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Philly Rumble

Hey Scott,
How much do you think Vince & company are going to take the location of this years rumble into consideration when booking the event?  Considering how quickly the Pittsburgh crowd crapped on last years show, it stands to reason that the Philly crowd will be damn near riotous if the show is booked in a stupid, out of touch way (i.e. Roman Reigns winning).  Add to the fact that the Philly crowd (which I will be part of) will already be looking to "out hijack" our rival city of Pittsburgh and I feel like it would be insane to book anyone other than D-Bry to win.  If the intention was to not give him the rumble win they would have been better served to wait until the night after the Rumble to announce his return.

​I think if they get all worked up about trying to overthink the Philly crowd, it'll only make things worse.  Just have a plan, do what you're gonna do, and worry about dealing with the consequences later.  If the matches are good, they'll win the crowd over anyway.  ​

Comments

  1. Stranger in the AlpsJanuary 18, 2015 at 2:22 PM

    I never get the hijacking thing. It just seems like an effort on the crowd's part to get themselves over rather than any outright boycotting any booking decisions. I mean, I believe in enjoying yourself at a show, but I think a better gauge of a shitty bookin decision is when it's met with complete silence.


    Sometimes the hjacking gets misconstrued. See, Fandango. He was never really over.

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  2. I hope the Philly crowd starts chanting anti-Pittsburgh stuff that no one anywhere else knows anything about.

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  3. Adam "Colorado" CurryJanuary 18, 2015 at 2:33 PM

    I don't understand why people ever thought he was over. His music was over for a couple hours, that's about it.

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  4. Because the show has sucked for years, and hijacking tends to lead to a better product. Hijacking is what lead to WM XXX (instead of Wyatt family member Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus in a midcard match). Even things like the rise of Austin could be seen as "hijacking". He was a heel, but he was so awesome people cheered, so WWF had no choice but to turn him. In general, the crowd seems to know better than the company what to do so hijack away,

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  5. Stranger in the AlpsJanuary 18, 2015 at 2:36 PM

    Because chants for "JBL" really turned the business on it's ear.

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  6. I'm not saying the crowd is perfect. I tend to see "JBL" chants as just the crowds way of saying "This show sucks so bad we aren't even gonna pay attention any more." But I'd much rather have a show written by a majority vote from the Philly crowd than by Vince and Kevin Dunn.

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  7. People are really overthinking the Philly crowd stuff. I went to a PPV in Philly....nothing happened. Girls freaked out over Jeff Hardy. Men booed Cena. The end

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  8. It's going to be a normal show. I think a problem is the crowd gets too burnt out to hijack a show. By the midway point, you could have the Miz toss out Bryan while Reigns winks and they'll pop.

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  9. They're either gonna give a good show or make it boring as hell so the crowd won't care.

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  10. At WM 29, people were chanting like mad for Fandango, but I think it's because everyone was so bored. That show was murder live.

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  11. If/when D-Bry gets tossed, people will be pissed, but that's anywhere

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  12. I might have gone too far with that one.

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  13. I had a lot of fun at 29. Fandango's entrance was awesome, even though I took a piss break for part of the match

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  14. For real? What part of the stadium were you in?

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  15. Just like the last few years.....read the blog the night before, see who we think will win, swerve the world with a Stephanie McMahon win.

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  16. Outbooking the "smarts" is an ineffective booking philosophy.

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  17. The Pittsburgh crowd got wound up long before the Rumbel started - Bryan jobbing and yet another boring Cena-Orton match. If you want Reigns to win, go in there and have him kill some bitches - Philly likes their violence, give it to them.

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  18. Just book a good show and the crowd will go home happy. Crowd only hijacks a show when they're not HAVING FUN, MAGGLE, so just lace up the boots and go to work.

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  19. Anybody else read Bryan's quotes about wanting to be the face of Smackdown? They were interesting and I'm not sure if it means he is more likely or less likely to win because of it.

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  20. Smart man ... stay away from Raw as long as you can LOL

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  21. People forget that Pittsburgh actually started to get behind Reigns near the end of the match but I think that had more to do with them hating Batista.

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  22. Is booing loudly considered "damn near riotous" behaviour?

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  23. Oh man, when they were the final two it was clear who they wanted.

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  24. It could have been zombie Chris Benoit and Batista left and they crowd would have cheered for Benoit. After he cut a promo saying he was going to eat all their families too.

