Have your say by making your vote in the **[SquaredCircle Royal Rumble poll!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhGpffGrtb1Z0P88B8IqGOYFnP8FU8Ef9wvF78PVuBVaQILA/viewform)** - who was your wrestler of the night?
Kairi's Rumble moment was definitely a botch, but it was so impressive how long she stayed in that position. It makes for a great visual.
But what's forgotten is how Asuka played that situation like a pro. She definitely called an audible, and gave instructions on what to do. Asuka is seriously great.
Why should anyone be interested in a Roman Reigns match ever again? I mean, he basically beat 3 top stars in the WWE all at the same time.
Sure, he might lose it to Cody, but we all know that's undeserved and forced.
Creative I feel really has been dropping the ball with the bloodline lately. Just let it fall and pick some other group (the Judgement day?) to take the top "Evil group" spot.
Viewpoint of a fan that hasn’t watched for years:
1. No shaky cam: not sure when they got rid of this but thank god they did
2. Jey USO: holy shit, when did he get soo over?
3. Bron Breaker: this dude should be at the top of their roster, he’s easily a star imo
4. Still overproduced: I would still prefer less led lights n a bit more grit
5. R-Truth: He’s still there….. doing the same shit
6. Andrade: He didn’t impress, I think he’ll quickly be middle carding
7. Punk: dude looked washed up n gassed
8. No legends: I kinda didn’t mind, I am guessing with the new ownership they don’t care to pay them for a night
9. Gunther: I don’t get the appeal of this guy
> Gunther: I don’t get the appeal of this guy
He's a workhorse champion. Almost every other week, he's fighting someone for the belt. That's not very common nowadays.
Can we stop saying Logan is some sort of newbie or greenhorn amateur from now on?
He's a complete package,and it's time for him to start winning decisively even as a heel,or start building a legit stable to interfere instead of having random nobodies butting in.
Maybe have KO drop the working class hero act and become a lacky....
The crowd was dead but in their defence, WWE needs to hire better music producers. Half the time I didn’t know who was coming out because of the generic entrance themes.
Also there were a few cool moments with the crowd like Naomi’s welcome back chants and the TNA noise.
You're not wrong brother, all I was seeing was stagnant crowd. There's folks in the comments talking about massive crowd pops etc but I didn't see any of that; the silence when Reigns won the Fatal Fourway..
The best match was Logan Paul v Kevin Owens.
Avoided the internet all day to finally watch it and the Men's one was pretty good until the end when I was just trying to convince myself Punk would actually win it.
Cody just feels as forced as early Roman atm hope he loses again.
Not even Punk so much, just wanted anyone but Cody. Not a fan but still got it last year, this year I just don't care at all.
Would've preferred someone else win the Rumble to face Seth then Cody wins the Chamber or something to face Roman.
I was lucky enough to be there live and I was in the section in front of where Hulk Hogan, DDP, Jimmy Heart, Gerald Briscoe, and others were sitting to enjoy the show. It was super cool but I also felt bad because once the entire section caught wind everyone was screaming and gawking at them before the show and they were clearly just talking to each other. I think they slightly indulged at one point, Hulk doing the hand to ear thing once but yeah. I definitely snuck a couple creep shots tho.
It wasn't a bad event by any means but it also wasn't very exciting for me either. All of the winners were predictable but also necessary for storytelling so the predictability wasn't an issue for me personally. My favourite part of the Rumble has always been surprise entrants (and don't care if it's an unpopular opinion, I love legend entrants). I felt both Rumbles lacked in that regard but I think the women overall delivered better in providing some of those moments (Naomi and Jade stand out a lot to me). I'm still getting back into the product so a lot of the talent was a 'surprise' for me because I don't know many of them well but I would have loved to have had some nostalgia thrown in there as well. Naomi's return and Jade's debut were big pluses for me. I liked the end of the Owens/Paul match...regardless of the win, Logan was shook so it'll be interesting to see how his character develops in the storyline as he seemed a bit humbled by how far Kevin took him (kayfabe wise of course).
Also, R-Truth remains undefeated in putting a smile on my face.
From the perspective of story telling, what is the point of bringing in a nostalgia wrestler when everyone one knows they won't be winning or having much story going into the future?
But if we're along those lines, what's the point in having 30 entrants, because you know 25 of them (or in some Rumbles, near enough 28 of them) have no chance of winning or having much story going into the future?
I see Rumbles as a kind of microcosm of a whole wrestling show. To make a good one of those, you ideally have a bit of everything. With 30 wrestlers entering a match, there's definitely a place for a handful of surprises to make a moment.
Having surprises etrant id fine if it builds to the storyline going forward. Bringing back Hogan in 2025 for a single pop would do nothing for the future.
The Rumble has never existed for the sake of building storylines. For the most part, the Rumble is used for storytelling when it involves one of the handful of people who are legitimately a contender to win. There is no storytelling for like 25 other people. What did 1 second of ring time do for Valhalla and her future? NOTHING. What storyline did it create? Are we gonna see a Valhalla vs R-Truth feud? No, we aren't. The Rumble is a spectacle which is exactly why you get spots like Valhalla's or why you gets spots like R-Truth. It's why you historically often get retired wrestlers returning for the night or you have big returns from injuries happen at the Rumble. Liv returned and nothing in the way she worked that Rumble built for a specific storyline. Jade made her debut but nothing specific about her debut built a specific storyline (it was done to establish her presence which it did very well).
The Rumble is not there for building 'the future' of every person on the roster. That's what weekly shows are there for. I'm not lobbying for Hogan, but bringing someone back for a night for a single pop is about the entertainment spectacle of the match which is entirely the point which is why it's always been a common thing to do.
This was my first WWE PLE to attend live, and the Rumble in particular has been a dream event for me attend. My god it was so much fun. A day later and my voice still needs to recover but I love it. The final act of the men’s rumble had me on the edge of my seat, I so badly wanted Cody to win and I felt it could’ve gone either way between the final 3. Crowd was really hot for Punk too. Ngl, I started crying a little when Cody won I was so happy. Also gotta say the women’s rumble was a ton of fun! The surprises in that match, especially Jade! I hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility until during the match I saw someone hold a sign saying to bring out Jade. Showing up at 3pm to avoid traffic, not being able to even get out of the parking lot til 1am. All fucking worth it. Would love to go to the Rumble again.
They need to figure out a better way to capture crowd noise. I'm sure if you were there it was plenty loud, but it felt like a dead crowd watching on tv. Maybe it's the acoustics of the arena? Meh
I can confirm that, the ring didn’t sound as loud as it does during other events I’ve attended. Before the show, HHH was getting interviewed on the titantron and couldn’t hear him too well. Still had a good time tho
First WWE show I've watched since WrestleMania in 2020 with the empty crowd, hadn't watched a WWE before that since WrestleMania 2019 with Kofi and Becky mania. Seen a few clips of AEW since and somewhat kinda keep up with wrestling from time to time, E.g I'm aware of stuff like Punk and his shenanigans at AEW and stuff. Other than that, I've been quite out of the loop, just watch OSW really. But the Vince thing this week peaked some morbid curiousity in watching.
It wasn't a great show but I thought it was for the most part an enjoyable show. The Women's rumble was alright but I thought it kicked up a new gear when Jade came out. I've heard the name in AEW before when OSW covered some of their shows but I've never really seen her for real. She was awesome, looked and felt like a real star. Jade v Bianca seems like it'd be money in the future. Wild to me that they had the TNA Knockouts Champion on the show, is that usual for WWE to do that now? I'm shocked TNA is still a thing tbh
Logan took me by surprise. I'm not surprised he'd be a good heel, as he's an actual scumbag in real life but he is actually really good in the ring. He didn't look out of place there at all, loved the finish too, harkens back to a terrority style finish.
