Royal rumble results - spoilers obvs

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:42 am

HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO SCREW THAT RUMBLE UP SO BADLY???!

NO SURPRISE DEBUTS, NO SURPRISE RETURNS, RANDY BLEEDING ORTON WINNING IT????

Go to hell WWE

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:46 am

Ruined what was a great show. Owens/Reigns was good, Cena/Styles amazing then you deliver that absolute w*nkfest of a rumble.

What a disgrace

by **Crimey** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:52 am

They saved all their big names until the end, which is a good decision, but then proceeded to do nothing interesting with them. I don't want to see Goldberg again, I just don't find that interesting and he was in the ring for about five minutes and looked gassed. I'm scared of him having a match longer than a couple minutes.

It was absolutely baffling why they chose to have Reigns be a surprise number 30 entrant. At this point is just has to be on purpose. It's only going to heap more crap on Reigns' shoulders. Completely the worst way to book him possible. He didn't even need to be there, set the Taker match up some other way, he does not have to be in that match and he definitely doesn't have to be runner up. Also Strowman cost him his match and he did nothing in retaliation but did enter the Rumble? Also less than a year ago Stephanie McMahon worked to ensure Reigns would never win the world title, yet not only did he have a title shot tonight but also got the best Rumble entrant number? Makes no sense.

I don't mind them not loading the Rumble up with surprises, but when you have Enzo as a surprise entrant and he lasts three seconds and then Reigns, you've got to ask surely anything could have been done to create a cool moment?

Also, if you want to set up a Bray/Orton match at Mania for the title, please for the love of god, have Bray Wyatt win the Rumble. Since 2010, four of the winners have won it previously. Three have been Evolution members winning it for the second time. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Thank God the Styles/Cena match was so good as WWE completely ballsed up that Rumble match. They botched the opportunity they had with so many big names and didn't bother to give any real surprises apart from genuinely the worst move they could have pulled with Super Reigns. Cena at his worst was not booked as bad as Reigns is currently. They think that just because he doesn't actually win it's not the same, but it's still crap booking which only makes people hate him more.

by Guest Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:56 am

I am so confused by the awful booking of that whole thing.

So you had Strowman, pretty dominant, 7 eliminations and then gets eliminated out of nowhere by baron corbin. Zayn was in the ring, why not have Zayn eliminate him, or if you're planning on having reigns come in at 30 then have Strowman still there given what happened earlier in the night. Literally killed any momentum Strowman has built with an elimination that leads him nowhere

Lesnar elimination.....I get it. I do. They're playing like Goldberg is his kryptonite. What I don't get is that given that this is twice now that Goldberg has embarrassed Lesnar would he just exit. This is supposed to be the Beast incarnate, a man who can do what he wants when he wants. I would've from a booking perspective expect Lesnar to have at least gone back in the ring and got at least some sort of vengeance. Not necessarily eliminate Goldberg, but certainly attack him

Reigns...I ain't gonna hate on reigns. I think he puts a good shift in and has improved a lot. What I don't like is the WWE persisting to push him as a face, so what better way to try and get a character over than eliminate the Undertaker??? Seriously? Who writes this rubbish

Shame really because the rest of the card was solid. Cena and styles was incredible

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:59 am

We just been saying same on chat..

The most destructive booking in a half hour period possibly ever! Kill your biggest 'casual audience pull in' Mania match by burying Brock in exactly same manner as you did at Mania..

Reigns...talk about ramming a guy down the audiences throat...lets not even start on why he was even in the number 30 spot..

No surprise entrants.. no suprise returns...absolutely no angles set up for Mania! They didnt even have Orton eliminate Bray for frak sake?! Come on you idiots use some logic christ alive!!..

They basically said..we have no idea what to do or whose facing who at Mania..sod it..keep Goldberg strong...give Reigns his super push but since crowd likely will crap all over him if he wins..have him eliminated last which will ensure our underwhelming pick of Orton for the win will be cheered not booed.