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  25. So has the "let's shit on Roman Reigns because he's like Batista last year" already gotten old? I feel like it kind of has.

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  26. 2014 Royal Rumble was more than just Daniel Bryan not being in it, the world title match was a fucking joke so that never helped and the rumble itself was the most uninspired its been in years. No-one even remotely tried to do a spot to create interest within it or set up an undercard feud from within the rumble itself or do anything remotely worthwhile, it was predictable and a piece of shit of a match.

    WWE didnt change their plans because fans didn't like what they saw, they changed them simply because Punk left and Batista was not a draw. Hijack the show, do what ever you want it doesn't matter, the WWE will make its own mistakes regardless of how the fans respond.

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  27. Heel Austin in 1996/1997 was booed most of the time.

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  28. I think that really depends on what the "hijacking" is about. literally telling the company "we want guy X instead of what you are offering" (= the whole Daniel Bryan situation) makes a lot of sense. how else could the audience get the company to change its booking?

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  29. Only way Reigns would be a hero in Philly is if 5 people in the Rumble are beloved ECW alumni, and they're all eliminated by Kane. Then Kane eliminates Daniel Bryan. Then Reigns eliminates Kane.

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  30. My favorite part of the Pittsburgh crowd last year was them shitting all over Cena/Orton immediately. Boring chants 5 seconds in, lmao they didn't have a chance.

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  31. Love the "oh we are planning to make the show about us anyway so they better cater to us damnit" attitude from the question asker. I'm not saying to tie the company line but nobody is paying to hear you and your drunken friends chant stupid shit all night because you want to get over and "outdo" another crowd.

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  32. People tend to forget about that Cena/Orton match when they say the Pittsburgh fans were booing once Bryan wasn't #30. Those fans were pissed for most of the event after Bryan lost to Wyatt.

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  33. Bryan shouldn't win because off the Philly crowd. He should win because he's way more over than Roman Reigns could hope to be.

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  34. I've never seen a crowd shit on a match like they did to Orton/Cena. It was amazing. That it happened to Cena, a guy that is supposed to be some big star, is even better.

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  35. Are there any other matches besides the Rumble and the title match yet?

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  36. btw: I think the 2014 gets a bit overrated when it comes to Daniel Bryan's push. I agree that it might have been the "final straw" for them to alter their original plans - although I am not even sure about this. Batista being booed against Del Rio one month later might have been the decisive match for that (they obviously tried for Del Rio to be the clear heel... and it still didn't work out) - because something like this has never ever happened on that scale before.



    but to me the weeks before (and after) seem almost equally important: the crowd chanting for Bryan during the Orton/Cena buildup at Raw, the fans refusing to buy in into him joining the Wyatts at all etc.

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  37. Baloney. Daniel Bryan was put in the main event because Punk left; hijacking on its own wasn't a decisive factor in that shift. The infamous Seattle Raw? December, showing that didn't change the booking. "Bootista" chants didn't change it. Hell, Bryan was getting cheered after whichever Mania (the one in 2012?) where he lost to Sheamus in 18 seconds, and he was put in a (very funny) midcard comedy tag team for months before the six-mans with the Shield really helped get him over with the crowd (not just the hijackers).


    What's insane is to think that the only person who should win the Rumble is someone who has been back for less than a month (and his return was not hyped, a la HHH in 2002), had 1.5 matches with a week to go before the Rumble, and has zero connection with the current champion: Kane was the one who "injured" him, the Authority was the one who put him in that position. He never beat Randy Orton for the title (Batista tapped). He had the six-man matches with Rollins, but the best connection is with Cena, someone who also didn't get his title rematch after Summerslam 2013. Would you trade Cena beating Brock for the title at the Rumble for Bryan winning the Rumble?


    Bryan is a fine choice and might be the decision because of how badly Reigns has been pushed, but he's not the only choice: Orton or Rusev are candidates, or even Cena if the title match goes on earlier.


    Yeah, the Reigns booking has sucked (DQ wins over the Big Show haven't gotten him over? No way!), and his promos are weak (content is obviously terrible, and his delivery is fair at best). But how much confidence do you have that the Daniel Bryan story would be any better with Vince/creative? I would expect a repeat of 20-minute HHH promos and Kane interference for the next two months.


    And what would the hijackers ('Mania, particularly the night after, is heavily populated with them) do if Bryan won the Rumble but didn't leave with the title at 'Mania? These are the same people who thought Punk should have beaten the Rock because his long title reign "meant something" even though his not main eventing PPVs became part of the storyline.


