Royal Rumble 2009

[cabbageboy 0]

Thoughts on the Rumble from beginning to end:

 

--I actually thought Matt/Swagger was the best match up until Jeff/Edge. Nothing special but at least Swagger did some okay arm work and kept it moving. The finish of it was rendered pointless by the events later in the show though (or maybe the finish led to Matt's heel turn?).

 

--Women's match was sloppy but Beth's sick half crab/anklelock while beating Melina in the head was nuts. The point of a title change here with no Rosa Mendez appearance eludes me.

 

--JBL/Cena was more of an angle than a match, which was good since the actual match itself was pretty bad. Why Shawn didn't just grab the original ref and toss him in to make the 3 count I don't know. Hopefully they blow off this JBL/HBK stuff somehow at No Way Out and do something decent at WM like HBK/UT since they semi teased it backstage earlier on this PPV.

 

--Jeff/Edge was a very good match since these guys can practically wrestle each other in their sleep by this point. I thought Hardy had hurt himself during the table spot on Chavo. They made a mistake in turning Matt heel here though and I'll explain why. First, sure everyone thought Christian was the culprit but him being the culprit is the better idea. Matt vs. Jeff was a mediocre match when they tried it in 2001...will it be any better now? Second, Christian could put this over vastly better on the mic. Matt will cut some crappy promo on Jeff like his promo on Edge in 2005 when he returned to Raw, then this angle will die a quick death. Either that or he'll just become another Edge lackey in the Chavo vein. All that to swerve people who thought Christian would show up tonight?

 

--The Rumble. I popped for Orton kicking Vince's ass on Raw, but it didn't mean I wanted him to win this thing. Truth be told I wasn't thrilled with either Orton or HHH winning it. There were perhaps too many major names in it in the first half of the Rumble, thus preventing the fun "clearing the ring" spots we usually get. Rey lasted way too long in it this year, Knox should have tossed him in quick fashion once he hit the ring. Santino and Ziggler's quick tosses were also really funny stuff.

 

The RVD guest spot ruled big time. The greatness of these RVD cameos is that he picks times when no one is really suspecting anything and shows up to get a massive pop. In fact I was seriously hoping that RVD had signed a new deal and thus was going to take this thing in his homestate. Can anyone argue that Van Dam was the most over guy in the ring for the time he was in it? I wish he'd come back full time, though he probably would end up doing nothing.

 

As far as the aftermath goes, who knows what will happen with Orton. So in that respect this show did work. I doubt the WM main event ends up being Cena/Orton, so who knows. Maybe Orton ends up in the EC next month, or someone else wins the title there and goes on to face Orton at WM. With both titles on the line in EC matches they almost have to change one of the titles.

 

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

They need to not toy around with the winner stipulation. It's been done too many times already. Especially in the past few years.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

--Jeff/Edge was a very good match since these guys can practically wrestle each other in their sleep by this point. I thought Hardy had hurt himself during the table spot on Chavo. They made a mistake in turning Matt heel here though and I'll explain why. First, sure everyone thought Christian was the culprit but him being the culprit is the better idea. Matt vs. Jeff was a mediocre match when they tried it in 2001...will it be any better now? Second, Christian could put this over vastly better on the mic. Matt will cut some crappy promo on Jeff like his promo on Edge in 2005 when he returned to Raw, then this angle will die a quick death. Either that or he'll just become another Edge lackey in the Chavo vein. All that to swerve people who thought Christian would show up tonight?

 

Are you seriously that stupid and can't see the improvement how Jeff and Matt have made as singles wrestlers? Seriously... That match was pretty much 8 years ago, and back then they both were sloppy workers.

[haws bah gawd 0]

I posted this in the "Future Plans" thread, but thought I'd mention it here too. FWIW, Matt Hardy's Myspace has Christian's "Just Close Your Eyes" theme looping repeatedly in the background.

 

www.myspace.com/theonlymatthardy

[JHawk 0]

Just a quick thought from the Rumble (and if someone else mentioned my apologies but I'm not reading 22 pages):

 

While I understand the finish if the Rumble match itself, was anybody else thinking the Legacy being the final three and one (or both) refusing to leave the ring for Orton would be much more intriguing that Super Hunter nearly winning it all from impossible odds?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Sup gang?

 

On TV, were there massive "We Want Christian" and "Santino!" chants and a big pop for Duggan? My section was doing all of this and it made it sound like the whole arena was.

 

This was a blast to be at live.

[Diamonddust 0]

Sup gang?

 

On TV, were there massive "We Want Christian" and "Santino!" chants and a big pop for Duggan? My section was doing all of this and it made it sound like the whole arena was.

 

This was a blast to be at live.

 

The "We Want Christian" chant definitely played out on TV at the beginning of Edge/Jeff.