Anyone who pops up on this thread claiming that was decent should be immediatly banned!

*to end on positive note...kudos to Cena and Styles for putting on a cracking match..following the months earlier 6 star match im sure it will be lost a little in terms of great matches talk...but that was thoroughly enjoyable and the perfect way to have a champion lose and still look excellent doing so...(take note raw)...it leads me to think Cena & Styles didnt allow creative anywhere near the decision making for how the match would flow!

by **Crimey** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:01 am

Also, although Cena will likely lose the title to Wyatt at EC. Right now we're actually set for Cena/Orton for the title at Wrestlemania which would be a massive joke. As it is, based on this event, I'm guessing Mania will look like:

Goldberg vs Lesnar - you can only hope Lesnar will squash Goldberg for it to be somewhat interesting

WWE Championship
Bray Wyatt (c) vs Randy Orton - does Orton win that title? That seems crap. Maybe Luke Harper helps Wyatt proving his loyalty.

Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (c) vs Undertaker - just can't see Owens keeping the title and this makes sense. Expect Reigns to be only the second person to beat Undertaker at Mania because WWE.

John Cena vs ???????? - no idea right now. Tempted to say Styles, if it wasn't for...maybe could go with Ambrose

AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon - got to give Shane his time to pretend to be a wrestler, who better than Styles who can make anybody look good.

Big Show vs Shaq - probably, if not then Braun Strowman yay

Charlotte vs Nia Jax - Maybe?

Triple H vs Seth Rollins - you'd hope Rollins to go over but you never know...

Intercontinental ladder match
Ambrose/Ziggler/Miz/Crews/Kalisto/Dillinger - who cares?

That still leaves off both tag team titles, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, US title, Smackdown's womens champion, Cruiserweight champion and something for Nakamura or Joe if they come up.

That's 9 matches, last three have had between 7-8 on the main show. (Once you remove Rowan vs Rock) that means either there are going to be barely any promos between matches no Rock moment, lots and lots of disappointed left out roster members or a ridiculously long Wrestlemania.

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:07 am

Twitter post summing up perfectly the problem with WWE;

Orton wins Rumble
Cena wins WWE title

Welcome to 2007.....wait..what do you mean its 2017!

by Guest Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:07 am

I thought it was a decent Rumble for a change.

And Corey Groves' commentary during it was masterful.

I was entertained, anyway.

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:12 am

You are kidding right Freek...talking about the PPV as a whole or the Rumble match...if its the latter..just wow!

Im actually having more fun seeing and reading some of the twitter meltdown...ten things that would have been better than Reigns at Number 30..

R-Truth coming in at Number 30 then trying to pin someone!

by Guest Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:21 am

You shouldn't watch it, Owen, if it makes you this sad. You're permanently on a period when it comes to rassling.

It was a decent Rumble match and I'm sure others on here will agree.

by **Crimey** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:22 am

Also they didn't bother actually using Rollins on the show. Because obviously we're all so pumped to see the Stephanie McMahon emasculation on Raw.

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:32 am

Im a Middlesbrough fan...im used to permanent dissapointment what can I say lol! Ive enjoyed plenty of what WWE have offered over past 6 months and in lots of areas they have made great progress....but when they have the chance to push the potential over the line they seem to constantly screw it up. Anyone who comes on here claiming that the WWE are delivering a product which is even remotely close to the potential they have is lying to themselves..and thats what makes it so sad and annoys me so match. They have the guys there to really push the product and create some excellent story lines and matches..but as is often the case the booking is so underwhelming/messy the potential of product is barely reached and most definitely not with any kind of consistency.

