Royal Rumble Discussion Thread

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 4:32 am

A place for everybody to vent.

What a disappointment that was. The biggest show of defiance I have ever witnessed from a WWE crowd, this wasn't Raw or a partisan crowd after Wrestlemania or in England or Chicago, this was Royal Rumble the second biggest night in the WWE programming schedule, the main event and it flopped, not just with "smarks" or on the internet, it flopped in the arena with the fans. The Orton-Cena match was just the start.

Batista was supposed to be the huge face returnee, a massively popular guy, winning the Rumble in his first match back and the crowd hated it. Roman Reigns who has only ever been a heel member of a three-man group was getting bigger cheers than Batista got on his return after four years out. WWE have essentially listened to WWE fans and told them they don't care. How can they possibly believe that this was the best way to go? Imagine the vitriol if Orton-Batista is the main event of Wrestlemania, they appear to be begging the WWE fans to riot.

I could accept Daniel Bryan not appearing in the Rumble, I could even accept Batista winning the Royal Rumble, what I can't accept is WWE purposely, not for the first time, attempting to bury Daniel Bryan. If you tried to explain the situation to somebody who wasn't a fan of wrestling, that there was a guy so popular he was being chanted for in random matches, or whenever he was on screen but WWE were trying to hold him back, they would be baffled. If you were watching a film in which the villain was constantly putting down one guy, holding him back and the hero didn't just not get his comeuppance but was dropped 2/3 of the way through the film, you'd be incredibly confused. They allowed him to lose in the opening match and gave no resolution to that, they have allowed Triple H (the legitimate booker of the program), a semi-retired wrestler to put him down repeatedly without any sign of resolution. They have hinted at Daniel Bryan rising up and repeatedly put him down and WWE fans have responded by booing the world title match, booing the Royal Rumble. I feel sorry for the wrestlers towards the end of the Rumble who had their hard work ruined by WWE's stupidity, by WWE's horrendous booking.

There were a few highlights:

Bryan-Wyatt was a fantastic match, and Wyatt winning would have been good had Daniel Bryan at least entered the Rumble, instead it's actually a burial.
Brock destroying Big Show was fantastic. The F5 looked awesome.
Reigns showing in the Rumble as well as The Shield break up.
The crowd dissenting.

The worst parts:

The burial of Daniel Bryan
Batista winning the Royal Rumble
The amount of crap people in the Rumble including Kevin Nash (whose last return also flopped), El Torito, R-Truth, Ryback...I can accept JBL because he's excellent.
The Orton-Cena match apart from the crowd's reaction or non-reaction to it.

This shouldn't be a surprise, it happened in 2011 with Punk and it has happened in 2013/14 with Daniel Bryan. WWE in the modern age is bitter and arrogant and refuses to listen to its fan base or even logic. They pick their guys, they pick their feuds and they stick to it.

I know the justification will be that this is no different from The Rock, that Batista is a movie star and a big name in wrestling who gives legitimacy to the WWE and means the biggest matches can feature. Except this is totally different, The Rock was hugely popular (at least at first), he's one of, if not the biggest action movie star in the world, he's one of the most recognisable faces in world media, movies are sold using his name and he was at the top of WWE in their most successful period getting huge crowd reactions. Batista can barely be classed as a movie star having had small to medium roles in mediocre movies, he's never been used to sell a movie, Guardians of the Galaxy for example is not Batista being a big star he's part of an ensemble cast in which he is one of the least known guys and when Batista was a wrestler he was never as over as WWE wanted him to be.

But WWE never cease to amaze me in their defiance to storyline writing and the fans reaction. Randy Orton has consistently flopped as a main eventer, when he is at the top, people switch off, people don't hate him as a heel, they just don't care about him full stop. X-Pac heat should be renamed Orton heat. I genuinely thought WWE were going to de-push Orton, that he had his last chance at being the top guy and he blew it again. That it would be the last time Orton was pushed to the top. Yet tonight has proved me wrong again, not only has he retained the title, but he looks set to have a world title feud, presumably the main event against Batista who was booed out of the building against a heel who had been in WWE just over a year.

I am likely to watch Raw only in the hope that the WWE fans continue to show their defiance towards WWE and boo Batista and continue to back Daniel Bryan. WWE are hoping that WWE fans will lose hope that Daniel Bryan will ever make it to the top but they have to stay strong and continue to show their support.

I will conclude by saying I am with crippledtart now, WWE never wanted to really push CM Punk in 2011 and they don't really want to push Bryan now.

by **VDT** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:10 am

2 hours sleep - this is gonna be a fun day in work!

