STRIKEFORCE,

 

THUMBS UP

 

Best Match:  Lawler vs Manhoef

 

Worst Match:  Walker vs Nagy

 

I appreciated Walker's fight, but the other 4 fights blew this away.  It slowed down the momentum of the show for a bit, however, anything put in this position may have felt the same affect after having to follow Lawler's KO. 

 

ROYAL RUMBLE,

 

THUMBS UP

 

Best Match:  Rumble

Runner Up:  Undertaker vs Rey

Worst Match:  Zeke vs Christian

 

Better than last year for sure.  A lot of the backstage segments seemed to have homosexual overtones.  Pat Patterson created the Rumble, and those segments sure did prove it.  Edge's frame gave me instand de ja vous of Sims physique last night, but not quite as bad.  I hope he stays injury free.  So I'm thinking either Jericho wins the belt @ EC and Edge challanges.  Great work this weekend!

 

James Brown

Hi Dave,
 
here is some feedback on the Rumble and some Mania thoughts. It got way
longer than I intended it to be, so maybe if it's too long for the
feedback section, you are free to consider putting it up as a guest
column (I'd actually love some feedback on the Mania layout from
yourself or Bryan or some other readers).
 
Rumble analysis:
 
Best match: Royal Rumble
Worst Match: Mickie James vs Michelle McCool
Rating: Thumbs Up (for WWE show standards)
 
It was a pretty fun show with not a single match really sticking out as
bad (Mickie/McCool was too short), but far from the best Rumble I ever saw.
 
Christian/Zeke was pretty decent for what it was. Christian managed to
make Zeke not look all that green, and both played their roles well. I
especially enjoyed that the match actually had a story (Christian not
being able to perform the Killswitch), which added some drama.
 
The Cryme Tyme/Tiffany/Long/Khali/Miz promo was forgettable. I guess
Cryme Tyme got to replace Hurricane, but I'd rather have seen Regal in
the Rumble for a few fun spots than JTG.
 
Miz vs MVP was a decent surprise, but was it just me, or was MVP
actually booed for the post-match-attack. I like how they are kind of
taking some of the cookie-cutter-babyface aspect away from MVP and give
him more of an edge, with this attack and also th way he eliminated Miz
from the Rumble match. This could turn out to be a really fun feud,
especially with the promos these two cut lately. I'd love to see it
dragged out until Mania with some sort of stipulation blow-off-match
with MVP going over there. MVP really should be a bigger star than he is
right now, I like his work and I don't remember him ever not running
with the ball, when he was given it (as far back as his team/feud with
Matt Hary a few years back).
 
The Orton/Legacy promo stuff was pretty good from an intensity point of
view.
 
Jericho/Show/Truth was fun, but I was really disappointed they didn't
follow any of it up in the Rumble match, as both Show and Truth were
eliminated before Jericho even entered. I guess it would have distracted
from Jericho/Edge, even though that was not played up as big as it
should have been either. I would have loved for Miz and Jericho to fight
over Shows attention/support in the Rumble match, especially since promo
work of these two would be gold (they sparred on Twitter a few months
back) - but I guess that also would get into the way of Miz/MVP and
Edge/Jericho, which programs are perfectly fine with me.
 
I didn't really catch all of Orton/Sheamus unfortunately, as with the
different time zones the Rumble was on from 2-5 am here, and I dozed off
for a few minutes mid-match. The post-match angle was fine and I am kind
of intrigued to see where it will lead from here. I'm not sure if I want
to see Orton as a face, both because the rebellious tweener has pretty
much run its course with Austin 10 years back and I guess nobody can
ever top or even duplicate that run, and Orton to me is about the most
natural heel there is on the roster right now (maybe with the expecption
of the Miz). Also, it will be very hard to build DiBiase and/or Cody up
to main event level, after they have pretty much been buried for years
now. I always thought a four-person-stable with two veterans and two
youngsters worked better than a single and a tag team, and these guys
have pretty much not been protected at all, and in these times, that's
pretty much a killer (the last successful stable was Evolution, and this
really served its purpose, with Orton and Batista emerging as real stars
- but then, there was the proper political backing there). Maybe they
can bring Brett DiBiase into the mix, either siding with his brother or
Orton.
 