    Bryan doesn't need the title: Reigns and/or Rollins do.


    Stranger nailed it on the head with the JBL chants. It's like retweeting the Kony 2012 video or wearing a Che shirt and thinking you accomplished something.

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  38. Only if Cena wins!

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  39. And when has that ever mattered? The Miz wasn't over, he won the belt. Jack Swagger is terrible and he won the belt. WWE does what WWE wants, always has.

    Being over means nothing to a promotion where listening the audience isn't what they do.

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  40. "That it happened to Cena, a guy that is supposed to be some big star, is even better."


    Not just "some big star", the biggest star and face of the company. It was worse than early 1996 booing of Hulk Hogan in WCW (and I'm not just saying that as a Hogan mark).

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  41. Upper upper upper deck?

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  42. Miz was over when he won. He was booked like complete shit after he won and had a terrible reign. But it wasn't a bad choice to put the title on him when they did.

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  43. Closest thing was Lesnar/Goldberg, I guess. Similar crowd reaction where the crowd decided before the match 'We hate both of you, and are going to chant for ANYTHING else, 'cause we don't give a shit'.

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  44. "Baloney. Daniel Bryan was put in the main event because Punk left"

    Sorry, Punk's leaving had little to do with Bryan getting the main event of Mania. After Punk left, WWE was still on the Batista vs. Orton main event train at least through Elimination Chamber. The planned card was Orton vs. Batista, Punk vs. Triple H, and Bryan vs. Sheamus.

    Bryan being slotted into the main event had everything to do with the audience rejecting Batista and hardly anything to do with Punk.

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  45. Miz was over. They bungled the title reign with two many Orton matches and the stupid title match with Lawler.

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  46. Usos/Miz & Mizdow in a Tag Title match. That's it so far.

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  47. Yeah but the circumstances were a lot different. If word hadn't leaked that Brock was leaving, the crowd never turns on him.

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  48. The JBL chants are obviously a joke though (I agree we could do without them). But the crowd chanting for Daniel Bryan last year was real and definitely led to a few big rethinks on creative's part. Sitting in silence is an effective move too but then why not also tell them WHAT (no pun intended) you'd rather see

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  49. Cena doesn't need the title either, but they sure put it on him a lot.

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  50. "Stranger nailed it on the head with the JBL chants. It's like retweeting the Kony 2012 video or wearing a Che shirt and thinking you accomplished something."



    Expect in wrestling, continual strong reactions do have an effect on booking.

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  51. Bryan doesn't need the title, but he needs to have the show focused around him and usually the title goes hand in hand with that.

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  52. It's amazing how much they bungled him post title win. They should have at least kept him protected enough so that the remainder of his career could have let him be a Dibiase level heel where you could plug him into main events as needed. Now he's just one of the many comedy characters littering the midcard.

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  53. Hogan being booed in WCW is tame compared to what happens to Cena on a weekly basis.

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  54. Really interesting. Sounds like he's actually pitching booking ideas. Good on him. I think he's in the position now to have leverage for requests such as these. I for one would love to see Smackdown return to being the wrestling show it was 2002-2004.

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  55. He is so bad now. Like it wouldn't matter at all if they cut him. Few guys have fallen as fast as he did.

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  56. My problem is, that it being a taped show, I'll never watch it. They need to make Smackdown live if they're ever going to be serious about that show.

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  57. Funny enough I was live at both Mania 20 and last year's Rumble and the Cena / Orton match definitely had more crowd hatred towards it. I think Austin in the Mania match helped buffer out some of the hate.

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  58. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 3:26 PM

    I think it's the opposite effect. Philly crowds have a reputation for being snarky just for the sake of it. If WWE even cares about it, they are probably operating on the assumption that Philly will be smart-asses and reject a fair amount of things regardless. I'm with Scott: just do what you're going to do and if some 40 year old "ECW ROOOLZ" holdover shits on it, oh well.

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  59. I'll watch taped shows if they're worth catching up on. It's what I do, or rather would do, with Raw. NXT is taped, I just avoid spoilers.

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  60. Bryan should win for common sense reasons much less what the smarks would think. Coming back from injury to defeat the man no one else could in 2014....the story writes itself.

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  61. Absolutely. But it's similar in the sense that Hogan still had the kiddies and the merchandise but lost the core audience. Same with Cena.

