Shield or Punk. Flair picks Batista. Duggan picks…..Dolph Ziggler?
Royal Rumble
90 second entrants this year and it’s Punk at #1 and Rollins at #2. Punk takes him back into the corner to start but Rollins puts him onto the top, only to be elbowed in the head. Punk comes back with strikes but Rollins just punches him into the face. A kick to Seth’s ribs slows him down but he avoids a big kick to the face and hits a running dropkick. There’s a running forearm in the corner but Punk comes back with the running knee. He calls for the GTS but gets caught by an enziguri. Punk kicks him in the face and both guys are down as Damien Sandow is in at #3.
Sandow goes right for Punk as Rollins gets a breather. Punk gets double teamed but comes back with a neckbreaker to Rollins/DDT to Sandow combo to put both guys down. He tries to throw Rollins out but Sandow breaks it up. Cody Rhodes is in at #4, meaning people from earlier in the night can be in as well. He hits a quick Cross Rhodes on Damien but Seth prevents an elimination. Sandow charges at Punk and is backdropped out to get us back to three.
Rollins gets double teamed but Kane is #5, wrestling in black dress pants. He goes right after Punk and stomps him down in the corner before hitting a nice side slam. Punk blocks the chokeslam with a high kick and throws Kane out with relative ease. Alexander Rusev, a Bulgarian monster from NXT, is in at #6. He immediately starts cleaning house but only throws Cody and Rollins to the apron. Alexander picks up Punk and throws him around with a fallaway slam and it’s Jack Swagger at #7.
Jack charges to the ring and hits a quick Vader Bomb on Rollins and Cody as the ring is filling up a bit. We get a showdown between Rusev and Swagger and the fans chant USA. Rusev takes over with a clothesline and a charge in the corner but Rollins takes Alexander’s leg out and it’s a triple team with everyone not named Punk stomping the Bulgarian. The fans are WAY into this.
Kofi Kingston is in at #8 and you can feel the big save coming. He rolls into the ring and immediately punches Punk down but can’t throw him out. Cody hits the Disaster Kick on Swagger as Kofi goes after Rusev, who he’s been feuding with in NXT. Swagger has Rollins upside down in the corner but can’t get him out. Jimmy Uso is in at #9 and hits a quick Bubba Bomb on Rollins and gets in shots on everyone else. Punk headbutts Jimmy and we get some good old fashioned racial sterotypes as it has no effect.
Goldust is in at #10, giving us a group of Punk, Rollins, Rhodes, Kingston, Rusev, Swagger and Uso. He takes Rollins down with some right hands and hits the kneeling uppercut on Jimmy. Rusev punches the paint off Goldie’s face to stop his momentum and eveyrone gangs up on Alexander again. We need some eliminations here. A big group of about five people get Rusev out in a showing that could have gone longer.
Kofi is knocked to the apron and into Rusev’s arms, so he lays him on the barricade and drives knees into Kingston’s back. Kofi stands up on the barricade and tightropes across before jumping ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE APRON in an incredible athletic display. Ambrose (coming through the entrance) is in at #11. He goes right for Kofi and then Punk as Swagger is in big trouble but gets back inside. Things slow down a bit as Goldust slides back in under the ropes. Dolph Ziggler returns at #12.
Ziggler speeds things up by pounding on everyone but is put on the apron in just a few seconds. The ring is really getting full as we need a monster to clear it out. Instead we get R-Truth at #13 but is double teamed by the two Shield members. They toss him to the apron and Ambrose kicks him out with ease. Jimmy goes up but gets kicked in the head, allowing Ambrose to shove him out as well. Kofi is on the apron but has to block a boot from Swagger. He holds onto it so long that he’s literally hanging in by his feet and pulls Jack’s boot off.
Kevin Nash of all people is in at #14, giving us a group of Punk, Rollins, Nash, Ziggler, Ambrose, Goldust, Swagger, Rhodes and Kingston. Nash puts out Swagger as soon as he gets in but has to deal with Shield. Things slow down again and it’s Roman Reigns in at #15 to put the entire Shield in the match. There’s a spear to Cody and a headbutt to Nash’s chest. Roman catches Trouble in Paradise and throws Kofi out but shrugs off the Zig Zag and hits a GREAT spear on Ziggler for a quick elimination.
