The Undertaker returned to Raw on Monday and announced that he would be entering the 2017 Royal Rumble. The announcement was made during the top of the show’s second hour where Stephanie McMahon threatened GM Mick Foley with the possible loss of his job if ‘The Deadman’ didn’t appear.
Raw emanated from New Orleans where the Phenom’s WrestleMania streak was broken. Undertaker mentioned this to a course of boos and followed up with that he’s dug 29 holes for 29 souls. Undertaker closed the segment by vowing to win the Rumble and return to the main event of WrestleMania.
This was an interesting appearance on a few fronts. Taker stated that he goes where he wants, wherever he wants, and that no one controls him, which heavily suggests that he’s not going to be tied to one specific brand. Continue reading “The Undertaker enters the 2017 Royal Rumble”→
It’s only fair to start this post by stating that this match is probably not going to happen….but what if?
An image made its voyage around the internet last week hyping a fantasy match up at next year’s Royal Rumble pitting WWE World Champion AJ Styles against Shawn Michaels. Styles himself added more fuel to the speculative fire when he tweeted out the image in question and said “Interesting photo…is it not?” Continue reading “The Odds of AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels Actually Happening”→
What is your favorite wrestling match? This is the single hardest question for any enthusiast of the squared circle to answer. There have been so many legendary nights over the years that it’s hard to narrow it down to just one.
Over the next ten weeks I’m going to write about my ten favorite wrestling matches of all-time. The listings will be in no particular order as I’ve given up on trying to rank every match in specific fashion. Now I just enjoy them as fun collection.
The 29th annual WWE Royal Rumble emanated from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, with a jam-packed card full of great matches, good storytelling, and some major surprises. Traditionally, the 30 man over the top rope Royal Rumble match grants the winner a world title main event at WrestleMania. This year, however, things were quite different.
Roman Reigns spent the majority of 2015 being screwed out of becoming WWE World Heavyweight champion in front of the camera while behind the scenes, WWE has been working tirelessly to have him supplant John Cena as the face of the company.
On December 14th, due to a plethora of injuries that has plagued the roster, the decision was made to expedite Roman Reigns’ coronation as the top guy, and booking him to win the championship.
In front of the camera, The Authority comprised of Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon made the unprecedented move to force Roman Reigns to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match against 29 other wrestlers, while making Reigns the first entrant into the contest, essentially making it a one vs. all affair.
Royal Rumble Rules: The match starts with entrants one and two, and every two minutes after, another wrestler enters the Rumble, according to the number they drew.
Roman Reigns made short work of Bulgarian brute, Rusev, who drew #2. The next entrant was the surprise of the night as AJ MOTHER&^%$#@ STYLES made his way to the ring.
If you’re a wrestling fan whose only experience with the genre is what occurs on WWE television, the name AJ Styles might be foreign to you. The Gainesville, Georgia native, at 38 years old, is arguably the best wrestler on the planet today. He is an 18-year veteran who has been tearing it up in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling for the past two years.
Much to WWE’s credit, they didn’t change a thing about his character. They went out of their way to promote him as a big deal based on his illustrious past, and even made reference to the Internet rumors of his pending arrival. This is something WWE rarely does today.
Styles made a great showing for himself, lasting 28 minutes until he was thrown out by French Canadian braggart Kevin Owens, which was booed more than any other elimination.
Roman Reigns looked to have things well in hand until he was blindsided by the League of Nations with Vince McMahon watching on in approval. Reigns was escorted by medical personnel to the locker room, and it appeared that his night was over.
The Wyatt Family made their backwoods cult like presence felt as stable monster Braun Strowman eliminated wrestler after wrestler, making him the Rumble’s biggest obstacle.
Then Brock Lesnar arrived, and dished out his violence fused onslaught christened Suplex City. Lesnar eliminated Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Brawn Storwman, thus ruining plans to ensure victory for their leader, Bray Wyatt, who hadn’t entered the match until after the fact.
Later on, the eliminated Wyatt Family members interfered and threw out Lesnar, which appears to set the stage for a Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt showdown at WrestleMania.
