Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition 1.29.08: WWE Royal Rumble 2008
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.29.2008
The Road to WrestleMania has been paved, and doesn’t take the path most thought it would…
How the 4R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R's all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.
Podcast:
411's back with another huge podcast broadcast! Larry and the Wife have returned for their latest podcast adventure as they breakdown the WWE Royal Rumble PPV. We'll discuss Ric Flair keeping his career alive, JBL and Jericho's bloody brawl, Edge and Orton retaining as well and the HUGE return of John Cena to WWE! A great PPV to kick of the year for WWE! Check out the latest podcast of Larry and the Wife below!
TO STREAM: Simply press the play button on the podcast player.
TO DOWNLOAD: Right click on the DOWNLOAD HERE link below and then save the mp3 file to your computer.
CAREER MATCH: Ric Flair @ 7:59 via submission *¾TRASH of the Night
JBL defeated Chris Jericho @ 9:30 via DQ **½
WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge defeated Rey Mysterio @ 12:45 via pin ***
WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton defeated Jeff Hardy @ 14:10 via pin ***½
ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH: John Cena won @ 51:45 ****MATCH of the Night!
The Right:
JBL vs. JERICHO: To kick things off, our first point of discussion is JBL vs. Jericho. I though that this could be good if they went the brawl route. They both came to the ring and stared down with each other, and you could see the intense hatred they shared for each other. I was ready for war…and they locked up. FUCK. "JBL…I AM SO MAD AT YOU THAT I WILL GRAPPLE YOU TO DEATH!" To say that I was not pleased with the initial opening of the match would be an understatement. Thankfully the tide changed, and they kicked up the HATE-O-METER and things got good. Jericho would end up eating the steel post, and TAPPED HIM A GUSHER. Someone ate his aspirin Sunday. The blood flowed, it got more intense and I loved it because you could feel the hate. I do have to mention that they completely blew a bulldog spot, which the crowd shit on, but other than that both guys worked hard and looked good. As they brawled to the floor we got a DQ when Jericho killed JBL with a nasty unprotected chair shot to the head, and then in a bit of revenge, used some cable to choke out JBL. Some of you think you know me so well and figured that I would bitch about the DQ finish. Well sorry, but you're wrong. I have said time and time again that in the right circumstance and when not overused, a DQ finish can and will work rather well. This was the right time. Chris Jericho wasn't out there to win a match. Chris Jericho wasn't out there to get a title shot. Chris Jericho wasn't out there to put on a show and be wacky Jericho that we love. Chris Jericho WAS out there to get revenge. To get revenge on a man that choked him out and drug him around an arena full of fans like he was an animal. To get revenge on a man that talked to his children and called their father a coward. To get revenge on a man that made him feel like he was less of a man in his children's eyes. Bottom line, Chris Jericho wanted to fuck a bitch up. If he won in the process, great, but when he got busted open the game changed and he only had revenge on his mind. He killed a man with a chair shot and then, while his own blood was pouring from his head got revenge and choked him out. So while not the best "match" ever (it was good), it was good enough to get where they need to go. I figure they get into the chamber match or go to another match, NO DQ next month and/or I still expect them to go to a bull rope match. This was good storytelling and I dug it.
THE WORLD TITLE MATCH: And we came to the Word Title match, Rey challenging Edge in a match that we all knew Rey was losing. It isn't that Rey sucks, but Edge is heading to WM and Rey was filler. The early moments were rough, as Rey botched a RANA ala the Chavo match from a few weeks back. But they would get things under control, the Rmy would be ejected and Rey would start to gain momentum. That ended when Edge kicked out his leg and then worked the knee. Rey would eventually make the comeback, and the last few minutes were really good, Rey got a big splash but a miracle would happen as Vicky would RISE from her wheelchair and pull out the ref. This led to Edge missing a spear, and Rey going for the 619. Vicky would get on the apron and take the 619 as she covered up Edge, which led to Rey going for a springboard something, but jumped into a spear and that was the match. Edge and the returning Rmy would check on Vicky and get her back to her wheelchair. I am waiting for the day when Vicky realizes that Edge is just using her, it has to come and then shit will hit the fan. This worked well but I did expect more.
