Happy Monday Blog O'Doomers!
This spot was planned for the 2009 Royal Rumble since Monday is the perfect day for such a boring ass, predictable Rumble. However, even the interwebs agree that the 2009 Rumble sucked because I can't find a full version of it anywhere yet!
So instead you guys get a good Rumble. How about the 2005 Rumble? Works for me.
This spot was planned for the 2009 Royal Rumble since Monday is the perfect day for such a boring ass, predictable Rumble. However, even the interwebs agree that the 2009 Rumble sucked because I can't find a full version of it anywhere yet!
So instead you guys get a good Rumble. How about the 2005 Rumble? Works for me.
2009 was the Legacy/Triple H Rumble, right?
ReplyDeleteI think the Orton/Triple H feud that year leading up to WrestleMania 25 has to be the worst WM Main Event feud ever. Or at least neck & neck with Jericho/Steph/HHH from 2002.
I don't think I'll ever forget how silent the crowd was for their match. 2nd time HHH closed a WrestleMania to silence.
As for 2005...I hated the ending of this Rumble, Vinnie Mac quad-blowing aside. They should've just let Batista win it. The callback to 1994 was unnecessary I thought.
I was at WM 25 and i didnt give a rats ass about HHH vs Orton after the amazing HBK vs Undertaker match..... i just remember being pissed HHH won and really disappointed with the quality of the match
ReplyDeleteAh the 2005 Rumble, aka, the ultimate burial of Daniel Puder.
ReplyDeleteClosely followed by the celebrating of racial discrimination, when Raw and Smackdown set their differences aside to gang up on Mohammed Hassan.
ReplyDeleteI hated Puder and i loving watching Benoit, Guerrero, and Holly kick his ass
ReplyDeleteIt should have been a wonderfully scripted brawl with double juice...Instead they had those stupid stipulations and worked a normal match with none of the heat that they tried to get in the build up.
ReplyDeleteI think the build was fine for the match but the actual match was bad. It was incredibly boring and you'd think they would focus on improving their past matches.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could upvote this a million times. Puder was a punk. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI loved Benoit and Eddy drawing numbers 1 & 2
ReplyDeleteBest/smartest numbers 1 & 2? Benoit & Eddie, Punk & Bryan, Ax & Smash....um, okay, so now I´m just reaching for discussion. Damnit.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was funny that Benoit was assigned #1 in 2004 and then in 05 he gets to draw at random....and gets #2.
ReplyDeleteI liked Shawn & Taker in 2008 (the final 2 of 2007).
ReplyDeletePlus, exchanging finishers within the first minute was an odd choice...
ReplyDeleteYep, I give them points for creativity... But then they basically had to slow down and sell those finishers, which made the match much more boring. It just didn't click.
ReplyDeletethis rumble deserves to be mentioned in the list of all time greatest rumbles, no questions asked
ReplyDeleteit told a great story, had plenty of action, and had a great ending
the sd vs raw stuff
raw vs sd putting that aside to gang up on mohammed hassan
reuniting of worlds greatest tag team to hit whatever that springboard backbreaker move was called
the ass whipping of daniel puder
BEST. ELIMINATION. EVER. of paul london
even if this ending was a fuck-up, it was handled beautifully
top 5 rumbles for sure
Vince did a good job of hiding the pain of blowing both his quads. He's a tough old redneck.
ReplyDeleteThis one was so great. I actually bought this show and slightly started watching smackdown weekly after.
ReplyDeleteYeah the Paul London elimination was great.
ReplyDeleteDibiase and Davey boy setting the stage for flair
ReplyDeleteYup that was classic.
ReplyDeleteThe match itself was horribly booked. The feud was OK though I guess.
ReplyDeleteA lack of down time helped a ton. Having Guerrero, Benoit, Edge, Rey and Jericho out early really helped carry that thing. All those guys went around 30 minutes or longer.
ReplyDeleteWas a fan of this one. Sucked me back into watching smackdown
ReplyDeleteLast year's Ziggler/Jericho 1-2 was great. Especially since both guys went 45+ minutes.
ReplyDeleteWithout the star power of the early 90s it's all about the pace setters. Who is the guy that can give you 35+ minutes and carry the middle portion of the match?
I'm guessing Punk gets No. 1 this year and he'll go 50+.
The only time they really went away from that formula was 2010 but that was perfectly booked...almost makes me think that either it was dumb luck or some of the top workers had major input in the match.
