I was bored and decided to watch the Royal Rumble Match tonight. So, for your curiosity (AND MINE!), here's who was in the match, how they did, and what they've done in the 6 months since that match:
CHRIS BENOIT [SD]: Entered 1st, won the match. Jumped to RAW, won World Title at WrestleMania XX. Retained title at Backlash, Bad Blood & Vengeance. Briefly held World Tag Titles with returned Edge. RANDY ORTON [RAW]: Entered 2nd, 17th eliminated (by Mick Foley). Fought Foley off and on, including good tilts at WrestleMania (3-on-2) and Backlash. Finally lost Intercontinental Title at Vengeance to Edge. MARK HENRY [RAW]: Entered 3rd, 3rd eliminated. Nursing injuries. TAJIRI [SD]: Entered 4th, 2nd eliminated. Did not much on SmackDown, jumped to RAW in Draft Lottery. Fought (and beat) lots of Evolution members, disappeared, came back as team with Rhyno. BRADSHAW [SD]: Entered 5th, 1st eliminated. Did nothing, then turned heel after WrestleMania and feuded with Eddie Guerrero. Currently WWE Champion. Who'd thunk it? RHYNO [SD]: Entered 6th, 7th eliminated. Stagnated on Smackdown, moved to RAW in Draft Lottery, stagnated. MATT HARDY V1 [RAW]: Entered 7th, 8th eliminated. Did not much, turned face by saving Lita. Got beaten up by Kane, Lita turned into a whore...and somewhere along the line they got back together and she got knocked up. Currently nursing a knee injury. SCOTT STEINER [RAW]: Entered 8th, 5th eliminated. Did nothing, fought some jobbers, then went out with an injury. Isn't expected to appear on WWE TV again. MATT MORGAN [SD]: Entered 9th, 10th eliminated. Did nothing, fought some jobbers, went back to Ohio Valley. THE HURRICANE [RAW]: Entered 10th, 4th eliminated. Jobbed to people on RAW. BOOKER T [RAW]: Entered 11th, 12th eliminated. Broke up tag team with RVD, then jumped to SmackDown in Draft Lottery. Turned heel on arrival on SmackDown, fed to Undertaker. Currently in US Title hunt. KANE [RAW]: Entered 12th, 6th eliminated. Fought Undertaker...for a while. Then beat up Matt Hardy and slept with Lita. And got World Title shot at Bad Blood, but lost. Good year so far... SPIKE DUDLEY [RAW]: Beaten up by Kane, never really entered match. Moved to SmackDown in Draft Lottery, continues to be scrappy underdog. RIKISHI [SD]: Entered 14th, 11th eliminated. Won Tag Titles with Scotty 2 Hotty, then lost them and went out with injury...and got released. RENE DUPREE [RAW]: Entered 15th, 9th eliminated. Was all snooty & French, then got moved to SmackDown in Draft Lottery...and continued to be snooty & French. Oh, and he got a poodle. Yep. A-TRAIN [SD]: Entered 16th, 13th eliminated. Moved to RAW in Draft Lottery, did nothing. SHELTON BENJAMIN [SD]: Entered 17th, 14th eliminated. Moved to RAW in Draft Lottery, beat every Evolution member, got injured. ERNEST MILLER [SD]: Entered 18th, 15th eliminated. Got released. KURT ANGLE [SD]: Entered 19th, 27th eliminated. Fought Eddie Guerrero for WWE Title and lost at Mania, went out with neck injury, came back as SmackDown's GM. RICO [RAW]: Entered 20th, 16th eliminated. Moved to SmackDown in Draft Lottery, won Tag Titles with Charlie Haas (but lost them later). MICK FOLEY [RAW]: Entered 21st, 18th eliminated. Fought with Randy Orton. A lot. Then left. CHRISTIAN [RAW]: Entered 22nd, 19th eliminated. Turned on Jericho, fought a lot, then got injured. NUNZIO [SD]: Entered 23rd, 22nd eliminated. Uh...he's still on SmackDown, doing not much. THE BIG SHOW [SD]: Entered 24th, 28th eliminated. Lost US Title to John Cena at Mania. Beat up SmackDown GM Kurt Angle, got "fired" (aka: Injured). CHRIS JERICHO [RAW]: Entered 25th, 26th eliminated. Fell for Trish, got turned on by Trish & Christian, got beaten up. A lot. CHARLIE HAAS [SD]: Entered 26th, 20th eliminated. Won Tag Titles with Charlie Haas, then lost them. BILLY GUNN [SD]: Entered 27th, 21st eliminated. Teamed with Hardcore Holly on some occasions. Otherwise, nothing much. JOHN CENA [SD]: Entered 28th, 24th eliminated. Won US Title from Big Show, got it stripped last week. During run, was basically the center of SmackDown (along with Eddie). ROB VAN DAM [RAW]: Entered 29th, 25th eliminated. Lost Tag Titles (with Booker T), then got moved to SmackDown in the Draft Lottery...where he did nothing. GOLDBERG [RAW]: Entered 30th, 23rd eliminated. Left.