THE WWE TITLE MATCH: Jeff Hardy did challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Title on the show, and while Jeff was never planned to win, in recent weeks there had been a push backstage for him to win the title. The build was great, and while I didn't think they would pull the title change, the possibility was there. There was doubt in my mind. They had a really good 14-minute match, and they played up the high-risk style of Hardy, and the fact that Orton was trying to keep him grounded. Jeff hit his shit, the crowd was into them and it was working. Near the end Hardy "hit" a moonsault to the floor, Orton had to walk into it to save it but that was the only flub in the match. The end saw hardy go for the twist of fate, but Orton got revenge from weeks ago and HE reversed it into the RKO for the win. Many people were upset that Jeff lost. Some feel that it was a "wasted push." And to a degree the crowd was deflated, but I disagree that it was wasted. In five weeks they took Jeff Hardy from the always over, mid-card baby face and made people believe that he could win the title. They also got the emotional response when he lost. They know it can work, and now I feel that he has a great chance at winning MITB and challenging for the title down the line, maybe Summerslam. And it is there I think the victory is that much sweeter. Also, this match was a good match featuring both guys coming out looking good. Finally, Orton needed the clean win and he got it in a hard fought match. And then in hindsight, it makes even more sense because in storyline Orton put Cena out of action. They have unfinished business and with Cena returning they will go to WM. This was good stuff.
THE ROYAL RUMBLE: The Rumble match is a favorite of mine, always has been and probably always will be. I have been in love with it since the very first one I saw, and look forward to it every year. Overall I though this year's was great, although I have a few grievances I want to share. I hated that Shelton got a bitch run. They have been pushing him hard on ECW and he should have had a longer run ala Morrison. Speaking of ECW, Dreamer got jobbed hard in his hometown. I mean, can't a brother buy a pity elimination? Also, why was Chavo in the Rumble? Oh yeah, because the ECW title is shit and no one would ever choose to challenge for that title. Finally, we all realize that Hornswoggle was never eliminated and that the Finlay elimination via DQ was bullshit. People have used weapons and jumped the gun before, and I cannot ever remember it happening before, the DQ that is.
So now that I have that stuff out of the way, let's move on. HBK and Taker kicked off the match, in a complete reverse of last year's match. They lasted 32-minutes and put on a good show. HBK eliminated him, in return for last year's elimination and then Kennedy tossed HBK, adding to that drama. I do believe that Bob Holly kicked HBK so hard that he is the one that broke his nose. Good job Bob. John Morrison also looked good in the Rumble, saving himself many times and drawing HBK comparisons from Christi, the commentary team myself and many others. He was made to look strong, and it can be performances like this that show you how the company views certain guys. So with Taker gone, I would imagine everyone was set in the belief that HHH was going to win, since he and Taker were the odds of favorite to win the match. HHH was going strong when he entered late at #29, and well, I figured he was winning. And before I forget, we even got LEGEND surprises. Sure it would have been nice to see Yang, Moore, Kendrick or some others in the match, but they would not have gotten the pop that Snuka and or Piper did. Yes they looked 87 years old, but they are both institutions in Madison Square Garden and the place popped like it was 1984 for them. You can also tell a lot of the guys respect Snuka, because they all sold for him, EVEN Taker! He and Piper had a fun old man brawl, and I loved watching the guys sit back, watch and mark out. Especially Punk and Morrison, who I believe forgot they were in a match for close to 10-seconds as the TALKED and marked out for them. It was fun, and those wacky moments that we usually get in the Rumble match. We also got a HHH/Foley encounter, which was fun as hell.
