I've always liked the Rumble, and it was the last event I watched before abandoning the WWE altogether, which records show happened in 2017. But I still play @geemoney's predictions because its fun, even though I'm terrible at picking because I don't know who many are anymore.
The point of that commentary is to finish on a small point of smark. I accurately predicted the outcome of the Men's rumble. When someone who hasn't watched the product since 2017 can accurately predict the "surprise / swerve", maybe things are a little stale?
Anyway, what say you, the maybe three people left who have read this far?
On another board that I frequent, there are more real-time posts that I read after the fact. Those posts absolutely agree with CRZ's assessment as the top end of the show. Plentiful were the comments asking which was the worst Rumble ever.
Unquestionably the worst Rumble in at least 5 years, probably longer. The absolute lack of caring about anything that got done on that show was ... well, something. The Rumbles themselves felt super rushed. We didn't linger on anything. Somebody came out, somebody else got dumped, and immediately someone else came out. No entrances had any pageantry or immediacy, and the camera and announce crews could not have given any less of a shit about what was happening during the Rumbles, until the winners came out. And oh, boy, did they make sure you knew who was winning when they came out. The rest of the matches were fine, but those didn't have a lot of drama, and the finishes were mostly really screwy, even when they didn't need to be. It was, in fact, pretty bad.
The gimmick of the Rumble itself is my favorite thing in all of pro wrestling and nearly every year they don't use it to its full potential.
All-in-all, the show proved that Vince & co value MMA alum (Brock, Lashley & Rousey) more than anyone on their roster and certainly more than attempting to make any new stars. And giving Shane a cameo in the Rumble match is more important than many members of their own roster (though I just read that Balor is out of the country so maybe he wasn't just left out for the sake of leaving him out).
I'll talk about something I did like: Reigns vs. Rollins. That son of a bitch Seth coming out to The Shield's music, wearing his Shield vest. Laughing as Roman pummeled him. Wanting to do the fist bump as he was lying on his back. Roman snapping and refusing to let the submission hold go. And then re-enacting, shot-for-shot, Seth's betrayal all those years ago by hitting him with a steel chair from behind-- and then another 20 times or so.
It's too bad this feud probably isn't much longer for this world, however, as you know Reigns vs. Lesnar will be the main event of WrestleMania. Reigns and Rollins might meet in a rematch at Elimination Chamber, but now the result's a foregone conclusion even more so than the Rumble match was.
Do they actually have any plans for who's going to be in the WWE Title match at WrestleMania? Because Lashley needs an opponent.
ETA: I never thought I'd see Ronda Rousey in WWE again, and now that I know she's a Sandy Hook truther, I don't want to, either.
(edited by ekedolphin on 31.1.22 1112) "We protest, but not too much, lest we be accused of protesting too much." --Yay Newfriend, Questionable Content
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The biggest problem I'd say was that it was/they were forgettable. Usually there's some special moments of people clashing in the ring (or little feuds leading up to it) that make me remember what happened. The men's Rumble, I only recall Kofi missing his spot and Brock winning right now. The female Rumble I actually recall a little more but nothing spectacular.
I don't even mind Brock and Rhonda winning. From a story perspective it makes sense. But the two matches themselves were just there.
Clearly they were correct that the only reason the ratings were down was because of The Authority being off TV. And I was correct in my new year's resolution to fast-forward through that three-hour abortion instead of trying to watch it live.
Thread rated: 6.28
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