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  62. Has WWE ever really, really listened to it's audience more than 3 times in the last 12 years?

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  63. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 3:29 PM

    I agree. If we are saying Punk's leaving gave Bryan his "spot", then we are saying Bryan basically took Punk's place against HHH. Bryan vs. HHH could have happened without Bryan getting a spot in the main event. WWE finally gave in to the Bryan lovefest and shoe-horned him into the main event. That part didn't happen because of CM Punk leaving

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  64. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    Yeah, but there is still a good portion of the crowd that reacts favorably to Cena. Not so much with Hogan in '96

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  65. Survivor Series '06. Is that right?


    The only times the Philly crowd got snarky during that show were during the DX match (where Punk got a louder lop than Triple H and whaddya know, he was turned into a jobber the very next week) and the main event (to be fair, the "Cancel Smackdown" chants were perfectly justified considering that Booker T and Batista worked that match like it was a Tribute To The Troops taping).

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  66. I bet any new viewers would be shocked if you told them Miz won the main event of Wrestlemania four years ago.

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  67. Well of course they booked him poorly, they stuck to their track record.

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  68. "The Americans" - watch it.

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  69. Seriously people, I'd be shocked if even a dozen people in attendance had ever attended an ecw show. This has nothing to do with ecw.

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  70. Yeah, your opinion is pretty stupid.

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  71. The crowd is at least guaranteed at least two really good matches in the title match and the tag title bout, so there's that.


    At this point, anything other than Bryan winning the Rumble and Lesnar defending the title makes no sense.

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  72. WWF/WWE has ran shows in Philly way before ECW. I never seen a WWF Philly show that particularly stood out because of the crowd.

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  73. Yup. I'll take the argument that Punk leaving put Bryan in his match versus Triple H (although that seems like it really wasn't set in stone until Elimination Chamber since Bryan spent most of February feuding with Kane), but Punk leaving had no effect on the WWE title match.

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  74. Regardless of who went to an ecw show, Philly does have a smark reputation. They'll be boisterous and likely shit on Cena and Reigns, but I don't see wwe catering their plans to the Philly audience.

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  75. It's gotten very old. Reigns isn't ready yet, but that's lack of experience. He'll be fine if they give him time.

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  76. Miz was insanely over when he won the belt.

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  77. Oh wow. I was in the fancy ass club section. It could have been the crowd I was in, but everyone seemed bored out of their mind. There were a lot of Fandango chants, but it seemed more out of keeping ourselves amused. It was also oddly cold and it wasn't helped by our side of the stadium being in the shade.

    I mean, it was Wrestlemania, so it was cool, but it just felt like a boring card.

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  78. Reigns is gonna win the Rumble. Bryan will replace Cena as the enemy of the Authority. Cena moves into a brief feud with Rollins, then faces Rusev at WrestleMania. Reigns vs. Lesnar for the championship at Mania. Bryan & Sting vs. Triple H & Rollins at Mania.

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  79. How was Bryan placed into the main event due to Punk leaving? He was placed into the HHH match due to Punk leaving. There is absolutely no way in hell that WWE would have just stuck with Batista and Orton as the WM main event if Punk hadn't left. None. It would have been even easier to move Bryan into the match with Punk still around, because he wouldn't have had to pull double duty.

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  80. I'm guessing the delay was to see if Punk was coming back before WM. When it became clear he wasn't, they moved forward with Bryan/HHH. Agreed with everything else.

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  81. WatercoolersandAirportsJanuary 18, 2015 at 4:06 PM

    If Little Guido doesn't win the Rumble WE RIOT!!!

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  82. Outside of mentioning he;s entering the Rumble and this past Thursday on Smackdown, Reigns hasn't mentioned the Rumble in any of his promos leading up to the show. Bryan on the other hand, has been all about the Rumble and getting back the title he never lost.


    Not to mention the match on this Thursday's Smackdown where Bryan's spot in the Rumble is on the line against Kane.

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  83. That makes sense, since the Bryan switch didn't seem to happen until after Punk got the call asking him to return to work. I agree!

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  84. The sadist in me would rather enjoy the crowd crapping all over something. I found the end to last year's Rumble hilarious.

    Alternatively, I'd just like to see a really well booked Rumble.

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  85. I think 12 people was the sum total attendance ecw had in 96

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  86. I expect Bryan to win that match (hooray) and Triple H to come straight out and say "yeah, you're in the Rumble. You're number 1" (BOOOOOO).