Indeed.
CALGARY FLAMES: Your 2004 Western Conference Champions DVDs I Own
And he was eliminated by the man who is now the real World's Heavyweight Champion, Chris Benoit.
Benoit did very well for himself, I thought. I mean, obviously he won the Royal Rumble after drawing #1. But unlike the time when HBK did it, it was at two-minute intervals. Something people forget is that HBK's Royal Rumble win took place with one-minute intervals. He lasted 38:39; Benoit lasted 61:34.
Benoit also eliminated six people, including the largest man in the industry. And unlike Ric Flair, Benoit stayed in the ring the entire time-- he didn't backpedal under the ropes at any point.
Benoit was also able to avoid elimination on countless occasions.
So, yeah... I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Benoit's Royal Rumble performance was the most impressive in WWE history.
(edited by ekedolphin on 19.7.04 0750) “Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?” “Ah, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.”
--Janine and Winston, Ghostbusters
Two-Time Wiener of the Day (5/27/02; 7/3/02)
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
I just watched the 1992 Rumble a couple of weeks ago, and I could've sworn I recall Flair going under the ropes maybe once or twice. Then again, I might just be thinking of Jake Roberts when Randy Savage's number came up.
Flair went under the ropes when he was alone with Roddy Piper. To Be Fair to Flair, Piper followed him out and they brawled on the floor briefly, so it wasn't Flair going out to catch his breath. And, that was the correct heel tactic to use, while Benoit was struggling as the underdog/against all odds face.
Originally posted by Freeway420KANE [RAW]: Entered 12th, 6th eliminated. Fought Undertaker...for a while. Then beat up Matt Hardy and slept with Lita. And got World Title shot at Bad Blood, but lost. Good year so far
Good Year? As far as I can see, Kane hasn't won a PPV match since beating up Shane O'Mac and RVD, nearly a year ago. He's really turned into a jobber for someone who needs a big win. (Think Edge on his return, Benoit to further the credibility of his title run.)
Originally posted by bigredmachine29Good Year? As far as I can see, Kane hasn't won a PPV match since beating up Shane O'Mac and RVD, nearly a year ago. He's really turned into a jobber for someone who needs a big win. (Think Edge on his return, Benoit to further the credibility of his title run.)
The flip side of that argument is that at least now Kane is in those big matches, even if he is losing them. In 2002 he was in tag matches against the Un-Americans, putting over the newly debuted Batista, and pining for Katie Vick. In 2003 he couldn't get on the WrestleMania card. He may be losing more than he's winning now, but he's in a much better place on the card than he's been since his first year in the company.
Yeah, Flair ducked out of the ring to avoid Roddy Piper, and Piper promptly followed him out. But Flair also ducked under the ropes on at least one other occasion when he decided he need to get the hell away... from HAKU.
“Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?” “Ah, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.”
--Janine and Winston, Ghostbusters
Two-Time Wiener of the Day (5/27/02; 7/3/02)
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
Now Flair didn't duck away from Haku, he went to the outside and pulled Hogan under the bottom rope with him...he then took a suplex on the outside and came back in...
"Win if you can, lose if you must, but in the end, always cheat..." - Jesse "the Body" Ventura
Nope! Watch it again... he ducked away from Haku. Or maybe it was The Barbarian. One of them Faces of Fear guys.
“Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?” “Ah, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.”
--Janine and Winston, Ghostbusters
Two-Time Wiener of the Day (5/27/02; 7/3/02)
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
The star power of the 92' Rumble and the magnitude of the situation with Ric Flair in the house makes it better IMO then Benoit's win which was simply the push he needed to become #1 contender. In 92' they were going for the title itself which makes the Rumbles far and away different also.
Then maybe I'm better off not being as much of a wrestling fan, if the general content that I see on the 'net is the result of loving wrestling too much. -Patrick