ROYAL RUMBLE 2016 POST SHOW

[Victator]

AJ's debut was awesome, but you can already tell he's going to get slotted into the midcard morass in short order. I think he ate everybody in the match's offense and hit virtually none of his own high-end signature stuff. He was in there a while, but it almost seemed begrudgingly so, like "HHH spent a lot of money on this sawed-off hick, so I guess we gotta keep him in there a while. Just make sure it's not the longest while."

AJ's offense is not really suited to a battle royal.

Curtis Axel was just eliminated from the 2015 Rumble, he still has a shot.

[The Comedian]

Total bullshit that Triple H wn though.How wants to see him as Champion? 

 

Well, there are cats here who will tell you all about how HHH winning is the logical progression in the storyline. Then they'll tell you all about how great HHH is in the ring and how we're sure to get a Mania classic. 

 

And to me that's all a moot point because fuck HHH. I don't care if everyone from Dave Meltzer to Krone Meltzer gives HHH-Reigns 5 stars, because fuck HHH. Since people keep talking football in here, I'll make a football analogy. HHH is the Patriots. I don't wanna see the Patriots go to Super Bowl and get their comeuppance; I want the Patriots to go 2-14 for the next decade. I want them to go the fuck away. I don't wanna marvel at HHH's technical brilliance as worker any more than I wanna marvel at the proficiency of a Tom Brady-led offense. He could be the greatest worker ever but he's a shit character. 

[Web Conn]

I'm actually curious to see what they do with AJ tomorrow. I'm not excited for Triple H's 20 minute promo to open up the show.

[Brian Fowler]

Total bullshit that Triple H wn though.How wants to see him as Champion?

 

Well, there are cats here who will tell you all about how HHH winning is the logical progression in the storyline. Then they'll tell you all about how great HHH is in the ring and how we're sure to get a Mania classic. 

 

And to me that's all a moot point because fuck HHH. I don't care if everyone from Dave Meltzer to Krone Meltzer gives HHH-Reigns 5 stars, because fuck HHH. Since people keep talking football in here, I'll make a football analogy. HHH is the Patriots. I don't wanna see the Patriots go to Super Bowl and get their comeuppance; I want the Patriots to go 2-14 for the next decade. I want them to go the fuck away. I don't wanna marvel at HHH's technical brilliance as worker any more than I wanna marvel at the proficiency of a Tom Brady-led offense. He could be the greatest worker ever but he's a shit character.

A good chunk of this is exactly how I felt about Ambrose winning, except he's a bad worker to.

[EVA]

AJ's debut was awesome, but you can already tell he's going to get slotted into the midcard morass in short order. I think he ate everybody in the match's offense and hit virtually none of his own high-end signature stuff. He was in there a while, but it almost seemed begrudgingly so, like "HHH spent a lot of money on this sawed-off hick, so I guess we gotta keep him in there a while. Just make sure it's not the longest while."

AJ's offense is not really suited to a battle royal.

Eh, they make room for guys to shine if they want them to.

They didn't even let him hit the Styles Clash after teasing it half a dozen times! If he hits that, the roof blows off the joint.

[Don]

And to me that's all a moot point because fuck HHH. I don't care if everyone from Dave Meltzer to Krone Meltzer gives HHH-Reigns 5 stars, because fuck HHH. Since people keep talking football in here, I'll make a football analogy. HHH is the Patriots. I don't wanna see the Patriots go to Super Bowl and get their comeuppance; I want the Patriots to go 2-14 for the next decade. I want them to go the fuck away. I don't wanna marvel at HHH's technical brilliance as worker any more than I wanna marvel at the proficiency of a Tom Brady-led offense. He could be the greatest worker ever but he's a shit character. 

 

 

And person. Don't forget about shit person.

