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Top Royal Rumble Matches

Hey Scott!

Steven Graham ranked his top 25 Royal Rumble matches of all time! Thought it would be a good discussion topic for the old blog. Talk to you soon!

Indeed, I will be on the Place To Be podcast January 29, discussing Summerslam 2001.  

Comments

  1. At this point, we all know Orton is going into Mania as the champion. That said, do we really WANT to see Orton-Bryan again? I'm not sure I do.


    There's no doubt that Bryan is going to be in a high-profile match, and there's a pretty strong chance he'll go over, and get an 80,000-person 'Yes' chant, and in the end, isn't that all that matters? Then you have all of the rest of the spring/summer to get him back in the title picture.


    I guess my point is that everyone is acting like he'll wind up being a lumberjack in the pre-show match, and that just isn't happening.

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  2. Oh god can't they find better heels for Cena, Bryan and hogan to fight than the fucking Wyatt's? I could live with those 3 faces against the shield but enough with the fucking dungeon of doom rip off. I get that wrestling is aimed to cater to the dumbest of the dumb fucks walking around but this gimmick is too fucking corny to be anywhere higher than 3mb or tons of funk on a card.

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  3. Cena/Bryan (with Hogan) vs The Wyatts would have been much more marketable if the Wyatts were actually booked like a dominant faction this whole time, instead of highly beatable goofs. Christ, they've been cleanly pinned by the Usos and Rhodes Bros. several times, plus Punk/Bryan already beat them at Survivor Series. Where's the intrigue in seeing if John Cena and Bryan can ALSO beat them?

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  4. I thought you were warming to Bray after the cage match segment?

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  5. His promo on raw was king Curtis type shit. At least 1991 undertaker wrestled matches and was protected, what does this tub do that anyone would care about? Wear a Hawaiian shirt and rip off a walk from a horror movie. Repackaged him as a tax man and end the insanity

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  6. OK what's more annoying. People like me who won't shut up about the misuse of Bryan in order to push less talented and less over wrestlers with more juice, or people like the e mailer who steadfastly maintain that Bryan is going to still win the title and have the top mania program? I'm sick of us both. Can the network hurry up and get here so I can stop following the current product already. Who gives a shit what Bryan does anymore, the ppv matches will hold up just fine a few months after they happened and that's all that should really matter.

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  7. Best part about Scott's scenario... the #1 draw gets a free pizza!

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  8. Eh, we're so far apart on this it's definitely at "agree to disagree" point. I hated Bryan joining the Wyatts, but mostly because of the heel turn aspect. (I would have been against him joining The Shield equally as much for example.) But I still think the overall Bray Wyatt character is pretty good, and I think you're being wayyyy over the top in your comparisons. "Apologize to your mother for what's gonna happen to you," yeah it's overblown, but it's at least violent which NONE of the other wrestling characters are anymore. I'll take Bray's crazy overblown mumbo jumbo over Randy Orton style pussy-heel stuff.

    Also, 1991 Undertaker wrestled squash TV matches and didn't have a competitive televised singles match until what, he won the title from Hogan a year after his debut? You have to protect guys ina different way nowadays and you know what, I like the approach with Bray--- making his matches seem like a big deal. Much more effective than booking him in a 50/50 weekly series with Kofi like they do with new guys.

    Anyway, I'm just shocked at your level of hate for the gimmick. yeah it needs tweaks as they go, probably play down the supernatural goofy stuff, but at the core Bray as a crazy psycho who's more into violence and mindgames than the typical "I can entertain better than anyone!" WWE heel works for me.

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  9. He's been out for six months and hasn't had one good match

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  10. You should think about writing a column of some kind, you have a talent for it.

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  11. Its so weird. The problem with being a heel is that heels eventually have to pay off the angle by jobbing. So now there is no such thing as faces and heels

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  12. Taker probably didn't have a good match his first 6 years.
    I dunno, he hasn't been put in a position to go out and have great matches. It's been about the gimmick, not workrate. But just as a small glimpse, I thought the finish to the handicap match at TLC with him and Bryan was great. Bray looked like a killer, something that WWE heels never do.