NXT standout Sami Zayn was another surprise entrant in the Rumble. He made a b-line for Kevin Owens and eliminated him, hopefully rekindling their feud from last year.
Roman Reigns returned to the match, delivering Superman punches to everyone in sight. Triple H was the 30th entrant into the Rumble, which many predicted, and fell in line with Vince McMahon’s promise that Reigns will never see Triple H coming.
Triple H eliminated Roman Reigns, leaving him and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose as the final two wrestlers. The Amway Center was electric as the prospect of Ambrose becoming champion excited the sold out crowd. In the end, Triple H eliminated the Lunatic Fringe, winning his second Royal Rumble while capturing his 14th WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Earlier action saw Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match to retain the IC belt. The comedic trio of The New Day bested the Usos to retain the tag team titles. Kalisto beat Alberto Del Rio to earn a second, and hopefully more fruitful run as United States champion.
Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch in a great match to hold on to the Divas title. Post-match activity saw the return of Sasha Banks, the most popular female wrestler on the roster. She applied her Bank Statement submission hold onto Charlotte, sending a message to the champ that she is next in line.
This was one of the best booked Royal Rumble events in quite some time. Even though Triple H’s involvement and his title win could be seen coming from a mile away, it made sense with the plight of Roman Reigns story that WWE is telling.
man Reigns vs. Triple H appears to be the featured attraction for WrestleMania on April 3. Some question whether this match will draw a record crowd to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
With John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, and Cesaro being legitimately injured and missing the big event, Reigns/Hunter is probably the safest option since the hero’s chase of the title is always more compelling story.
Professional wrestling maybe the strangest business in existence. That doesn’t mean the word “respect” is lost on the genre. In fact, it’s one of the first things listed on the syllabus of Wrestling 101. Whether you are humble or arrogant, no one is immune to taking part in this lesson.
Those who learn to appreciate the privilege of being in the business will, in time, start to earn respect from those who’ve come before you. The ones who are stubborn and hard headed will either learn the hard way or be shown the exit.
Tough Enough winner, Josh Bredl, made headlines this week for a disparaging remark he made on Twitter about the Social Outcasts being “Social Jobbers.” This reportedly drew the ire of several WWE superstars, with Stardust and Kevin Owens publicly firing shots at the Division I athlete.
Click here to check out the column in its entirety at Gerweck.net: Pro Wrestling Since 1997
This Sunday will mark the 28th installment of the Royal Rumble. The Rumble itself is arguably the year’s most anticipated match. Between the wrestlers’ order of entry and that element of surprise when the unexpected occurs, there are many nuances that make this match so exciting.
Going back to the inaugural Royal Rumble in 1988, it is clear that this initially was not some grand concept that would serve as a cornerstone of WWE programming. Quite a few things occurred that go against the grain of what we have been conditioned to expect today.
This week on The Body Slam Podcast, Atlee, Todd and Shane review the 2014 Royal Rumble, breakdown Raw from this past Monday and give their thoughts CM Punk’s exit from WWE.
The WWE Network is the talk of the town and everyone is making their own judgment. Will this usher in a new era for wrestling and beyond or is it the next XFL? It’s too early to predict the extent that such an undertaking will reach. However, it is clear that cable and satellite providers are going to take a financial loss because this network will change the landscape of Pay-Per-View in one form or another.
The main course of this Sunday’s Royal Rumble will be the WWE championship match between CM Punk and The Rock. While the rumble match is still the apple of many eyes, this is a one match show that has everyone talking for a variety of reasons. Who do you want to win? Who do you think should win? What do you think is the likely going to happen? Let’s talk.
The unsung hero of the Royal Rumble event is the golden spinning tumbler that holds the numbers drawn randomly to determine the order of entry into the Royal Rumble match. The luck of the draw is so important because the higher the number, the higher a wrestler’s chances are of victory. Back in the day, the actual drawing of the numbers was focused on a lot more because it gave fans a clue as to what spot the wrestlers drew without revealing the actual point of entry.
RingsideLogic.com 