Michelle vs Mickie was OK for what it was, and Mickie got her big
revenge, which is fine with me, as the angle was ridiculous. I saw
Michelle McCool in person at an European house show a few years back,
and she look unhealthy skinny then. So if that is the stereotype of what
a WWE "diva" has to look like, I'll prefer a Mickie James or Beth
Phoenix (who looked incredibly cute and way less masculine than on
television at an autograph session a few years back) any day. When all
the face divas came out, I cringed for a second and was afraid Mickie
would wind up in the cake, as a sort of message to her, but fortunately,
things played out well.
 
Taker vs. Rey was pretty good, but I cringed every time Mysterio landed
on his feet from higher up (especially the spot right at the start, when
Taker threw him outside). I didn't catch the spot where Undertaker got
his nose busted, but kudos to him for working through it, as it looked
like it must have hurt like hell. The Last Ride/Rite(?) powerbomb at the
end looked sickening and believeably ended the match. I didn't really
care for the 619 spots - the move as it is is OK, but it's really hard
to suspend your disbelief, as pretty much the only matches where people
wind up in that position between the ropes are those against Myterio. It
is an OK spot when working with some of the smaller guys, but if it is a
key spot (and it is, always getting good pops), then why not drag some
of the bigger/tougher guys into that position, instead of headscissoring
them there, or whatever spot it is that usually leads to that. I had
actually pictured Michaels coming out and costing Rey the match, showing
to what lengths he would go to get his WM revenge - but then, it would
have had to have led to a Michaels/Mysterio match, which I would have
enjoyed, but as the Rumble turned out, there seem to be different plans
for Michaels in February. Well, they could have boosted a SmackDown
rating with it anyway.
 
The Rumble itself: Well, first and foremost, I was a bit disappointed,
that there was no hopeful babyface (think Mysterio or even Bulldog in
1992) working the major part of the match, holding things together and
telling a story (I was hopeful, Bourne would get to shine for a good 30
minutes when he came out second), but the way the match was booked,
especially with Punk, it made sense. I really loved what they did with
Punk and had hoped that he could last until the end, just because he was
so entertaining and it would have played well into his future promo work
and bragging. I had actually pictured Luke Gallows entering the Rumble
and either working against Punk (too early, not fitting with the
Straight Edge Society), or working with him and eventually eliminating
himself for his "saviour" at one point. Well, Triple H screwed that. The
Beth Phoenix/Khali spot actually was done pretty well for what it was,
and its good that Khali wasn't booked as a monster, as honestly, nobody
would have wanted to have seen him for any length of time.
 
The Miz/MVP was pretty good, as mentioned above. I actually enjoyed
Carlito and was surprised he got in so much offense. I'd love for him to
be motivated, but I guess that ship has sailed. Where was Primo, and why
did Carlito get the nod? Michaels eliminating all these guys when coming
in told a good story. I had hoped he would work a few cool
spots/counterspots with Morrison, or even double-teams against McIntyre
and was disappointed when he threw Morrison out that quickly.
Cena/HBK/HHH was lame, and while I am neither a Cena nor HHH basher and
enjoy both of them when they have got their working shoes on and are not
in goofy-poopy-comedy-mode, I just do not want to see there three guys
mixed up anymore, as any two-way or three-way program between there guys
has run its course years ago (with the expeption of a good, non-goofy DX
meltdown, which they were/are teasing at times).
 
The short Henry/Show intermezzo was fun, even though I am not sure if
Henry was supposed to slam Show right away, or not. It kind of look
stupid that the "world's strongest man" would fail at something as
"simple" as a slam, when Cena hoisted Show up on his shoulders (which
should, in theory, be much more difficult) for the Attitude Adjustement
numerous times. Same thing when he collapsed trying it against Henry,
when he would do it to a heavier Show in most matches last year. Well, I
guess the storyline explanation was, that he was exhausted from the
match. When Show and Henry were in the ropes, I was kind of afraid what
they would do, if the top rope had snapped, as there must have been
pressure of a legit 750-900 pounds on the rope for a short amount of time.
 