    Basically I like that so far he seems like a crazy violent villain.

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  13. ...damn sensitive much? I didn't say anything about your typing/writing.

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  14. Just a lil joke. Couple people trashed my typing skillz earlier

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  15. I really wonder how this all bodes for the Punk vs HHH feud. Is HHH FINALLY going to be all-out heel and let fans boo him, or is he gonna do the thing where Punk just looks like a paranoid idiot? If they basically just do a replay of the Fall 2011 feud where HHH basically plays the cool righteous face... holy shit this will be awful.

    Though I bet that's where it ends up, with HHH reasoning "the COO of the company has to look good as we promote the Network."

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  16. 1992 Rumble match deserves to be #1.

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  17. Thanks man!

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  18. No no no just a joke! Read a few people mocking my typos

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  19. This is like a feud that starts when one partner accidentally hits the other, and the other partner can't just take a minute to watch the replay in the back.

    Why do they NEVER WATCH THE REPLAY?

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  20. I learned all my social skills from the old rec.sports.pro-wrestling board

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  21. I like Batista but I just have no interest in a show revolving around him in 2014.

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  22. Well like superface Big Dave told us on Monday... DEAL WITH IT.

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  23. Oh god that's a good question. You know we can't count on hhh to do the right thing especially if he's jobbing. The feud works best with evil authority hhh vs face punk standing up for the whole roster or I suppose over matched gm face hhh against dastardly heel cm punk whos fighting for something self serving.

    So of course we're getting super face magnanimous hhh vs either netuered face punk or whiny tweener punk.

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  24. "Let's assume Sting/Taker (apparently an actual strong possibility)".

    I like this just tossed in there, even though it's almost as ridiculous as everything else.

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  25. And it isn't gonna stop anytime soon either, the Authority gimmick just started. It'll be around for another 2 years at least. vomit.

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  26. I rented the 91 survivor series on vhs as a kid was out of my mind that tunney or monsoon wouldn't have shown the rockers what happened. IT WAS A MISTAKE SHAWN, A MISTAKE

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  27. Oh, I've come around to the point where I definitely think HHH goes over at Mania. Especially if Punk's looking to leave as early as June, no way he beats HHH.

    And at this point HHH would actually have to TURN HEEL AGAIN to be a heel in the feud, which is amazing.

    I think it plays out pretty much exactly like the 2011 feud. They trade snarky insults, HHH no-sells everything, Punk's accusations are never proven true, and Punk jobs after a total shitshow schmozz.

    Dude, just saw that Nash is in Pittsburgh. Wouldn't be shocked if it even starts the same way, with Nash costing Punk the Rumble and HHH denying involvement.

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  28. I guess they've made it very clear over the years: the wrestlers absolutely positively NEVER watch their own show.

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  29. Fuck it, let's just clone Daniel Bryan and have him fight himself in every match from now until the rest of time because he's clearly the only guy that matters anymore.

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  30. Again, it's such a BIZARRE waste of time gimmick. HHH could have been over as hell as a face if he just played up being the cool, new DX-style champion of what the fans want. (Which in a lot of ways he often is in real life. He's done good work with NXT, tag team revival, etc.)

    Or he could have been a great cartoony Vince-style megaheel.

    Instead he chose to do NEITHER, and he really has go-away heat at this point. It makes no sense.

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  31. I can't be the only one thinking swerve, can I? Someone posted an excerpt from an interview with DB and he's kayfabing it up, talking about how HHH doesn't want him in the Rumble blah blah blah.


    Batista already has a Rumble win and he doesn't need one in order to main event Mania. This kinda reminds me a little of when Jericho returned and people assumed he was winning the Rumble even though Sheamus (and his storyline) needed it more.

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  32. I just don't think they are gonna do Batista/Brock this quickly without any build up. So put me down as calling Bryan as the number 30 entrant and winning.