    Of course this would mean nothing because he'll be in the final four (at least) regardless.

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  87. ECW's biggest crime is teaching their crowds to be marks for themselves.

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  88. Mystery Rumble entrant....

    BRAKKUSl

    Just had to quickly I check if he was dead before posting this

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  89. Jeff Hardy push and title win. Altering plans so Bryan wins at WM30. Continued exposure of Mizdow. Moving Cena to Raw.

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  90. 3 of the 4 top indie federations are based out of Philly now a days, ROH, Chikara and DGUS/Evolve, so that's a big part of the smark reputation.

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  91. With the recent title run of Brock, i.e. the champion rarely appearing, a face take on all comers always there, over champion like Bryan would be good. I think the title needs him more than he needs the title.

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  92. The Daniel Bryan interview where he talks about wanting to be the face of Smackdown is discouraging to the theory that he'll win the Rumble. It looks like his return and the company building the first two Thursday Smackdowns around him are more an indication that he will indeed be the face of Smackdown, while they go with Roman Reigns on Raw.


    But if they give Bryan a bit of creative control, run with his King of the Ring idea, and let him put on quality matches, then I'll start watching Smackdown instead of Raw.

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  93. Annoying staples of modern Royal Rumbles:

    1. Number 1 lasts until the end

    2. Guys hit the ring and all the dweebs 'attack' them one at a time so they can hit their moves.

    3. 'Big showdowns' in the middle of the ring while everyone else lays against the turnbuckles taking a breather

    Rumbles used to be more creative.

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  94. Miz was over though

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  95. Our section had fun, especially during Punk Taker. You could hear a pin drop during HHH Brock

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  96. And then when Smackdown starts outperforming RAW, like when Heyman was in charge of Smackdown, Bryan will get blamed for being "too entertaining" or something and ridiculous so Stephanie doesn't get upset.

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  97. There's no guarantee the Title match will be good. I can easily see it being an overbooked train wreck with Orton, Reigns, and the Authority interfering at many points.

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  98. "If the matches are good, they'll win the crowd over anyway. "


    Well, looks like they are going to have a hostile crowd...

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  99. You're right. Now that I remember it, not only were they non-snarky, they were actually quite dead for the most part.

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  100. There was some bad shit in the past as well such as heels leaving the ring for 20 minutes (Jerry Lawler, Vince, etc) until a face brings them screaming back in.

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  101. They did not alter the plans for Bryan due to the audience. They did that for Punk leaving and Batista failing

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  102. Supposedly crowd behavior is why the WWF stopped showing Spectrum matches on Prime Time in the late '80s. The reputation of Philly sports fans is also very well-known, and it literally goes all the way back to the days of Connie Mack and the Philadelphia A's in the 1910's.

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  103. Oh, I definitely see Cena and Rollins teaming up on Lesnar, then turning on each other after Lesnar is taken out. Then, cue whoever to screw Cena out of his match, and cue Orton to screw Rollins, leaving Rollins to get eaten alive by Lesnar.


    That sets up Cena/someone in Authority and Rollins/Orton.

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  104. Yeah, 96 and 99 were two of the worst Rumbles ever

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  105. Everyone just punches and does nothing note worthy or anything that makes sense that looks like your trying to put someone over the top. It's just a generic match now

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  106. Or it could also mean that Bryan as champion will be appearing more on Smackdown to make it seem more important. We don't know yet.

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  107. Everyone always just punched and kicked in the Rumbles.

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  108. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:19 PM

    Exactly.

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  109. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:20 PM

    This is perfect. *slow clap*

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  110. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:22 PM

    Precisely. Also, why would they even make it about ECW anyway? Aside from RVD or someone making his token appearance, who gives a shit?

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  111. No kidding. The shitty matches to good matches ratio at ppv since after Summerslam has been like 80/20. Just BAD.

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  112. Lawler doing that was the worst shit ever, just killed the match concept on the spot

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  113. There have been creative things like Twin Towers beating on Hogan, and Triple H attacking Austin. You just don't see anything like that anymore.

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  114. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:27 PM

    Yep. I guess it speaks to the overall quality of the product that the fans would even want to "hijack" the show. Who goes to a concert rooting for it to suck and planning to chant random shit?