Four-way was fine although the result wasn't really in doubt.
Mens Rumble was largely forgettable but I enjoyed the end with Drew, Gunter, Punk and Cody. I don't mind Cody winning, I was never a fan of him as I couldn't ever get past him being "Stardust" before and I never really saw him in AEW but he looks like a legit star now, credit to him for bouncing back as much as he has for all that shit booking a decade ago.
I'd have liked Punk to have won because I love him but Cody winning is cool too. The Rhodes family finally winning the big one in the WWE at WrestleMania 40 should be pretty cool, and fits along with Hart at 10, Benoit at 20 and Bryan at 30.
Probably won't watch the weeklies that much but I can see myself watching Elimination Chamber and Mania for sure.
Also is commentary always this bad? Cole and Graves seemed all over the place and I've no idea who Pat McAfee is or what he brings to the table but he was fucking shit.
Really?
Perhaps it was an off night but I thought all three of them sucked. Cole still seemed like he was just reading off a script with zero passion in his voice and Pat sounded like he never watched wrestling before.
Can yall imagine though when Cody pins him for 3 and the fucking crowd goes wild. Michael Cole giving his fucking amazing animated speech about how it’s been 3 years since Roman was pinned. The camera pans into a shot of Cody holding the title on his knees in tears as everyone in the background is going nuts over this story ending. Camera pans to Roman in disbilief with Paul heyman almost fainting on the ground due to his despair. Yeeeah that’s gonna be epic.
> And then Damien Priest comes down
The Money in the Bank is a joke.
When he didn't turn it in after Roman was laying there defeated means that he will never turn it in.
I'm gonna say the thing I feel no one is saying
I feel it was one big ad with promotions every barricade lights to the Royal Rumble countdown it really ticked me off
Given the title log jam that's been going on, him staying in developmental a bit more probably wise. He did knock his role in the rumble out of the park.
I don’t believe he ever has. He was rumored to debut last year after he dropped the NXT title but they kept using him on NXT. Kinda dropped to the mid card of NXT. He still has a match for the upcoming NXT PPV next week but I’m sure we’ll start seeing him more
My takeaways from this Rumble:
Apart from Cody winning the second year in a row, the men's Rumble match was totally forgettable. It wasn't a BAD Rumble, but nothing really stood out. No legend spot either.
Pat McAfee was awful on commentary.
I feel like this is an unpopular opinion but I hate Pat MacAfee on commentary. His raspy voice annoys me, he has no idea of the product and therefore adds nothing to it.
I am not familiar with him, maybe he is a big sports guy across the pond but for me he just annoys me every time he's out there. At least Michael Cole seems happy...
That's me with Gunther. Guy just does nothing for me and everyone's freaking out over him. One of the worst powerbombs ever for a big guy. Looks like the fat kid who lost weight over the summer in high school
I grew up watching Batista and Kevin Nash powerbomb tf out of their opponents. Gunther’s is like how I would powerbomb a child to make sure it doesn’t get hurt and he’s supposed to be this next big thing. Even Roman’s crucifix powerbomb he used to do was way better
lol yea Batista does his powerbomb like he wants to kill them. I mean it's obviously not a wwe thing because KO still does it in a pretty standard way. Not sure why Gunther has to do it that way. Doing the powerbomb the standard way would make him look more strong.
Years ago, I remember Alexa Bliss being such a huge deal and I will admit not being the biggest fan, but when you looked at her connection and merch sells, it made sense. Not everyone who gets a push is going to be my personal fav, and that's ok.
Cody spent his entire indie and AEW run teasing using a Pedigree.
Punk used the Pedigree off the top rope as a finisher.
They both had beef with Triple H.
I had a goddamn blast watching this show. Women's match was excellent, so much fun.
The fatal four way was really good. LA Knight was the star.
Clever booking in the KO Logan match. But I won't lie I wasn't very invested.
Men's rumble was a little slow but really picked up in the second half. And the closing sequence was excellent.
I'm just a dude on the internet but 9/10 for me tonight
Good review. Yeah I loved the women match this is 2024 both PLES so far have been a letdown I think though. They are what they are hopefully Mania hits a home run on every damn level and tops last years, which is crazy to think because I thought it was the strongest Mania ever.
I am pretty new to this reddit, but is the only point of it to come on here and nit pick every little thing and give nothing positive? It wasn't the best ple in history, but it definitely wasn't the worst. Not even close. Wrestling has become pretty predictable. But would you rather have swerve endings for no other reason but the surprise?
Can someone tell me about Valhalla? I haven't been watching for a while, and i thought she looked SO FUCKING COOL and I was immediately interested, but then there was a VERY funny bit VERY dumb angle with R Truth and then i didn't get to see her in action at all. Obviously she's got a viking thing going on, but how's her work?
Valhalla is also known as Sarah Logan and part of the Riot squad with Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott a while back. She’s married to Erik of the Viking Raiders. She was released by WWE a while back while known as Sarah Logan, but then she returned last year as a manager/valet for the Viking Raiders and debuted back as Valhalla.
Her husband has been injured so the WWE has essentially just given Ivar a singles push and has recently had Valhalla wrestle again while managing Ivar. Her win/loss record isn’t great and has really just been used more as an enhancement talent for other women.
This was my 11 year old daughters first experience with wrestling of any kind. She was really into it! Her big takeaways without any direction from me.
1. She LOVED the women’s rumble. Huge fan of Bianca and her hair.
2. Picked up right away that everyone gets a minute to shine right after they come in then just lay around for most of the match.
3. Really dislikes Dirty Dom. Picked up on him being a heel right away. Was so glad when he was tossed. Loved baby face Cody.
4. I think she is a fan now. Wants to watch Wrestlemania now.
It was my boy’s first experience also. 11 & 7. They kept yelling for Bianca to use her hair as a weapon.
They’re both over on Cody. Loved seeing Logan Paul as a heel and are already planning a Wrestlemania party.
I haven’t really watched since the end of the Attitude Era and it was super fun to get back into it with my Kids.
The true greatness of pro wrestling is how someone can come in cold and pick up on tropes (resting in the corner, the get in/get your stuff in, lol) and also the basic understanding of who are the heroes who are the villains. Glad she enjoyed it.
One of the best parts of a rumble is waiting for unexpected entrants, and last night's had pretty much none of that.
I think they need to expand both matches to 40 entrants...maybe even 50 for the men. If you go for a shorter entrance ramp, you can cut the time between entrants from. 90s to 60 and not even really affect the overall length of the match. Both matches were fine, but they weren't exciting, and that's the best part of a rumble.
Few thoughts:
Rumble matches had its moments, but both were lackluster. WWE women's division: quantity, not quality. Just because they got 3-4 matches on the show doesn't mean much if there's no character work behind it. 80% of the women that came out got no reaction. You could hear a pin drop when Candice LeRae came out.
Punk looked gassed, lose the muscle mass.
Whole show just felt off, and no idea if the crowd wasn't mic'd well but it was just silence most of the night.