Also can I just take a moment to say, its amazing how quickly people get caught up in my negative comments yet fail to take on board that often ill have positive points within my analysis. I definitely lean to the former more but thats not to say i dont enjoy any of the product on offer at all or praise it because there are times i do.

by **Crimey** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 4:35 am

Fast Lane potential spoilers:

by GSC Mon 30 Jan 2017, 8:15 am

Reigns vs Strowman at WM makes more sense no?

by Beer Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:18 am

I'm glad i didn't bother paying for it, that's about as much feedback as i can give.

by GSC Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:24 am

Also I guess they can go back to the Orton can choose which champ to face thing.

by GSC Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:29 am

Wyatt to convince Orton to put his shot on the line in EC so Wyatt can win it. Undertaker to win EC?

by Beer Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:42 am

Wyatt v Taker again?
Orton v Cena again?
Orton v Taker again?

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:47 am

At least Orton and Wyatt is an interesting a storyline (to me anyway).

They went ages without eliminating anyone at one point, I was so bored of seeing guys feebly pushed over the ropes only to easily hold on to the apron.

Where the feck was Joe?!
Does this mean they aren't using him from now til WM??

God Taker looks old and limited now.

Tye was the only surprise. The only one. The feck! Im sure Crimey is peed off.

The undercard was fantastic - I cant recall a Rumble with that many good matches.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:48 am

Nothing they did makes any sense.

Strauman costs Reigns the title...no interaction in the rumble match.

Reigns chucks Taker...wrong brands, and if Reigns is going for Taker, what about Strauman?

Goldberg destroys Lesnar...again. From a kayfabe point of view, why would Goldberg take another match with Brock? He's now destroyed him on two straight PPVs, what else does he have to prove against Brock?

Orton wins...is he going to face Cena? If so YUCK. But if Wyatt wins the EC, we get Orton vs Wyatt in the main event of WM? I'm sorry but of all the options they could've chosen, that is abysmal. Also if Cena is going to just be a transitional two week champ...wtf.

I feel for Reigns, I do. I think he's actually a great wrestler when allowed to be, powerful, athletic. But they book him horrifically, so so badly.

I'm hoping we get Owens vs Jericho for the main title at WM. But then you have the US Title doing nothing.

Rumble wise...I mean you have Samoa Joe doing nothing in NXT for a month, and then your surprise entrants into the rumble are Apollo Crews and Enzo????! Just go away you stupid fools.

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:52 am

I was about 90% certain that 30 was going to be Joe, then it was Roman

by Beer Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:55 am

I swear they just put 2 fingers up at the IWC for the sake of it.

by Beer Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:55 am

Ché Guerrero wrote:I was about 90% certain that 30 was going to be Joe, then it was Roman

I thought Balor.

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:58 am

Beer wrote:I swear they just put 2 fingers up at the IWC for the sake of it.

I really really hope they don't think like that anymore now they have a fecking online network/streaming service

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 9:59 am

Was Tyler Bate just in San Antonio for the lols? Gallagher was quite fun tbh, but feels like Bate could have done that bit too

by Beer Mon 30 Jan 2017, 10:07 am

Ché Guerrero wrote:
Beer wrote:I swear they just put 2 fingers up at the IWC for the sake of it.

I really really hope they don't think like that anymore now they have a fecking online network/streaming service

When you see booking like that, you have to wonder. I can see Vince laughing to himself... 'Nakamura? Joe? Angle? Balor at #30? No chance! You'll get Enzo, Mark Henry, Tye Dillinger, and my beautiful, sweet, underrated, harshly treated, samoan sex pot, Ro-Ro-Ro-Roman Reigns at #30. You will love him like me!!!'.

by **Hero** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 10:08 am

Jack Gallagher being in it was probably the one and only highlight.

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 10:30 am

I enjoyed his spots.

Even Kofi's annual save was underwhelming this year.

Purely as a wrestling match this peaked with Strowman tbh, eliminated way too early. The format really favours the big guys. Thought Corbin looked great for about 5 minutes.