Agreed with most of you said - gonna watch it again with my son (who's 8) after work and he's not gonna be happy! All his favourites lost and a guy he's never heard of wins the rumble!

by poc.sco Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:11 am

crowd reaction said it all, with the number of unnamed participants they had room to turn it round mid-PPV but decided to go with the pre-defined script.

funny as it could have a detrimental effect on the next PPV sales and/ or the viewer numbers for tonights raw as it certainly seemed like a slap in the face of the fans.

incidently bray wyatt is awesome and batista looks old, that is all...

by CenaNuff Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:29 am

Fantastic article, agree with every word of it. I have also said from day one that WWE never wanted to push Bryan and was constantly put down for it, I think after last night there is no longer any doubt about it.

by Uryu Ishida Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:40 am

right, i just finished watching it....

Pre Show match: ** 1/2 average pre show match in my opinion but the change was suprising.

Bryan v Wyatt: **** 1/2 EXCELLENT match, the story was told well, Bray Wyatt with that Sister Abigail to the barrier capped it off wonderfully. I think this match made Wyatt.

Lesnar v Show: ** WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY was this so badly done! have them batter each other to shreads and then finish with the chair beatdown! Big Show got nothing here and I feel Lesnar got nothing too...

Cena v Orton: ** I am so tempted to give this a DUD because I am sick to death of these guys going at each other, I glanced the raws and smackdowns leading up to this, I did not care for this match at all. The end was similar to Rock v Cena 2 with the finisherfest.... GIVE US SOMETHING NEW!! oh, Wyatt was there? He is rumored to be Cenas opponent for Wrestlemania? get me a coffin for his career....

Royal Rumble Match: ***

The good: Reigns and his damn good superman punches, cesaro swingfest

the bad: El Torito ( why...), JBL ( WHYYYYYY), Nash and Reigns not getting to fight each other much, Rusev being a complete unknown and little info on him before the rumble. ( I dont watch NXT ). The constant record mentioning by commentary... No Daniel Bryan

the typical: Kofi spot , NXT star in there that crowd don't care about. 5 second 'legend' spot.

I felt this was a terrible show except for Bryan v Wyatt and the good of the RR. The fans made themselves known tonight at how bad this was, keep it up.

by TopoftheChops Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:49 am

I wouldn't have minded if Reigns won at the end but Batista winning bites the bullet, he looked so shoddy in the ring and can't promo as a face. It's a waste of a match, the only way they can push bryan is by having a chamber match between wyatt, cena, orton, lesnar, punk and bryan and making him win

This will mean the main events will be:
Cena vs Wyatt
Bryan vs Orton vs Batista
Lesnar vs Taker
Punk vs HHH

by Shot 21 LCFC Mon 27 Jan 2014, 11:33 am

I actually enjoyed the PPV. The biggest let down for me was the fans. Completley ruined it. Good to see the New Age Outlaws get the Tag Team belts - mark my words, The Usos are walking out of Wrestlemania with those belts.

Bray Wyatt v Daniel Bryan started slow but got better as it went on. The crowd tried to kill it with "Husky Harris" chants but they failed. Sister Abigail on the barrier looked vicious. Im glad Wyatt won but didnt ecpect it clean. Wyatt is getting a major push - good.

I was a bit dissapointed with Brock Lesnar v Big Show but the F5 looked good.

John Cena v Randy Orton - once again started slow but got better. I enjoyed them using each others finishers - Cenas RKO looked pretty good. Once again crowd ruined this. Interesting to see Wyatts targeting Cena, looks like this match may end up happening at Mania. Please let Wyatt win that!

The actual rimble itself was decent enough. Nobody has mention Roman Reigns taking the elimination record from Kane! I knew he would have the most eliminations but not that much! In his first appearance too! I was expecting Bryan to be in it myself and didnt really want Batista to win But no need for the fans to completely boo everyting. Enjoyed The Shield segments.

by Gregers Mon 27 Jan 2014, 11:42 am

Well put shot, was just typing something similar myself but you have put it far more eloquently

Uryu, in relation to your tumble thoughts:

Torito - because the rumble always has a comedy moment, if you don't relaise that then you clearly don't understand booking logic

JBL - as stated to give him a nod, never been in the rumble before

Rusev - god forbid they give a small push to a newcomer and see how he does. I thought he looked impressive. Oh and you should watch nXt, its really rather good