So it comes down to #30. I wasn't expecting a surprise of any kind, maybe Big Show since HHH was #29 and they could play into screwing him out of the match. Or maybe they were working us with Lashley was another thought. And then the music hit, the crowd POPPED, and do not mistake, they popped huge and John Cena made his triumphant return to the WWE. They did it. They swerved everyone and they set us all up. Cena gave interviews and said he wouldn't be back for WM in an in ring capacity and we had no reason to think he was coming back. And if you say you thought he was coming back at the Rumble to wrestle, you're a liar. Some are wondering how he came back so quickly, some are judging and accusing, but we're not going to discuss that here but I WILL discuss it in the news column, so stay tuned to that. I have to save some material! The fact is that he was back, HHH looked as if he was about to shit his pants and it was an awesome moment. He came in, kicked ass and in the end it got down to he, HHH and Batista. They did some teasing of alliances, but in the end they just fought. Batista was gone first, and we were down to HHH and Cena. This is when the crowd went back to realizing that it's cool to hate Cena and the men were back to hating him and booing while the women and children loved him. Cena would complete the comeback, win the match and now appears to be headed to WrestleMania and a date with revenge against Randy Orton. In hindsight the Orton title win makes sense even more due to the history and the fact that Orton is the one credited with taking Cena out. Also, with the #30 winning the Rumble two years in a row, it now helps add the importance to the number, which had been a joke in years past. I love that I was surprised, because it doesn't happen all that often these days. Many people were saying things before the Rumble like, "I want a real surprise" or "Anyone but HHH to win." Well kids, be careful what you wish for, because you got it. We got swerved and it was fun, enjoy it. Overall this was a great Rumble match that I really enjoyed. One last thing to mention, so thanks to DJ for sending this along: You wrote in your coverage that HHH pointed at the WrestleMania sign, and Cena clapped at him--I think Cena was doing the tapping motion, reminding HHH that The Champ made the King of Kings tap at Wrestlemania 22. I believe you are correct kind sir, great eye and thanks!
Purgatory:
FLAIR vs. MVP: The Rumble kicked off with the Career match between Flair and MVP. I liked that they gave Flair mic time, as he addressed his history in MSG, and what it had meant for him over the years. Before he could go further, MVP's entrance began and Flair was cut off. A far as the match goes, there are times when Flair in old man Flair, and times when he is Ric FUCKING Flair. Tonight…he fell somewhere in the middle. They both worked hard, and the match was far from bad, but wasn't all that great. I feel that they could have benefited from a few more minutes, a better pace and chance to tell the story so to speak. But they did a good job of giving MVP a visual pin off of the Kawada kick, but Flair had the ropes and was saved. In the end Flair would counter the Playmaker and get the figure four for the win. That being said, while it wasn't a great match there was good news here to talk about. First of all it accomplished what an opener should do, and that is excite the crowd. They loved the Flair win, and that made for a good crowd reaction. Also, while 99% of people knew Ric Flair would win the match, most felt that Matt Hardy would run down and cost MVP the match, and play into their feud restarting. Hell I was almost certain of it, but WWE threw us a curve ball. They did the tease of MVP winning, but Flair finally avenged his loss to MVP from Vengeance with the figure four. The big thing is that Vince had not wanted to give Flair clean wins, but that is something that he needed to make this angle mean something. And while I don't think that MVP needed to lose, we can chalk it up to him being overconfident and thinking he had the match "in the bag." With his constantly cocky attitude, it does make sense. This wasn't bad, but wasn't that good either.
The wRong:
SANTINO/ASHLEY/MARIA BULLSHIT: Listen, I like hot chicks, I think Santino is funny, and yes some of you were right. I just feel that there are some things that do not belong on PPV. Much like Pizza eating and drinking contests, I don't need this on PPV. I don't need bullshit hype about Playboy and I don't need the big fat naked oily guy out there with rubber chickens. I feel that it SHOULD NOT have been on PPV. People do not pay $30 to see a drinking contest, just like they don't spend $40 on a pizza-eating contest or shit like this. Maybe, maybe we could have had people that cut good promos, cut good promos. Maybe we could have concentrated on the in ring a bit more. Unless it is perfectly played or blows me away, I just do not like this stuff on PPV. Sorry kids.
The Ridiculous:
NADDA~!:
Closing Thoughts:
I thought that the PPV looked good going in, but when all was said and done they threw us some curveballs, and it was a great surprise. The title matches were good, Flair got the feel good moment, JBL and Jericho ended in a bloody brawl and Cena shocked the world returning to the company and winning the Rumble in a moment most will not forget, for one reason or another. Overall I will go with a 8.0 out of 10 for the show. I thought I would go higher, and I think I did in the podcast, but upon reflection, I think the rating is good. While some things underachieved, and for a while I was getting an average feeling, things were far from bad and the Rumble delivered big time in my opinion. I loved the show as a whole and now the road to WrestleMania in underway and it is not the same route that we thought it would be, and I am all for that.
