ROYAL RUMBLE 2016 POST SHOW

[peterien]

Thought AJ was great in terms of pop,size and coming off like a star-he didn't look out of place one bit imo. I would complain that he took a LOT of offence from the other guys but the Rumble match is a hard place to debut and go over everyone.

Can't wait to see what they have planned for him tonight, not worried what they saddle him with because I think he's got the talent and charisma to get through anything.

The Reigns project has failed, give it up. Owens was the star of the night by a mile. Lesnar is just another guy now and feuding with Bray won't help that at all. I wonder if he regrets that 3 year deal.

[MonteCarl]

I thought this was the best, most interesting, exciting, and well booked Rumble in years.....until HHH won. Well, until Brock was eliminated, and it was downhill from that point. They really stacked the first half to 3/4 of the Rumble with big names and surprises. The entrants and eliminations were perfectly booked. Kevin Owens being the one to eliminate AJ was fantastic, and then having Sami make his re-debut two spots later to then eliminate Kevin was great.

 

Brock simply walking away after being eliminated by 4 guys was indeed dumb. And having the Family throw out Brock was a poor decision. After beating Brock down, they should have handed him over to Bray who then would be the one to throw Brock out on his own. If Bray wasn't winning, Brock should've come back in on fire and gotten in to a big brawl with Bray, eliminating him, but with them still fighting to the back or something. Anything to build that match up a bit more with some fire between the two rather than Brock just sadly walking away.

 

Reigns being not stretchered out and just chilling in the back for a half hour was some bullshit.

 

After Reigns was eliminated and it was just HHH and Ambrose, I half thought that perhaps Ambrose and HHH were going to hug with HHH eliminating himself with Ambrose turning heel to get the title, leading to Ambrose/Reigns for the title. But, nope. HHH wins. Reigns didn't come back to help out Ambrose and just sat and watched as Ambrose was thrown out.

 

Outside of the Rumble, I thought that the Diva's match was the match of the night. The crowd was SOLIDLY behind Becky and SOLIDLY behind booing Charlotte. We finally have a clear cut face and a clear cut heel in the Diva's division in Becky and Charlotte that goes beyond "this girl is a dumb bitch and I hate her". Then Sasha is injected in to the story as the "tweener". I completely believe that Bayley will be called up by Mania and we will have a Four Way between the NXT Horsewomen for the title. That story writes itself and will be fantastic.

[joseph2112]

I really enjoyed the show until the Rumble itself drew to a dull anti-climatic end. So many better ways to book that scenario. People can say, "it was logical" but the fact that the company is booking that story to begin with, in the way it has, speaks volumes for its lack of creativity and its desire to bring about change.

 

This. There are two camps here- the ones saying this was the most logical choice, which I believe. The other- how do you get to this spot that this is the most logical choice? which I also believe to be true. Most of WWE's wrestlers are really, really good and they put on a great show with little help from the storylines. This rumble sets up another year of booking that goes like this:

 

Did we have any Daniel Bryan chants? No? Check.

How were the reactions for Roman? Well, tepid, but not too many boos and he got a decent pop when he first came out.

 

WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS!

[Brian Fowler]

Bscklund went long in '93 because Flair was leaving and Vince didn't want him to take the Rumble longevity record with him. Simple as that.

[Victator]

Thought AJ was great in terms of pop,size and coming off like a star-he didn't look out of place one bit imo. I would complain that he took a LOT of offence from the other guys but the Rumble match is a hard place to debut and go over everyone.

Can't wait to see what they have planned for him tonight, not worried what they saddle him with because I think he's got the talent and charisma to get through anything.

The Reigns project has failed, give it up. Owens was the star of the night by a mile. Lesnar is just another guy now and feuding with Bray won't help that at all. I wonder if he regrets that 3 year deal.

As long as the checks clear, I doubt it.