Kofi - the spot was clever and well done

And it was clearly not terrible, was it a classic? No. But bray and Bryan put in an early moty candidate and then we got bray going after cena. Rumble was well done, reigns was awesome and sheamus returning was cool

Out of this ppv we have Punk vs Kane, Cena vs Bray, Batista vs Brock/Orton, the shield breakup, Goldust accidentally eliminating Cody. Some extremely good set up there

by Brilliant_yep Mon 27 Jan 2014, 11:51 am

I don't think I'd have minded Batista winning AS MUCH if he was a surprise entrance,but announcing his return in advance made it inevitable,I was just hoping it was a swerve and they'd give Punk the win.
For me it reeked of 2002 when Triple H returned to announce he was returning 2 weeks later to win the rumble.
Would anyone else have not been as mad if he was a surprise entrant?

by Fernando Mon 27 Jan 2014, 11:59 am

no the people would still be peed because he isn't Daniel Bryan essentially.

by JamesLincs Mon 27 Jan 2014, 12:10 pm

me and my mates cheered his loss to wyatt because we believed it was because he was going to enter the rumble. i was convinced he was going to be number 28 and win.

unfortunately my mates and i called most of the rumble.. in our sweepstake i wanted 28. we knew rollins would be number 2

then the whole world knew there would be a 3 on 1 moment on punk as well him being eliminated late on by kane.

the title match was as predictable as the rumble as far as the move set was concerned, although i didnt expect the wyatts involvement. the rest of the match we called move by move and it was starting to turn into rock/cena from mania last year.

bryan v wyatt like everyone said was the best match. enjoyed lesnar going psycho. but thats it for me, hated the rest.

most predictable ppv in history

by BCFCCOOPS Mon 27 Jan 2014, 12:44 pm

I thought jbl/bradshaw was in the rumble when kye and thai kept comin to the ring??

by **VDT** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 12:47 pm

BCFCCOOPS wrote:I thought jbl/bradshaw was in the rumble when kye and thai kept comin to the ring??

Michael Cole did clarify that the JBL character has never been in the rumble

by BCFCCOOPS Mon 27 Jan 2014, 12:51 pm

Ohh i havent watched just read reports sorry. Why was nash in there seriously??

by Bluebird_ccfc Mon 27 Jan 2014, 1:48 pm

I enjoyed the Bryan - wyatt match the most from last night. The one thing I am worried about is that Cena will ruin the momentum that wyatt is getting. Look at the previous times when a heel faction has entered the wwe and come against Cena. They are all destroyed and never seen again.

by **VDT** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 1:52 pm

My favourite bit was now Michael Cole kept saying #REMATCH is the number 1 # on twitter - but if you look on twitter anyone was saying stuff like "This #rematch is awful" "Bored #rematch" Please #rematch finish - wanna see the rumble" etc etc don't remember seeing a positive tweet!

by JamesLincs Mon 27 Jan 2014, 1:59 pm

me and my mate were desperate for barrett to interupt the rumble and declare it the worst in histor

by JamesLincs Mon 27 Jan 2014, 2:01 pm

30 men compete, only one is going to win. he will go on to headline wrestlemania!... but im afraid ive got some bad news! this is the worst royal rumble in history.

by Samo Mon 27 Jan 2014, 2:05 pm

Thought the Daniel Bryan - Bray Wyatt match was excellent. Both guys come out looking a million bucks, especially Wyatt.

They had to make Lesnar look though and I think they succeeded, somewhat. It was cheap to take Show out with a chair early on, but taking a KO punch and not get KO'd from Kayfabe is huge. Plus the beat down made him look beast.

Cena - Orton was a snooze fest. Interesting to see where they go from here with Cena and Wyatt.

The Rumble Match. Better than last years, but screw the end to hell. When Rey-Rey came out at #30 I thought "Ok, no D-Bry. I can deal with that as long as Punk wins." Then Kane eliminates Punk and I thought "Well, that sucks, but I suppose it makes sense, can build from this quite easily." Then all I wanted more than anything was Reigns to win. Smashed Kanes record, lasted 3 longest after Punk and Rollins, and looked phlucking phenomenal doing it. And then Batista screws it all up.

Im a Reigns guy through and through now.

I'll post the League table up shortly once I've drawn it up.

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 2:07 pm

There were tweets about that last night saying if you were going to stick 2 fingers up to the crowd do it properly...countdown begins...

Barret's music plays...he comes out 'I've got some bad news...Bryan is not in the Rumble...I have his spot'!!

