Today I wanted to do the 2006 Royal Rumble because I sort of forgot about it last week. It's notable for being the only Rumble where two guys did over 60 minutes. The third guy on the Ironman chart? Carlito, who went 38 minutes and was in the midst of a mid-upper card push.
However the WWE is on the YouTube prowl, thus promising to make my final week an adventure. I'll take a day to figure out 2006 and toss you the 2010 Royal Rumble. I'm convinced the top workers had a say in the booking of this match because it's SMOOTH. I mean the flow is just so good. No one overstays their welcome and there aren't many spots of logjam.
Scott gave this one the full ***** treatment and I agree with him 100 percent. One of the best Rumbles of all time. Link to his rant is here.
Not the best video quality but my options are limited. Take it away Justin!
However the WWE is on the YouTube prowl, thus promising to make my final week an adventure. I'll take a day to figure out 2006 and toss you the 2010 Royal Rumble. I'm convinced the top workers had a say in the booking of this match because it's SMOOTH. I mean the flow is just so good. No one overstays their welcome and there aren't many spots of logjam.
Scott gave this one the full ***** treatment and I agree with him 100 percent. One of the best Rumbles of all time. Link to his rant is here.
Not the best video quality but my options are limited. Take it away Justin!
Some really good spots to this one, but there is NO WAY this is 5 stars. Sorry. 3 3/4 maybe at best. Michael's again, is the best at selling drama. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the little moment when Striker is trying to promote the final WWE the Music CD when Ryder comes out.
ReplyDelete"And this is track 11 on the new WWE Music, this is a great song."
Probably my second favorite rumble Punk could have lasted longer, but that's purely based on my bias for straight edge Jesus.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Matt Striker makes everything worse.
Pretty much my sentiments. Punk's run in this match was pretty awesome, and I wouldn't mind him hanging in a bit longer... and Striker was fucking terrible. Thank you Mr. I Have To Explain Where It's Clobbering Time Comes From Because I Think I'm Smarter Than Everyone.
ReplyDeleteThe worst parts for me are when he sees Yoshi's elimination botch and he's like, "Cena's too strong." Or when Edge enters and he's like, " Call your friends, let them know what's going on right now!" I keep thinking it's too late and what if you don't have any wrestling friends?
ReplyDelete"Technically, coming in at number 2 is still the same as number 1."
ReplyDeleteI always felt like he was enthusiastically talking-down to the listeners. The way he would explain things made it sound like every sentence should have ended with a cheery "...you fucking morons!"
ReplyDeleteI hate not having wrestling friends :(
ReplyDeleteI'd go somewhere between 4 and 5. HBK obviously put on a killer show, but more than that the Edge comeback was just so perfectly done and everybody sold it the right way.
ReplyDeletePlus, Y2J/Cena/HBK/Edge/Batista might be the strongest Final 5 in Rumble history; any of those five were believable as winners.
I'd say it's easily in the 4 star range. Probably ****1/2. It was just lacking a really good finish BUT it's easily in the top 5 rumbles of all time.
ReplyDeleteLittle Naitch sold that superkick like a man.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the WWE Network to finally get here, to not have to search through YouTube to find a match or event you want to watch. Putting up with shitty quality for older PPVs. A nice, simple directory.
ReplyDeleteLove Shawn's performance in this one as well as his elimination as it was so desperate
ReplyDelete5 star match though? Again, hell no
Can you believe how awesome it is going to be to be able to marathon Rumble match after Rumble match all day? Cannot. Fucking. Wait.
ReplyDeleteThe Taker/Rey match from the undercard is one of the most underrated matches ever.
ReplyDeleteStill classic comedy spot of Phoenix eliminating Khali which was awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd the pop for Edge when he returns was great too, helped spark one of my favorite Rumbles ever.
I remember watching at 4:40 and typing into a blog "cutting a promo in the middle of the Rumble, I LOVE this guy!"
ReplyDeleteNothing was quite as aggravating at this time as the emphasis on cheesy "HOLY SHHHHHHH" calls by the commentators. Especially Striker. Friggin' Striker.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought Shawn's elimination was a botch. Like he was supposed to grab on to the rope, but just missed. It was played perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is my favorite Rumble ever, as it didn't go with the cliched "ironman storyline". It was refreshing that they did something different.
I could never get into this one. Its as if someone saw the 2009 Rumble with too many guys in the ring at once and decided to go the opposite extreme with way too many guys getting tossed out too quick. 2011 and 2012 felt like they had a better balance in that regard.
ReplyDeleteHe did the same thing in the Elimination Chamber too right?
ReplyDeleteMan I loved the SES gimmick, too bad it died after the chick in the group with the big rack (Serena???) got let go
I'd always been curious to see how those two would mesh, and it ended up being a great semi-dream match.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.veoh.com/watch/v769723zTkstc7e
ReplyDelete2006 RR
Not sure this is a ***** match if we're thinking in terms of all-time best matches ever, but in terms of Rumbles, this is an easy *****. Anyway, star rating arguments are pretty pointless, so let's move on.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, I'll say it again. This is, pound for pound, one of the most well-structured and booked Rumbles ever, easily - perhaps the best. It manages to focus on everything that makes RRs great, whilst excluding or minimising the significance and/or occurrence of weaker RR staples.
I don't just mean it's well-booked in terms of the miniature arcs and narratives that run through it - but they are notably awesome. Punk's phenomenal effort early on (one of his finest hours on record), HBK's wizard turn, Edge returning, leading to a beefy final four where literally anyone could've won, etc.
2010's greatest strength in respect of booking is that there's ALWAYS something worth watching going on in the ring. Nothing bores me to tears more in a Rumble than lots of jobbers throwing fake punches and kicks at other jobbers clinging onto the ring ropes; lots of great and potentially great RRs are ruined by extended periods of this, or over-reliance on this. Similarly, the ring getting way too crammed with guys is another bugbear of mine.
The 2010 Rumble always keeps the number of people in the ring low, and as a result there's tons of scope for miniature matches and tight stretches where people are actually doing moves and battling it out proper; there's no dead space.