nothing really sticks out to be honest. rumble seemed rushed. matt striker is an awful commentator, a cant recall specifically what he said but there was one point where he buried edge and even lawler was like 'WHAT?!?'. i dont watch wrestling ever week but do read about it on the website. royal rumble and wrestlemania are the only 2 ppv's i order every year. dq finish in orton/sheamus was cheep. feel it wasnt worth the price as a show.
John Georgiou,
London
| Thumbs in the Middle on this one. Best match: Rumble Worst match: James/McCool Most of this stuff was predictable and nothing was special. Christian did pull a decent match out of Jackson, so kudos to him. I was disappointed in the lack of surprises, although Edge was quite a surprise. It's almost becoming an annual tradition that people go out with major injuries in the spring, aren't projected back until the next Mania or later and come back early for the Rumble as a surprise (like Cena). I was surprised to see Edge win, especially the way they portrayed him. He came out to what I thought was a decent, but not overwhelming, pop. And I think he played his character pretty generically, going after Jericho, which would be obvious given the way Jericho ran him down on TV for months, but he also had the "mean Edge" face when he was a top heel, almost like they wanted to keep their options open to see whether he'd be accepted as a face or they'd need to keep him as a heel. I'll be curious to see how this shakes out. Dan Graulich Shapleigh, ME |
Dave,
Not a lot to say about either show. They were there. I seriously thought for a second that Triple H had just put on Edge’s tights when he came out #30. I also thought that if Jeff Hardy hadn’t have gone on Impact on January 4th, he would’ve been the perfect person to come out at #8 and eliminate CM Punk, instead of Triple H. Anyhow, here goes for the poll:
Strikeforce:
Thumbs slightly up:
Best Match: Robbie Lawler v Melvin Manheouf
Worst Match: Cyborg vs Scoonen
Royal Rumble:
Thumbs up:
Best Match: Whole lotta 2.5-3 star matches, so spin a wheel and it lands on Zeke v Christian
Worst Match: Michelle McCool v Mickie James (though still one of the best moments of either night, just not much of a match)
Shawn Michaels’ reaction when he got eliminated was awesome and I wonder how they’re going to follow it up.
Paul Fontaine
Dear Dave,
Thumbs Down
Best match: Sheamus vs Orton
Worst match: Miz vs MVP
My buddy is a Rumble fanatic, so despite the fact that neither one of us can stand the WWE after the wretched 2009 they had, he ordered it and its tough to pass on a free PPV.
Excuses out of the way, now the matches-
Christian vs Zeke *1/2
Ezekial Jackson is the perfect example of a nightmare for Vince McMahon: He's so cartoonishly muscular, I'm sure Vince fantasized of putting a World title on him instantly. But poor Vince, he's also cartoonishly bad, which keeps him on ECW. As opposed to where he should be, future endeavored, but then who's gonna challenge ad nauseum for the title? Certainly not Regal-he might actually hurt somebody. This match had Christian valiantly fighting for his pride, and maybe position, in a lost cause. Zeke's clotheslines and assorted power moves WOULD knock down my Grandmother. But only because she can't walk.
Christian wins by pinfall.
The Miz vs MVP for the US title No Stars
I'm in the dark as to why the Miz is so over with respected media types. He seems phony to me, like a rich kid who's billionaire dad lives in McMahon's wealthy housing complex. Yes, he's a trained professional, and he has obviously studied timing, heat-seeking, and assorted villiany 101. Does anyone actually believe his character? I STILL think if I ran into Dick Slater or Ole Anderson, they'd steal my lunch money, or girlfriend. Or both.
Then there's MVP, who's win/loss record, I'd hazard a guess, doesnt bear scrutiny for a title match on the 2nd biggest ppv of the year. These guys combined are about as stiff as a 'very special episode of The View'. They've been trained WWE style-what I would give to see them in Japan for one match against Vader and Abdullah and his pencil. I think Miz won, not sure.