Best storytelling moment was probably the Luke Harper bit where he attacked Bray and tried for Sister Abigail

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 11:11 am

Can Owens start using the Stunner full time? Its pretty much my favourite move and I feel its been long enough

by **Hero** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 11:26 am

It's like WWE saw everyone really excited at the Australia tennis final over the weekend and thought yeah lets recreate 2007.

by NickisBHAFC Mon 30 Jan 2017, 12:14 pm

I thought both title matches were brilliant.

As for the rumble, it was a disaster.

Started off reasonably well, Loved Gallagher and Dillinger. Gallagher being my moment of the rumble.

But after that, just a mess. No surprise returns. Reigns at 30 is just asking fans to boo. Enzo at 27 just as annoying.

by **Hero** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 12:17 pm

One thing to mention.
Undertaker needs to get down the gym with Big Show.

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 12:28 pm

Takers bump card is well over done by now tbf

by Samo Mon 30 Jan 2017, 1:57 pm

Am I the only positive one here?

I thought both title matches were excellent, the womens match was pretty good and it was one of the better Cruiserweight matches outside the CWC.

I dont think WWE can be faulted too much, I think we all worked ourselves into a shoot about the whole Rumble. Because its of its unpredictable nature we were coming up with all sorts of scenarios that WWE could never fill.

Reigns and Strowman not having any interaction is weird, especially when it looks like they're setting up Reigns/Taker. Lesnar going out to Goldberg so quick is great booking, especially Cole selling it as Goldberg have Brocks number. Orton winning was certainly left field and I hope we get him vs Wyatt for the title at Mania.

Am I disappointed by the lack of surprise entrants? Yeah a little bit, but the roster is so stacked theres very little wiggle room and it didnt take away from the actual match quality. A far cry away from the worst Rumble match ever as I've seen some people say.

Or, all of this could be because I got £20 on Orton at 14/1. Could be that.

by Marky Mon 30 Jan 2017, 1:58 pm

Enzo was fine at #27 IMO. Was an entertaining minute or so. While watching it I expected one or both of the big title match losers to come out, hoped for Styles naturally but Reigns made equal sense (even in kayfabe, Foley giving him #30 not Steph)

Tyler Bate was there for Takeover, not the Rumble.

by **owen10ozzy** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 2:33 pm

It made no sense at all...the only way it made sense was if he'd come in to take out Strauman out after his earlier interference...and the bloke wasn't even in it by then! It was just Vince wanting to ram Reigns down the throats of the fans once more...this is a man who has been to the last 4 in each of his rumble appearances and has eliminated over 24 opponents out of a possible 50 odd in that time.

WWE fans; We want Samoan Joe...

Vince; What's that you want a Samoan....Yes!!! Creative..Get Reigns booked in at number 30 the people are calling for him!

Such a shame the way they handled the Rumble as it took the gloss off everything good that came before it! You can get away with a crap main event if the undercard is good at other PPV's....but not this...

I mean it's called Royal Rumble...the main selling point is the Rumble...you ensure its damn good! In the words of Jericho...

Creative....YOUVE JUST MADE THE LIST!!

by Samo Mon 30 Jan 2017, 2:37 pm

It wasnt as good as last years Rumble but it was certainly better than most of the Rumble matches of the past decade.

by Kay Fabe Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:08 pm

Having seen fernando's odds countdown for the last week it was obvious Orton was going to be there or there abouts come the end so I wasn't as disappointed as some.

I was disappointed with Reigns getting number 30, after 28 I knew Taker would be 29 so did wonder who would be 30, for some reason I just never expected Reigns, looking back I probably should have, I don't mind Roman at all and think he deserves his spot at the top end of the card but it's booking like this that kills him with the audience, it all feels so forced and any kind of sympathy he attracted in his title match was scooped back again immediately.