[DreamBroken]

Loved Styles debut, massive pop, and that he lasted near 30 minutes. I like Triple H winning as I've always been a fan of his and figure he and Reigns will be good stuff at Mania even if predictable. As others mentioned , I think the thing I hated the most was Brock getting eliminated and just calmly leaving. Like why not just get back in there and toss Bray the way the Wyatts did him, and then they brawl to the back?  Prefer guys that wrestled earlier not being in but Owens and Ambrose both had good showings. Glad they went with only one of the Social Outcasts and New Day. Kofi's elimination happening.. whenever it did was odd. Styles was definitely the highlight of the night, enjoyed the constant teases of the Clash. He did get to hit the pele early on Roman and the big springboard forearm later on Jericho. Still seemed surreal to see a guy like that come in and get put over heavily on commentary and not having to change his name at all. Owens eliminating Styles definitely stopped any huge backlash since fans could accept it coming from Owens. I still like Jericho, figure he and Ambrose will face at Mania for the IC title with Jericho turning along the way. Sucked seeing Henry and Swagger get tossed like jokes, especially Henry for what was hinted at being his last Rumble. Liked Miz waiting until Lesnar and Strowman were both gone before entering. They seemed to keep the surprises to an absolute minimum even more than the last few years but I'm glad they delivered with Styles.

 

Really liked most of Charlotte/Becky. Thought the opening matwork exchanges were good stuff. Charlotte looked good and Becky looked great. Nice pop for Sasha in the post match and she came off great there. Definitely guessing a three or four way for Mania. Preferably involving those three and Nikki, assuming she's back for Mania, but I can't see Paige being left out. Becky is fantastic and shouldn't be completely pushed aside, great babyface.

 

Usos/New Day was good stuff despite feeling like a really repetitive match, loved that ending with Big E's big catch. Ambrose/Owens was a fun brawl. Kalisto/Alberto was solid but not as good as the excellent Smackdown match. The title switch back seems real pointless now. Looking forward to the time warp to 03 with World Champ Triple H opening the show. Also, Ambrose's rebound lariat being called the "wackyline" is hilarious.

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

So we are 16 pages in and NO ONE has mentioned those weak strikes Braun Strowman (B.S.) was throwing against Lesnar. I never want to hear about Big Cass having terrible hands, Strongman was fucking ridiculous out there. NXT has a striking coach to keep people from having a striking performance like B.S. had tonight. Just fucking terrible.

 

And yes, WWE should have went with the less predictable and still logical angle to end the show. Ambrose as champion would have felt fresh and been exciting, all the while letting WWE still run HHH/Reigns at Mania. A good narrative can still be surprising and remain logical at every turn.

 

Re: Styles debut

 

Keeping the camera on Reigns was smart. When Sting debuted at SS, I knew it was him as soon as I saw the crow on the Titantron. The delay between the obvious (based off the graphics) and the commentators chiming took away from the moment. With the camera squarely focused on Reigns, the viewers at home found out, not when Reigns found out, but when Reigns was CERTAIN and the commentators sold that moment. Reigns, the commentators, and the viewers at home were all synced as we were clued in at the same time why everyone in that arena was losing their collective shit.

[PetrolCB]

I'm guessing that Triple H won the belt for Lemmy, much like how Rey won it for Eddie.

"Lemmy isn't in heaven, HE'S IN HELLLl!"

"...yeah probably."

[Big Fresh]

Owens crushing Michael Cole was also great.

[EVA]

And to me that's all a moot point because fuck HHH. I don't care if everyone from Dave Meltzer to Krone Meltzer gives HHH-Reigns 5 stars, because fuck HHH. Since people keep talking football in here, I'll make a football analogy. HHH is the Patriots. I don't wanna see the Patriots go to Super Bowl and get their comeuppance; I want the Patriots to go 2-14 for the next decade. I want them to go the fuck away. I don't wanna marvel at HHH's technical brilliance as worker any more than I wanna marvel at the proficiency of a Tom Brady-led offense. He could be the greatest worker ever but he's a shit character.

Gregg will weep himself to sleep at the beauty of this sports analogy.

[Go2Sleep]

My new year's resolution is to watch main roster WWE with a different perspective. I no longer expect, or even want, greatness. I just want the shows to not be abysmal. In that regard, the Rumble was satisfactory.

 

Ambrose/Owens was a decent little hardcore match. Not great, as it was still the bland, homogeneous, indistinguishable formula we've grown accustomed to the last year and a half, but it was about as good as it was going to be in those constraints.