All of the stipulations should have logically led to a Randy Orton victory, because Triple H shouldn't have been able to tone down his rage over what Orton did to his family.
ReplyDeleteWhen the match went on last, though, you knew it wouldn't follow logic. Such a bad decision.
Are there any Rumble scenarios that seem obvious but are not yet used? Such as two early entrants deciding to go through the entire match together as a unit and actually making it, so that they finally come to blows at the tail end? I know Rey & HHH and Davey & HBK went coast to coast together, but they fought eachother.
ReplyDeleteOh, Orlando Jordan. Was there a single appealing thing about him as a wrestler? His look: terrible. His ability: terrible. His music: FUCKING TERRIBLE.
ReplyDeleteI've rewatched most of these and have enjoyed them all. Here's a question: what is the worst RR? Saying 99 bc Vince win it is a cop out answer, let's exclude 99.
ReplyDelete96. Boring as hell, terrible field and the winner was a foregone conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI was still pre-internet at the time, so I felt like it was a toss up between HBK, Diesel and Vader in that one.
ReplyDeleteHowever, 1995... Smoking Gunns, Bushwackers, Well Dunn, Headshrinkers, Heavenly Bodies, Men on a Mission, Jacob/Eli Blu... So right there, essentially HALF OF THE ENTRANTS were tag team members. OUCH...
WHAT?!?! you didn't think Duke Drose would win at 30. Mark.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that one, I'm not a fan of 95 either. Haven't watched 96 in forever might give it a go if I got some time to kill.
I wasn't really watching at this time, but Purder has a face you want to punch. Him getting his ass kicked was fun. I remember reading about the crap Purder pulled with Angle, I guess it was well deserved.
ReplyDelete2009 is definitely one of my least favorite. Completely forgone conclusion and just absurdly boring from beginning to end. Too many bodies at a given time, and just not a fun match.
ReplyDeleteHe's on the mount Rushmore of "most punchable faces", along with Jim Schwartz and Jay Cutler
ReplyDeleteAnd also, this was the only Tough Enough season where the fans had a vote. So I think he just won because lots of fans were like "Hey, it's an MMA guy, cool!! " Same for the 2nd place winner, that "Reality show guy". At least one of them was worth keeping.
ReplyDeleteI remember Rock and Undertaker hitting rock bottom/ chokeslam at the start at kotr 99. Still had a good match though.
ReplyDeleteHis ability to job to Benoit in less than a minute was appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWhat crap he pulled with Angle? That was all Angle or more WWE for putting him in that position
ReplyDelete1995, 1999, 2006 and 2009 are all really terrible.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, this is one of my all time favorites and doesn't get the love it deserves. At the time, everyone knew either Cena or Batista was going over since they were both going to be elevated to the main event that year, but they still made a semi-forgone conclusion into a super fun match.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, is there a single dead spot in this entire Rumble?
I know Puder tried to make Angle "legit tap" to an armbar/kimura (IIRC), I want to say it was part of the Angle Invitational when he was "defending his medals".
ReplyDeleteGiven the kind of guy Vince is, I'll bet a million dollars that he was so angry over blowing his quads that he probably didn't even feel the pain until days later.
ReplyDeleteWas anybody from that season any good? I honestly do not remember if one of the indy guys was involved or not...
ReplyDeleteone of the contestants turned out to be... aweeeeeeeeeeeeeesoooooooooome
ReplyDeleteI remember a guy named Daniel Rodimer clearly had "The Look", he totally stood out from all the others. But I think he got eliminated 4th or 5th. And one of my friends said he saw him at a House show against Val Venis a few years later, so they clearly gave him a try, I guess he just wasn't "Good Enough".
ReplyDeleteThen no, nobody else worth keeping.
ReplyDelete;)
I kind of agree, it totally depends on if it was supposed to be a shoot or not. Maybe they just under estimated them, and figured Angle would embarrass those jabronies, but... Uh-oh...
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was weird that several of the tag team members drew consecutive numbers.
ReplyDeletea stable coming in, cleaning house, staying in all the time and actually pulling off the win (imagine the 2011 Rumble finish to be Cena coming in, getting rid of all of the New Nexus but Punk who then somehow manages to throw Cena out).
