The 2008 Royal Rumble Thread

[cabbageboy 0]

I don't see HHH winning this for a few reasons. First, there's already been a leak that at No Way Out there will be an Elimination Chamber for the Raw guys to determine a #1 contender. Second, we have a mystery man for the Rumble out to cost HHH the match. We didn't see this guy on Raw (and I think we are assuming it is Big Show). Anyway I've got UT winning it for lack of a better option.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

CM Punk officialy qualified at a house show Saturday in Rhode Island, just getting in under the wire.

 

From PWInsider:

 

"Next match was going to be for the ECW Title but Armando Estrada came out after CM Punk and Chavo Guerrero were already in the ring and said that it was not for the title but if Punk wins, he gets into the Rumble. Punk wins with the Go 2 Sleep."

[UZI Suicide 0]

I can see Punk making the Final 4.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Predictions:

 

The Royal Rumble - HHH is favored, but I think Batista will win The Rumble again.

 

Hardy / Orton - Hardy gives Orton the fight of his life, Jeff connects with the Swanton Bomb, but Orton kicks out and nails Jeff with the RKO for the win.

 

Mysterio / Edge - Edge gets hit with the 619, Chavo interferes, Edge wins hitting Rey with the Spear

 

Jericho / Layfield - Jericho wins by DQ

 

Flair / Porter - Flair wins by making MVP tap out to the Figure 4

[Lil' Bitch 0]

When's the last time they did IC Champion Vs. WWE Champ on PPV?

 

Warrior Vs. Hogan - WM 6

 

Michaels Vs. Hart - SSeries 92

 

Diesel Vs. Hart - KOTR 94

 

*mind goes blank

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Kane vs. HHH was on PPV i think.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

That one is kind of dubious though... it was a billed as a unification match with the idea the IC title would no longer exist afterwards. But yes, it headlined No Mercy 2002.

[10 Pounds 0]

Some Rumble predictions :

 

- Matt Hardy makes his return in the MVP/Flair match or in the Rumble, if MVP is in it.

 

- Orton wins.

 

- HHH and Taker recreates last year's finish with the mini-match, with Taker winning again so we can have Take Two of the long reign he was supposed to get last year. Edge/Taker won't go last at Wrestlemania however, that spot will be for the Raw match. Still, does anyone considers Hogan vs Sid to be the main-event of Wrestlemania VIII over Flair/Savage ?

 

- I think Big Show will be the only surprise entrant this year. Since this is MSG, a fairly knowledgable crowd that knows their history unlike the usual WWE crowd, that would be a great opportunity to bring back and old timer like they used to do in the past.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

I definitely agree that Matt Hardy will return and cost MVP the match. He'll have to be smart about it though as to not get Flair disqualified.

 

A SD! winner winning the rumble basically gives you two choices - Undertaker and Batista. I don't want to see either of them win - Edge needs fresh opponents. I expect another tie finish that leads to a WM triple threat between the three. Undertakers streak will be in supreme risk because he doesn't even have to be pinned to lose sorta deal. They could make that an issue to add heat between Taker and Batista.

 

Orton is a lock to win his match tonight. I expect HHH vs Jeff Hardy vs Jericho vs JBL vs HBK vs Ken Kennedy in the elimination chamber in February. Orton will win clean, but it will be a non-RKO finish, and there will be a ton of near falls for Hardy.

 

Edge retains with a screw job finish. Chavo and Edgeheads beat on Rey after the match and Punk and then Undertaker/Batista make the save.

 

Benjamin will eliminate CM Punk from the RR.

 

Big Show will come back and eliminate Khali. Maybe have a Khali vs BDV face off in the middle of the RR and have the announcers gushing how nobody is bigger than these two and cue Big Show's music...

 

Big Show vs Khali at WM24. Khali will be sacrificed to reestablish Big Show as the biggest threat. Match will be an absolute trainwreck.

 

HBK vs Jeff Hardy will begin to feud during the run-up to the EC, and continue to a match at WM24 (there will be certain edge to the feud, but it will be a mutual respect feud nonetheless). I read somewhere where Jeff wants to be in the MITB match, however I think at this stage of his career he is better off in a singles match with HBK.

 

I'd like to see JBL win by DQ tonight. Have Jericho break the rules and take out JBL to add a certain seriousness/intensity to Jericho. Have the bloodied JBL smile as he backs up the ramp with his hand raised knowing what he has "created". This feud will likely run all the way to a WM match.

[mfn 0]

i think i might go out to hooters tonite to watch this.... not sure. nottt sure.

[Enigma 0]

There is a lot of uncertaintly regarding who will walk out of the Royal Rumble with the WWE Title. As of right now, a decision hasn't been made because everyone is split down the middle. It's much like two years ago when deciding whether to keep the title on Edge since the ratings dramatically spiked after he won the title or put it back on Cena.

 

The pro-Hardy people are saying that Hardy is too hot right now to not capitalize. If they have him lose to Orton tonight, they are afraid that the fans wouldn't get behind Hardy at the level he's at now, even if he does eventually win the title down the road. They are also pointing to two years ago as killing Edge's ratings momentum as there were no increases when he won the belt back later in the year.