 

The tag title match was fine. Wouldn't mind seeing New Day feud with Swagger/Henry. Would certainly be better than the Usos for the 100th time.

 

Kalisto/ADR was botch city and easily the worst match they've had together and the worst match on the show. Kalisto losing the belt back looks very pointless in retrospect, as expected.

 

The women's match was pretty good. I liked the play on the old trope with Charlotte using the helpless male as a shield. The finish was silly, but the post match made up for it. As much as I like Becky and was happy to see her over here, I didn't mind the stomp. It's Sasha's time and if she can keep an edge as a face, she's money in the bank. This is one WM feud that actually looks like it's headed in the right direction.

 

The Rumble itself was fine, certainly a step up from the last two years. HHH winning is whatever, we all knew it was coming and once Roman woke up from his nap at #29, they might as well have put "HHH is #30 you dipshits" on the tron for the next minute. On the plus side, we got the equally predictable AJ debut and Zayn/Owens interactions which are things people actually wanted. Roman continued to look like a loser and Brock was pretty wasted in this all things considered.

 

Not really sure about Mania. HHH/Roman is going to be boring and the crowd will definitely be behind HHH. I'm ok with Brock/Bray if Fast Lane has Brock vs. the other Wyatts in a gauntlet match with the bulk of it being Harper. Their match at Mania could go either way quality wise, and I guess if they wanted to try to re-build Bray so they can waste him later, this is their last chance. There are some clear potential positives, though, with Zayn/Owens and Charlotte/Sasha.

[Brian Fowler]

I'm expecting Zayn/Owens at Takeover, and KO/AJ at Mania.

[Jenalysis]

 

 

You people are fucking miserable. The Rumble was fun.

Agree 100% I loved it, as did the people I watched it with. Reaction so far seems to be very positive....except on here.

By the way, I checked Meltzer's site to get their overall take on the show. Do they even use autocorrect or spell-check over there?

I liked the show just fine. Out of 15 things they got 13-14 of them on fleek and the most important thing of them all, they flubbed.

 

 

So in other words, WCW?

[Niners Fan in CT]

This is not what I want but I'm thinking they'll do an I.C. title ladder match featuring Owens, Zayn, Ambrose and AJ Styles.  Throw in a couple others. 

 

I was laughing my ass off at Xavier coming down the aisle huffing and puffing and Big E rubbing his shoulders only for him to turn to Kofi and Kofi is the actual participant. Xavier is great. 

 

I spent enough time complaining about how I don't want to see Reigns vs. Hunter this year.  I am VERY excited to see Sasha and Charlotte. Sasha on the WrestleMania stage is going to be worth my ten bucks right there. 

[Big Fresh]

This is not what I want but I'm thinking they'll do an I.C. title ladder match featuring Owens, Zayn, Ambrose and AJ Styles. Throw in a couple others.

If they keep it with just those 4, then fine. I'd rather a couple of singles matches, but fine. But for God's sake, don't make it one of their 8-man nonsense fests.

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

Also, WWE needs to continue to work on closing logic holes. Some of the things that happened during this RR bothered me (and have for years). Aside from the mentioned 4, is there anything else that should be closed up?

 

1. A wrestler is only considered 'entered' into the RR match once that person steps into the ring with both feet.

 

2. Only eliminations by a wrestler or wrestlers still in the RR match can be counted as a valid elimination.

 

3. A wrestler cannot eliminate his/herself (The Macho Man elimination always comes to mind and I thought it was stupid then and think its stupid now).

 

4. Anytime there is a situation where two or more wrestlers (within the final 4) touch the floor at the same time: The match automatically becomes a one fall match and the winner of that match is declared the winner of the RR.

[Fallacy!]

At my Rumble watch party, my buddy's 6th-grade son pretty well summed up my thoughts on the booking of the match after the Wyatt's eliminated Brock: "Why are they leaving? They should just stay and throw everyone else out too! This is so stupid!"

[Niners Fan in CT]

Watching the Rumble replay and I gotta say Cole was pretty good tonight.  He and JBL both put over AJ huge and Cole was calling out everyone's Rumble stats and shit. It was a good call. 