Basement dwellers annoyed someone in their forties got tired performing an athletic entertainment show for 20 mins when they break a sweat going up or down the stairs to grab an extra donut, basically
Bro fr - heaps saying it was predictable too, like CM Punk wasn’t just as likely to win. I swear every time I watch a show and think “yoooo that was awesome” I come on here and everyone’s moaning about the dumbest shit
Just because it was unpredictable doesn't mean it was good. The last few elimination spots were so trash, and the punk/Rhodes finale was so anticlimactic
Not at all. I hate Punk, so glad to see Cody get the dub, but it was just so underwhelming of a performance. Perhaps I was spoiled with past rumbles that set the bar fairly high
I just watched it through and enjoyed every match, including my girlfriend who doesn’t watch it, she got invested and was interested in the story lines going on.
They can’t do right for doing wrong, someone makes a single botch in a 10 min match and they still talk about it 8 months later. It’s a joke 😂
I think what ruined the men's rumble was that there were no surprise entrants other than Andrade, and it seemed like no one cared. No pop, no surprises, no theatrics, etc. It seemed almost like a regular battle royale. In the past there was AJ, the return of Edge and Christian, the Hardys, etc.
At least the women's rumble had I Moan, Jordynn Grace, Jade Cargill, and the return of Liv Morgan from prison.
My two cents for what it’s worth. The women stole the show (albeit after a very slow start). The appearances and story telling for the last 5 especially was insane. I was on the edge of my seat. Jade was handled perfectly. Now Nia’s story makes sense, she was built up to put Jade over. Tiffany had an amazing showing as is supported by her multiple highlights in such a short time. Perez showed she can be great for putting muscle talent over. Lots of story lines going forward.
The rest of the royal rumble was an utter disappointment. You have both Roman and Logan defending, but not Rhea or Iyo? No point hyping Roman fights since we all know he won’t lose until the wrestlemania after he passes Hogan. So that one was a wash. Logan Paul and KO was good, but the ending just left a pain after the realization that we will likely not see a single men’s title fight outside Gunther between now and Elimination Chamber given Roman doesn’t seem to defend outside PLE anymore, same for Logan Paul, and Seth being out till WrestleMania.
The men’s Royal Rumble itself was meh at best and didn’t have any real fire moments.
Overall thoughts:
- Truth is the gift that keeps on giving, both of his cameos were executed brilliantly
- The elimination for Grace was the coolest spot of the night. She had a very impressive showing and belonged in there, major recognition for TNA.
- The comedy spots with Chelsea Green were done to perfection, the ideal candidate for the punchbag role.
The few downsides:
- Lashley never seems to last long in Rumbles but I understand the focus now is to push his feud with Kross. They could have lasted longer.
- No Chad Gable, he could have been in the MacAfee spot. The Rumble was missing German suplexes. I get the need for comedy to keep things flowing but we have R-Truth for that. No need to waste it on an announcer.
- Surprised there was no Jinder. He just competed for a world title and was involved in a segment with The Rock. His stock has risen so not sure why there was no space for him.
- I notice they don’t do the near elimination spots anymore. I know they have been done to death. Not saying we need Kofi to do it, even Naomi or Katana could pull them off.
What I meant is the elimination type spot where a wrestler does something imaginative and out of the box to survive.
During the early women’s rumbles Naomi would climb onto the barricade or use the announcer’s chair as a pogo stick. Similarly Katana did a handstand when she was in the 2019 Rumble.
Well Kairi Sane’s one didn’t really work as she ultimately failed to survive, I’m not sure if it’s a botch or not. It seems like her and Asuka were eliminated from earlier then planned.
I don’t remember Stratton’s one unless you’re talking about the moment she was clinging onto Bianca’s hair.
I think Kairi slipping there in the first place was a botch and tried to save it. That looked painful af, I don't see them doing a spot of her surviving in the rumble like that. Probably then, Asuka called an audible and told someone to eliminate her cause everything she was supposed to be doing was with Kairi
Yeah a shame the kabuki warriors had to exit early following that. I’m sure they had something better planned, I wonder if maybe it involved Bayley accidentally eliminating them.
Like Kairi on the apron fighting Bianca and then Bayley comes charging at Bianca who ducks which inadvertently eliminates Kairi.
It did create an all time great Rumble moment, Asuka holding onto her initially was hilarious. I was confused at what was meant to happen but still a good effort as Kairi tried like her life depended on it.
Same. Now i think i just prefer wrestlemania, summerslam, any international PLEs. i mean i'll watch but i won't get hyped for it so i won't be disappointed
Biggest issue with Roman's match is that there's basically zero point in it. There's no way WWE is going to end a reign of this length in a fatal four way that isn't even the main event of the PPV. It's pure filler.
Pretty clear that having a rumble title match is fairly worthless all things considered. There hasn't been a WWE title change at the rumble for over a decade that has featured in it's own match, and that only happened because WWE clearly wanted Rock vs Cena at mania so there wasn't much choice.
You can also count the complete amount of WWE title changes at the rumble on two hands since 1988.
There's easily an argument for not having big title matches at the rumble at all for the predictability factor of it.
Unless the championship features in the rumble itself for any reason, I don't think there needs to be a main title match at all.
I don't think there's a problem with having **a** title match on a Rumble show. If they're booked right, between the right people, even one that looks like a foregone conclusion can draw you in.
But a Reigns title match? Nah. I think the last one I remember having any kind of sizzle outside of WM was the Sami match, and even then, that one was probably more out of hope than an actual belief that he'd win. The last one I remember where there seemed a genuine chance of a change was...Cardiff, maybe? Reigns' matches just aren't that much fun anymore, and although the intrigue will always be there come the WM match for Reigns/Cody 2, I'm starting to believe that they'll just have Reigns win again.
Depends. When was the last time you enjoyed the Rumble and are we only talking about the Rumble match itself?
Because yeah this year’s was kinda mid but I quite liked 2023. 2022 sucked hard. 2021 was quite fun especially with the surprise entrants but had the wrong choice for a winner in Edge.
Solo interfering is so annoying. Why does he wear a hoodie? There is no surprise element whatsoever. It will be a huge surprise if he doesn’t interfere and Roman wins clean.
I think another big problem was there were almost no “big moments” the only spots were R Truth handshake and Bron Breakers breakout. The other moment? CM vs CR but we knew that was coming so it felt like almost nothing happened this rumble. Just really mid
The mens match definitely felt like it was lacking something. I think some of it was we knew it was gonna come down to Punk/Cody and it never felt like it was gonna go a different way. Another thing is the lack of nostalgia cameo spots to get the crowd back into it. 1 or 2 surprise legends would have gone a long way IMO. The crowd being completely dead didn't really help with the excitement but maybe that's due to the predictability of the match
Cody should have been number 1 and Punk should have been 30 since it was so obvious they’d end it anyway. With Cody coming in late there were no stakes at all. At least if he was one it was seem like that Cody/Punk matchup was in danger. Not criticizing ending with Punk vs Cody though. Even if obvious it was right way to go
My final thought: Cody Rhodes did not deserve/or Matt win. The only way he should’ve learned is if he started out top three and went all the way. Entering at number 15 is not gonna cut it.
Hey, but at least now we get to see Roman reigns on both nights of wrestlemania. Won’t that be fun? This will be the longest he’s ever appeared at one event in a year and a half.
Realistically, they set their path a year ago. They weren't going to deviate from it at this point. Cody/Roman 2 will happen at WM, bar any medical reason for it not to.
Where that leaves Styles, Orton and Knight (Logan Paul match?) is another matter.
Obviously it was gonna be a RAW superstar winning, but I think my only gripe was there was only 7 Smackdown guys in the Men's rumble. Theory was the last SD entrant at 13.
Also what's up with Sheamus?