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 2:50 pm

How can you feel let down by the fans?

They showed the WWE that they're not just going to eat up their usual crap, they had paid huge amounts of money to be there that night and WWE stuck two fingers up at them. The Cena/Orton match was awful, Orton got no reaction, Cena got a lot more boos than cheers. The Rumble itself was okay, but the benefit of hindsight makes it poor, the Batista win was not only poor booking it actually flopped on the night and WWE have now got some explaining to do, they surely can't brush over the fact that their big face was booed out of the building. It says it all that Batista's return got less of a reaction from the fans than Bryan does when he's not even on the screen or Punk does each and every week. People just aren't that bothered about watching him.

WWE have proved for me last night that they are quite bitter, they don't like guys who are chosen by the fans, they only want to stick by their manufactured guys who in every case are less popular, less impressive in the ring, less impressive on the mic than either Punk or Bryan which is such a shame.

I'm surprised people are disappointed in the Lesnar match, I didn't want Show looking like his equal, Big Show should have had nothing from that match and that's essentially what he got. Show had got the better of Lesnar every week on Raw so it was important that Lesnar absolutely destroyed him, which he did.

Roman Reigns to be fair was fantastic, I'm not surprised he broke the record, I am surprised he was the runner up. He put in an excellent showing and is surely a face now considering the reaction he got last night.

by Kid Vicious Mon 27 Jan 2014, 3:03 pm

I'm just responding to the original post, rather than the messages in the thread.
This is not a criticism of you Crimey, nor a disagreement on what you've written, but what you're saying is basically, "I don't like WWE, I don't like WWE, I don't like WWE, but I'm watching it again tonight"

And you all will. So why would WWE change a winning formula?

by bretmeharty Mon 27 Jan 2014, 4:11 pm

You have to give the fans something to cheer, you don't expect the just cheer for the sake of it. Like what was said in the OP, the level of boredom has now far surpassed the internet fan and reached its way to the average mainstream fan in the crowd. Orton and Cena, we've seen it all before. etc etc.

by NickisBHAFC Mon 27 Jan 2014, 4:21 pm

Pre Show - Good match and i actually cheered when the Outlaws won as i never expected it.

Bryan vs Wyatt - Amazing match. Great spots, and for me just shows that Wyatt is also brilliant in the ring as well as his superb mic skills. This guy for me should be the one to take Undertaker's streak soon and maybe start a streak of his own.

Lesnar vs Big Show - I would of preferred the match to of been longer, but no complaints with the finish. The f5 was class and the brutal attack on Big Show needed to be done.

Cena vs Orton. Match wasn't bad, but these 2 just bore me. Did enjoy the whole thing with Wyatt. No complaints if it is Cena vs Wyatt at Wrestle Mania, just as long as it isn't the main event.

The Rumble itself, was actually one of the worst ever i thought. I did like Reigns, he was brilliant. Goldust eliminating Cody and The Cessaro swings were just about as good as it got.

If Batista returned last night and won, i wouldn't of minded it, and i doubt the boos would of been that loud, in fact he may of even got a pop like the one Sheamus got.

Rey Mysterio at Number 30? YOU SERIOUS? Frak stupid. Guy was boring in 2006, boring in 2014. I was so sure it was going to be Bryan, but as people have said, WWE simply stuck 2 fingers at the crowd.

JBL thing actually annoyed me the most. Love the bloke don't get me wrong, but what a waste of an entrant and the whole thing was just stupid.

That little midget also wound me up.

No complaints about the nxt guy and Nash tbh.

The only thing i look forward to Raw tonight, is if the fans continue to boo Batista and rebel against the WWE.

Fans did there job last night, we need the fans to do it again tonight.

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 4:23 pm

Kid Vicious wrote:I'm just responding to the original post, rather than the messages in the thread.
This is not a criticism of you Crimey, nor a disagreement on what you've written, but what you're saying is basically, "I don't like WWE, I don't like WWE, I don't like WWE, but I'm watching it again tonight"

And you all will. So why would WWE change a winning formula?

I'm not saying that though am I? WWE do a lot right, they promise a lot but have failed to deliver again. I don't know how anybody could have watched the Rumble and come away satisfied. The fans in the arena were showing their displeasure, it flopped, they failed to listen to their fans.

That is not indicative of a winning formula, was that a good advertisement for WWE or buying the WWE Network?

by Nay Mon 27 Jan 2014, 4:50 pm

There are a lot of things that annoyed me about the Rumble but JBL entering didn't in anyway what so ever both me and I am unsure why JBL annoyed everyone so much. It's not like he stole Bryan's place.