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  115. I remember Edge and Mysterio doing stereo missile drop kicks on dreamer that one rumble

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  116. While most of us anticipate the crowd roasting Reigns, I don't think I've seen a live crowd turn on him yet. Reaction to him has ranged from positive to indifferent depending on the venue. I can't recall outright hate for him.

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  117. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:29 PM

    I like it when "mini-matches" break out. Like Taker and Shawn finishing things, or guys going one-on-one after deadwood is cleared out. I think they could pull it off this year too if they are able to get some "name" ECW guys. Sabu, RVD, Dreamer, whoever having a mini "ECW-style" match to kick off the Rumble or something.

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  118. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:30 PM

    True. It really hasn't gotten to that level yet.

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  119. Seriously, aside from 1992 just about every Rumble was dull until 2000.

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  120. Philly has been known for decades for having some of the rowdiest crowds not just in wrestling, but sports period.

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  121. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:38 PM

    Yes. What other kind of performance (aside from sports) would you go to anticipating "hijacking" the show just for the sake of it?

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  122. I thin some crowds have turned on him a bit, or just outright cheered for his opponent.

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  123. Bryan said something about how they should bring KOTR back as a Smackdown exclusive tournament.

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  124. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:40 PM

    Most obnoxious too. I hate the goddamn Phillies though, so I might be biased.

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  125. Not really, it could just be him wanting to put on good matches on a regular basis on Smackdown.

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  126. Will you accept NWA/WCW? Just watched Halloween Havoc '89 on the Network again. Didn't necessarily affect the outcome of the show, but the crowd basically flipped the heat on Dudes/Freebirds and Pillman/Luger! The crowd took an average show to another level throughout the night.

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  127. Fans who feel entitled to get what they want. Fans who would actively complain about the ending of a videogame and start petitions to force the creator to change it. Fans who act too cool for anything and actively hate things they once liked once it becomes popular and vice versa. Fans who book raw and smackdown but are upset when it doesn't go the way they book it. I could go on but for brevitys sake you get the idea.

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  128. Big Show/Batista on ECW was worse but on a smaller scale and in a considerably smarkier environment.

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  129. ARRRRGH THE BARBARIANJanuary 18, 2015 at 5:44 PM

    They could have him cut a 10 minute promo during the Rumble like Punk did that one time. Except it would be about the three little pigs.

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  130. It's hilarious in hindsight that Don would always freak out as soon as he saw a Mark McGwire rookie card because that card is worth nothing now thanks to the steroid scandal.

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  131. Exactly, because as of right now, Smackdown is basically the show that John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and none of the part timers show up on.

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  132. Some people on here have mistook the crowd chanting along to the "OOOH!" thing he does before the spear as boos for his finisher, so I guess that...sorta...but not really...counts?

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  133. I can give that show and also Slamboree 94 which had an ECWish crowd. But NWA/WCW diehards were always a different audience.

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  134. That's true. I know the stories of Eagles/Phillies/Flyers fans being from NYC.

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  135. And yeah, that Steve Austin guy sure wans't over.

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  136. I looked up that Bryan interview. Holy shit, I like his confidence in the way he's saying that if you build Smackdown around me, that show will have just as good ratings as Raw, if not better.


    Give that man the belt.


    Also, one thing I noticed about his two matches on Smackdown, he didn't do the diving head butt. Hopefully he keeps it that way.

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  137. Vince had to be convinced it was a good idea, he didn't even understand why he was so popular in early 97

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  138. Yep, but that doesn't stop folks here from overblowing things.

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  139. I think this is revisionist. Outside 92, most old Rumbles have been punching, kicking and leaning on the ropes "trying to eliminate the opponent." If anything, we usually get some cooler spots now thanks to Kofi, etc.

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  140. Yeah, the "JBL" chant is simply the new "Boring" chant. The actual "Boring" chant has become the new "what" chant. The "what" chant has become the new "I'm a total d-bag for chanting this." PS: How completely clueless and disrespectful was it for JBL to acknowledge the "JBL" chants in the first place?

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  141. THE FANS ARE JUST PAYING THEIR RESPECTS TO THE WRESTLING GOD, MAGGLE!!

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  142. don't you mean toking appearance ?

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  143. Just watched the Hogan-Warrior battle in the 90 Rumble again today. So epic; it was unthinkable at the time that those two would ever meet. Little did we know...

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  144. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 6:48 PM

    Good. That move has always been stupid anyway

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  145. 2 and 3 isn't really true.