[stro]

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

[RIPPA]

Even if this was shared already - it needs to be shared again

 

 

Rusev ‏@RusevBUL  8h8 hours ago

. @LanaWWE go make history. And I did. I took the tv monitor. Therefore I'm the new TV CHAMPION

[Brian Fowler]

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

I couldn't quite make out what they called it. That's really bad.

[Gonzo]

 

Even if this was shared already - it needs to be shared again

 

 

Rusev ‏@RusevBUL  8h8 hours ago

. @LanaWWE go make history. And I did. I took the tv monitor. Therefore I'm the new TV CHAMPION

 

If this leads to them bringing back the TV title, it would be even better.

[joseph2112]

And the belt is actually a TV.

[Patrick B.]

Sometimes I wonder what WWE is looking for though.  It reminds me of WCW in the late 1990s when they would do seemingly the opposite of what you wanted all the time.  And they seem to punish guys who seem to actually do well with what they are given and get over despite everything.

 

Speaking of which:  Sandow got quite the strong fan reaction on the preshow.

[Craig H]

 

Even if this was shared already - it needs to be shared again

 

 

Rusev ‏@RusevBUL  8h8 hours ago

. @LanaWWE go make history. And I did. I took the tv monitor. Therefore I'm the new TV CHAMPION

 

 

I feel like this...

 

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

 

Completely balances out this bullshit. I heard that and thought, "I had to have heard that wrong." I re-wound it and, nope, I sadly heard it right.

[Skeeball Wizard]

Even if this was shared already - it needs to be shared again

Rusev ‏@RusevBUL 8h8 hours ago

. @LanaWWE go make history. And I did. I took the tv monitor. Therefore I'm the new TV CHAMPION

I feel like this...

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

Completely balances out this bullshit. I heard that and thought, "I had to have heard that wrong." I re-wound it and, nope, I sadly heard it right.

Now we just need Ambrose to use the lines "You're despicable!" and "Of course you know, this means war!" and his evolution into Daffy Duck will be complete.

[JohnnyJ]

My only issue with HHH winning is there is no reason why HHH v. Reigns needs to be a title match. HHH entering the Rumble for the sole purpose of eliminating Reigns, then eliminating himself would have served the exact same purpose.

 

In giving the title to someone else you immediately create a second marketable main event level match for mania. 

 

The Styles reaction is a sign of just how desperate the audience is for something, anything, different.

[Patrick B.]

One of the things that put me at peace with the show was my acceptance:  No, I DON'T know what would have been a good finish for me.  As cool as it was to see Styles and Zayn, neither of them were realistically winning.

[Brian Fowler]

Even if this was shared already - it needs to be shared again

Rusev ‏@RusevBUL 8h8 hours ago

. @LanaWWE go make history. And I did. I took the tv monitor. Therefore I'm the new TV CHAMPION

I feel like this...

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

Completely balances out this bullshit. I heard that and thought, "I had to have heard that wrong." I re-wound it and, nope, I sadly heard it right.

Now we just need Ambrose to use the lines "You're despicable!" and "Of course you know, this means war!" and his evolution into Daffy Duck will be complete.

How dare you insult Daffy like that?

[stro]

 

 

Even if this was shared already - it needs to be shared again

Rusev ‏@RusevBUL 8h8 hours ago

. @LanaWWE go make history. And I did. I took the tv monitor. Therefore I'm the new TV CHAMPION

I feel like this...

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

Completely balances out this bullshit. I heard that and thought, "I had to have heard that wrong." I re-wound it and, nope, I sadly heard it right.

Now we just need Ambrose to use the lines "You're despicable!" and "Of course you know, this means war!" and his evolution into Daffy Duck will be complete.

 

 

Ambrose comes off like Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita had a very dirty night in a sake bar with Daffy Duck.  Except without any of the good parts of any of the three.

[Craig H]

And like a lot of people, I thought this show was pretty good overall, but the lows were REALLY low.