I genuinely can't see the difference between him entering and getting thrown straight away as Reigns fodder and say Zak Ryder running down to be thrown straight out again.

As for the PPV as a whole I thought WWE did a lot of things right, Bray Wyatt, The Shield and Reigns, Goldust and Cody. The problem is the one thing they didn't do right is becoming such a huge thing it now hides when they actually do build feuds and continue story lines well.

by Kid Vicious Mon 27 Jan 2014, 5:00 pm

Crimey wrote:
Kid Vicious wrote:I'm just responding to the original post, rather than the messages in the thread.
This is not a criticism of you Crimey, nor a disagreement on what you've written, but what you're saying is basically, "I don't like WWE, I don't like WWE, I don't like WWE, but I'm watching it again tonight"

And you all will. So why would WWE change a winning formula?

I'm not saying that though am I? WWE do a lot right, they promise a lot but have failed to deliver again. I don't know how anybody could have watched the Rumble and come away satisfied. The fans in the arena were showing their displeasure, it flopped, they failed to listen to their fans.

That is not indicative of a winning formula, was that a good advertisement for WWE or buying the WWE Network?

Not literally no, more figurative. But you still bought the PPV in spite of so many awful PPV's over the last few years (Summerslam and a few other gems notwithstanding), as did a lot on here. And you'll still watch it tonight, as a lot will also do on here. So as much as everyone hates what happened last night (and aside from the occasional gem of a PPV/Storyline, it seems wrestling in general over the last 10 years), WWE get it right cos you'll all tune in want to see what happens in the fall out on RAW.

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 5:06 pm

Nay Bother wrote:There are a lot of things that annoyed me about the Rumble but JBL entering didn't in anyway what so ever both me and I am unsure why JBL annoyed everyone so much. It's not like he stole Bryan's place.

I genuinely can't see the difference between him entering and getting thrown straight away as Reigns fodder and say Zak Ryder running down to be thrown straight out again.

As for the PPV as a whole I thought WWE did a lot of things right, Bray Wyatt, The Shield and Reigns, Goldust and Cody. The problem is the one thing they didn't do right is becoming such a huge thing it now hides when they actually do build feuds and continue story lines well.

Have they built feuds that well though!?

Bryan has been shoe horned into a Wyatt angle ...beat down by them...joined them turning heel...then turning face 2 weeks later without actually going over Bray...then losing to him at 2nd biggest PPV of the year. When was his last meaningful win...and clean one to boot?! He looks like the underdog that never actually overcomes the odds....would be difficult to buy into him beating Taker.

Punk has gone from authority angle...to random angle...to shield angle...to Wyatt angle...back to Shield angle back to Authority angle and is now feuding with Kane...if he comes up against HHH it's come far to late for it to really matter and it will be rushed together after Elimination Chamber where he's likely to battle Kane...either that or he goes into Chamber, doesn't settle feud with Kane there so does it at Mania..what kind of pay off is that?!

Cena - Has been out injured, thrown straight into title mixes...firstly going to Smackdown to pick up title...brief feud with Rio then Sandow..then pushed back to RAW to bring titles together in a feud that one one actually cared for between two guys who the audience don't actually care about. Now he is set to feud with a family that have had little to do with him...with a back story which probably won't make sense.

The only positives are The Shield, Wyatt Family & Goldust/Rhodes and I fully expect them to drop the ball with these:

Wyatt to be buried by Cena at Mania.
The Shield but for them to somehow get the push of Reigns wrong
Goldust/Rhodes to match off at Mania but get a 5 minute slot!

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 5:13 pm

Reports on Bryan and Foley's tweets last night was the second most read story on the BBC website today, it continues to stay in the top ten. Huge.

by **Mat** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 5:21 pm

I don't really know where WWE are going to go with Bryan or Punk after this, I hope to god Punk's mania match isn't against Kane, that would be such a waste. Bryan, well I haven't got a clue. Hopefully he gets to face HHH or Taker at Mania but not holding my breath. Batista winning the rumble is awful booking in my eyes, he really isn't that big a draw.

I thought Punk was going to win the rumble, with Lesnar winning the belt at Elimination Chamber and we were going to get something along the lines of Lesnar vs Punk for the title, Cena vs Taker, Batista vs Orton and Bryan vs HHH as the 4 main matches of Mania.