ReplyDeleteThe 2009 one was very close to that. The final 4 were HHH and all 3 members of Legacy, where Hunter got rid of Rhodes and Dibiase, only for Orton to throw him out.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on Cutler 100000 percent.
ReplyDeleteI loved the 99 rumble, and it led to the St. Valentine's Day Massacre Cage match if I recall!
ReplyDelete(Also it was my first ever PPV)
You can definitely see why they sped up the 95 Rumble...the roster was so brutally bad. I'd pick 2009 or 1996 as the worst because they were just boring.
ReplyDelete95 was bad but it was over relatively quickly, ya know?
Isnt that what Legacy did in 2009?
ReplyDeleteI have no idea why they haven't put the title on the line in a Rumble again a la 1992. They should've kept Abeyance as champ this year until the Rumble.
HBK & Jericho in 2003! All time best!
ReplyDeleteThat was a pretty bad match too but it was the main event at WrestleMania, ya know? It was essentially a mid-card match at King of the Ring, where something like that is okay because it makes it stand out.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of faces you want to punch.....nice picture
ReplyDeleteThanks. Quest for Six
ReplyDeleteJordan had a great look in TNA
ReplyDeleteIf it was a shoot, then yeah it was stupid of the WWE to put Angle/Purder in a situation where Angle can be made to look like a fool. If it was a worked situation, then Purder is a total ass for doing that. Again, I wasn't really watching at the time so all I know about it was him putting the keylock on Angle.
ReplyDeleteCant wait for Seattles defense to kick the shit out Kaepernick like his name is Daniel Puder
ReplyDeleteOr that guy Bob Holly beat up!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, can someone give me the definitive answer on this:
ReplyDeleteWas that finish planned? I'd say 75% of the time I hear it was an accident, hence Vince and the double quad tear. But C'MON... there's no way in hell *that* wasn't on purpose. They did a better job than Bret/Luger (which we know was 100% work).
Matt Cappotelli?
ReplyDeleteFor the record, sometimes, I ask girls to call my member the Dr. of Thuganomics.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading the early reports that Vince would be in a wheelchair for at least a year and Vince was up and walking around a couple months later. Vince must go to the same Voodoo doctor as John Cena to get these super healing powers.
ReplyDeleteAngle had them shoot fight him after they had already eaten and run a lot. But whoops....
ReplyDeleteIt was a shoot. Angle trying to be a tough guy, not realising who he was dealing with.
ReplyDeleteOk. then its more understandable.
ReplyDeleteRodimer quit. He didn't want to be in wrestling anymore. It was a major embarrassment to Stephanie, since she was his pet project and was thought to be an enforcer in Rated RKO.
ReplyDeleteI don't get why they had Owen and Backlund get tossed in seconds. Or why not throw Taker in the Rumble or the four guys in the tag match?
ReplyDelete"Was that finish planned?" Yes.
ReplyDeleteAmazed you all can remember the years, once it gets to like 2001 it all blurs together for me. Not coincidentally that is when I started college.
ReplyDeleteI think Triple H basically admitted as much on his DVD.
ReplyDelete99 sucks on its own merits. Vince winning just adds to an already bad Rumble.
ReplyDeleteI really did like that storyline. Benoit showed personality. When they replayed the match and showed him making coffee at the same time was pretty funny.
ReplyDelete2004, 2005, 1992, 2010, 2012. That's my top 5.
ReplyDeleteI think the plan was for Batista to win. Former referee Jimmy Korderas(sp?) said on a podcast that it was botched. Batista was knocked loopy and stumbled backwards when he tried to powerbomb Cena.
ReplyDelete2012 is awful. What about 1990?
ReplyDeleteJustin Gabriel should be the next Paul London in the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I heard, Cena was suppose to win, but he let go of the rope.
ReplyDeleteNo. It was a botch.
ReplyDeleteOn a much more shameful level, I audibly laughed when the guy calling NXT called Bayley the Dr. of Huganomics.
ReplyDeleteRyback was one of them I think.
ReplyDeleteThe finish wasn't planned. Batista has said in past interviews that he was supposed to just eliminate Cena after the Batista bomb, but he screwed it up and they both went over, thankfully and yes coincidentally at the same time. If you watch it closely, all officials immediately declare Batista the winner because they know that's the planned finish. Jimmy Korderas (who explained this situation on old podcasts) acknowledged Batista as the winner until Charles Robinson told him to raise Cena's hand per instructions from Vince because Vince wasn't sure if Cena did touch first or not and knew they couldn't announce Batista as the winner in that fashion. Which is why they never show a replay, just restart the match and have Batista win clean like he was originally supposed to.