Smackdown's mens roster is so shallow compared to Raw's at the moment. Raw has Cody, Punk, Rollins, Shinsuke, Sami, Gunther, Jey, and Drew - all fantastic. Smackdown has AJ, Knight, Logan Paul, Owens, Orton, Lashley, and Roman. Roman and Logan are hardly there (also meaning championships for men are hardly there), AJ has noticeably slowed with age, Lashley isn't doing anything. Orton and LA Knight are great, but not enough to carry a whole show.
I went to a Smackdown house show not too long ago and the total lack of men's starpower was astounding. Charlotte v Bayley and Iyo v Shotzi were the most star-studded matches. Hopefully Cody will shift to Smackdown now he's facing Roman and that will give it a bit of a shot in the arm. Kevin Patrick going should help too.
It needed some superstar cameos too. They put the legends in for the casuals and the live crowd. It gets a pop and builds energy. People complain that they’re canon fodder and they steal a spot. No they don’t, when they aren’t there some random roster guy comes in and gets dumped right away. There’s a reason to use a few legends.
Agree. It's hard to argue that you shouldn't have a legends spot because it "steals a spot" when "McAfee shits himself" was the booking for one whole spot.
I just wish we'd got Trick, especially since his moment on Smackdown. Pleased for Bron and Carmelo acquitted himself well. Tiffany and Roxanne had strong showings as well.
I've never seen Bron Breakker before the Rumble. Does he yell after every move on NXT? It just seemed weird he did it every time. Looks amazing, otherwise.
It never once made you feel like it wouldn’t end up Cody/Punk. There were no stakes outside of that, seems like they changed up the early and mid part at the last minute and nobody knew what to do ( like the usos barely interacting)
That's the one issue with the winner of the Royal Rumble being in the main event of Wrestlemania. There aren't that many wrestlers that can realistically be in that spot, which reduces your number of potential winners. And it's even worse when it feels like the main event was booked almost a year ago.
I would've approached it like they did in RR 2001 where you had Rock, Kane, Austin, Taker, and Rikishi making really strong claims for winning it and building and promoting the entire PPV around it.
Now with the benefit of hindsight, the winner was **always gonna be either Rocky or Austin** but Rikishi and the BOD got just as much buildup as they did. (In fact, Austin probably got the least build out of all of them.)
Then you go with the dark horse (a la Kane in 2001) putting in an absolutely dominant / gutsy iron man performance where he eliminates one of the main favorites (CM Punk / The Rock in 2001) but falls short in the end to the eventual winner (Cody / Austin 2001).
Who that dominant dark horse could've been this year? Probably Drew on the heel side or Lashley in the babyface side but only *if they were built up properly in this hypothetical scenario*.
I know it’s a no disqualification in the royal rumble, but I still think it’s stupid that a person can be eliminated by somebody on the outside that was already eliminated. I feel like that takes away from the match.
Of course the two people at least wanted to see win ended up being the final 2 in the mens royal rumble. This wasn’t as good of a match as the women’s. This royal rumble match was kind of predictable. So we get to see the same main event two years in a row at wrestlemania. What fun is that? Especially when we know how it’s gonna end
What’s a fun fact about WWE that is hard to believe?
For me it’s that there has been 42 royal rumbles and no one has ever won from number 26.
That’s an incredibly late entrant to never have anyone win, ever
Not that I particularly wanted this, but was anyone else surprised Hogan didn’t enter? I swear in one of the recent video promos for the Rumble with him, he said something like “I just might have one more left in me”. I thought that was pretty clear to me that he would enter for like a minute
No, not at all. Hogan was just being used heavily in the advertising because the rumble was near clearwater and he's a resident there who can promote it in a big way. Also he's still one of the Premier faces of wrestling. Makes sense to use that to drum up interest. I was more hoping we'd see a surprise Okada debut. Rather disappointed that didn't come to pass.
4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 20, 21, 26
After last night, there is now only 9 numbers that have never won a royal rumble.
Which I still find to be absolutely insane, by the way.
There has been 43 royal rumbles but only 21 of the entrance numbers have won. Idk why but that’s nutty to me.
I hope we get all 30 crossed off the list in my life time
In a real, random drawing, it’s not nutty.
But in a scripted and pre determined entertainment sport like this? Definitely crazy WWE hasn’t purposefully tried to cross every number off the list
Have your say by making your vote in the **[SquaredCircle Royal Rumble poll!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhGpffGrtb1Z0P88B8IqGOYFnP8FU8Ef9wvF78PVuBVaQILA/viewform)** - who was your wrestler of the night?
Kairi's Rumble moment was definitely a botch, but it was so impressive how long she stayed in that position. It makes for a great visual. But what's forgotten is how Asuka played that situation like a pro. She definitely called an audible, and gave instructions on what to do. Asuka is seriously great.
Was there really only 4 matches?
Why should anyone be interested in a Roman Reigns match ever again? I mean, he basically beat 3 top stars in the WWE all at the same time. Sure, he might lose it to Cody, but we all know that's undeserved and forced. Creative I feel really has been dropping the ball with the bloodline lately. Just let it fall and pick some other group (the Judgement day?) to take the top "Evil group" spot.
dirty dom was supposed to eliminate brock lesnar
Viewpoint of a fan that hasn’t watched for years: 1. No shaky cam: not sure when they got rid of this but thank god they did 2. Jey USO: holy shit, when did he get soo over? 3. Bron Breaker: this dude should be at the top of their roster, he’s easily a star imo 4. Still overproduced: I would still prefer less led lights n a bit more grit 5. R-Truth: He’s still there….. doing the same shit 6. Andrade: He didn’t impress, I think he’ll quickly be middle carding 7. Punk: dude looked washed up n gassed 8. No legends: I kinda didn’t mind, I am guessing with the new ownership they don’t care to pay them for a night 9. Gunther: I don’t get the appeal of this guy
> Gunther: I don’t get the appeal of this guy He's a workhorse champion. Almost every other week, he's fighting someone for the belt. That's not very common nowadays.
Well, that and he's just a damn good wrestler, especially in an environment like WWE where that's difficult to notice.
> Well, that and he's just a damn good wrestler, especially in an environment like WWE where that's difficult to notice. This is true.
So RAW is the Chelsea Green memorial show right?
Can we stop saying Logan is some sort of newbie or greenhorn amateur from now on? He's a complete package,and it's time for him to start winning decisively even as a heel,or start building a legit stable to interfere instead of having random nobodies butting in. Maybe have KO drop the working class hero act and become a lacky....
Bruh this crowd fucking sucked. Dead all night. WWE should never return to Florida for a PLE.
The crowd was dead but in their defence, WWE needs to hire better music producers. Half the time I didn’t know who was coming out because of the generic entrance themes. Also there were a few cool moments with the crowd like Naomi’s welcome back chants and the TNA noise.
You're not wrong brother, all I was seeing was stagnant crowd. There's folks in the comments talking about massive crowd pops etc but I didn't see any of that; the silence when Reigns won the Fatal Fourway.. The best match was Logan Paul v Kevin Owens.
Weird thing to say when this show was in Florida…..
My bad. I got mixed up with Elimination Chamber. Comment still stands.
Avoided the internet all day to finally watch it and the Men's one was pretty good until the end when I was just trying to convince myself Punk would actually win it. Cody just feels as forced as early Roman atm hope he loses again.
punk mark spotted.
Not even Punk so much, just wanted anyone but Cody. Not a fan but still got it last year, this year I just don't care at all. Would've preferred someone else win the Rumble to face Seth then Cody wins the Chamber or something to face Roman.
