Pythagoras

I got 20 points. Picked Orton to win, Morrison to come out #2, and 4 out of the final 6. I can't believe I didn't pick Santino to last the shortest. I want a do-over.

YES YES YES YES YES! ORTON! ORTON! ORTON!

Yeah, I picked Morrison coming out #2. Suck it!

Here's the quick and dirty version. Act I: The Stone Cold and Mr. McMahon characters are built, mostly through Bret Hart. (1996 King of the Ring to 1998 Royal Rumble) Act II: Stone Cold makes it to the top, Mr. McMahon and others try to knock him off. (1998 Royal Rumble to 1999 Survivor Series) Act III: Stone Cold returns, gets revenge, but ultimately sells out. He makes one last push for the title and comes up short. (1999 Survivor Series to 2001 Vengeance)

1. Winner - Orton. 2. Runner Up - Jericho. 3. Longest - Jericho. 4. Shortest - Charlie Haas. 5. Most Elims - Jericho. 6. #1/#2 - Jericho and Morrison. 7. #27 - Cody Rhodes. 8. #30 - Charlie Haas. 9. Winning# - 21. 10. Surprise Entrant - Kennedy. 11. Endurance Record Broken - No. 12. Final Six - Orton, Jericho, HHH, Rhodes, Kozlov, Undertaker 13. 2 instances of outside interference. 14. No Blood. 15. Batista's music hits at #30 just as Cena's did last year. It's a swerve. It's only Haastista.

Just watched it on my DVR. What's with Orton getting these massive face pops?

They did the same thing in 97 with Austin, but unlike Flair, he was alone in the ring several times before Hitman came out. His dominance over the first 20 entrants elevated him more than any Rumble performance to that point, but like you said, that was all prologue. After Bret comes in, Rocky, Mankind, Vader, and the Undertaker followed, and the real match started.

RAW's ratings could be noticeably higher by consistently making PPV-quality main events and announcing them a week in advance, like tonight. The roster is deep enough to support doing this. Maybe they're finally getting it.

More than anything, Orton's 1st reign was the first plot beat in the HHH v. Batista feud.

I think they'll have Punk vs. Orton all the way to Mania. CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes @ No Mercy CM Punk/Cryme Tyme vs. Priceless/Afa in a Street Fight (fan vote) @ Cyber Sunday CM Punk/CTC vs. Orton/Priceless/Afa @ Survivor Series CM Punk vs. Randy Orton @ Armageddon, Orton goes over, gets a title shot against Batista @ Royal Rumble Punk screws Orton out of the strap at the Rumble, Orton ambushes Punk IN the Rumble They screw each other out of mania title shots at No Way Out Punk goes over in a Mania blow-off

If you said a handful, you are correct.

The WHC has only been around since Fall 02. Sid is a former WWE Champion. I was thinking Orton.

Like Orton's motorcycle accident, their deaths could be elaborate works, no?

Ted DiBiase Jr. looks a lot more like Cowboy Bob than the Million Dollar Man.

What's the point of the U-S-A chants? Everyone in the ring, as far as I know, is American.

Very different circumstances.

NOT VAL VENHAAS!

What are the chances that Shawn Michaels holds RAW hostage until Jericho shows himself? That would be a nice callback to the Attitude era.

C'mon Santino promo! C'mon Santino promo!

Replacement = Paul London

Shit, both of them?

MITB V The Brian Kendrick, Cody Rhodes, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Lance Cade, The Miz, Shelton Benjamin, Ted DiBiase ...With a rising stars theme, maybe some pun with Lone Star state ECW Championship John Morrison vs. (ch) Matt Hardy Far and away the two top guys in ECW Some sort of Playboy match "Texas Deathmatch" Hardcore Battle Royal Chris Jericho, CM Punk, JBL, Kane, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Umaga, William Regal Winner gets any match vs. any superstar he wants at Backlash... for a title, revenge, or both WWE Championship Jeff Hardy vs. (ch) The Big Show Jeff Hardy wins the Rumble, but Show jobs instead of Hunter or Edge just in case Jeff fucks up again Triple H vs. Edge Edge has been the top heel in the company for nearly 3 years. He deserves a big, big win at Wrestlemania World Heavyweight Championship John Cena vs. Batista They'll probably headline another big PPV between Summerslam and Wrestlemania, this would be the rubber match... doesn't matter which guy is champion... maybe it's vacant, maybe it's the culmination of a Road to Wrestlemania chase tournament Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker One of them eliminates the other in the Rumble for the third straight year and they build an interbrand program out of it... it could be a "Career Ending" match if one guy wants to retire or take extended time off (they'll be 43 and 44)

Jerry Lawler on Spring Break? Mothers, lock up your underage daughters.

soo.. JBL vs Punk, Batista vs Cena at Summerslam?

Next week on RAW: Team Priceless vs. those 2 referees for the Tag Team Championships.