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  33. Being a Cardinals fan in baseball we used to hammer Tony LaRussa for outsmarting himself. The man has a law degree and by most modern standards he's a very intelligent guy. Its interesting to see you guys doing this exact same thing to yourselves. You really don't believe that Batista is going to walk into the Royal Rumble, win the match and go on to be the champion at Wrestlemania. I don't know if its denial or just the fact that you're trying to outsmart yourself by believing that Vince is actually giving a single fuck about you guys enough so that he would "swerve you". Its almost sad the amount of denial that is going on around here.

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  34. I fully concur. This woman in front of my son and I interrupts our conversation to ask him if he'd join the Wyatt Family. Then proceeds to inform us that Daniel Bryan "really got those wackos gooood."

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  35. Shit vicious was my favorite rspw insult

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  36. Every year a guy gets a big push for the Rumble and they make it seem obvious as fuck he is the favorite but every year the eventual winner ends up eliminating him.

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  37. Wow yeah these are good points. Hhh may very well go over at wrestlemania 30. I really wonder why he didn't just work as a face this whole time? Is he fucking clueless enough to think that all that shit would lead to people wanting to see him vs the fucking big show? That promo where he buried Orton and Bryan at the hitc contract signing was almost 4 months ago. Is this the apex of hhhs power trip?

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  38. jobber123













    an hour ago






























    OK what's more annoying

    The fanboys and their constant wank and complaining. Seriously, I want to like the guy but his fanbase is annoying.

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  39. Was not expecting that at #1, it's good, but I thought a certain other match would be in that spot.

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  40. Keep quit guys, someone from WWE will see this and change the ending.

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  41. Some of that had to do with the belt split though. Now that's its just one title I feel like it makes the winner more obvious, and Bryan is definitely on that list of guys who could win but I feel like if the whole 'bryans not booked for the rumble' thing was a swerve they would have made a bigger deal about it on TV as opposed to acting (IMO) purposely vague about it on TV.

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  42. When is the last time WWE booked something this obvious and came through on it?

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  43. So you like people based off of their fanbase?

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  44. Last year with John Cena and the Rock.


    I agree with you though. I definitely think they are playing this close to the chest, just like they waited until Monday to even mention his diagnosis in regards to the concussion.

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  45. Little different though. We knew Rock/Cena 2 was happening the night after Rock/Cena 1.

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  46. Booking Batista over Bryan to win the Rumble is like booking Vader to win over Shawn in 96. It could be cool but it doesn't make any fucking sense.

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  47. I've been saying Bryan will win the Rumble since SummerSlam. Not backing down now.

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  48. Yeah other than the rock stuff its a very short list.

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  49. I think Bryan is getting screwed by Harper and Rowan in his match against Bray, then enters the Rumble to screw them.


    Comes down to him and Batista, he wrestles Batista over the top rope similar to how Benoit did to Big Show, YES chants all around.

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  50. What's the full card anyways?

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  51. They are trying to be too cute with it. Just go full blown Vince and get it over with. If we are gonna get the 47,000th evil owner angle, at least do it right.

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  52. Man, you must have hated Austin back in the day.

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  53. Bryan/Wyatt, Brock/Show, Orton/Cena, divas match, Outlaws/Rhodes brothers and the Rumble. Not bad.

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  54. Bryan vs. Wyatt
    Cena vs. Orton
    Show vs. Lesnar


    Cody & Goldust vs. New Age Outlaws are the pre-show match

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  55. Apparently its show/lesnar
    Db/Wyatt
    Orton/cena
    The rumble
    And the outlaws vs Rhodes bros on the preshow...wow that's a match that deserves to be on the main card. Wtf?

    Honestly that's not bad. I guess I will end up buying it but man I hope that cena vs orton match delivers the snow flakes. I thought the TLC one was a *** main event which is fine but if I'm really dropping 65 one last time would it kill those two to have a great match?

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  56. Austin's fanbase was never this whiny or entitled.