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  146. These shows are Vince's wet dreams. Soooooooooooooo bad.

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  147. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogJanuary 18, 2015 at 6:55 PM

    Marlena, Sunny, and Sable all in their prime

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  148. Bonnie Hammer (now there's a wrestling name) told them to move Cena to Raw. I think the fans would've lived just fine with him remaining on SD.

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  149. if they want Philly to cheer Reigns, have Eric Bischoff be entrant #30. Then let Reigns spear him out of his shoes three or four times over, then eliminate him.

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  150. Philly: The crowd that insists it has discerning tastes because of four months of technical wrestling and luchadores in 1995.

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  151. Ah, the Lazy Lean. Classic Rumble tactics.

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  152. The IWC's desperation to make live crowds turn on Reigns is humorous. It's like how WWE just pushes their favourites non-stop until it happens.

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  153. ECW's biggest crime was introducing the wrestling world to both Sandman and Tommy Dreamer.

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  154. A tradition passed on to indy crowds around the country. The worst wrestling crowds I've ever been in were ROH in Atlanta in 2011 and ROH in Miami in 2012.

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  155. Hey, that's my name for it!

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  156. They also booed the shit out of Steamboat against Pillman at Havoc 92.

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  157. My issue is exactly that; he was sitting on a Wrestlecrap gimmick. The entire gimmick was to do an exact imitation; not parody, but imitation, of Kevin Nash, who works for the competition. There are times when the gimmick overcomes the ability, and I don't care how hard he was "trying", he was still Fake Kevin Nash, and shouldn't be getting put over anyone of importance. Do you really want to be putting the inferior clone in any kind of spotlight, simply highlighting the fact that the real deal works for WCW? This was begging fans to change the channel. I will never, ever accept this one.


    Re: green, I'm aware of his time in Memphis and obviously as Lawler's dentist, but he was still looking as fresh as a late spring lawn. Even during his first few months as Kane, he seemed unsure of himself, feeling out his surroundings, as we battled through his awful first series with Mankind. It wasn't until he moved into the Undertaker program I really felt he started to put it all together. Just my opinion of course.

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  158. Idea: Have Reigns come out and bash people with fluorescent light tubes and get bashed back. Than they can pay him! Philly thinks that's hardcore!

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  159. THAT'S what you took away from this?!?

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  160. Pretty sure the originals were flushed with the Patriots Spygate tapes ages ago. They're pretty open about their raunchy past, from angles that occurred on the big stage (Katie Vick, Henry's transvestite blowjob, birth of the fist), but the B-show snuff film nonsense is not likely to ever see the light of day again, in my estimation.

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  161. No, I absolutely agree. The correct play would have been to Never Advertise One At All.

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  162. Well, Batista failed because of the audience, who were rallying strongly behind Bryan instead, so...


    I don't see how Punk leaving had any direct effect on the title match itself, it only affected who Triple H had to wrestle that night. If they had wanted to, they could have still ran Orton/Batista for the championship and done Bryan/HHH without inserting Bryan into the title picture. Likewise, if Punk had stayed and worked the program with HHH, they should have still felt forced to insert Bryan into the title match lest they wanted the main event of their big 30th Wrestlemania to be shit all over. At least that's how I see it.

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  163. They also had to sit through King of the Ring 1995

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  164. Marlena didn't actually show her full breasts, she had plasters things over her nipples according to Jim Cornette on The Timeline History of WWF by KC.


    Vital information provided here.

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  165. According to Sunny, Pettengill was the one in the Elmo suit. So, technically...he was in Sunny's "sex tape"...annnnnnnnnnd, I just threw up in my mouth a lil bit.

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  166. Once again, Vinny Mac up on current events, spoofing a magazine cover from 6 years earlier.

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  167. I've only watched Hulu and YouTube clips, but it seems like he gets anywhere from ok pops to indifference? Like, I haven't heard anyone booing him.

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  168. Pushing guys the crowd finds indifferent always works.

    Like what's the argument for pursuing Reigns? "The crowd doesn't hate him." Fine. But the crowd is going NUTS for Bryan, kind off like they used to flute Austin. It's basically like arguing for Shamrock to get pushed to the top over Austin in 1998.

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  169. I've only been to Philly once and I didn't even get a cheesesteak it was bullshit.

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  170. I love Sandman and I'm not ashamed.