2008 PPV Rankings:
- ROH UNDENIABLE {8.5}
- WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.0}
- TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.75}
This is a little added deal I started last year, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV's. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.
- TNA FINAL RESOLUTION: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong (Making us Care about Women's Wrestling on the National Stage)
- ROH UNDENIABLE: Strong vs. Aries (The Grudge is Settled)
- WWE ROYAL RUMBLE: John Cena Shocks the World (No One Saw it Coming)
i hope wwe continues to have new rumble winners every year.a rumble win gives a superstar that special rumb.i say hardy wins next year
Posted By: guest (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:34 PM
Granted, the Rumble match was entertaining and delivered what was expected of it.
But how is this PPV 8/10. I understand ratings are subjuctive and all but come on.
The card had what amounted to an hour and a half of wrestling, and the Rumble took an hour of it.
In my opinion, Rey/Edge was okay but it didn't deliver to the level that it needed to. Take out the finish and you end up with a pretty stale match.
Orton/Hardy; I won't even get into how badly they blew that one. What's the point in squashing Hardy's momentum by losing clean to Orton. if anything, let Orton pull a heel move to get the win and move on to the next feud, leaving Hardy hot. Orton goes onto his Mania main event, Hardy wins MiTB, and then when Orton/Hardy2 roles around people would actually take it as a Mania level main event, instead of Hardy looking soft.
Jericho/Jbl was decent, i guess, but no one got into the match until jericho started to go chair crazy.
In my opinion, Flair is God's gift to wrestling, so it's always good to see him in the ring, especially working with MVP, so i really liked that match.
The Rumble had the shock of Cena's return, but is that, with what came to be a pretty lackluster undercard, overall, enough to give this PPV an 8/10?
If TNA put on a PPV like this, everyone would bury it, yet WWE gets praised?
I just don't get it
Posted By: scipio2009 (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 01:11 AM
Giving it an 8.0 to keep the ROH PPVs up on top, are we?
Posted By: guest (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 02:15 AM
Scipio, I love it how people always have to moan about how if TNA did this or TNA did that compared to WWE, then 'x' would happen. TNA isn't WWE, can't and won't book like WWE.. So get over it. Besides, the only match you couldn't find fault in was Rick Flair/MVP which was easily the worst match of the night. Not bad, but the worst.
Jeff Hardy's push had better be well utilised, I'll be pissed if WWE drop everything for the Golden Boy (read Cena) again, even if he is solidly entertaining to watch.
Is some tag team title action too much to ask?
Posted By: Rocky (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 02:29 AM
Only 8????
Posted By: Matt P (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 03:51 AM
You've got to be serious.
Jeff Hardy went from probably the hottest face in WWE to needing Cena to save him at the end of a show in less than a week.
To me, that's ridiculous.
I've said this before and I'll say it again. If WWE continues down the path I think they're going , Hardy is going to become WWE Raw's Rey Mysterio, a guy who the fans really want to get behind, but management doesn't really picture him at the tops of any cards.
My only reason in even mentioning TNA/WWE is to further illustrate the point that WWE can go out, not deliver the way they could've, and still get praised for it, while TNA can go out, not deliver, and get buried for it.
Yes, WWE is a brand name in the market now, and TNA is still really just getting its feet wet.
Point is, at least try to be consistent with both.
For example, ROH is an excellent wrestling product. On occasion, the lack of consistent selling bugs me a bit, but that's another story.
The main reason I never really get into ROH is because, in my opinion, it seems as if ROH's guys wrestle for nothing.
Two guys go out and have a phenomenal match, and then nothing follows it. No real angles/storylines.
WWE, outside of Cena, hasn't made a new star in so long that either they just can't do it anymore or the old guys that they've already made don't want to step aside. has anyone else noticed how stale WWE has benn for the last 4 years?
And TNA. outside of how rushed the product feels at times, the one thing that is a blessing/curse for TNA is the fact that they feel everyone on the roster should be doing something. it helps lead to some interesting stuff, but it also leads to a lot of rushed crap as well
Consistency is always key. That's the main point.