I must admit, as soon as Goldberg eliminated Lesnar in the manner in which he did I just assumed he'd win it, the only way I could grasp them putting him over Lesnar so strong on both occassions would be if Lesnar were to beat him in the title match at WrestleMania, hard to see how they can now go about landing on that outcome.

the whole Rumble was quite lop sided, it'd have been better for Brock to come out in Brauns position and play that role until Goldberg came out to eliminate him and that way they could've held off Braun to look strong for the time Reigns made his surprise entry.

There was a lot of head scratching moments, expected more of a performance from Big Show given his new look and the fact he's rumoured to be headed for a high profile match with Shaq at Mania but he looked a bit of a jabroni out there so I don't see what appeal a match with Shaq has although I do get that this one is more for casuals and one time a year viewers

by **Hero** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:21 pm

To me the Rumble very much smacked of Vince having one last throw of the dice before HHH gets his paws on creative.
Vinny's cookie-cut guys (Cena & Orton) getting the rub - check.
Formula of the superheavyweights eliminating most of the competition - check.
Reigns still getting pushed - check.

by Beer Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:24 pm

Did you see the Cart that took the big guys down to the ring? What a load of nonsense that was! I wondered why it took ages for Henry to actually appear in the ring!

by Ché Guerrero Mon 30 Jan 2017, 3:25 pm

i did end up listening to that conference call with Trips talking about nxt. He sounds a tad disgruntled.

Perhaps the real power struggle will begin soon

by Samo Mon 30 Jan 2017, 6:56 pm

Ché Guerrero wrote:i did end up listening to that conference call with Trips talking about nxt. He sounds a tad disgruntled.

Perhaps the real power struggle will begin soon

NXT had a tough 2016, they lost a lot of top talent and went through a bit of a transition phase. Theres a new upper card, the womens division is coming together and SAnitY are moving forward aswell. With 2 new champions crowned over the weekend the future look promising. We'll see where it stands around Mania time but im being cautiously optimistic about things.

You'd have to imagine Stephanie will takeover the corporate side of things and HHH will head up creative. HHH is a true student of the game and knows the business inside out. No problem with him taking over eventually, but i dont want him to force it and end up shooting himself in the foot because of some silly internal struggle. Vince isnt going to relinquish anything until he's deep in the cold, cold ground. If HHH tries to push things forward Vince will dig his heels in and the product will suffer for it. I'd rather HHH bite the bullet and be patient even though it must be frustrating.

Of course this is all pure speculation.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 7:59 pm

Think some of these posts are embarrassing, if I'm honest. The only reason I'm disappointed is because I knew Orton was winning as some people here don't understand what spoilers are!

Actually think the booking was spot on throughout, my only grumble being that Owens's title run has been a bit disappointing and the Strowman stuff didn't work for me.

Thought the Rumble itself was booked near perfect, although I think Tye should have been given a moment to stand alone in the ring and do the tens.

Cena winning is only worth a complaint if you're living in the past. He's become a bit of a wrestling God in the last few years and AJ's fantastic run was halted by one of the best of all time in his Flair-equalling 16th title win. And in a fantastic match.

Reigns/Owens was good until the end slightly tarnished it.

Was happy with every match I watched.

Orton was a reasonably damp winner but he's the first "new" member of the Wyatt family who he embraced it and delivered well. The storytelling has picked up after them throwing the tags away too quickly for me, and they did well to resist the implosion between him and Bray here.

Lots of really good interactions, and I mean that from top to bottom of card. Think they did well to give most people something to remember. Gallagher and Enzo especially.

Did wonders for Zayn and Jericho, Braun looked good, nice hype with Henry and think Show added a really good early moment. Rumbles have to have flowing spots of story and this one was very good for that.

The Reigns 30 spot was a good idea. For the uninformed who ignored spoilers and rumours he would have seemed like a winner, and he had some great staredowns and fights in there.

Plenty of seeds left for stories to pick up on. Taker will look to Goldberg and Reigns, Lesnar/Goldberg continued, we also have the Braun/Reigns stuff.