As I said, I was kind of disappointed that Show/Truth/Jericho never were
in the ring together, after the tease in the promo, but I guess now they
can't even follow-up an angle after two hours instead of two weeks. I
also was somewhat puzzled by the offense Swagger go to show, as with
Santino out, and those challenged he did lately, I thought he'd be the
victim of the 1-second-elimination here.
 
Edge was a surprise on  a minor scale (I know there had been rumors and
plans floating around, but I'm still afraid he might have come back too
soon). I had it down to Regal and Batista, as the two last missing
listed wrestlers. He took it somewhat slow and safe, not doing too much,
often resting for minutes at a time. The announcers should have played
up him going after Jericho a lot more, but then maybe plans already
changed on that program. I am not quites ure if people saw him as a face
or heel here. there was a decent pop, but he actually didn't act a lot
different then when he was a full-fledged heel. I guess we'll find out
Tuesday or even tomorrow.
 
I prety much thought HBK would win (after all these years, I have
learned not to expect to complex or drawn-out storylines from WWE, but
then HBK and Taker do have considerable input, and we've learned from
HBK/Jericho that two guys understanding the dynamics of the business can
do wonders for a program). The way he was eliminated by Batista and with
Michaels at first lying there and swearing/moving his lips and Batista
for some reason looking concerned for a few moments, I actually thought
"holy shit, they blew the finish right there". I was actually imagining
Vince exploding in the back, and Batista, subsequently jobbing to
Goldust in ECW opening matches for the next two years. Actually, I also
imagined Vince running out, sliding into the ring, tearing both his and
Batista's quads in the process, also killing the Bret Hart match in the
process.
 
But it was all just worked really well, and I tremendously enjoyed
Michaels acting out on his shattered dreams (but hey, maybe Hornswoggle
will just smoke some weed with Cheech and Chong tomorrow, and grunt them
into making the match for WM 26 anyway).
 
With Cena, Batista and Edge as the last three guys, I was actually
dreading one of the two former guys winning, either with Cena/Sheamus
(or Cena/Sheamus/HHH) for Mania, or Batista losing his shot against
Michaels at Elimination Chamber (which would make some sense, as Batista
was the one eliminating him).
 
Edge winning was fresh and quite innovative and both the Rumble as well
as the Legacy fallout has me intrigued about what will happen in the
next couple of weeks.
 
Mania thoughts, leading from the Ruble:
 
Traditionally, for the last few years, the period from the Rumble to
Mania has been (sometimes more, sometimes less) the strongest in WWE,
booking- and storylinewise. I really hope they have a few good plans and
follow through on them. With some of the pairings, the promo work could
range from good to awesome (especially Bret/Vince, Shawn/Taker,
Edge/Jericho, Miz/MVP, and to a degree, HHH/Cena/Sheamus).
 
I guess HHH and Shawn both win their respective Elimination Chamber
matches (one of them involving Edge), or Edge loses his Rumble shot to
either of them (by interference from Jericho or Christian) in a singles
match and the other guy wins his EC match.
 
A somewhat twisted storyline-idea:
 
Shawn doesn't win his shot, and his dream since finally shattered. HHH
wins his EC match (or beats Edge), and Michaels challenges him for the
shot (this would be a match that, in the 80s, would have headlined a
SNME a few weeks out from WrestleMania - I'm not sure if a conctract
with NBC calls for such a special in time, but this could actually mean
ratings, if promoted well for a few weeks on both shows); otherwise put
it on March 1st on a 3-hour-RAW when TNA goes head-to-head.
 
So here is my wishlist for Mania (which I also think would do decent buys):
 
Bret/Vince in a streetfight, "I Quit match", or some other match that is
both safe for Bret and allows him to work around his limitations
 
Taker/Shawn for the WWE title; what would be awesome, but not sure if
right on this stage, or safe for both guys, would be a reprisal of the
original "Hell in a Cell" match from 1997. First of all, it was a modern
classic, second they could realy play it up how it was the match that
originally ended Michaels career, as it was the one where he injured his
back, IIRC, and it would add extra buys, as the Cell seems always to.
The negative is, it would make the HIAC PPV less special, but there are
more than 6 months between those two. The main question woud probably
be, would it distract too much from the match itself, and are both guys,
with their current health (Taker) and history of back injuries
(Michaels) willing to got into the cell and work all the spots necessary
to make it a great HIAC match?
 