Posted By: scipio2009 (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 04:14 AM
First off scipio, saying that Jeff needed "Cena to save him at the end of a show in less than a week" simply proved that you didn't actually watch the match on Raw. He was shoved off the post and to the outside, Orotn hit the RKO on Jericho, JBL pinned Jericho, that's it. No post match beatdown at all, just the heels standing tall until Cena shows up. If you're going to criticize something, actually pay attention to what you're criticizing. Not doing so means you come off as bad as Fox News saying there's hardcore sex in Mass Effect.
Now, as someone who did watch the Rumble I can say that there were only four things that irked me: having Flair beat the US champ clean in the ring, the "I WILL GRAPPLE YOU WITH MY HATE" beginning of the Jericho/JBL match, the quick ending to the Jeff/Orton match and the fact that there were too many times where there were too many people in the ring during the Rumble. That's it and while those did detract from my overall enjoyment, they didn't do so in a way that took away from the great moments on the PPV.
I won't compare this to TNA because my schedule prevents me from watching it most of the time but I'll just say that, in my opinion of course, the 8.0 was well deserved for the PPV overall.
Posted By: MC42 (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 05:20 AM
I hate this 'there are no angles/sory lines' in ROH bulshit. Matches don't just happen for no reason, it has feuds and plotlnes. Its a myth that come from the first few shows back in 2002 when that 'no story lines' selling point was ROHs big deal. But even then there was plotlines. Not a bad rumble. Except for the reset button being hit and now in hindsight the winner nt going on to mania
Posted By: Skintymcedger (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 05:21 AM
Skintymcedger,
Please tell me, you know what i'll make this easy, 4 angles that ROH has going right now?
McGuinnes, the ROH World Champion, lost how many title matches in a row before he actually won it.
Morishima ran through the whole roster, destroying the #1 contender several times before losing the belt, and he doesn't get a rematch or anything?
The Briscoes dominated every tag team that they've seen over the last 2 years. As much as ROH tried to let Steenerico get their heat back after the losses, they were still dominated for 5 months.
There are so many guys who have been winning in ROH, yet they can't get a shot at the belt?
And, ROH NEUTERED CHRIS HERO! Being an ROH fan, I would assume that you remember how Hero was the most hated man in ROH during the ROH/CZW war, yet once it ended they snuffed that out too.
Stuff like that is why I can't support ROH.
If ROH had two months to go to TV, I honestly don't think they have enough stuff going on to carry, not even a 1 hour TV program.
Posted By: scipio2009 (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 06:10 AM
An 8.0? Wow get over this little backyard fed known as Ring of Honor. It is not professional and it is just a glorified spotfest. Seriously if you're gonna include ROH, then I expect you to also include feds like FIP, SHIMMER, PWG,and CHIKARA
Posted By: SAVE_TNA_222 (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 08:12 AM
To SAVE_TNA_222: FIP, SHIMMER, PWG,and
CHIKARA aren't on PPV, ROH is, hence they get covered in this column.
Thanks for reading all!
Posted By: Larry Csonka (Registered) on January 29, 2008 at 08:16 AM
how did hardy blow the moonsault, when your doing that move it requires the person receiving it to be in the right place virtualy catch them as the man doing is blind sided to where the other man is. So it wasnt Hardy that botched it, it was orton.
Yes they missed the boat big time at the rumble with Hardy, but he still gets the biggest reaction on raw even with that muppet cena there
Posted By: matt (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 10:17 AM
No, I'm not here to put myself over for those wondering.
For the mainstream audience, keep in mind that one should not be so quick to give out rankings on matches when one knows nothing about what makes a proper wrestling match. You won't see me showing up at your place of work telling you how long to cook those fries, McFryGuy.
I would give this column a ranking of 3.5, however being that this "expert" posted that awful podcast along with this... we here at the FIWC club give a rating of 1.2352 out of ten. My suggestion is this guy should be grounded from his keyboard for a month.
The FIWC Club will overcome the stupidity that is known as internet wrestling "experts"! We Shall Overcome! We Shall Overcome!!
Posted By: Duhreally? (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Larry you are the only critic i trust can make good wrestling calls but today youre totally wrong. If you want a true analysis you should stop watchin the ppv by yourself and go to hooters like i do every month when they show the ppv. This is the best royal rumble of all time and i dont even like Cena. SSo do you feel this was the best? If not then what?