 

Owens vs Ambrose was totally awesome. I loved watching those guys beat the shit out of each other. Hell of a match.

 

Then came ADR vs Kalisto, which was not as good and had ADR looking really disinterested, almost like he was going to lose the title...Kalisto fucking up in key spots wasn't great too. And for as much as evilclown bitched about the Divas match looking totally rehearsed and stale on Twitter, ADR vs Kalisto was ten times as bad.

 

That Divas title match wasn't that bad too. The first half was pretty bland and then the second half turned it up and was pretty great. Again though, some of the lows were really low. Ric Flair sexually assaults Becky, but I guess we're supposed to laugh that off because it's Ric Flair. Charlotte "missing" Becky with that spear and hitting Ric looked terrible. It was less Becky getting out of the way and more Charlotte having the SHITTIEST AIM EVER. Get your eyes checked, girl. The end of that match with Ric throwing his sport coat onto Becky was pretty dumb.

 

AND THEN THE BOSS SAVED EVERYTHING! Fuck. Yeah. Charlotte vs Da Boss at Wrestlemania instantly became the match I'm looking to the most if it means more weaves getting ripped out and the two of them stiffing the shit out of each other.

 

As for the Rumble match, it was good, there's no denying that, but it had the worst production I've seen out of the WWE since...well...the last Royal Rumble actually. It was horrendous. How do you fuck up AJ Styles' debut that bad? Someone on Twitter linked to a video of AJ's debut using handheld footage and it's a way better way to show his entrance. AJ's music is total fire too. I want to buy that track already. It sounded like DMX's No Sunshine, but I can't tell if it was really DMX or not. The cameras also cut away from so much action just to show Roman curling up for a nap. The logic of the match was complete shit too. Roman gets his ass kicked, but Vince doesn't go the extra step to just eliminate him? WTF? HHH dumps Roman and we're left with Ambrose vs HHH and I had no idea until that point that Ambrose vs HHH or Ambrose as champ was what I really wanted. That crowed was primed and ready to erupt if HHH was eliminated. Sadly, that didn't happen. Despite that, Owens eliminating AJ was great and perfectly booked. Owens in the Rumble match period was awesome. No one has mentioned it, but when the Wyatts were dominating before Bray made his entrance, Cole goes, "who is left to fight these guys" and I'm like, shit, yeah, who is left? HERE COMES THE FUCKING PAIN! Another perfectly booked moment. Cole deserves a ton of props for calling this match because he really helped AJ and moments before Brock's entrance. Sami's entrance was perfectly booked. Brock beat the shit out of Jericho with shots that would make Vader blush. Speaking of Jericho, what a total cockroach. At least three times I forgot he was in the match still and when he was finally eliminated, I got a text from a friend saying "thank christ."

 

All in all, a really good show with some big problems. At the very least I have Owens vs the world, Charlotte vs Da Boss, Brock beating the shit out of Bray, and AJ Styles to look forward too.

[JonnyLaw]

Kofi being eliminated off camera was stupid.

 

Kofi saving himself from being eliminated is the only thing anyone cares about with him.  We saw that part.

 

If there's anything they should finally introduce into the Royal Rumble match, it's a countout rule.

If you can just leave the ring and come back later, why wouldn't everyone do that?

In fact it's the only smart thing to do. Why would you be in there with 15 other guys, when you can just go to the toilet instead and come back, when everyone else is eliminated?

 

While this is a big logic gap, in a kayfabe sense, Vince would never get rid of that rule since he won his Rumble that way.

 

My only issue with HHH winning is there is no reason why HHH v. Reigns needs to be a title match. HHH entering the Rumble for the sole purpose of eliminating Reigns, then eliminating himself would have served the exact same purpose.

 

I said in the pre-show thread I could see HHH eliminating himself, but no way he does that if that means Ambrose gets the title.

 

Now, can we stop debating about whether HHH winning was logical boring booking or stupid boring booking, and talk more about how it took AJ Styles so long to come down the ramp, by the time he threw a punch, the next guy was coming out?