Nash is low bridged out by Reigns as well as the ring is rapidly emptying out. Goldust and Cody go after Reigns but Rollins makes a save. Great Khali is in at #16 and Shield is on him as he comes in. The giant shoves all of them down but a Superman Punch knocks him into the ropes, allowing all three of them to put Khali out. Goldust, Punk and Rhodes pair off with the three guys but Cody is sent to the floor, only to be accidentally knocked out by his brother. Reigns dumps Goldust and we’re down to Punk vs. Shield.
Things even up a lot as Sheamus returns at #17. Shield is right on him but the pale one fights them off and gets them all in different corners. There are the ten forearms to Ambrose’s chest with the last one being to the exposed chest. An Irish Curse puts Rollins down and a Brogue Kick knocks Reigns silly. Sheamus stands tall but Reigns is dead weight. Rollins and Ambrose double team Sheamus and it’s Miz at #18, giving us Shield, Punk, Sheamus and Miz.
Everyone pairs off again but they all wind up in one corner. Punk has been down for a long time now but is likely just getting a breather. The clock is going very fast tonight as Fandango is in at #19. Shield swarms Sheamus as Fandango goes after Miz. Punk is still down in the corner. The fans want Daniel Bryan but get El Torito at #20. As in the little guy in the white bull costume.
Naturally he beats up a few guys but Punk gives him a look that channels Miz by saying “really?” Punk grabs him by the head but gets caught in a freaking hurricanrana. Fandango runs him over (JBL: “PETA is going to be mad. I head Mantaur is his grandfather.”) but gets hurricanranaed to the apron and dropkicked out by the bull. Torito dives on Reigns like an idiot though and is LAUNCHED onto Fandango for his sixth elimination. We’re back to Miz, Sheamus and Punk vs. Shield.
Cesaro is in at #21 and picks Miz up for a quick Cesaro Swing. Punk gets one as well but Rollins and Ambrose break it up. Cesaro rams them into each other and swings Rollins until it’s Luke Harper at #22. Reigns spears Cesaro down as things slow again. Rollins and Cesaro slug it out and Jey Uso is in at #23, giving us Shield, Sheamus, Miz, Jey, Punk, Cesaro and Harper. Speaking of Cesaro and Harper, they have a big power slugout with Harper kicking Cesaro’s head off to take over.
JBL of all people is in at #24 to a BIG pop and comes in wearing a full suit and tie. He yells at Cole to come take his coat, allowing Reigns to throw him out with ease. That’s #7 for Reigns. Erick Rowan is in at #25 and teams up with Harper to dump Miz, leaving us Shield, the Wyatt Family, Miz, Punk, Sheamus, Cesaro and Jey Uso. Jey is kicked out by Harper and Shield stares down the Wyatts as Ryback is in at #26. Everyone brawls and Alberto Del Rio is #27.
Nothing much happens until Batista is in for the big cleanup spot at #28. He’s in very short shorts instead of trunks but still looks good. He clotheslines Rowan out and it’s showdown time with Ryback. They slug it out and Cesaro has to dive out of the way of a launched Batista. Ryback is backdropped out by Big Dave but Del Rio clips Batista and kicks him in the head. Batista easily picks Alberto up and tosses him out though, right before Big E. Langston is in at #29.
Langston starts with a nice belly to belly on Batista and a series of backbreakers to Sheamus. The fans start chanting YES as the clock is ticking down. #30 is…….Rey Mysterio, completely letting the air out of the arena. The final group is Punk, Shield, Harper, Sheamus, Cesaro, Mysteiro, Langston and Batista. Rey and Rollins try to eliminate each other but neither go out. Sheamus knocks out Langston to get us down to ten but the fans just do not care now.
Rollins tosses Mysterio to a pop because he’s not who the fans wanted to see. Rollins and Ambrose stomp Sheamus down in the corner and get Harper to the apron but Reigns Superman Punches him out. Ambrose tries to get rid of Reigns but can’t quite do it, triggering an argument. Cesaro goes after both of them so Reigns dumps Cesaro, Rollins and Ambrose, which ties Kane’s record of eleven. His reward is a spinebuster as we’re down to four: Punk, Batista, Sheamus and Reigns.