Now it seems like it will be Cena vs Wyatt, which I think could prove alright as long as Wyatt doesn't get buried. Wouldn't be surprised to see them give Reigns a shot at the streak the way they are building him. Like I said above though, not really got any idea what they will do with Bryan or Punk that is worthy of the support they get from the crowd.

by VoiceOfTheVoiceless Mon 27 Jan 2014, 6:00 pm

On a side note, Kane seemed to be in the best shape in years, odd that it seems to be now he's stopped wrestling for abit.

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 6:05 pm

I think it's likely because he isn't wrestling so much he has had time to rest and recover and therefore work out a bit more. He looked ripped though, he's in better shape than he's been since he first took the mask off.

by Guest Mon 27 Jan 2014, 6:18 pm

I'm willing to give it till Mania to see what happens. Id imagine Bryans tweets are storyline related and will be back in the Authority angle

I would be happy right now if title match aside at Mania you had Punk v HHH, Bryan v HBK, Cena v Wyatt, Lesnar v Taker

Still think that would make for a pretty awesome Mania

Plus last night you had them plant the seeds of the Shield splitting and saw what we all imagine to be the start of Rhodes and Goldust feud

by The Awesome Giz Mon 27 Jan 2014, 6:25 pm

After listening, reading and see everyone's reactions to last nights event, I have to admit this Bryan situation has overshadowed a lot of good things about the PPV. Now I'm sure some people may no I'm not particularly big Bryan fan, in fact I find him dull on the mic and he's got over with two simple chants that started because a bunch indie smarks couldn't say "I told you he's that good" after his Wrestlemania loss to Sheamus and the kids and casuel adult fans copy whatever anyone says and not know how to do it right either(see Undertaker getting whatted a year or so ago, you never what Taker!!!), however that said his charisma comes from with out a doubt his phenomenal in ring ability, and rather than being controversial for the sake of it. I would agree Bryan should have been the Number 30 entrant, and can completely understand why people love him and want him to be pushed. So I won't argue too much seeing as your precious Goat Face didn't get his title shot, I meen I can recognise when someone deserves his moment.

However....

There were some positives to take from this before I focus on the bigger problems. First of all Roman Reigns again gave an incredibly strong showing, and at one brief moment I did think that he could quite possibly win the rumble. Bray Wyatt is going from strength to strength, a great opening match with Bryan and those two Sister Abigails at the end were great. That catch one was awesome, and now he moves on to a feud with Cena, which should have him come out stronger to begin with, however a Cena at Mania seems like the norm here annoyingly. As for the Orton?Cena match I really enjoyed it myself, and the Wyatt end left me wanting to see what will happen next.

Oh you didn't know!!! Actually I was some what surprised and pleased with the tag match result, while NAO are obviously past it, the can still be a great springboard for the team who takes the belts off them preferably The Usos who have worked so hard this last year, and lets be honest main evented a lot of shows. As for the Rhodes brothers, a feud between the two is down the line, which again given Goldusts what fourth wind should we call it, could produce the fued needed to move from a nearly guy to one of those guys.

Now for the rumble itself, first off JBL who occasionally makes odd comments made a strange one of "not every royal rumble number has produced a winner" seeing as there have been less than 30 rumbles that made no sense. Along with Coles "first time as this character comment" which makes you wonder why a guy for so many years needed to do protection for money for beer, when he could have afforded it all along, no wonder JBL lives in Bermuda.

I'm getting to Bryan by the way...

As for the typical rumble participants, El Toritos I have no problem with as there is always one comedy spot, again it shows how bad Los Matatadatores are when the dwarf manager is more over, see Ricardo Rodriguez for further examples. Kingston again had stand out moments, actually that itself is another rumble watch is what crazy way will the top high flying guy save himself, see John Morrison for more. As for the "returns" great seeing Sheamus back huge fan of his work, better as a heel and a good pop to, bet he's happy he wasn't number 30, as for Khali and Nash/Diesel/Big Sexy/Oz what ever name he went by last night guys who can hardly walk like those two should be nowhere near that match anymore. It was all very well in the "days of the great Andre The Giant, the biggest men in battle royals have an advantage" as good ol' JR used to say, but please not again. JBL going in wasn't to bad either and much better than the Cole, Lawler and Booker farcical from the other year. Nice to see Rusev get a spot as well, been impressed with his NXT work, and will surely be on the main roster soon, much better than Bo Dallas too.