 

Also, why can't we have ten minutes of Brock vs. Stroman at Mania??? Their back and forth was awesome

[TheVileOne]

Putting AJ Styles in a stupid ladder match at WrestleMania would be silly.  He's 38 and is probably still recovering from a chronic back injury.  It's not worth it.  We get enough pointless gimmick matches as it is.  Or that god awful, horrible table spot during the main event of WrestleMania 30.

 

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.

 

[TheVileOne]

At my Rumble watch party, my buddy's 6th-grade son pretty well summed up my thoughts on the booking of the match after the Wyatt's eliminated Brock: "Why are they leaving? They should just stay and throw everyone else out too! This is so stupid!"

 

It is stupid.  If it's No DQ and it's legal for them to get in the ring and toss out Lesnar and that counts as a legal elimination, why the fuck can't they stay and eliminate the rest of the fucks for Bray Wyatt?  

[HumanChessgame]

Also, WWE needs to continue to work on closing logic holes. Some of the things that happened during this RR bothered me (and have for years). Aside from the mentioned 4, is there anything else that should be closed up?

 

1. A wrestler is only considered 'entered' into the RR match once that person steps into the ring with both feet.

 

2. Only eliminations by a wrestler or wrestlers still in the RR match can be counted as a valid elimination.

 

3. A wrestler cannot eliminate his/herself (The Macho Man elimination always comes to mind and I thought it was stupid then and think its stupid now).

 

4. Anytime there is a situation where two or more wrestlers (within the final 4) touch the floor at the same time: The match automatically becomes a one fall match and the winner of that match is declared the winner of the RR.

 

Before last year's Rumble I watched most of the prior Rumble matches themselves and noticed how fast and loose they played with these rules over the years- 

In the 92 match, Randy Savage goes over the top rope to go after someone, but isn't eliminated because according to Gorilla "Someone else has to be involved in sending you out of the ring" or something along those lines.  In 97, Mil Mascaras gets eliminated by jumping off the top rope onto Peirroth, whom he had just eliminated and was on the floor, then Farooq gets eliminated when Ahmed Johnson came back out and attacked him.

The rules about being eliminated by someone not in the match/already eliminated also change based on what angles they're trying to run.  Giant Gonzales comes in and throws out The Undertaker, even though Gonzales wasn't even in the match.  In 96, Vader gets eliminated then comes back in and clears everyone out of the ring, but none of them are counted as eliminated.  

 

I realize a lot of this is done to capitalize on various angles or protect certain guys in the match, but this year it really seemed to get ridiculous.  As has been mentioned, it made no sense for the Wyatts or the LON to leave the ringside area and stop helping their comrades who were still in the ring when it became established that they could do so without repercussions. 

[The Natural]

Best Royal Rumble match in a while. Surreal seeing AJ Styles in the WWE and making his debut in the Royal Rumble match. Had a feeling the WWE would do with Roman Reigns the getting hurt and coming back into the match later routine. Good seeing Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens get it on, the two NXT matches they had last year were underrated. I wish someone else was given the Iron Man run instead of Chris Jericho. Shame there weren’t more surprise entrants. Don’t like Triple H winning or a Triple H vs. Roman Reigns WrestleMania main event.

 

Great reaction to Sasha Banks. Legit Boss alright! Really liked LMS between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens as well.

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

AJ STYLES~! being awesome.

 

Fun rumble overall, very good opener, nice Divas match, super fun Rumble match.

 

The flaws in the Rumble were big, like biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig, but it was fun.

[Victator]

At my Rumble watch party, my buddy's 6th-grade son pretty well summed up my thoughts on the booking of the match after the Wyatt's eliminated Brock: "Why are they leaving? They should just stay and throw everyone else out too! This is so stupid!"

My guess is the officials might look the other way for Brock but over throw the decision if he won like that. Or Bray only feared Brock and had some pride. 

Like how the nWo always tried fighting the Giant one by one before rushing him in mass.

EDIT: Wanted to add the Reigns getting laid out most of the match was them trying to recreate the 1999 Royal Rumble.