Posted By: Wayne (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 01:09 PM
Come on FIWC Club, Larry isn't that bad. There are wrestling "experts" on the internet who are far, far worse as far as bias goes. For the most part, Larry is pretty fair to the promotions, except TNA of course, because it is Larry's goal to destroy TNA and everything it stands for. Aside from that though, he's not biased at all. Instead, lets bash Larry for something he is truly guilty of: being a lazy ass bastard. Come on Larry, I enjoy your columns, or else I wouldn't read them, but what is up with all the copying and pasting? Except for the intro, this one wasn't that bad, since its about a ppv and therefore a deviation from the weekly format, but when its the regular edition, or the news report, Larry must copy and paste at least 2/3 of the column. First, he copies and pastes the crap right out of his news updates and sticks it in his your news my views column. Then, he'll open up a section by saying something like "What really bothers me about TNA is how they do this or that. I say this all the time, but they keep doing it. No buys!" Then he'll go on to provide examples, and after each example, he says the exact same thing. Jesus Larry, is it that hard to word it differently? Do you write the column out in refrigerator magnet poetry and then piece it all together? It's not like you're busy running the site or something. Larry's columns are becoming a stale and boring product. I would almost rather buy an ROH ppv than read one, or watch a Chris Benoit match. So come on Larry, step it up. This is my challenge to you - go one week without copying and pasting anything into your columns. The news bits are ok, but your thoughts on them have to be brand new. Will you accept the challenge Larry? Don't be like that coward Hollywood Hulk Hogan, who wouldn't fight Macho Man in a street fight for charity when Macho Man challenged him. Step up to the plate Larry. Accept the challenge. One week of columns with no copy and paste. Can you do it? Be a man Larry!
Posted By: Jude Terror (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 01:33 PM
Everyone's bitching about "Hardy's push getting squashed", when in fact his "push" was mostly a buildup to the ppv match with Orton. They made him look like a badass every week to the point that all these marks who don't even know they're marks are complaining, having been completely sold on the message they were trying to send on Raw the past few weeks: that Jeff couldn't fail to win the title. Well he didn't win the title, and now Cena's back, so hey, I guess it's ALL CENA'S FAULT, right? Wow. Look, say what you will about the Raw bookers, but in the past couple weeks, they've done their job well: they got Hardy over to the point that the "smart" fans got legitimately angry when he didn't win! They brought back Cena in a totally shocking way! The payperview was sort of bland beyond that, though. I expected the Edge/Mysterio match to be five times better; Mysterio really mailed in his performance, what with the repeated round-kicks and a couple "seated senton" butt-splashes. I'll go out on a limb and say that Cena showing up *saved* the payperview. As far as the wRong, how about the ECW Champion being in the Rumble? Nothing says "this title doesn't mean shit" better than putting the champ in a match to try and earn a TITLE SHOT. Other than that, and other than the World Title match, I liked the ppv and thought it made for a great jumping point to build up to WM24. And then? They had last night's Raw, which was beyond predictable if you've watched the show more than twice in your life, and bored me literally to sleep, but hey, those shows happen once in a while, right? At least I hope it'll be just once in a while.
Posted By: KanyonKreist (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 01:35 PM
For christ's sake...The Santino/Maria thing lasted less than ten minutes and was pretty damn funny...these things do serve the purpose of cooling down the audience a bit after a lot of action, which isn't completely terrible.
Posted By: BJC (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Larry... you're being much too generous and you're letting your fanboy love-fest with Cena cloud your judgement on this stinker of a PPV.
Was Cena's comeback unpredictable with HHH coming in at 29? Eh, maybe. Was the rumble decent- sure, but no more than ***'s with all the silly bullshit that went on with the DQ, a midget being in it and all the other crap that went on.
Did the "E" have Hardy hit Orton with EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink prior to the PPV- yep. And yet Hardy STILL can't beat him AND Orton gets the clean win. It just further enforces the fact that Hardy is a mid-carder in a main eventer's position. Orton looks REALLY strong now- he survived Jeff trying to kill him in everyway possible short of a shooting him. Since you hate the rainbow bright warrior I'm sure you're happy about it. But its not objective.
Rey losing to Edge was typical and expected- at least he got the screw job finish to save face a little.