Now as for the main issue, first off I seriously think if Batista had not been announced, and been a surprise entrant and won the match, the Bryan anger would be much much less. Actually if that had happened, most people who complained would be viewed as "stop being bitter because what you wanted didn't happen", and we would all be on here today like "holy s*** Batistas back", on a side note he looked to still have a lot of ring rust. I have some sympathy for Rey seeing as it could have been anyone else and the reaction would have been the same. That said Batista was a heavy favourite to win and didn't Bryan say he wouldn't be in the match.

Instaed of writing what everyone else has wrote I'll end this long post with a few question.

It is Bryan not being in the rumble or not winning it that annoys you?
If Bryan were to have the Taker match at Wrestlemania would it make up for it, despite the rumoured card?
WWE have used these moments before there advantage, like the Montreal screwjob it is possible Vince saw this coming and is using it to his liking?
A lot of people say Hunter abuses his backstage power for himself and friends, while crushing people he didn't like too much, as it made arguably one the most hated heels of all time, can it be done again?
Is Bryan better as the hunter or the hunted?
And when might his steam fully run out?

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:04 pm

More positives than negatives last night. Huge negative, but theres still questions around said negative. I look forward to speaking to Gavin.

Can people stop saying Punk v HHH is bad because that should have been settled two years ago? Different story, far too long ago to have any impact; considering HHH still has certain weight to his name and works fine, its a big match.

They shouldnt have announced Batista. It ruined it.

by VoiceOfTheVoiceless Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:05 pm

Just came across this.....

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0127/569632/photo-batista-mocks-daniel-bryan-after-last-night-royal-rumble/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wrestlinginc_wwe_news+%28WrestlingInc.com+WWE+News%29&w8781=rldy5

by Kay Fabe Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:15 pm

I thought it was a really good show with a lot of storyline development but the ending of the show will cloud a lot of peoples view on it, Batista winning absolutely sucked, some people called it spot on but I couldn't see it at all, once Punk got eliminated it was a bum steer of an event.

Despite that though I thought the Bryan/Wyatt match was brilliant, really enjoyed Brock destroying Big Show, made perfect sense and the start of a Cena/Wyatt feud which im guessing will take us onto WrestleMania.

I thought Reigns came of age, great Rumble for him, more hints at the implosion of The Shield, more fuel to CM Punk's conspiracy theory too.

A lot of good things came out of The Royal Rumble but the winner sucks the enthusiasm out of it.

I might sound like a broken record here but I'm now wondering if Punk wins the Title in the Elimination Chamber then HHH can turn to Batiata to go full on heel mode to be 'the new face' of the WWE...I'd fully expect Punk/HHH now though, that being said, if Brock has challenged Orton, im not even sure if that's a lock but if he has then there will be no real need for a Chamber match since the title wouldn't be in it and the #1 contender for Mania has already been decided.

by NickisBHAFC Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:18 pm

WWE could well do a heel turn.

Batista vs Orton vs Bryan could be very likely.

by Kay Fabe Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:24 pm

I'd say turning Batista heel is the only way the WWE can salvage this but the WWE Champion is a heel, the number one contender is a heel so Batista being face does make sense however the face they have chosen is a guy who lost his appeal as a face 5/6 years ago, has been gone 4 years, is nearing 50 (even if he doesn't admit it) and the fans have clearly moved on.

As a heel all those negatives I listed become positives, we can then believe he's only in this position because of his friendship to HHH, we can use that to further fuel our support for the face, but to get behind a guy with all those negatives???? Pffft

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:27 pm

WWE could try and save themselves by allowing Batista to turn heel to make it look like the ending of the event was planned but that would put a spanner into the works of any Mania main events involving Batista and Lesnar or Punk.

As for whether a Bryan match with Undertaker would make up for it. I don't think so, the loss to Wyatt is really damaging I think. He could end up losing every PPV match on the Road to Wrestlemania if he's in the Chamber and then faces Undertaker. I think that will be really bad for Bryan's development as a star, he needed wins to cement his spot.

by Kay Fabe Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:31 pm

Does anyone think the Chamber match this year might be for the right to challenge Takers streak?

I think anyone winning a Chamber match specifically for that right will look like a strong and worthy opponent heading into such a match.

by **Hero** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 7:49 pm

VoiceOfTheVoiceless wrote:Just came across this.....

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0127/569632/photo-batista-mocks-daniel-bryan-after-last-night-royal-rumble/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wrestlinginc_wwe_news+%28WrestlingInc.com+WWE+News%29&w8781=rldy5

Odd choice of material to knock one out to.

by VoiceOfTheVoiceless Mon 27 Jan 2014, 8:02 pm

Hero wrote:
VoiceOfTheVoiceless wrote:Just came across this.....