[MORELOCK]

I think in the short term it was more then fell in love with some going really long (since Flair was the first guy to go a hour a year before). 

 

Precedent was there before, as DiBiase went 45 minutes in 90 and Martel went 50+ in 91.

[Brian Fowler]

Be was milking the pop.

[Burgundy LaRue]

 

I think we're all missing the most hilarious/terrible part of the entire show: Dean's rebound lariat was officially named THE WACKY LINE.

I couldn't quite make out what they called it. That's really bad.

 

I heard it and start looking around the room for answers from anyone, but quickly remembered I was by myself.  So many levels of awful.

[The Nature Boy]

If you read this thread, you might get the idea that Dean Ambrose is the second coming of Jackie Gayda.

 

Holy shit guys, he's not that bad. 

[Craig H]

My only issue with HHH winning is there is no reason why HHH v. Reigns needs to be a title match. HHH entering the Rumble for the sole purpose of eliminating Reigns, then eliminating himself would have served the exact same purpose.

 

In giving the title to someone else you immediately create a second marketable main event level match for mania. 

 

The Styles reaction is a sign of just how desperate the audience is for something, anything, different.

 

I thought about this too. Reigns vs HHH doesn't need to be for the title, but if Ambrose goes into WM as dual champion, who challenges him? What, you do ANOTHER triple thread with Ambrose vs Reigns vs HHH? That's pretty uninspired. You do Reigns vs HHH at Fastlane and then Reigns vs Ambrose at WM just so Ambrose loses to Reigns again? That would suck.

 

I guess maybe you could have Brock steamroll the Wyatts at Fastlane to become #1 contender and do Brock vs Ambrose for the WWE title and Reigns vs HHH. Ambrose defeating Brock would be a star-making moment and you would at least have Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins to be the guys at the top going into the future, as much as Fowler would hate that. You could at least build to Reigns vs Ambrose at Summerslam and later do the Shield three-way for the WWE title at WM 33.

 

I don't know. That's all pointless speculation because what we have now is HHH vs Reigns for the WWE Title at WM 32. I'm sure it will be a good match, but we all know how it will end and that's extremely uninspired.

 

Someone else put it PERFECTLY. Maybe it was EVA, but he said something along the lines of that it's not that we don't want Reigns in this position, it's about how badly they've fucked it up. Seriously. How do you fuck this up so badly? As also pointed out by Fowler (?), Reigns was a can't miss prospect and they totally fucked him up to the point where fans just don't give a shit. Reigns losing the title, AGAIN, doesn't help. When this type of shit happened to Edge, it was when Edge was a heel and it was clear that he wasn't going to be the face of the company (even though he should have been since going over Angle in the hair vs hair match). In this case, Vince and HHH so desperately want Reigns to take over for Cena and they're going about it like Jodie Foster at the end of Silence of the Lambs.

[SirSmUgly]

Bob Backlund once lasted an hour when he was 43 and a lot of people thought it was pretty amazing.

 

45 year-old Chris Jericho lasts 50 minutes and it's called bullshit.

 

It's almost like people have different opinions about those two wrestlers or something. 

 

Wild, man. 

 

(I'm just kidding you! The Jericho Fatigue is real though, bruh.)

 

 

When WWE does the thing that makes sense, people complain about it being predictable. When they change it up, people complain that they're just throwing shit at the wall. 

 

 

You forgot a few options there. When WWE does the thing that makes sense and that people want to actually see, they get some love. When they change it up into something people want to see, they get some love. 

 

If they changed it up and Owens or Ambrose won last night, they would have got mostly love except for from Fowler in the case of Ambrose. Someone praised them for at least picking a logical story and sticking to it because the alternative is throwing stuff at the wall. I just wistfully remember the days that they both told a logical story and it was actually a story people cared about...or I go watch NXT for that stuff.