Make that three as Kane comes in and pulls Punk out before chokeslamming him through the table. The final three are Reigns, Batista and Sheamus who are all down as the fans chant for Mysterio. Everyone slowly gets back up and the fans boo this out of the building. This would be Sheamus’ third straight final three by the way. Batista breaks up a spear to Sheamus as the NO chants begin. Sheamus rewards him with the Regal Roll but Batista ducks the Brogue Kick.
A backdrop puts Sheamus on the apron and Reigns dumps him for the record at 12 eliminations. Batista thinks he dumps Reigns but Roman slides back in as we’re down to two. Roman unzips the vest and stares Batista down as the fans are somewhat into this. They slug it out with Reigns taking over but Batista comes back with a spear. The fans are COMPLETELY behind Reigns here as he spears Batista right back. He’s all fired up….but Batista easily throws him out for the win at 55:10, letting the air out of the arena again.
Rating: B. It was a really good Rumble, but man alive if that crowd reaction doesn’t change something, nothing is going to. I’ve been watching wrestling my entire life and I have never ever heard a crowd just go silent like they did when Mysterio came out. I mean they just DIED. Batista was destined to win this thing, even though he was the completely wrong pick. Reigns looks like a STAR here but needed the win to cement it. Batista just was not the right pick here, but you knew it was coming the entire time.
The fans are not pleased as a lot of fireworks go off to end the show.
Overall Rating: A. Very ticked off crowd to say the least, this was an outstanding show. Everything was either good to excellent with only the world title match being a step below the rest. Raw tomorrow night is going to be VERY interesting as they’re either going to change a lot of stuff or have the worst crowd reaction to a Wrestlemania of all time. I had an awesome night with this show, but Batista should not have gotten that win, period.
I’ll have more in depth thoughts and analysis on the Rumble tomorrow after it’s had a better chance to process.
Results
Bray Wyatt b. Daniel Bryan – Sister Abigail
Brock Lesnar b. Big Show – F5
Randy Orton b. John Cena – RKO
Batista won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating Roman Reigns
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Minus the last ten minutes or so I enjoyed the Royal Rumble overall. I did not want Batista winning either and it was the wrong call. The rest of the Show was good especially Bryan/Bray Wyatt,Cena/Orton,and Brock looking like a beast. I was cheering for Roman Reigns at the end and I see him being a Main Eventer very soon.
no, guys like el torito aren’t in the rumble match every year, guys like JBL are, and that was fine but you waste a spot on a dumb midget comedy angle when you already have one in there is just dumb, that spot could have been jake the snake or Y2J or daniel bryan. such a waste.
Guys like El Torito are in the match every year, every Rumble has a few comedy bits. Foley is none too pleased with the lack of DB last night, he even cursed! And I don’t believe he does that.
Heres just a few of my random observations after I’ve slept on it The final 3 guys in the Rumble were the big muscled up ones and the crowd only cared about one of them. ( Yeah Vince! !!!)
The guy that won it had been back 6 days, got booed out of the building when he won and preceeded to flip pff the crowd when the cameras went off the air, and is allegedly a face (Def the guy u want winning your newly unified world title at the end of the biggest show ever)
The most over guy the company has had for years was in the opener and never seen again. The face of the company is now in a fued with a guy thats been aroun for 6 months or so and will face him in a mid card match at the biggest show of all time. (Seems more like a Summerslam program to me)
And unless something changes the main event for the biggest show ever will be two of HHH’s apprentices, the guys he hand picked 10 years ago and have never had the ability to put on a good program together.
While it may sound like the fans have been screaming Daniel Bryan and Yes Yes Yes, They are actually chanting Evolution and and Evolution logo is put on the Titantron three times, thus causing the fans to chant Yes each time.
Vince and HHH’s opinions > The collective WWE fan base
At the end of the show I actually said to myself I’d take Rock Cena 3 over Batista Orton, and I was wishing WCW was still around.
And after he flipped off our crowd, he mocked us from the entrance ramp with Yes! chants.
What a class act.
Wwe authority is going to get their ass whipped by vince for royal rumble i think.