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  57. If the rumble delivers and orton and cena finally have that awesome match those two should be fully capable of having this could be an amazing card. I have no doubt show vs lesnar is going to be fucking crazy and the tag match should be money.

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  58. #20, so I get to win that Bayless or whoever Rumble thing on the blog.

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  59. I would buy tickets to *this blog* on Wrestlemania day if Bryan was booked as an opening match lumberjack.

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  60. Skinnyjean Superface.

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  61. Show/Lesnar is gonna hit 4 stars.

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  62. The problem is, it doesn't even seem like a gimmick. It seems like filler.


    The Triple H doing sit down interviews with Cole & Rene is the guy that needs to be on TV... or for fuck sake even START RAW with one of those sitdowns.


    Kind of like a WWEized FDR Fireside Chat.

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  63. Seriously, a 45 year old man with a nose ring.

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  64. Possible threadjack and/or news: couple of sources claim Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus is "set in stone" for WrestleMania. So pardon me while I go take a shit all over that.

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  65. The "Our WrestleMania Matches Get Fucked Over" trilogy.

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  66. You always do a good job on the place to be Scott.

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  67. All he is missing is a lower back tattoo.

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  68. It's not even that it's a bad match on paper; put two guys in there that can beat the fuck or get the fuck beat out of them. But it's such a letdown from the hopes a lot of us had back in September... at least those of us not jaded enough to believe they'd seriously fuck it up. It's not quite 'Bret Hart in 1995' territory, but it's disappointing all the same.

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  69. Honestly, anything that isn't Cena/Taker and Brock/Bryan will have me disappointed.


    But Sheamus and Bryan have crazy chemistry but since it probably won't be one of the main matches, it will only get 10-15 minutes.

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  70. You're optimistic; my favorite theory (even if it's not exactly likely) is the WWE booking Bryan to win in 18 seconds ala WrestleMania XXVIII, which inadvertently kills most of his heat from the fan backlash and continues to have people not care about Sheamus.

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  71. Are we sure he doesn't have that? Did we get a back shot at all on Monday?

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  72. It's funny that WWE tried to do Honky/Warrior with them without understanding that it didn't apply to them whatsoever.

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  73. That is a weird list. Also, why does the 1992 poster have to giant boobs on it?

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  74. I absolutely love Cena vs Umaga but getting the #1 is pretty surprising. The match is one of my favorites matches of all time but its inferior compared to Cactus/HHH. That was a star making performance and completely shocking that a heel won clean.


    I think a match that doesn't get enough love, mainly because the spots in the match have been overexposed by now, is Dudleyz vs Hardyz in the first ever Tables match. The spots that The Hardyz did were really innovated for the time and they, along with The Dudleyz, continue changing the wrestling landscape a couple of years later.


    Royal Rumble 2000 is pretty much my favorite Rumble PPV ever.

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  75. Well, at least Sheamus comes back as a heel. The heel side is getting weak

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  76. No, I like who I like but 89048909045045945940 blog posts of people crying when every little thing doesn't go DB's way is really annoying.

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  77. You said you wanted to like the guy but his fanbase was annoying to you. That reads as I dont like the guy because of his fans

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  78. Well, that list was.... different.

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  79. Whatever, I don't care enough to argue with you about it, honestly.

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  80. I am so sad I missed out on that opportunity

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  81. Sheamus?! That's not good enough, he should be taking Undertaker's streak, pinning Cena and winning the championship at the same time RABBLE RABBLE

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  82. Good. So shut the fuck up, thanks.

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  83. As a random aside, if you haven't heard the Steve Austin podcasts with Jim Cornette, I highly recommend them. Cornette gives some great stories and history of working with the Midnight Express and Memphis Wrestling. It's not the "screw Vince Russo" stuff that you are used to hearing. If you are a fan of the history of wrestling it's a fun three hours to listen to.

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  84. I don't have to defend my opinion to you. Why should I feel obligated to bother just because you don't like it?

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  85. What don't you like about Bryan?

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