 

The pro-Orton people are saying that the title already changed too much in fall '07 and don't want to add anymore chaos to the lineage. They also aren't positive about the fans to stay as hot for Hardy as champ as they are for Hardy chasing the champ. This likely will be a decision that comes down to Vince and probably won't be made until a few minutes before the show goes on the air, much like the decision for Cena to win it back from Edge two years ago was.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Enigma, if you are going to post stuff like that you must include a source. And indicate before the post that it's not your writing.

[bob_barron 0]

There is a lot of uncertaintly regarding who will walk out of the Royal Rumble with the WWE Title. As of right now, a decision hasn't been made because everyone is split down the middle. It's much like two years ago when deciding whether to keep the title on Edge since the ratings dramatically spiked after he won the title or put it back on Cena.

 

The pro-Hardy people are saying that Hardy is too hot right now to not capitalize. If they have him lose to Orton tonight, they are afraid that the fans wouldn't get behind Hardy at the level he's at now, even if he does eventually win the title down the road. They are also pointing to two years ago as killing Edge's ratings momentum as there were no increases when he won the belt back later in the year.

 

The pro-Orton people are saying that the title already changed too much in fall '07 and don't want to add anymore chaos to the lineage. They also aren't positive about the fans to stay as hot for Hardy as champ as they are for Hardy chasing the champ. This likely will be a decision that comes down to Vince and probably won't be made until a few minutes before the show goes on the air, much like the decision for Cena to win it back from Edge two years ago was.

 

You have amazing sources Enigma! And you're a great writer too!

[Kristianna 0]

i think i might go out to hooters tonite to watch this.... not sure. nottt sure.

 

We're having a Royal Rumble party at my house tonight. Beer, Hamburgers and Wrestling.

 

Ain't that America?

[Enigma 0]

Whoops. It's from Keller in the PWT VIP forums.

 

I'm glad to see uncredited news gives bob_barron a fucking coronary.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I do like that their reasoning to NOT put Hardy over is to keep title changes to a minimum. However, sound reasoning as it may be, they should not use an excuse of creating a better history over having a potentially better future financially. Strike while the iron is hot. Don't even give the belt back to Orton - I know they hate face vs. face main events, but if you put Edge and Taker as the main event then you can do the mid-main event as HHH vs. Hardy - they already have an established backstory to boot.

 

It's seems like a foregone conclusion Edge goes over Rey, but hey, maybe they'll do some crazy booking there to build to a face vs. face Rey vs. Batista title match while Undertaker vs. Edge becomes a no title on the line never been pinned streak vs streak match.

 

Though I see neither of these things happening (and actually am opposed to the second scenario), there is always the CHANCE that unpredictable things could go down.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

I think the right decision will be to keep the title on Orton. I side with the faction that believes that Hardy is better suited for the hunt right now. Have him lose, but not decisively - say a roll-up or something, maybe even with a foot on the ropes or something. Have Hardy get a couple of really near falls near the end of the match, but come up just short.

 

Hardy recently said somewhere where his body is pretty beat up - I'm not sure having him hold the title to or through Mania would be the smartest thing. Also if they put the title on him, I want him to keep it for awhile - not lose it back to Orton next month.

 

HHH vs Orton for the title does nothing for me, but either does HHH vs Hardy. As I mentioned, I want to see HBK vs Hardy at WM, and while it could be for the title, it doesn't have to be.

 

You could have Orton open Raw bragging, then have Hardy interrupt him saying he had him on a couple of occasions and Orton had to use the ropes to win. He could demand another title shot, only to be interrupted by HHH who claims he deserves a title shot, then maybe Ken Kennedy, this brings out HBK, then JBL and then Jericho. Bam! You have your Elimination Chamber match set-up.

[Nate 0]

JBL/Jericho: ends in a no contest and the rematch at No Way Out would be a gimmick match

 

Edge/Mysterio: Edge retains after dubious means

 

MVP/Flair: this one is a bit of a double edged sword, you dont want MVP to lose clean because that would make him look weak since hes the US Champ, and Flair cant keep getting DQ'ed because it makes him look like he cant beat anyone clean, but I'm going with Flair for the win

 

Orton/Hardy: I really want Jeff to win, there's way too much momentum behind him to get short changed, really this feud in itself has the potential to be a feud of the year front runner if they could let this go till Backlash, so I'm gonna say Hardy wins the title

 

Royal Rumble match: see the Royal Rumble Prediction game for my pick

 

does anyone know of a free live stream for the show tonight

[JHawk 0]

While I know Hardy's got a lot of support, is anybody hoping to see this after tonight?

 

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

News from Meltzer's Sunday update (Rumble preview plus backstage guest):

 

--The 21st annual Royal Rumble takes place tonight from a sold out Madison Square Garden. In recent years (with the exception of last year), it has been the No. 2 show of the year behind Wrestlemania. This year has a rumble that hasn't been promoted as well, but a stronger than usual undercard.