ReplyDeleteHis theme music was awesome. How dare you sir!
ReplyDeleteI've also read that it was a shoot. According to wikipedia, as part of the Toughn Enough crap, Angle challenged the contenstants to a competition. Some other guy (not Puder) won. The other guy's reward was a match against Angle, where Kurt broke the guys ribs and then challenged anyone else. Puder accepted. Angle took him down but Puder was able to get in position to apply the key lock. The ref actually was able to figure out what was happening and counted a pin (even though Puder's shoulders weren't down) - otherwise Puder might have broken his arm.
ReplyDeleteI think Puder having the crap beat out of him by Holly, Benoit, and Guerrero in the Royal Rumble was supposed to be his punishment.
Plus Vince looks REALLY PISSED.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Batista should thank his lucky stars that Triple H and Flair had his back, because if that was anyone else, they would have been fucked.
I have said this in previous threads, but if it's a botch, it is the most perfect and convenient botch in history. As it labeled the 2 future main eventers as equals. (and for them to fall at the IDENTICAL MICRO SECOND on a botch??) The stars were sure shining on Vince that night... (until 30 seconds later, if ya know what i mean.)
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yeah, watching it again right now the only part of it that screams "work" is the way they both went over and hit the floor at the exact same time. Everything else (Cena/Batista's reactions, the refs and Vince's reactions, the way the re-do seemed ad-libbed and awkward) says botch.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand that it made perfect sense (Bret wanting revenge from earlier in the night) but yeah.... Seriously, MAYBE 6 legit contenders in that match... and make 2 of them total non-factors.... WEIRD...
ReplyDeleteYep, the final 2 both being out of the ring for well over half an hour, plus TWO periods with 0 people in the ring = FAIL.
ReplyDeleteleave your cats out of this!
ReplyDeleteI think this answers a lot of questions about you.
ReplyDeleteYellow Sun
ReplyDelete2012 seems to be the most divisive one.
ReplyDeleteI hated it. Because they wouldn't put Cena and Kane in the Rumble, the roster had just 0 depth and it was one joke entrant after another.
ReplyDeleteNick kroll too...and rob drybeck from ridiculousness!
ReplyDeleteLol. Love that story.
ReplyDeleteOutside of some early spots the 2011 one was a logjam bore too. I just hate any rumble that lacks creativity and spots with just a few guys in it. Once they have 10 guys in thetr just kicking and punching the entire time its just a lazy battle royal.
ReplyDeleteDoug gilbert! Lol.
ReplyDeleteThey totally didn't give a shit about that match's quality. Many of those guys were making their damn TV debut in the match. The crowd had no idea who the blu's, henry Godwin, mantaur, dick slater or even well done were.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest question is what does it say about THEM when they agree?
ReplyDeleteIt was the next ppv he was hobbling around! Insane. Or HGH is goooood
ReplyDeleteAx and smash. It gave the rumble a legit anything can happen feel. That rumble really rules
ReplyDeleteDamnit meekin. You are better then this
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. I don't think the importance of having great workers in for long stretches can be understated when talking about what makes a great Rumble. All the best ones (1992, 2004, 2005) have had a Flair, Benoit, Jericho, Angle, Edge, Eddie, etc in for huge portions.
ReplyDeleteWe will never know because that has never happened
ReplyDelete2009 and 1995
ReplyDeleteGO NINERS!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine hates Cutler. I'm like "It's Jay Cutler, who gives a fuck?" and she just says "I want to punch him in the face every time I see him".
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it was bad exactly, but RR2000 is one of my favorite PPVs and I don't even remember the Rumble.itself. I can't even think of who won.
ReplyDeleteEven dumber when those 2 were just about the only other people that even the markest of marks thought had a chance in hell. Shawn might as well been wearing a shirt saying "I'm winning".
ReplyDelete6? I count 2, Shawn and Owen, and just barely on Owen. I had to give odds it would be like 94% Shawn, 5% Owen, 1% split between Luger, Backlund, and Bulldog.
ReplyDeleteAnyone ever see the battle royal from the first WWA PPV where it's open to anyone that works for WWA, so there's refs and even a cameraman in the match? That shit is hysterical.