Michelle McCool vs Mickie James for the Divas (or ladies?, again, not sure) title 1/2 *
I may have rated this abomination too high, but since Michelle became a heel I'm oddly hot for her. I'm thinking if Callaway dumps her, I'll give it a shot. Except I really dont wanna follow Undertaker, know what I mean? Its probably like dating Greg Oden's ex.
Mickie wins! Mickie wins! See, there's nothing wrong with being chubby.
Sheamus vs Orton for the WWE World title **1/2
Ya know, not bad. It's pretty cool to see a heel vs heel title match again, especially since neither was being flipped. The Irishman has potential, at least until the bookers knock all the stiffness out of him. Orton was great as usual. What a pro. Enjoyable all the way thru, and I didnt even mind the DQ ending.
Undertaker vs Mysterio for the WWE championship **1/2
Yet another decent bout! The nasty taste in my mouth from all the Miz-MVP-Zeke-horrible commentary is dissipating. Like most, I'm sick of seeing Rey's gifts squashed by forcing him into matches with lumbering giants. Taker actually looked the best he has since WM25. Taker with the feud-ending pinfall.
Royal Rumble **
For the first 15 minutes or so, I loved this Rumble. The more I see CM Punk, the more I think he's the most natural heel this company has had since Orton debuted. In my mind he's on the Jericho-Orton level. Fun and surprising booking, as Punk tossed out one guy after another, grabbing the mic after each eliminated victim and very nicely offering to save the next entrant. When "whoo-whoo" came out, I thought we might have our least deserving Rumble competitor of all time. Fortuneatly he was just there for comic value, as Punk decided instantly this jobber isnt worth saving, as Punk just decked him with the mic and tossed him.
But all good things must come to an end, and once Punk was out, so was the quality. My friend and I had guesses on who would be the surprise entrant-I won a whole dollar when Edge appeared instead of Booker. There was one more great moment-when HBK was eliminated. I've been watching wrestling for 30 years, and STILL wondered if it was a screwup or not. Wonderfully acted by HBK and Batista as well; Big Dave actually lied there after dumping Shawn, looking like he was going to be in HUGE trouble once he got backstage. Bravo, boys.
But other than that, an entirely forgettable Rumble. Too many lower grade combatants, which I suppose is an indictment of the WWE's depth. Why were Miz and MVP allowed to enter after wrestling earlier? Oh, to advance the beginning feud. Great, that should be a strong one. A feud so soft it should be sponsored by Charmin.
Lest I forget-Cena was atrocious, maybe the worst I've seen him in years. When a match isnt booked to revolve around and put him over, he's clueless.
Edge wins, and man, has he lost definition. Now he just looks like a normal, talented, pro wrestler, like Punk and Jericho. I'm sure Vince is furious.
Derek Hamel
Tulsa, OK
Rumble feedback
Overall: thumbs down
Best match: Rumble match
Worst match: Miz / MVP
Can't believe I stayed up to 4am to watch this. What a huge let down. Both the raw and smackdown world title matches disappointed and surprisingly the best match on the under card was Christian/ Zeke due to Christian putting in a strong performance. Miz vs MVP shouldn't have been on the show. Nobody cares about MVP and the crowd was against him.
Now to the rumble. Punk was great in the first few minutes and the star of the night. HBK did a good job when he was in and had good facials after his elimination. Edge looked terrible. Fat with stick man arms. No excuse for showing up the way he did. Did not look like a man who should be fighting for a world championship. The elimination of HHH seemed to be the result of HHH getting injured. That’s how it appeared anyway.
Probably one of the worst actual rumble matches ever along with 88, 93 and 99. This was the 3rd shortest rumble ever at only 49 minutes (only 95 where they came in at 60 second intervals and 88 which only had 20 men were shorter). Crowd died after HBK went out. A real bad show with a flat finish. Wish I hadn't bought. Won't be buying another WWE show in 2010.
Cheers
Gregor Swanson
, Scotland
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