I think both brands will be really happy that the night left us with a lot to go on. In recent years I think the Rumble has left things very plain, whereas now you could see many stories unravel before Mania and through to Mania and beyond.

I'm gonna go out there and say this was the best Rumble itself and Rumble PPV in years.

To add a real disappointment, to me the Rollins stuff isn't working, but they may consider this as a night where they had so much going on that they need not blow their load with one story.

by **Crimey** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 10:42 pm

The Reigns 30 spot was a good idea.

You surely can't believe this? It had nothing to do with spoilers and rumours that this was disappointing, it's because he's been overly pushed for 3 years now and that this one was gratuitous, unnecessary and only further harms his perception amongst fans. Even if it made sense from a logical booking point of view and could have worked with somebody else, it's an incredibly stupid move for somebody already struggling to get over as a face.

It's not Reigns that's the problem, it's his booking. It's impossible to save now, he's gone beyond even Cena's reputation.

I agree with a lot of your other points, but I think the Reigns decision can't be defended and left a real sour taste in the mouth.

I also think they booked their big stars really poorly, I was enjoying the earlier parts of the Rumble, but almost with the understanding that it was going to get truly epic later and then it ended up being seriously underwhelming. Goldberg peaked with his return promo and I worry what a proper match with him will be like.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 11:02 pm

No. I genuinely think the moaning is idiotic. Anyone going over this "this isn't how to make him likeable" schtick seems daft to me. I don't think they care if smarks like him; smarks are inconsistent and unreasonable to please. The market they want him in would have loved it. For who he is, it was also good for the match. There isn't a place they can put him in in that Rumble that would appease the wet blankets on the internet who have their entrenched vision of him.

Roman is a big deal. He's obviously gonna be in the Rumble, and at that point he needs to be involved in the deep end. Too early and you're all in here complaining cos he gets some eliminations. He came in at a time where a lot of the stories had been told and also didn't get in the way of the big ones at the end. In a Rumble where he is a huge contender, he comes in and goes head to head with another one in Taker. And teased something there.

He was then used wonderfully as a tease. Kids will have been gutted to see him lose, whilst adults would have been thinking they were gonna give him the win again.

Sour taste in the mouth is laughable. This wasn't teasing Bryan and giving Rey, it was one of their biggest current players coming in at 30 as a serious contender and doing good work and telling decent stories before being a serious threat to the eventual winner and a clever target for Orton and Wyatt to go at together.

Thought the Goldberg/Lesnar elimination was great by the way, and thought Goldberg looked as awful as he has the whole time, completely exposing how hilarious wrestling fans are for loving him and popping for him.

by GSC Mon 30 Jan 2017, 11:05 pm

Smarks are pretty consistent, they'll boo whoever wwe decide to push.

by **Crimey** Mon 30 Jan 2017, 11:59 pm

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:No. I genuinely think the moaning is idiotic. Anyone going over this "this isn't how to make him likeable" schtick seems daft to me. I don't think they care if smarks like him; smarks are inconsistent and unreasonable to please. The market they want him in would have loved it. For who he is, it was also good for the match. There isn't a place they can put him in in that Rumble that would appease the wet blankets on the internet who have their entrenched vision of him.

Roman is a big deal. He's obviously gonna be in the Rumble, and at that point he needs to be involved in the deep end. Too early and you're all in here complaining cos he gets some eliminations. He came in at a time where a lot of the stories had been told and also didn't get in the way of the big ones at the end. In a Rumble where he is a huge contender, he comes in and goes head to head with another one in Taker. And teased something there.

He was then used wonderfully as a tease. Kids will have been gutted to see him lose, whilst adults would have been thinking they were gonna give him the win again.

Sour taste in the mouth is laughable. This wasn't teasing Bryan and giving Rey, it was one of their biggest current players coming in at 30 as a serious contender and doing good work and telling decent stories before being a serious threat to the eventual winner and a clever target for Orton and Wyatt to go at together.