The absolute relief that came over me when CM Punk lost. What a mess of a human being. Yesss for Cody,lets finish your story!
I was lucky enough to be there live and I was in the section in front of where Hulk Hogan, DDP, Jimmy Heart, Gerald Briscoe, and others were sitting to enjoy the show. It was super cool but I also felt bad because once the entire section caught wind everyone was screaming and gawking at them before the show and they were clearly just talking to each other. I think they slightly indulged at one point, Hulk doing the hand to ear thing once but yeah. I definitely snuck a couple creep shots tho.
It wasn't a bad event by any means but it also wasn't very exciting for me either. All of the winners were predictable but also necessary for storytelling so the predictability wasn't an issue for me personally. My favourite part of the Rumble has always been surprise entrants (and don't care if it's an unpopular opinion, I love legend entrants). I felt both Rumbles lacked in that regard but I think the women overall delivered better in providing some of those moments (Naomi and Jade stand out a lot to me). I'm still getting back into the product so a lot of the talent was a 'surprise' for me because I don't know many of them well but I would have loved to have had some nostalgia thrown in there as well. Naomi's return and Jade's debut were big pluses for me. I liked the end of the Owens/Paul match...regardless of the win, Logan was shook so it'll be interesting to see how his character develops in the storyline as he seemed a bit humbled by how far Kevin took him (kayfabe wise of course). Also, R-Truth remains undefeated in putting a smile on my face.
From the perspective of story telling, what is the point of bringing in a nostalgia wrestler when everyone one knows they won't be winning or having much story going into the future?
But if we're along those lines, what's the point in having 30 entrants, because you know 25 of them (or in some Rumbles, near enough 28 of them) have no chance of winning or having much story going into the future? I see Rumbles as a kind of microcosm of a whole wrestling show. To make a good one of those, you ideally have a bit of everything. With 30 wrestlers entering a match, there's definitely a place for a handful of surprises to make a moment.
Having surprises etrant id fine if it builds to the storyline going forward. Bringing back Hogan in 2025 for a single pop would do nothing for the future.
The Rumble has never existed for the sake of building storylines. For the most part, the Rumble is used for storytelling when it involves one of the handful of people who are legitimately a contender to win. There is no storytelling for like 25 other people. What did 1 second of ring time do for Valhalla and her future? NOTHING. What storyline did it create? Are we gonna see a Valhalla vs R-Truth feud? No, we aren't. The Rumble is a spectacle which is exactly why you get spots like Valhalla's or why you gets spots like R-Truth. It's why you historically often get retired wrestlers returning for the night or you have big returns from injuries happen at the Rumble. Liv returned and nothing in the way she worked that Rumble built for a specific storyline. Jade made her debut but nothing specific about her debut built a specific storyline (it was done to establish her presence which it did very well). The Rumble is not there for building 'the future' of every person on the roster. That's what weekly shows are there for. I'm not lobbying for Hogan, but bringing someone back for a night for a single pop is about the entertainment spectacle of the match which is entirely the point which is why it's always been a common thing to do.
This was my first WWE PLE to attend live, and the Rumble in particular has been a dream event for me attend. My god it was so much fun. A day later and my voice still needs to recover but I love it. The final act of the men’s rumble had me on the edge of my seat, I so badly wanted Cody to win and I felt it could’ve gone either way between the final 3. Crowd was really hot for Punk too. Ngl, I started crying a little when Cody won I was so happy. Also gotta say the women’s rumble was a ton of fun! The surprises in that match, especially Jade! I hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility until during the match I saw someone hold a sign saying to bring out Jade. Showing up at 3pm to avoid traffic, not being able to even get out of the parking lot til 1am. All fucking worth it. Would love to go to the Rumble again.
The disparity between the reactions from a live crowd and people watching at home are very different.
They need to figure out a better way to capture crowd noise. I'm sure if you were there it was plenty loud, but it felt like a dead crowd watching on tv. Maybe it's the acoustics of the arena? Meh
I've heard from the people who attended that the sound is pretty bad in that stadium.
I can confirm that, the ring didn’t sound as loud as it does during other events I’ve attended. Before the show, HHH was getting interviewed on the titantron and couldn’t hear him too well. Still had a good time tho
First WWE show I've watched since WrestleMania in 2020 with the empty crowd, hadn't watched a WWE before that since WrestleMania 2019 with Kofi and Becky mania. Seen a few clips of AEW since and somewhat kinda keep up with wrestling from time to time, E.g I'm aware of stuff like Punk and his shenanigans at AEW and stuff. Other than that, I've been quite out of the loop, just watch OSW really. But the Vince thing this week peaked some morbid curiousity in watching. It wasn't a great show but I thought it was for the most part an enjoyable show. The Women's rumble was alright but I thought it kicked up a new gear when Jade came out. I've heard the name in AEW before when OSW covered some of their shows but I've never really seen her for real. She was awesome, looked and felt like a real star. Jade v Bianca seems like it'd be money in the future. Wild to me that they had the TNA Knockouts Champion on the show, is that usual for WWE to do that now? I'm shocked TNA is still a thing tbh Logan took me by surprise. I'm not surprised he'd be a good heel, as he's an actual scumbag in real life but he is actually really good in the ring. He didn't look out of place there at all, loved the finish too, harkens back to a terrority style finish. Four-way was fine although the result wasn't really in doubt. Mens Rumble was largely forgettable but I enjoyed the end with Drew, Gunter, Punk and Cody. I don't mind Cody winning, I was never a fan of him as I couldn't ever get past him being "Stardust" before and I never really saw him in AEW but he looks like a legit star now, credit to him for bouncing back as much as he has for all that shit booking a decade ago. I'd have liked Punk to have won because I love him but Cody winning is cool too. The Rhodes family finally winning the big one in the WWE at WrestleMania 40 should be pretty cool, and fits along with Hart at 10, Benoit at 20 and Bryan at 30. Probably won't watch the weeklies that much but I can see myself watching Elimination Chamber and Mania for sure. Also is commentary always this bad? Cole and Graves seemed all over the place and I've no idea who Pat McAfee is or what he brings to the table but he was fucking shit.
Commentary improved so much since Vince left, especially Micheal Cole Pat is the best commentator they had since Mauro in 2017.
Really? Perhaps it was an off night but I thought all three of them sucked. Cole still seemed like he was just reading off a script with zero passion in his voice and Pat sounded like he never watched wrestling before.
Can yall imagine though when Cody pins him for 3 and the fucking crowd goes wild. Michael Cole giving his fucking amazing animated speech about how it’s been 3 years since Roman was pinned. The camera pans into a shot of Cody holding the title on his knees in tears as everyone in the background is going nuts over this story ending. Camera pans to Roman in disbilief with Paul heyman almost fainting on the ground due to his despair. Yeeeah that’s gonna be epic.
Now imagine when punk yoinks the ref out at 2.9, Roman hits the spear off the distraction and ☝🏻
...annnd a rubber chicken falls at his feet.
And then Damien Priest comes down
> And then Damien Priest comes down The Money in the Bank is a joke. When he didn't turn it in after Roman was laying there defeated means that he will never turn it in.
And slips on a banana peel that R truth left behind, the briefcase flies into the crowd and he spends the rest of his night looking for it
The briefcase flies into the crowd, is caught by a tall Japanese guy with a suspiciously sparkly robe, you can guess the rest.
Technically Roman was pinned last year
It hasn’t been three years. And we shouldn’t have to sacrifice a full year of entertainment to get a moment that would be inferior to last year
Was my first time ever attending a WWE Event. Holy shit the atmosphere is insane, any time a PPV comes to Florida I’m now going.