ReplyDeleteHey, I never seen a Batista interview.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people say that the best rumble is either 1992 or 2004. Honestly, nothing touches 1992, which I think was flair's greatest performance. It had action, comedy, it was brilliantly booked, hogan looked liked an ass, the world title was on the line, it was the last rumble before the changing of the guard with many of the 80s stars and Heenan was amazing. Benoits rumble not even close.
ReplyDeleteHaha sounds awesome
ReplyDeleteBenoit's Rumble is amazing. Like Flair's it tells one story throughout, Benoit hanging in there and eliminating everyone bigger and stronger than him culminating in the ultimate payoff. Benoit has to go one on one with the one guy no one has been able to eliminate.
ReplyDeletePlus you have the Foley Orton spot, which is awesome and stuff like Lesnar taking out Goldberg.
After a little more digging around here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow4esR-JWdU
ReplyDeleteI love how Batista throws cena over like a sack of garbage.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on both counts. Too bad the 2004 Rumble will never get the love it deserves.
ReplyDeleteThat's worse than Blog Otters Meekin.
ReplyDeleteI like to call mine Big Adam, because while I'm really skinny my dick... yeah, you can see where I'm going here.
ReplyDeleteIt did, for a few years.
ReplyDeleteThat's not fair... they knew who Well Dunn was, they just didn't care. They were scrubs for the better part of 2 years at that point and never won a match.
ReplyDeleteI had totally forgotten about this clusterfuck of an ending. Vince storming out to the ring just to sit on his ass is pretty hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI attended the 09 Rumble live. The only one they've ever done in Detroit and my least favorite wrestler wins. Talk about a bummer. You might be able to hear me and my friends up in the cheap seats loudly cheering for JBL over HBK.
ReplyDeleteGod, 2006. Rey Rey and HHH both doing the wall to wall thing. They are NOT Hart/Jericho/Flair type guys to be doing that. HHH was really bloated and bulky during this time period too and was blown up like three entrants in. I also hated 2011 which is way less fun than Scott made it sound like. 2009 was pretty bad but I was there.
ReplyDelete2012 I thought was a low point for the Rumble and was just wrestling for children and a middle finger to Jericho's huge and loyal fan base. A lot of people loved it though. Rushed entrants and too much comedy and nonsense.
Him losing to Benoit constantly in under a minute was a fun gimmick for awhile and that was IT. Are we allowed to have fond memories of Benoit yet?
ReplyDeleteAbeyance's alter ego Sasha Vacant I hear is a contender for the Diva's title at WM this year.
ReplyDeleteHHH's ego is really nuts to have the audacity to go on after Taker vs. HBK. That clearly had the strongest storyline, most carefully built match, and highest fan interest. Then they closed the show with the sequel next year that wasn't nearly as good. Meh.
ReplyDeleteBatista back-flips over the ropes and splats face-first on the floor. No way was that planned.
ReplyDeleteI realize that you're probably joking, but I actually really liked Jordan in TNA - he had actually become a decent wrestler, and was definitely a unique character.
ReplyDeleteIf there were ever a time to do it, now would be that time - "The Shield" may have the most legitimacy of any stable in the last ten years.
ReplyDeleteThey'd really have to space it out, though, to keep it from getting boring. Imagine something like Rollins entering around #5 and managing to stay alive for a while; Ambrose then enters around #17, and the two work together to make sure that the win is "kept in the family". Finally, near the end, where all the big names (Punk, Batista, maybe Sheamus) threaten to finally eliminate Rollins and Ambrose, boom, Reigns enters around #25 to make the save and reestablish their dominance.
Now that'd be some great stuff.
Justin Gabriel deserves better.
ReplyDeleteYes!
ReplyDeleteJust an amazing "Anything Can Happen" moment.
See, I think the fact that it was so perfect PROVES that it was a botch - no way could they have executed it so precisely, especially since the "plan" would involve Batista back-flipping over the rope and landing face-first on the floor.
ReplyDeleteBotch 100%.
What I don't get is why and how Benoit was quite so seriously demoted after his WHC run. They'd spent the entire year making him look like a monster, and then he's relegated to midcarder for the rest of his career.
ReplyDeleteExactly my thoughts. Something like that could only have happened by accident.
ReplyDeleteWe're allowed to have fond memories of Orlando Jordan jobbing in less than a minute. That's close enough, right?
ReplyDelete