Thought the Goldberg/Lesnar elimination was great by the way, and thought Goldberg looked as awful as he has the whole time, completely exposing how hilarious wrestling fans are for loving him and popping for him.

He doesn't need to be involved at all! Why did he obviously need to be involved? He'd just been through a brutal no DQ match where he was attacked mid-match as well. To have him come out and nearly win the Rumble is exactly the overkill that has made him completely unsuitable to be WWE's next top star. There was no obvious about it, he had a world title match and him coming out was unnecessary, that spot could have been filled by numerous other stars. I can't think of a worse way to have booked Reigns.

There is no "smarks" and marks really these days. Hate on Reigns is certainly not limited to those who love indie wrestling etc. It's nearly universal. The live crowd craps all over him, week after week and it's getting much worse and the booking is not responding to that at all, which it should do. It took until Cena was already a megastar before the crowd turned on him and even then he always had the kids on his side, I'm genuinely not sure that is the case with Reigns. Sure he sells merchandise and is considered a big deal, but that should be the very minimum. Considering how successful he was in The Shield and how well he has grown as a talent over the years he should be universally popular. He could have been booked like a star, instead they've botched it and his career will have a permanent black stain over it.

Except I actually think this booking is much WORSE than 2014. Not as bad as 2015 or even 2016 but genuinely think that was a worse decision than having Batista win in 2014. I don't actually think WWE really teased Bryan in that match at all, other than the fact that he lost earlier in the night making people think something more was planned, there was no real reason to believe Bryan would enter and win. I think it was much harder for WWE to predict the turning on Batista, who was reasonably popular before he departed. This was much, much worse because they purposely didn't have any of the pre-announced big names turn up at #30 to build up hype and then dropped probably the worst choice possible. It's complete overkill, I feel like if somebody had joked about it happening, I would say as a joke it's too far-fetched. It was parody like.

by Electric Demon Tue 31 Jan 2017, 1:59 am

That show was an utter shambles
I've been very supportive of WWE PPV's in 2016 - that was a shambles.

AJ and Cena did their best to save it - great match in a dire show. Cena deserved to win - for storytelling he had to win.

Agree the Lesnar/Goldberg bit was great. I liked it.

Women's match was slow, ended suddenly, and Bayley is nowhere near Charlottes level. She's not even at Sasha's level. Do not get the hype one bit.

WWE Title match had a few decent spots. Ending was horrible. The title scene on Raw is derelict.

I'm glad the Cruiserweights are back because now I'm on Lean in 15 it's the perfect amount of time to cook my dinner. Crap.

I marked out a wee bit when Jeremy Corbin eliminated Strowman.

My word it was rubbish.

It got down to the last 3 and I think my blood ran cold and I could no longer care less.

by Samo Tue 31 Jan 2017, 2:55 am

All it would have taken would be a wee 30 second backstage segment where an irate Roman busts into the office and takes a ball from the tombola. Gives him an in and doesnt require explanation of how he managed to enter. Simple.

I didnt mind it personally. As soon as he came out my first thought was 'God, they're not THAT stupid, right?' Even with Y2J, Orton, Wyatt and Undertaker still out there it planted the seed of doubt and added another layer of unpredictability, a layer that you just wouldnt have had from any other entrant other than maybe Rollins, Balor or Joe.

Also, the way he was acting plants the seeds for a feud with Taker that is going to be super hot. The Mania crowd will 100% be behind Taker at a level we havent seen since Rock/Hogan. On that front alone its job done. Big picture.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Tue 31 Jan 2017, 7:19 am

Who else should it have been? Unfit Balor? A Samoa Joe who comes out at 30 and doesn't win, whilst having no feud to set up? Rollins would have been a god awful decision.

It was good Rumble storytelling, both in his possible impact on the result and the work he did in the ring.

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