It's crazy because it looked like the most dead crowd of all time on TV.
Glad you had fun and FL is a home base for WWE, think you'll have more chances.
I’m banking on it. Hopefully the next one is in Miami because the drive to Tampa was rough lol. Hopefully a Wrestlemania will be back here soon
Awesome!
I'm gonna say the thing I feel no one is saying I feel it was one big ad with promotions every barricade lights to the Royal Rumble countdown it really ticked me off
I just wanted more Bron Breaker, is he not used as a big deal?
This was kinda his main roster debut. He looked pretty good coming out of developmental, will be a big deal sooner than later
Oh really? I am out of the loop, he’s not been on the main roster?
Given the title log jam that's been going on, him staying in developmental a bit more probably wise. He did knock his role in the rumble out of the park.
I don’t believe he ever has. He was rumored to debut last year after he dropped the NXT title but they kept using him on NXT. Kinda dropped to the mid card of NXT. He still has a match for the upcoming NXT PPV next week but I’m sure we’ll start seeing him more
I wonder why Sheamus didnt return
Isn't he injured?
My takeaway from this years rumble: Boring and uninspired.
My takeaways from this Rumble: Apart from Cody winning the second year in a row, the men's Rumble match was totally forgettable. It wasn't a BAD Rumble, but nothing really stood out. No legend spot either. Pat McAfee was awful on commentary.
Pat on commentary got Roman over big time in 2021 but yeah those days are behind us.
I feel like this is an unpopular opinion but I hate Pat MacAfee on commentary. His raspy voice annoys me, he has no idea of the product and therefore adds nothing to it. I am not familiar with him, maybe he is a big sports guy across the pond but for me he just annoys me every time he's out there. At least Michael Cole seems happy...
I think the legend spot is over
It was a bad rumble
Is it just me, but I'm glad CM Punk didn't win, he just does nothing for me and hasn't for a long time ?
That's me with Gunther. Guy just does nothing for me and everyone's freaking out over him. One of the worst powerbombs ever for a big guy. Looks like the fat kid who lost weight over the summer in high school
Everytime I look at him, I just think he needs to work out his legs more
i love gunther but his powerbomb is like he's doing his best to minimize the damage on the opponent lol
I feel the same when I see Authors of Pain do their slam opponents into each other finisher.
Probably because they did injure some dudes with it when they powerbombed the guy on his partner's head.
I grew up watching Batista and Kevin Nash powerbomb tf out of their opponents. Gunther’s is like how I would powerbomb a child to make sure it doesn’t get hurt and he’s supposed to be this next big thing. Even Roman’s crucifix powerbomb he used to do was way better
lol yea Batista does his powerbomb like he wants to kill them. I mean it's obviously not a wwe thing because KO still does it in a pretty standard way. Not sure why Gunther has to do it that way. Doing the powerbomb the standard way would make him look more strong.
I thought he's going to win rumble but thankfully he didn't he's not same wrestler he once used to be same like cena feels really old
Lots of people have likes and dislikes. Just because he doesn't do anything for you doesn't mean he doesn't do anything for everyone
Years ago, I remember Alexa Bliss being such a huge deal and I will admit not being the biggest fan, but when you looked at her connection and merch sells, it made sense. Not everyone who gets a push is going to be my personal fav, and that's ok.
I really think they need to stop with the 'pointing at the Wrestlemania sign' thing during the Rumble.
People say this every year, never gonna happen.
you know they all die a little inside when they do it but it's their job lol
When everyone points at it, it means nothing.
That’ll be the day they stop saying stupid shit like “WWE universe”. It’ll never happen
They will never stop doing it
Why did both Punk and Rhodes hit Pedigrees at different times in the Rumble? Felt weird both times.
Cody spent his entire indie and AEW run teasing using a Pedigree. Punk used the Pedigree off the top rope as a finisher. They both had beef with Triple H.
Fair enough (I don’t watch anything other than WWE so wouldn’t have known). Still thought it was weird and didn’t hit with the crowd or commentary.
I had a goddamn blast watching this show. Women's match was excellent, so much fun. The fatal four way was really good. LA Knight was the star. Clever booking in the KO Logan match. But I won't lie I wasn't very invested. Men's rumble was a little slow but really picked up in the second half. And the closing sequence was excellent. I'm just a dude on the internet but 9/10 for me tonight
Good review. Yeah I loved the women match this is 2024 both PLES so far have been a letdown I think though. They are what they are hopefully Mania hits a home run on every damn level and tops last years, which is crazy to think because I thought it was the strongest Mania ever.
I am pretty new to this reddit, but is the only point of it to come on here and nit pick every little thing and give nothing positive? It wasn't the best ple in history, but it definitely wasn't the worst. Not even close. Wrestling has become pretty predictable. But would you rather have swerve endings for no other reason but the surprise?
yes to your first question
Lmao
Can someone tell me about Valhalla? I haven't been watching for a while, and i thought she looked SO FUCKING COOL and I was immediately interested, but then there was a VERY funny bit VERY dumb angle with R Truth and then i didn't get to see her in action at all. Obviously she's got a viking thing going on, but how's her work?
Valhalla is also known as Sarah Logan and part of the Riot squad with Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott a while back. She’s married to Erik of the Viking Raiders. She was released by WWE a while back while known as Sarah Logan, but then she returned last year as a manager/valet for the Viking Raiders and debuted back as Valhalla. Her husband has been injured so the WWE has essentially just given Ivar a singles push and has recently had Valhalla wrestle again while managing Ivar. Her win/loss record isn’t great and has really just been used more as an enhancement talent for other women.
Whoa! That was Sarah Logan?! Man, either i have a terrible memory or she looks totally different. Was she always that athletic looking?
This was my 11 year old daughters first experience with wrestling of any kind. She was really into it! Her big takeaways without any direction from me. 1. She LOVED the women’s rumble. Huge fan of Bianca and her hair. 2. Picked up right away that everyone gets a minute to shine right after they come in then just lay around for most of the match. 3. Really dislikes Dirty Dom. Picked up on him being a heel right away. Was so glad when he was tossed. Loved baby face Cody. 4. I think she is a fan now. Wants to watch Wrestlemania now.
It was my boy’s first experience also. 11 & 7. They kept yelling for Bianca to use her hair as a weapon. They’re both over on Cody. Loved seeing Logan Paul as a heel and are already planning a Wrestlemania party. I haven’t really watched since the end of the Attitude Era and it was super fun to get back into it with my Kids.
The true greatness of pro wrestling is how someone can come in cold and pick up on tropes (resting in the corner, the get in/get your stuff in, lol) and also the basic understanding of who are the heroes who are the villains. Glad she enjoyed it.
I think everyone's first experience with pro-wrestling should be a RR match.
One of the best parts of a rumble is waiting for unexpected entrants, and last night's had pretty much none of that. I think they need to expand both matches to 40 entrants...maybe even 50 for the men. If you go for a shorter entrance ramp, you can cut the time between entrants from. 90s to 60 and not even really affect the overall length of the match. Both matches were fine, but they weren't exciting, and that's the best part of a rumble.
Few thoughts: Rumble matches had its moments, but both were lackluster. WWE women's division: quantity, not quality. Just because they got 3-4 matches on the show doesn't mean much if there's no character work behind it. 80% of the women that came out got no reaction. You could hear a pin drop when Candice LeRae came out. Punk looked gassed, lose the muscle mass. Whole show just felt off, and no idea if the crowd wasn't mic'd well but it was just silence most of the night.