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0127/569632/photo-batista-mocks-daniel-bryan-after-last-night-royal-rumble/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wrestlinginc_wwe_news+%28WrestlingInc.com+WWE+News%29&w8781=rldy5

Odd choice of material to knock one out to.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 8:33 pm

I think Orton's character means you can have a heel Batista beat him. HHH disposing of Orton as he no longer fits the Authority's picture.

Looks to me like they are making the Elimination Chamber out to be big, advertising Stephanie showcasing it. I'd say Lesnar will be in the Chamber with Orton, Cena, Bryan, Punk, Kane.

I think they might try and save it now. Batista is a heel, he is just a built heel. Bryan might topple him.

More intrigued by WWE than ive been for awhile cos of this. Luck more than judgement in some regards, but Punk and Reigns were booked perfectly, Orton has been brilliant, Wyatt was made to look insanely good.

by hodge Mon 27 Jan 2014, 8:37 pm

Kay Fabe wrote:I thought it was a really good show with a lot of storyline development but the ending of the show will cloud a lot of peoples view on it, Batista winning absolutely sucked, some people called it spot on but I couldn't see it at all, once Punk got eliminated it was a bum steer of an event.

Despite that though I thought the Bryan/Wyatt match was brilliant, really enjoyed Brock destroying Big Show, made perfect sense and the start of a Cena/Wyatt feud which im guessing will take us onto WrestleMania.

I thought Reigns came of age, great Rumble for him, more hints at the implosion of The Shield, more fuel to CM Punk's conspiracy theory too.

A lot of good things came out of The Royal Rumble but the winner sucks the enthusiasm out of it.

I might sound like a broken record here but I'm now wondering if Punk wins the Title in the Elimination Chamber then HHH can turn to Batiata to go full on heel mode to be 'the new face' of the WWE...I'd fully expect Punk/HHH now though, that being said, if Brock has challenged Orton, im not even sure if that's a lock but if he has then there will be no real need for a Chamber match since the title wouldn't be in it and the #1 contender for Mania has already been decided.

I was wondering about the chamber too, if Brock has challenged Orton. One idea I came up with considering how widely the after show incident for Batista has spread WWE act peed about Dave flipping the bird to a fan about being a family company etc and therefore strip Batista's title match from him and put it on the line in the chamber:

Cena Vs Wyatt Vs Sheamus Vs Roman Reigns Vs Daniel Bryan Vs Batista (chance to win back his shot)

You'd then have Randy Orton Vs Brock Lesnar, CM Punk Vs Kane as well, something involving The Shield probably too.

by ManUtdImy Mon 27 Jan 2014, 9:44 pm

Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns stole the show. Rusev looked impressive on his debut and the funniest part was Ryback face to face with Batista calling him "stoooooopid" don't know why but I nearly wet myself, hilarious...

by **Crimey** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:13 pm

Not sure how Orton was brilliant at all, I thought the match was really poor and throughout this entire angle Orton has repeatedly failed to deliver. For me his days as the top guy on the WWE should be over, the fans don't dislike him as a heel they simply just don't care about him. He should be despised, but the live crowds barely make a sound when he appears.

by NickisBHAFC Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:23 pm

I think he has just become a boring superstar. He needs a complete change i think.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon 27 Jan 2014, 10:35 pm

Ive loved Orton, hes played every part of his character to perfection and is such a natural heel. His posing yesterday was inspired. The match itself was decent, but too much blinded by the "you're not my favourites WAHHHH" mixed with discontent for the WWE machine. His promo was good, they have been consistently good, he has actually remained continuously intriguing in an angle where his machismo has been continually deflated by HHH and hes adapted to the needs of story and his opponent.

Thats why i've enjoyed him. Neither do I think his reaction is mild.

by Kay Fabe Mon 27 Jan 2014, 11:01 pm

Orton I don't believe is the problem, the problem as is always the problem is the opponent, when Orton was going against Bryan the crowd were going nuts because they are so behind Bryan, no-one wants Cena at the top anymore and thats why when he is in big angles his opponent never gets the reactions they crave because everyone wants to see Cena get his ass kicked.

Look at the end last night, could be a career defining moment for Bray Wyatt yet he was being cheered, this isn't a new thing, this is typical, Lesnar, Ryback, Mark Henry and now Bray Wyatt, Cena has been Ortons problem in this whole mess and because Cena has to be protected Orton was never allowed to dominating the way he should be.

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