In wrestlemania Taker vs. Bryan and bryan breaks taker’s streak that would be awesome!
The crowd reactions cannot be ignored. As soon as the Wyatt’s appeared in the title match I thought ‘we’ll if Cena isn’t headlining mania, then Bryan is’
Then Bryan didn’t show.
Batista vs. Orton CANNOT headline Mania. Have Bryan challenge Batista for the title shot at EC, or win the chamber and defend against Batista. He HAS to be involved in something huge this year and that does not mean a victory over Sheamus.
KB, usually i agree with your ratings but you’re way off the mark with the rumble this year, the matches leading up to were fine but the rumble itself was terrible. They stack the beginning with up and comers leaving no choice but to make some ppl look weak when they could be looking stronger ( damian sandow anyone? ) the put EL TORRITO into the rumble match, absolutely wasting a spot that could have gone to any number of up and comers or legends ( Jake the Snake anyone??? ) and to top it all off, Daniel Bryan isn’t even in the rumble?!?!?! what in the holy heck was that?! i hope whomever made that suggestion to vince gets canned because thats an idiot move, Bryan should have won the rumble and he wasn’t even in the damn thing. WWE needs to start listening to their fans again or they won’t have much of a future.
Guys like Torito hvae been done time after time. One year they had all three announcers in. That’s nothing new.
Not to mention the Santino Foley showdown, etc. There’s always a comedy/throwaway element designated to pop the crowd, which JBL did.
And we didn’t pop for much with regards to the Rumble.
This to me would be like the 1998 Royal Rumble. All eyes are on Austin because that’s what the people want, but he got taken down for the bounty and instead and Sid pops up to win it.
I’ve lived in Pittsburgh most of my life, have been to 20+shows, and that is the first time I’ve see one of our crowds react as such. It was a hot crowd for the first 2 matches, then they turned on Orton and Cena because, as I gathered, they’re sick of Orton and Cena matches. Good match, and well designed, but the crowd simply was not going to give it a chance.
I don’t blame them with regards to the Rumble, and to a degree, I was one of them,
Was the thinking tonight, “Well if Daniel Bryan’s not in the Rumble, they’ll have to cheer for Batista!” Because that’s the only rational I can come up with at the moment, though I am a tad buzzed…
I think you’re right, and I dont drink.:-)
Well, when you pay good money, and despite unanimous sentiment that what you’re paying to see isn’t what you want, yeah, we were ticked, to say the least. I myself normally don’t get upset at sports, or wrestling, but I paid a decent amount of money, only to see a guy back w the company for six days win the Rumble. I don’t know what the cameras caught, but that same guy decided he couldn’t keep his temper and he got into it with fans in the front row, flipped them off, then mocked us fans front the entrance ramp with mock yes chants. Couple that w the fact that my memories of Big Dave and Orton are less then fond, match wise, and it made for a miserable, anticlimactic end of a very good Rumble. I don’t mind predictable when it’s the right choice, but this was not. But because the WWE Network will cut the price of PPVs like WM so drastically, it won’t have a lasting effect. And the sad thing is, it was a very good show.
That happened? Interesting.. If he flipped the fans off that wouldn’t exactly be good PR.
Big Dave was stunned after he won and instead of cheers he got boo’s and chants for another wrestler even louder than they had been for 10 minutes.
If you watch the final three again, Sheamus looks towards the crowd and doesn’t know how to react. Reigns manages to keep a level head and looks better than Batista in the ring. Then you have Batista who is so shocked that he can’t even get up and celebrate!
At the very end when he gets on the top rope, he starts jawing with the audience about how he’s “the man”.
Indeed it did. It made him look like an immature fool, not a man who just won a Main Event spot at WM. My wife, normally the quiet sort, was apoplectic.
Reigns vs. Taker works for me. They’ve built him up with tying a Survivor Series record and now the Rumble record. Imagine the reaction if he spears Undertaker and gets two.
I just don’t want to see Reigns in some generic six man tag match at Mania, he’s been built up to be better than that. Also, there’s reports of a potential Sheamus-Bryan match which has me crossing my fingers that it’s not true.
You won’t.
I don’t think SHeamus vs. Bryan happens, not after tonight.
