Royal Rumble 2015

[NikoBaltimore]

48 pages?  Holy fucking hell, that's a lot of complaints!

 

I was pretty upset Sunday seeing the match.  We were taking turns saying "They can't be that dumb", especially the last few entrants.  Still annoyed about it, but I could see how this was done by design.  If the point of this was Roman was meant to win this way, fine.  But why would they treat the other guys people love like chumps?  It is not hard to believe this had Vince's fingerprints all over this as a giant "Fuck you".  The fans "screwed up" the booking last year, so now he's hell bent on his plans and nothing else.

 

When explaining to non-wrestling fans curious about the match, I compared it to the best characters of their favorite show being treated like jokes.  And all because the show creator hated how the fans responded in the past.  I don't know if I'd go as far as comparing it to Game of Thrones characters being killed off (unless George hates his fans) but it's not that far from the idea.  Or a brand that has many customers yet the president said "Fuck you" to its core demographic.

 

That said, I'm not expecting a miracle to happen here leading to WM.  Roman will still be reviled, but we'll see how they present him to that point.  I very much had a knee-jerk reaction, just not quite on here.  But that's how things are anymore, it's all about instant feedback.

 

On a positive note, loved the triple threat match, the Bella forearm of death, and the Rumble cameos.  Bubba might have gained some weight, but I couldn't be the only one who noticed his clothes were baggy.  For a one-off appearance that was surely his old gear when he was heavier.  I'd go apeshit if he feuded with Harper, that was a fun exchange.  Meltzer said it was Iishi/Makabe style which looking back makes me love it even more.

[Cristobal]

I think ebbie is Burgandy's alter ego, like when the Hulk became separate from Bruce Banner.

Bruce Banner is Ed Leslie?

[Craig H]

No way Ed Leslie is that smart. 

[_MJ_]

By the admission of Bryan, Stephanie, and Trips, they had no intention of putting Bryan in the Mania main event last year until the crowd so violently turned on the Rumble.

 

Add in CM Punk bailing in there too; Punk also said he was set to do a match with Triple-H at Mania. No matter how many times your repeat it, you still get people referencing it as some grand plan they had mapped out.  Gregg sneaks in a reference to it every once in awhile too.  I see you, Gregg.

[AxB]

 I don't know if I'd go as far as comparing it to Game of Thrones characters being killed off (unless George hates his fans) but it's not that far from the idea. 

 

The GoT characters that die do so because they are redshirt characters; Their role in the storyline is to become dead. It's just George often writes them to be either a super-cool character you admire and want to see more of, or a sympathetic character you want to see succeed. Which he does because he wants the death to have an impact on the reader/ viewer.

 

The art of it is, that if he's getting to a bit where a lot of characters you like are being killed off, there is at least something good or interesting happening in another storyline somewhere else, with another character you also like. Which WWE are also sometimes good at doing. Just not right now this minute.

 

The Royal Rumble used to be a tool for starting feuds, didn't it? Two random midcarders who'd never interacted would start a personal feud on the basis of one eliminating the other, or something. Not much of thgat seeming to come out of Sunday.

[Skeeball Wizard]

That's because midcarders are useless and unimportant. What do you think this is, early 90s WCW?

[Matt D]

I quickly put together a Road Report

 

I am no Tom and/or Phil (pick your Phil), but there it is.