*The 30 man Rumble will have 90 second intervals. The two favorites to win are Undertaker (the original pick) and HHH. Decisions are always changed but the winner traditionally goes to Wrestlemania and wins the title. Just for a note, we have confirmed that Big Show is not planned to be in the Rumble, although he will be debuting imminently. Names in the Rumble so far are Mick Foley, Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Kennedy, HHH, Undertaker, Big Daddy V, Batista, Kane, Finlay, Mark Henry, Snitsky, Bob Holly, Cody Rhodes, Santino Marella, C.M. Punk, Carlito, Hornswoggle, Jamie Noble, Great Khali, Chuck Palumbo, John Morrison, The Miz, Shelton Benjamin and Tommy Dreamer

*Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy for the WWE title. There are a lot of people on the Hardy bandwagon right now. Originally, there was no chance of his winning, but a lot of people have been pushing for it based on the strong buildup. It will force changes in long-term plans, but a storyline change in the Mania title match can work just as well, and really, come out of Mania even stronger for the summer.

*Edge vs. Rey Mysterio for the World title. This is not likely to be a title change. It will be interesting to see the quality of this match. Both traditionally have great PPV matches when given time, but Edge's work hasn't been at his previous level since coming back for this run. But Mysterio is one of the easiest guys to have a good match with in the company.

*Ric Flair vs. MVP. Since the U.S. title is not at stake, Flair should win via pinfall. The only issue is the company doesn't like Flair scoring clean wins over guys they are pushing, so they may just do a cheap finish with Flair surviving. It will be a test for MVP to see if he can work a good match with Flair, if they are given time, which on this show given the two title matches will probably be 15-20 minutes and the Rumble will be around an hour, there isn't much time for this one

*Chris Jericho vs. JBL. In some ways the most unpredictable match because it's been a long time since JBL has worked a long singles match. Results wise, I would expect this to be the match with a disputed finish of some sorts, with JBL maintaining heat at the end and keeping the program going.

With the top three matches, on paper this card looks like it'll be one of the better shows of the year.

 

--Jimmy Snuka is at MSG, which may not be significant because he comes to a lot of the shows just to say hi.

[Slickster 0]

Jeff Hardy needs to go over tonight. Like RVD, Jeff Hardy's always had a vocal and unique fanbase who have sought to see him in the ME. If they have Orton go over tonight, fans will see Hardy as a choke artist and not have faith in him. RVD never quite regained the momentum he had against HHH in 2002 when he lost at Unforgiven and fans weren't conditioned to accept him as a contender again.

 

Bottom line, Orton could recover from this loss much more easily than Jeff Hardy could.

 

Meanwhile, Edge vs Rey has been overshadowed by Jeff Hardy's title shot as the top story at the Rumble, so I'd book something inconclusive so that match can get more attention at No Way Out.

[Mike wanna be 0]

If Hardy wins, where does Orton go? I mean, he probably cashes in the champion's rematch at NWO, but the loser of that has about a month before Wrestlemania with nowhere to go because the EC/RR winner's due up for the title match.

[Enigma 0]

In a move that probably won't make Vince McMahon very happy, UFC struck a deal this weekend with Madison Square Garden to place advertisements for the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir match inside the arena.

 

-- Meltz

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

In a move that probably won't make Vince McMahon very happy, UFC struck a deal this weekend with Madison Square Garden to place advertisements for the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir match inside the arena.

 

-- Meltz

 

I thought UFC was using some Lesnar wwe footage to hype him? VKM doesn't believe the two companies are in competition and probably feels that if Lesnar does well, it will only help the wwe as it's wrestlers would be more believable badasses.

[Hawk 34 0]

He won't like having ad's for another PPV show during his own PPV and not getting anything for it.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

According to Rajah's site the main backer for the Hardy win is Michael Hayes, whereas Stephanie wants to stick was the original long term booking plan. Of course the long term booking plan has HHH getting the title at WM...

 

Also if it was Hayes vs Stephanie you have to assume that Steph would pull rank, so one has to assume that Vince likes the idea of a Hardy run as well.

[Matt Young 0]

So, who will the remaining 5 entrants be? Maybe RVD will be one. Jim Duggan (blech)? Wang and Moore? Dykstra? MIKE FUCKING KNOX~!?

 

Also, does anyone know of a stream?

[JPopStarKami 0]

Really, can ANYBODY see the benefit of another HHH title run?

[JPopStarKami 0]

So, who will the remaining 5 entrants be? Maybe RVD will be one. Jim Duggan (blech)? Wang and Moore? Dykstra? MIKE FUCKING KNOX~!?

 

Also, does anyone know of a stream?

 

I'm looking, but I'm not the best at searching for stuff.

 

If anybody finds some, post some in the chat room.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Also HHH has a lot of heat on him from the boys and it might not be in his best political interest to push too hard for the status quo, eventhough it has been said that Steph's main argument sounds a lot like HHH-Speak.

 

HHH made a big gesture of "making" Jeff Hardy when Jericho was coming back, so to harpoon his title run now would be really transparent.