I just realised that the perfect number 30 this year was Bad News Barrett to announce that Daniel Bryan was not going to be in the match and that he (BNB) would headline Mania, not him.
The heat would’ve been justified and that’d cemented the gimmick as heel.
I actually love that idea.
Same. That would have been amazing.
100% agreed…GREAT PPV, weird crowd, and pretty anti-climactic ending…the next few weeks should be interesting.
Any chance a potential Taker/Bryan match could close Mania?
Not happening. Next to last yes, not closing the show though.
I suppose, though I don’t think Orton/Batista is THAT big of a match that it’s a shoe-in for the main event. There’s been plenty of non-title matches to close Mania.
That’s what confuses me. It’s shaping up more like Wrestlemania XIX than anything else where there are a bunch of strong matches but no huge one.
Cena vs. Wyatt isn’t closing it.
Batista vs. Orton would get booed out of the building
The interesting thing though is this: you have four guys with no matches at the moment: Bryan, Undertaker, Lesnar and Reigns. Presumably Reigns fights Shield in some way, but where does that leave the other three? If they do Lesnar vs. Bryan…..oh that could be interesting.
Was tonight the beginning of the end for the Shield? Or will they just chalk it up to Rumble hijinks? I’d be completely satisfied with Bryan-Taker, or Bryan-Lesnar with perhaps Reigns-Taker? Though that doesn’t sound right. Plus don’t forget we have that big pasty guy without a match as well.
All they had to do was put Bryan in. Even if he just got eliminated. They want him with Sheamus? Have him put Sheamus out then he comes back in and attacks him. Mega heat for Sheamus, feud set up and the fans get to see Bryan in the match at least.
It’s good to see Cena with an up and comer like Bray, Who has just been nailing his character. The build up will be great. Cena not main eventing Maina for the first time in a while could be a breath of fresh air. Though not if it’s Randy, Batista.
I just feel like commenting to remind you that I was right.
Ah, wasn’t that fun?
I sure hope Bryan not in the is because WWE has a plan for him none of us or seeing, if not WTF man?
The crowd was BEGGING for Bryan all night so I find it shocking they didn’t put him in there, even if he wasn’t booked call a freaking audible or something. No wonder the crowd died when Mysterio came out, that’s when reality sunk in Bryan isn’t in the Rumble, after that they were pissed.
First show I’ve seen in 6 months and it was pretty good. I gotta rewatch a few matches but good stuff, the Bryan stuff is a pandora box of nonsense though.
Love the potential Cena/Wyatt feud.
How the hell does this get an A when Survivor Series 2002 gets a C? This show sucked, and was a slap in the face to the fans.
Great opener
Brock Lesnar looks amazing
Better than expected Cena match
Cena vs. Wyatts coming
Good Rumble
That’s how
I get the sense they may try to rehash wrestlemania 20 with Daniel Bryan playing the role of Benoit. That’s got to be the only reason why this is going down like it is.
So Bryan has to win the Elimination Chamber right? Or there’s a three-way match at Mania where he wins?
I could see him fighting Undertaker as well. If he gets Sheamus though, the fans will lose it. And I’m a big Sheamus fan.
Yeah I was going to say the only thing that can top it is a match against Taker at Wrestlemania.
Do you think any of the old guys like Austin or Foley will be in Vince’s ear about the situation? Do you think Taker decides to take the situation into his own hands as in “me vs Bryan or no match at Mania”?
They better be. Vince may be obsessed with Batista, but even he can’t ignore that reaction.
I don’t think I’ve heard a crowd turn on a Rumble winner like that before. Bryan not even being IN the match was a huge error on WWE’s part. Even Mick Foley tweeted about how ridiculous it was.
Wasn’t mick going to throw a brick at his tv if Daniel Bryan didn’t win the rumble?
Yeah, a lot of people were asking him about that, heh.
It’s just sad at this point.
I get that Daniel Bryan may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However he’s the most over guy period.
Here’s hoping he wins the elimination chamber or something similar.
Good Lord is the company this stubborn?
I wouldn’t say that yet. Now if they don’t put Bryan in something BIG, then yes they’re that stubborn.
Other than the wrong winner for the Rumble match it was good but that crowd reaction man. Vince will be probably be furious.