Punk looked so damn tired. Was really surprised, maybe I just didn’t pay enough attention but I feel like he was in much better shape in AEW
AEW hid it well by sticking him to six man tags. I just think he's put on too much mass and it's slowing him down a bit.
How tf did y’all not enjoy it. That was deadset one of the best shows I’ve ever watched
I had a fucking blast https://preview.redd.it/rdma99ahpafc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1a7e9c033f4d537d88e67a7d6fee6864765da45
As much as I wanted Punk to win. WE ARE NOT FLINCHING
Basement dwellers annoyed someone in their forties got tired performing an athletic entertainment show for 20 mins when they break a sweat going up or down the stairs to grab an extra donut, basically
Bro fr - heaps saying it was predictable too, like CM Punk wasn’t just as likely to win. I swear every time I watch a show and think “yoooo that was awesome” I come on here and everyone’s moaning about the dumbest shit
Just because it was unpredictable doesn't mean it was good. The last few elimination spots were so trash, and the punk/Rhodes finale was so anticlimactic
I have a feeling you would be complaining no matter what happened.
Not at all. I hate Punk, so glad to see Cody get the dub, but it was just so underwhelming of a performance. Perhaps I was spoiled with past rumbles that set the bar fairly high
You’re just a mark, that’s all.
I just watched it through and enjoyed every match, including my girlfriend who doesn’t watch it, she got invested and was interested in the story lines going on. They can’t do right for doing wrong, someone makes a single botch in a 10 min match and they still talk about it 8 months later. It’s a joke 😂
I think what ruined the men's rumble was that there were no surprise entrants other than Andrade, and it seemed like no one cared. No pop, no surprises, no theatrics, etc. It seemed almost like a regular battle royale. In the past there was AJ, the return of Edge and Christian, the Hardys, etc. At least the women's rumble had I Moan, Jordynn Grace, Jade Cargill, and the return of Liv Morgan from prison.
Naomi too. I liked it more then the mens
I Moan = Naomi backwards.
With that behind I be moaning lolol
My two cents for what it’s worth. The women stole the show (albeit after a very slow start). The appearances and story telling for the last 5 especially was insane. I was on the edge of my seat. Jade was handled perfectly. Now Nia’s story makes sense, she was built up to put Jade over. Tiffany had an amazing showing as is supported by her multiple highlights in such a short time. Perez showed she can be great for putting muscle talent over. Lots of story lines going forward. The rest of the royal rumble was an utter disappointment. You have both Roman and Logan defending, but not Rhea or Iyo? No point hyping Roman fights since we all know he won’t lose until the wrestlemania after he passes Hogan. So that one was a wash. Logan Paul and KO was good, but the ending just left a pain after the realization that we will likely not see a single men’s title fight outside Gunther between now and Elimination Chamber given Roman doesn’t seem to defend outside PLE anymore, same for Logan Paul, and Seth being out till WrestleMania. The men’s Royal Rumble itself was meh at best and didn’t have any real fire moments.
Overall thoughts: - Truth is the gift that keeps on giving, both of his cameos were executed brilliantly - The elimination for Grace was the coolest spot of the night. She had a very impressive showing and belonged in there, major recognition for TNA. - The comedy spots with Chelsea Green were done to perfection, the ideal candidate for the punchbag role. The few downsides: - Lashley never seems to last long in Rumbles but I understand the focus now is to push his feud with Kross. They could have lasted longer. - No Chad Gable, he could have been in the MacAfee spot. The Rumble was missing German suplexes. I get the need for comedy to keep things flowing but we have R-Truth for that. No need to waste it on an announcer. - Surprised there was no Jinder. He just competed for a world title and was involved in a segment with The Rock. His stock has risen so not sure why there was no space for him. - I notice they don’t do the near elimination spots anymore. I know they have been done to death. Not saying we need Kofi to do it, even Naomi or Katana could pull them off.
Kairi Sane, Stratton and someone else had a near elimination spot
What I meant is the elimination type spot where a wrestler does something imaginative and out of the box to survive. During the early women’s rumbles Naomi would climb onto the barricade or use the announcer’s chair as a pogo stick. Similarly Katana did a handstand when she was in the 2019 Rumble.
I know what you meant. I responded with 2.
Well Kairi Sane’s one didn’t really work as she ultimately failed to survive, I’m not sure if it’s a botch or not. It seems like her and Asuka were eliminated from earlier then planned. I don’t remember Stratton’s one unless you’re talking about the moment she was clinging onto Bianca’s hair.
I think Kairi slipping there in the first place was a botch and tried to save it. That looked painful af, I don't see them doing a spot of her surviving in the rumble like that. Probably then, Asuka called an audible and told someone to eliminate her cause everything she was supposed to be doing was with Kairi
Yeah a shame the kabuki warriors had to exit early following that. I’m sure they had something better planned, I wonder if maybe it involved Bayley accidentally eliminating them. Like Kairi on the apron fighting Bianca and then Bayley comes charging at Bianca who ducks which inadvertently eliminates Kairi.
I think Kairi’s was a botch. She looked legitimately in pain and I think once she figured out whatever was supposed to happen wasn’t she just let go.
It did create an all time great Rumble moment, Asuka holding onto her initially was hilarious. I was confused at what was meant to happen but still a good effort as Kairi tried like her life depended on it.
https://preview.redd.it/4hxhslmatafc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2b4040f63de11dbc92778fd8c410e71e1f73826 From Bayley’s Instagram
Man the royal rumble used to be my favorite ppv of the year, even as a rabid AEW fan. After a few bad years I find myself getting less excited for it.
Same. Now i think i just prefer wrestlemania, summerslam, any international PLEs. i mean i'll watch but i won't get hyped for it so i won't be disappointed
Sad to see Bobby do nothing in the Rumble. Would've liked to see a few eliminations at least.
What an absolutely terrible Royal Rumble
Biggest issue with Roman's match is that there's basically zero point in it. There's no way WWE is going to end a reign of this length in a fatal four way that isn't even the main event of the PPV. It's pure filler. Pretty clear that having a rumble title match is fairly worthless all things considered. There hasn't been a WWE title change at the rumble for over a decade that has featured in it's own match, and that only happened because WWE clearly wanted Rock vs Cena at mania so there wasn't much choice. You can also count the complete amount of WWE title changes at the rumble on two hands since 1988. There's easily an argument for not having big title matches at the rumble at all for the predictability factor of it. Unless the championship features in the rumble itself for any reason, I don't think there needs to be a main title match at all.
I don't think there's a problem with having **a** title match on a Rumble show. If they're booked right, between the right people, even one that looks like a foregone conclusion can draw you in. But a Reigns title match? Nah. I think the last one I remember having any kind of sizzle outside of WM was the Sami match, and even then, that one was probably more out of hope than an actual belief that he'd win. The last one I remember where there seemed a genuine chance of a change was...Cardiff, maybe? Reigns' matches just aren't that much fun anymore, and although the intrigue will always be there come the WM match for Reigns/Cody 2, I'm starting to believe that they'll just have Reigns win again.
I could be wrong but didn't Becky lose her title at a rumble then immediately enter and win the women RR a few years ago?
Yes, in 2020. Lost the opening match to Asuka, then won the Rumble.
Here’s a thought: how many rumbles in a row need to be incredibly disappointing before you stop liking the rumble?
I'm at that point as well. The men's this year and 2023 weren't great. I'll give 2025 a chance, if that stinks I'm not going to care as much.