Chavo in the Rumble decreases the "quality" of the ECW title- another bad move there. Its like this low-level TV Title or something now. Does anyone really think Chavo can hang with Orton and Edge? This just makes him and ECW look like they're OVW.
MVP vs. Flair... kind of a throw away since everyone knows Flair is riding this out till Wrestlemania.
The build to Wrestlemania has become SO big and SO important that its really neutering what the "E" can do with the Rumble in terms of storyline. Its sad really and being a BIG FAN of the Rumble like yourself it disappoints me.
This PPV was about a 6 if that.
Posted By: Amazing read (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 02:20 PM
I wonder who will beat Flair at WM, and if that will finally be the end? I hope so. And I hope they pick the right superstar to do it.
Posted By: Buck I (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 02:28 PM
I think that the 8.0 rating is completely justified. My only beef is that I think the Flair/MVP match should have been rated a little higher.
Posted By: Disco Inferno pwns j00 (Registered) on January 29, 2008 at 04:18 PM
Notice how WWE ppvs are really starting to feel like actual ppvs now a dayz?...i do and this was a pretty damn good ppv, i'll say this rumble was good but it kinda felt like the 1998 one, a good start, a good finish, some good spots even though the ring was kinda filled at times
Posted By: Jake (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 05:06 PM
Larry, thanks for mentioning the sheepness of the crowd in regards to Cena. They realy sucked during the Edge/Rey match, because they crapped on Rey for NO reason at all. I have to give props to Batista, Morrison, and Cody.
Posted By: Capt. Smooth (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 06:13 PM
OH MY GOD, JEFF HARDY LOST, WASTED PUSH!!!!!!! How stupid can people be. I think Jeff Hardy has got a good enough following that he can survive his first serious World Title match ending in a clean loss. If by this time next year, he's still a mid-carder, then you can bitch. But as of right now, it's the beginning, not the end. And for the record, I would much rather have Cena back and playing Superman than Multiple Hs, who trys to damn hard to be cool. At least Cena can win matches while still making opponents look somewhat decent, while Hs only makes himself look good. At least, that's my opinion.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 08:55 PM
I'm sorry, why is Rey getting world title matches?? It sound cruel and bitter, or possibly the truth, but if Eddie was still alive, Rey would be mid-card. He bores me to death, I want to see more out of his character, and something other than 619... I think if done right, he'd make a great heel.
Posted By: Tim (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Cena makes his opponents look good? Are you sure its not the other way around. Put Cena against someone who isn't as capable in the ring as HHH or HBK or Orton (to a lesser extent) and see how he does. The mark of a great worker is not only being able to carry yourself, but carrying a lesser opponent to a good match, something Cena is incapable of.
As for Hardy's push, did anyone expect him to win the title? This is WWE, he is a mid-carder like his brother. They had the oppertunity to make Matt a star when Edge went to SmackDown! (with their history and the title) they could have pushed Hardy and had another main eventer, then he was stuck in another pointless mid-card feud stuck in a tag partners who hate each other situation (something Larry usually bitches about) before he needed to have surgery.
Personally, I would have given this show somewhere between 5 and 6, but nowhere near an 8 (especially considering Final Resolution only scored 6.75)
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Chris, I was referring to Cena's matches with Umaga. Granted, I already think Umaga is good, but he certainly looked much better against Cena than HHH. So if I've got to have somebody running roughshod over everyone, I'd rather it be John Cena than HHH.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on January 30, 2008 at 02:51 AM
How can you give FOUR DAMN STARS at the DUMBEST Rumble EVER booked ?
Finlay got DQED in a RUMBLE .
That alone is making stupid beyond limits .
Then Cena returning out of nowhere and stealing the spotlight of anyone else ?
Wow frickin greatness.....
Edge/Mysterio was the very MTON in my humble opinion .
Those two guys are and were gold again like in their good old days of SD ! fantastic six (as tag champs)
RKO/Hardy was not as good because of the spot monkey fest thingy with no psychology or logic at all into it (out of the finish which made sense to cemented RKO status as a bad ass heel champ)
Posted By: Kyle Hyde (Guest) on January 30, 2008 at 03:42 AM
Did they film any "number picking" segments? Remember the time Eddy Guerrero stole Flair's number? Classic.
Posted By: Eric (Guest) on January 30, 2008 at 11:44 AM
