My Take On 2.01.10: WWE Royal Rumble

Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.02.2010

HBK goes crazy when he loses, Edge makes a surprising to win the Royal Rumble, Legacy looks to be finished, the Undertaker defeated Rey Mysterio and more! 411’s Larry Csonka breaks down the Royal Rumble PPV in the latest edition of My Take On!



WWE ROYAL RUMBLE!

THE RESULTS
* ECW TITLE MATCH: Christian retained the title over Big Zeke via pin @ 12:00 {**¼}
* WWE US TITLE MATCH: The Miz retained the title over MVP via pin @ 7:30 {**}
* WWE TITLE MATCH: Sheamus retained the title over Randy Orton via DQ @ 12:30 {**}
* WWE WOMEN's TITLE MATCH: Mickie James became the NEW WWE Women's Champion via pin @ 0:03 {NR}
* WWE WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker retained the title over Rey Mysterio via pin @ {***½}
* THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH: Edge won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating John Cena @ 49:30 {****}


ECW TITLE MATCH: Christian retained the title over Big Zeke via pin @ 12:00 {**¼}: The opening match of the show was the ECW Title match between Christian and Big Zeke. As Big Zeke came to the ring, I noticed Regal sporting the evil black suit, which made me happy because he looked perfect as the mentor, but also made me sad, because this is a guy that needs to be working with the young talents like Zeke IN the ring. But I digress. Christian has been a great champion for ECW, and I was finally expecting the title change to happen in this match. For the most part, this is what you would expect from a Christian match. He did his part perfectly, he sold well, he kept the pace perfect for his limited opponent, there were some good reversals and near falls and it all flowed very well. I will say that Zeke is improving, obviously working the house shows with Christian has helped a great deal, and what they had planned was solid, if unspectacular. I will give credit to him for improving, but there were some errors, like failing on the reverse DDT, and the fact that out of nowhere they tried to sell Zeke's clothesline as a finisher. Add into this that the crowd was in and out if it the whole time, and it just didn't deliver as far as a thumbs up type of deal. But in the end, a solid way to open the show, but it could have been better.

WWE US TITLE MATCH: The Miz retained the title over MVP via pin @ 7:30 {*½}: I have to say, that unless it is something REALLY cool, I am not a fan of impromptu matches on PPV. First of all you gave something away that could have been possibly used to draw for another PPV, secondly, you are sometimes adding to a card that doesn't need matches added to it. They added The Miz vs. MVP for the US Title to the Rumble PPV, and I didn't like it. First of all they could have built up to it for the next PPV, or heaven forbid, actually build it for a Raw main event and give the guys the spotlight. Secondly, they did shoehorn it into the show, as they only gave it 7:30. With the PPV closing with extra time left, they could have given them a few more minutes to make this worth it. They went out there with a 15-20-minute match and gave us the Reader's Digest version of the match, and that never works out well. It felt way too rushed, disjointed at times, and the finish was very anticlimactic. Don't get me wrong, Miz needs clean wins from time to time to establish himself, but between the piss poor booking of MVP heading into the match and the finish being as weak as it was, they would have been better leaving this off of the card all together. In closing, they either need to have Miz kill an old lady or turn him face, because the crowd is deciding that they like him, and the post match attack by MVP did NOT get the reaction they wanted, as the crowd pretty much shit on him for attacking Miz.

WWE TITLE MATCH: Sheamus retained the title over Randy Orton via DQ @ 12:30 {**}: Unlike many, I have enjoyed Sheamus. I don't think he is great, but he is doing some of the little things that makes me have hope for him as an overall performer. The heel vs. heel dynamic didn't mean much to me, because I felt that they would cheer Orton, and they did. The match was slow and deliberate, which I also expected from these two, but in the end, I was not satisfied. The match was just there, just there to set up the post match angle. That is fine in a way, but you still have to deliver the match. This match did nothing to help Sheamus, and while it didn't hurt him, at this stage of the game, he needs all the help he can get to be viewed as a legit, top of the card guy. Instead of working towards that, they decided that the Legacy split was more important. While an Orton face turn could be good, he has those Steve Austin maverick qualities about him (I DID NOT STAY THAT HE WAS STEVE AUSTIN OR AS GOOD AS HIM) that could make it work. But the facts are that Legacy have been booked so poorly over the last, what, 18-months, that no one is going to buy them as a legit threat on their own. In my opinion, this whole segment let a lot to be desired. But wait, Let's not forge the DQ on a MAJOR PPV. Ugh…

WWE WOMEN's TITLE MATCH: Mickie James became the NEW WWE Women's Champion via pin @ 0:03 {NR}: I fully admit that I have not been a big fan of the "Piggy James" angle. Michelle McCool has the charisma of a piece of a 2x4 and the body to match. But the fact is that when you do such a huge humiliation angle, the face, when they finally get their comeuppance on the heel, has to do it in spectacular fashion to make it pay off and so that they do not walk away BERRIED. McCool ran her mouth, she brought out Layla in the fat suit again, and Mickie came out, beat Layla's ass, got in the ring, hit her finish and won the title in seconds. I will say that while I DO tend to dislike title matches that are so short like this, especially on PPV, that this angle worked WAY better than a full match. The crowd shit on McCool, but popped huge for Mickie and her run in, they popped for the title win and then the after match angle of retribution was perfect. The face divas came out with a cake, and Mickie got to toss it into the faces of her abusers. Everyone liked it, Mickie got her revenge, she is champion again and the angle pays off. Now I hope that she moves onto matches with Beth, Serena and Natalya, because they are strong female heels and should make for fun matches.