 

 

[The Niggardly King 0]

Heard everything Venk, 'cept for the Santino chant

[JHawk 0]

Sup gang?

 

On TV, were there massive "We Want Christian" and "Santino!" chants and a big pop for Duggan? My section was doing all of this and it made it sound like the whole arena was.

 

This was a blast to be at live.

 

The "We Want Christian" chant definitely played out on TV at the beginning of Edge/Jeff.

The Santino chant definitely came off well on TV as well.

[haws bah gawd 0]

I could distinctly hear "We Want Christian", and an insane amount of support behind Hacksaw. That crowd would have blown up if "Just Close Your Eyes" hit towards the end of that match.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I swear to God, Duggan getting eliminated got the second most amount of boos besides RVD.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

I swear to God, Duggan getting eliminated got the second most amount of boos besides RVD.

 

Agreed.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

There were also 3 guys yelling "YOU'RE NOT LEDGER!" at Jeff. I doubt those made it to air.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Venk, don't know if you DVR'd it or not, but here's an ongoing stream of the repeat.

 

http://www.justin.tv/obama_barack

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I'm going to sleep soon, figured I'd search the net for it tomorrow morning. Thanks though.

[Jebus 0]

While I understand the finish if the Rumble match itself, was anybody else thinking the Legacy being the final three and one (or both) refusing to leave the ring for Orton would be much more intriguing that Super Hunter nearly winning it all from impossible odds?

Indeed.

HHH in the final four (not to mention the final two) for the umpteenth time is just dull.

So much big time talent to choose from...but nope, come Rumble and Mania, it's always HHH in the end.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

LMAO @ Beth Phoenix making Melina kick herself in the back of the head. I had never seen a move like that before.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

You know, I just thought of someone who would have worked better if it was one against Legacy.

 

CM Punk.

 

Even without Manu this time around, it's still the same three he had to deal with in the past.

[The Niggardly King 0]

I will say screw most of the haters online, the Duggan entry was awesome. Kane, Show, and Taker leaning into his punches and selling them as if he were Hogan will forever be an awesome part of this year's Rumble, might go down as one of my favorites.

 

 

[Boner Kawanger 0]

My friend and I were waiting for Duggan the whole time, even discussing it on the way back from driving about an hour to finally see The Wrestler. Since I was doing that all day, I had no idea RVD had been spotted or whatever, so I marked out huge, then recoiled in fear that It would be Chuck Van Haas or something, then marked out again.

 

EDIT: The Undertaker standing behind a glowering Jericho and ghoul-ing up was almost an iconic image and made me want to see them go one on one for the first time at WrestleMania, but only if they're going to keep JBL/Michaels going to WM.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

The Undertaker standing behind a glowering Jericho and ghoul-ing up was almost an iconic image and made me want to see them go one on one for the first time at WrestleMania, but only if they're going to keep JBL/Michaels going to WM.

 

I made sure to take a picture of the Titantron when that happened. A lot of my pictures turned out nicely from my seats and I look forward to the daunting task of working on them today.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Was your area cheering for MVP? I'm still surprised at how over he was last night. Never thought the losing streak gimmick would get him over this way.

[Black Lushus 0]

I was happy to hear the MVP chants and happy to hear the crowd actually boo his elimination. Maybe this year will be kinder to him.

[King Cucaracha 0]

It's called "The Victory" or "The patented move"

 

Please note: DrVenkman has a trademark on the joke that the move is called "The Victory".

 

That's my joke, damnit! Give it back!

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I thought I made it first in the Raw thread where I pointed out Cole kept saying "Cena is going for... The Victory!" after word came out about it being renamed the Throwback. If not it's all yours.

[King Cucaracha 0]

You said "The Finish or The Victory". If I cared enough I'd link it. I just wanted attention really.

 

Having not seen the show, this talk of Beth making Melina kick herself in the head... I take it they just stole the Cheerleader Melissa/MsChif spot from SHIMMER?

 

 

EDIT:

Did Cole not get JR's memo about "The Throwback"? I kept waiting for him to call it that, and all three times (two attempts and one execution) it was referred to as "Going for the win" (once) or "the victory", which gave me an idea of what to call a finisher if I were ever to be a wrestler. That will never happen, so I'll just name a move that in SVR 09 someday.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I've already started referring to it officially and concisely as "The Victory" in honour of our friend Michael Cole. I just hope it sticks.

 

It's like a Victory Roll, only more successful.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Very good then. Combined efforts!

 

Listening to Wrestling Observer Radio, it sounds like Kendrick's quick elimination is due to him being in the dog house for "not listening".

[The Niggardly King 0]

He probably failed another piss test.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

 

WWE.com was kind enough to do Rumble stats. http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/participants09/

[Black Lushus 0]

That's too bad about Kendrick, I think doing the "Ezekiel saves him from elimination multiple times" spots would have been fun.