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  171. It seems more like they want to like him, but then he starts doing scripted comedy and the crowds like "please stop!".

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  172. But are they saying "Boo" or *"Boourns"?

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  173. Um, Punk leaving == 0 to do with Bryan's push up.
    Batistas failing - if that doesn't have anything to do with the audience what is?!

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  174. It says a lot for creative that a guy who has been an IC and Tag Team champion in the last two years still looks like a loser.

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  175. People think Bryan got pushed because of the rumble crowd? I'm sorry that's the most ignorant thing ice read all day. WWE mocks it's own crowds for not doing what they want, WWE doesnt listen, they do as they choose and have done so for fucking ever.

    But hey you believe whatever you want.

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  176. All about opinion, but that seems a bit harsh. 1990 dull? Tough to call 1993 dull, or even 1995 or 1997, although they were both quite flawed for different reasons. First half of 1994 is really good too

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  177. The beauty of that is them having the balls to clear the ring at number 26. It wasn't lots of guys laying around on the floor while Hogan and Warrior squared up. They cleared everyone out, meaning they had to fight. Awesome moment.

    It meant the last 10 minutes of the Rumble was a bit anticlimactic, but it was worth it for one of the all time great moments.

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  178. Number 2 happens repeatedly every year. Number 3 has happened a lot over the last decade.

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  179. It was kind of like that when I went to PWG. Loved the show, but holy hell, some of the people in the crowd need to shut the fuck up and stop playing amateur comedians. I came to see wrestling, not for you to make lame jokes

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  180. Another annoying staple. The "How will anyone put the 500 pound Big Show over the top rope?" commentary that'll go on and on when he comes out while ignoring the fact he hasn't won a single Rumble out of the 15 or so he's entered.

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  181. Cooler 'almost elimination' spots, maybe (Kofi, Rey, Morrison). The last two Rumbles have been really, really dull though. I'm a Rumble nerd and I tend to think earlier Rumbles were well booked (91 was dull though), late 90's Rumbles were either jobberific or Russorific, the noughties were fun Rumbles with decent booking (ending with a really dull 2009 Rumble though), 2010, 11, 12 were creative in different ways and the last two were garbage.

    I think all Rumbles will have punch, kick, Lazy Lean to some degree. I just like it to be mixed with some good mini-stories, good spots and good booking. The three things I listed are just my pet peeve lazy bits of Rumble writing.

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  182. That's a great one. Big Show was booked brilliantly in 2004, and if that was his first ever Rumble it would have been perfect, but having been eliminated quickly and easily in 2001 and 2002 it kind of ruined it. He's been eliminated quite easily ever since.

    They used to do the same with Mark Henry. "OMG IT'S THE WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN". Even though up until 2011 he'd never eliminated a single person from a Rumble in 5 or 6 attempts

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  183. This Is Per-Fect ::clap clap, clapclapclap!::

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  184. YouTube. My God, Fucking terrible. How much LSD was involved?

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  185. I'm really up for a good old-fashioned "pelting the ring with garbage" reaction. When's the last time we had a proper one of those? I miss seeing half eaten hotdogs and scrunched up coffee cups whizzing past wrestlers heads

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  186. I was just watching the Nitro a few weeks after Bischoff joined the nWo. He comes out and the crowd just immediately starts pelting him with random garbage. He even gets drenched with a full drink before he even makes it in the ring. Good old fashioned heel heat! Man, those were the good ol days.

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  187. Now fans seem to be too afraid of being arrested or banned from the venue to throw shit at the ring. Though I think that was usually more of a WCW thing.

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  188. Let John Cena come in with an Uncle Eric Dungeon of Doom T-Shirt :-D

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  189. Most memorable to me though is still someone lobbing a drink right at poor King Mabel's head. That was a Philly crowd!

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  190. Yeah, that one sticks in the mind for me. Also Vince getting bullseyed by something as he stood up from the announcers table at the end of Royal Rumble 99.

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  191. The Ghost of Matt_INDEED!!!January 19, 2015 at 5:39 AM

    I'm completely indifferent to Reigns (although I make fun of him because it's fun), but I too find it quite ironic.

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  192. The Ghost of Matt_INDEED!!!January 19, 2015 at 6:33 AM

    Once again, the most entertaining reviewer in the business. *****

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  193. The Ghost of Matt_INDEED!!!January 19, 2015 at 6:36 AM

    Sable looked like she came from a trailer, and she did, so her face made sense.

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