WWE WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker retained the title over Rey Mysterio via pin @ {***½}: Going into the match, I had two thoughts. First of all, Taker had to win to keep the suspense for the Rumble match alive, regarding HBK. The second was of concern, due to the fact that Rey's knee is jacked up again, and Taker has been slowed due to the hip injury/replacement. I will say that at the end of the match, I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing that I noticed is that this felt like a "major" PPV match. That "big match feel" so to speak. I felt that both guys worked hard, and that they went in with a smart and simple game plan. Taker would use the power, and in a bit of smoke and mirrors, the match appeared to keep a rapid pace due to Rey's speed. Something else that I felt added to the match was that Taker's nose got busted open, likely due to Rey's knee brace. It wasn't a ton of blood, but when the blood in WWE is so little these days, it worked well, showing that the Undertaker was able to be hurt against the smaller opponent. The match was an easy one to enjoy, with enough hope spots for Rey where you thought he had a chance, which made the match better. Taker got the win with a definitive last ride, and looks to head to WM as the champion.

THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH: Edge won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating John Cena @ 49:30 {****}: While this will not go down as the greatest Rumble match of all time, there was a lot that I really enjoyed, even if the match was shorter than usual. The first thing I loved about the match was the opening portion with the Straight Edge Reverend, Dirty Hippy Jesus, CM Punk. Eliminating fools while preaching his straight edge mantra was a fun and different way to work the opening of the match and I enjoyed that. I did hate that HHH killed the momentum of the Punk run and that he was gone so soon, but that's the way shit goes some times. HHH was then the focus, he battled Legacy and just when he looked down and out HBK made the save. HBK then played the man obsessed, eliminating fools left and right, and then, then we got down to DX. But before they could face off, John Cena made his entrance into the match. They fought, and then in shades of Diesel getting superkicked to the floor, HBK eliminated HHH and proved how obsessed that he was. They then battled through the parade of guys to come, until things then got interesting and followed some cool continuity as Kofi and Jericho got involved. But then shit got real when CRAZY BEARDED EDGE CAME BACK at #29. He dished out a spear buffet, and then Batista would close it out as #30. Edge eliminated Jericho, and things looked good for the Boyhood Dream middle aged man's fantasy to come true, only for Batista to eliminate HBK. HBK was excellent here as he went into crazed Shawn mode, and was so pissed that he was gone. He begged to get back into the match, he begged for one more chance, and when LIL NAITCH asked what Shawn wanted him to do, SUPERKICK for you my friend! Shawn then went to the back, slowly going insane the closer he got to the back, and it was wonderful. Shawn was gone, and Edge ended up with the comeback victory, and by doing so, may have totally changed the picture that most had for WrestleMania, which isn't a bad thing. They needed a good match and surprise/return like this on the show, and they got it.

MY TAKE ON THE SHOW

Not a blow away show by any means, not a bad show, but an interesting onramp to the road to WrestleMania. Sheamus, Taker and Christian all retain their titles, Legacy finally looks to be done, Edge is back and into the mix, Miz and MVP will continue their feud and Mickie got her revenge. Not a blow away show in terms of in ring action, but they did some solid things to set for the big run to Maina, and that is a good thing. The first half of the show is forgettable and I would just skip it, but Mickie's revenge worked, Taker vs. Rey was good and the Rumble delivered, and pulled this from crap to an enjoyable, but average show.

SHOW RATING: 6.5

411 RATINGS SCALE:
0 - 0.9: Torture
1 - 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 - 2.9: Very Bad
3 - 3.9: Bad
4 - 4.9: Poor
5 - 5.9: Not So Good
6 - 6.9: Average
7 - 7.9: Good
8 - 8.9: Very Good
9 - 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

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LARRY'S RANKINGS THUS FAR FOR 2010
Rankings may change through out the year upon a second, third, tenth, one hundredth viewing…

2010's TOP PPVs:

-DG USA Freedom Gate {8.5}

-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {6.5}

-TNA GENESIS {5.0}

2010 TOP PPV Matches:

-Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi defeated Dragon Kid and Shingo Takagi (DG USA Freedom Gate) {****½}

-TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle (TNA Genesis) {****¼}
-YAMATO defeated Davey Richards (DG USA Freedom Gate) {****¼}

-The Royal Rumble Match (The Royal Rumble Match) {****}

-OPEN THE FREEDON GATE TITLE MATCH: Elimination Rules: BxB Hulk defeated Cima, Akuma and Yamato (DG USA Freedom Gate) {***½}
-Desmond Wolfe vs. Pope D'Angelo Dinero (TNA Genesis) {***½}
-WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE Royal Rumble) {***½}

2010's PPV MVPs:
Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

-TNA GENESIS - Kurt Angle and AJ Styles: Delivering Once Again
-DG USA Freedom Gate - BxB Hulk: Double Duty To Become The Champion
-WWE Royal Rumble – Edge: He's Back!

2010's TOP TV Matches:
I will update as often as needed.

-TNA World Title Match: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle (TNA IMPACT 1.04.10) {****}

-Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong (ROH ON HDNET 1.04.10) {***¾}

-Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE Smackdown 1.29.10) {***½}
-WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match: DX vs. Jeri-Show (WWE RAW 1.04.10) {***½}
-Colt Cabana and Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries and Kenny King (ROH on HDNet 1.18.10) {***½}
-Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Briscoe (ROH on HDNet 1.18.10) {***½}

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KEY:
-DG USA
-TNA
-ROH
-WWE


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Two Words In Closing



Starship… Fuckin-Troopers