HHH/Sheamus (at least it's fresh, and if HHH's ego allows for it, if
Sheamus went over clean, it would elevate him big time).
 
MVP/Miz in some sort of stip match (well, if both Taker/Shawn and
Vince/Bret are stip matches, it might not be a good idea, but I would
love a big blow-off match; maybe a strap match, if they start with Miz
walking out, or winning cheap in the next few weeks).
 
Edge/Jericho (maybe with Christian getting involved somehow, since he
has history with both guys, I'd love to see a three-way program with
them dragged out unitl SummerSlam, as it would be great werestling- and
promo-wise).
 
Orton/DiBiase (or some sort of team match with Orton, Rhodes, and either
Brett and/or Mike DiBiase, maybe even get Joe Hennig, Steamboat Jr. the
Rotundo Brothers or some of the other 2nd/3rd generation guys in
developmental involved - maybe DiBiase can form his own youngsters
stable to "show Orton how it is properly done", or two such stables
could feud).
 
Maybe Cena/Batista (they could plant the seed with Cena eliminating
Batista at the Rumble, but would have to follow up on it immediately -
their SummerSlam program seemed rushed and lacking deeper cause, but the
it was a face-face program).
 
Mysterio/Punk in mask vs hair, as rumored
 
Money in the Bank with Bourne, Benjamin, Tatsu, Swagger and maybe
Danielson and/or Kaval, if they are introduced by then (if not, put the
Hart Dynasty in there). If they want to establis Danielson right away,
he should win.
 
Maybe put Morrison and McIntyre into an IC title match, but right now,
that program doesn't do too much for me, McIntyre needs to be elevated
more. As McIntyre seems to be a McMahon/HHH favorite, maybe he could be
given the rub if some sort of celebrity gets involved and they think he
can carry the ball there (maybe a team match with two celebs; I'm not
into the celebrity stuff too much, but Vince loves it obviously).
 
That only leaves out the Big Show, and he could maybe get worked into a
JeriShow vs Edge/Christian match (maybe leading to a double turn with a
heel Jericho/Christian vs. face Edge/Show team, as an alternative to a
three-way-program); Show could also get worked into MVP/Miz in some
capacity.
 
I really hope they utilize the Hart Dynasty better and work them into
the Bret/Vince storyline or let them shine in a tag title match by then.
 
Maybe they can get some of their past gues hosts into the crowd to smile
and wave, those whe really enjoyed it (Seth Green, Freddie Prinze Jr.,
etc. would certainly love to go).
 
It would also be very cool if Jim Ross was back as an announcer (maybe
just for Taker/HBK and Vince/Bret) in time; it would just add an extra
special feeling, would greatly improve the product and who knows if it
might add a few thousand extra buys from people on the fence about
ordering, especially if promoted as a special attraction kind of thing.
Maybe Bret or Shawn can (storylinewise) insist on JR calling their
respective match (Shawn would actually better, since he would want
everything perfectly aligned for his big WrestleMania moment).
 
So there you go, these are my thoughts for my perfect WrestleMania, now
let's see what creative actually delivers. :)
 
Kind regards,
 
Markus Gronemann
Vienna/Austria
 

Best match: Undertaker vs Rey
Worst Match: Mickie James vs Michelle McCool by process of elimination (although that was still well booked)
 
That was a fun PPV and I like how they tried to do something different for the Rumble-in fact for the past few years it seems like there's been a concerted effort to try to do something unique for a match that had gotten pretty formulaic.
 
Christian vs 'zeke was a lot better than I thought it would be.  Miz and MVP have good chemistry. Orton vs Sheamus, started slow, but ended up being pretty decent.  Mickie dropped the mean girl like she should've.  Rey vs Undertaker was really good.  The Rumble was a lot of fun: The CM Punk stuff is top notch, the HBK story is compelling, and I am looking forward to  see where it goes (I just hope Triple H was selling and didn't blow his leg out again there before Cena got in the ring).
 
But of course the highlight was Edge's return, and him winning was the closest I've seen the mutant internet snobs and regular fans agreeing on the guy winning the Rumble.
 
I'll be at Wrestlemania and I can't wait!

Rick Hale