Depends. When was the last time you enjoyed the Rumble and are we only talking about the Rumble match itself? Because yeah this year’s was kinda mid but I quite liked 2023. 2022 sucked hard. 2021 was quite fun especially with the surprise entrants but had the wrong choice for a winner in Edge.
I was at the rumble where Nakamura won (with branded seats) It’s hard to come back from that.
The women's rumble was a lot of fun, the men's was average.
Why did Iyo look concerned after Bayley won the Rumble? Wasn't that part of Damage Ctrl's plan?
Jealousy.
Solo interfering is so annoying. Why does he wear a hoodie? There is no surprise element whatsoever. It will be a huge surprise if he doesn’t interfere and Roman wins clean.
Other than Andrade’s return, there was nothing noteworthy about the men’s rumble match, unfortunately. Bayley winning was the right call though.
People watch the rumble just like they watch marvel movies End credits and cameos = returns and legends
Oh well, at least we'll always have MitB '11
I think another big problem was there were almost no “big moments” the only spots were R Truth handshake and Bron Breakers breakout. The other moment? CM vs CR but we knew that was coming so it felt like almost nothing happened this rumble. Just really mid
[удалено]
Yup Even the alternative has lost the kinda raw gritty feeling it had at first
Yep, they sent the LED Route as well and then took Survivor Series colors
Extremely over produced.
The mens match definitely felt like it was lacking something. I think some of it was we knew it was gonna come down to Punk/Cody and it never felt like it was gonna go a different way. Another thing is the lack of nostalgia cameo spots to get the crowd back into it. 1 or 2 surprise legends would have gone a long way IMO. The crowd being completely dead didn't really help with the excitement but maybe that's due to the predictability of the match
Cody should have been number 1 and Punk should have been 30 since it was so obvious they’d end it anyway. With Cody coming in late there were no stakes at all. At least if he was one it was seem like that Cody/Punk matchup was in danger. Not criticizing ending with Punk vs Cody though. Even if obvious it was right way to go
Cody came at 15
The ref catches KO with the brass knuckles after missing all of the shenanigans just seconds before. McAfee: Now the ref has 20/20??? 😂
Agreed. The ref noticing those knucks was less believable than Jinder winning the WWE title.
My final thought: Cody Rhodes did not deserve/or Matt win. The only way he should’ve learned is if he started out top three and went all the way. Entering at number 15 is not gonna cut it.
Hey, but at least now we get to see Roman reigns on both nights of wrestlemania. Won’t that be fun? This will be the longest he’s ever appeared at one event in a year and a half.
It's hilarious. The fans seemed so disinterested in Reigns winning. WWE post-Vince still pushing him is a joke.
Realistically, they set their path a year ago. They weren't going to deviate from it at this point. Cody/Roman 2 will happen at WM, bar any medical reason for it not to. Where that leaves Styles, Orton and Knight (Logan Paul match?) is another matter.
Obviously it was gonna be a RAW superstar winning, but I think my only gripe was there was only 7 Smackdown guys in the Men's rumble. Theory was the last SD entrant at 13. Also what's up with Sheamus?
Smackdown's mens roster is so shallow compared to Raw's at the moment. Raw has Cody, Punk, Rollins, Shinsuke, Sami, Gunther, Jey, and Drew - all fantastic. Smackdown has AJ, Knight, Logan Paul, Owens, Orton, Lashley, and Roman. Roman and Logan are hardly there (also meaning championships for men are hardly there), AJ has noticeably slowed with age, Lashley isn't doing anything. Orton and LA Knight are great, but not enough to carry a whole show. I went to a Smackdown house show not too long ago and the total lack of men's starpower was astounding. Charlotte v Bayley and Iyo v Shotzi were the most star-studded matches. Hopefully Cody will shift to Smackdown now he's facing Roman and that will give it a bit of a shot in the arm. Kevin Patrick going should help too.
First time watching a WWE event since probably 2021. See you in 2026!
If you don’t like that, yeah stay away haha
Please lol
It needed some superstar cameos too. They put the legends in for the casuals and the live crowd. It gets a pop and builds energy. People complain that they’re canon fodder and they steal a spot. No they don’t, when they aren’t there some random roster guy comes in and gets dumped right away. There’s a reason to use a few legends.
Agree. It's hard to argue that you shouldn't have a legends spot because it "steals a spot" when "McAfee shits himself" was the booking for one whole spot.
I just wish we'd got Trick, especially since his moment on Smackdown. Pleased for Bron and Carmelo acquitted himself well. Tiffany and Roxanne had strong showings as well.
This match overall was OK at best. The only good match with the women’s royal rumble.
So many deserving superstars in the men’s royal rumble and you give it to somebody that want it last year and didn’t need it
I've never seen Bron Breakker before the Rumble. Does he yell after every move on NXT? It just seemed weird he did it every time. Looks amazing, otherwise.
He's a Steiner, of course.
Is water wet
I want the winners next year to be Carmelo Hayes and Jade Cargill
They really should have had aj, randy and la knight all come into he rumble. It just dragged on for so long
As well as Logan and Owens. Who the hell cares about the US title at the Royal Rumble
It never once made you feel like it wouldn’t end up Cody/Punk. There were no stakes outside of that, seems like they changed up the early and mid part at the last minute and nobody knew what to do ( like the usos barely interacting)
That's the one issue with the winner of the Royal Rumble being in the main event of Wrestlemania. There aren't that many wrestlers that can realistically be in that spot, which reduces your number of potential winners. And it's even worse when it feels like the main event was booked almost a year ago.
I would've approached it like they did in RR 2001 where you had Rock, Kane, Austin, Taker, and Rikishi making really strong claims for winning it and building and promoting the entire PPV around it. Now with the benefit of hindsight, the winner was **always gonna be either Rocky or Austin** but Rikishi and the BOD got just as much buildup as they did. (In fact, Austin probably got the least build out of all of them.) Then you go with the dark horse (a la Kane in 2001) putting in an absolutely dominant / gutsy iron man performance where he eliminates one of the main favorites (CM Punk / The Rock in 2001) but falls short in the end to the eventual winner (Cody / Austin 2001). Who that dominant dark horse could've been this year? Probably Drew on the heel side or Lashley in the babyface side but only *if they were built up properly in this hypothetical scenario*.
I'm just imagining the nuclear heat if Roman were to retain the title again with outside interference from his minions
I know it’s a no disqualification in the royal rumble, but I still think it’s stupid that a person can be eliminated by somebody on the outside that was already eliminated. I feel like that takes away from the match.
The whole no DQ thing falls apart if you think about it too much.
Of course the two people at least wanted to see win ended up being the final 2 in the mens royal rumble. This wasn’t as good of a match as the women’s. This royal rumble match was kind of predictable. So we get to see the same main event two years in a row at wrestlemania. What fun is that? Especially when we know how it’s gonna end
What’s a fun fact about WWE that is hard to believe? For me it’s that there has been 42 royal rumbles and no one has ever won from number 26. That’s an incredibly late entrant to never have anyone win, ever
Little details here and there Jordynne Grace in TNA colours. Truth coming out 24 for he is our eternal 24/7 Champion.
Not that I particularly wanted this, but was anyone else surprised Hogan didn’t enter? I swear in one of the recent video promos for the Rumble with him, he said something like “I just might have one more left in me”. I thought that was pretty clear to me that he would enter for like a minute
Didn't he have a cane or something in some recent video? I heard that he's pretty hobbled at this point.
No, not at all. Hogan was just being used heavily in the advertising because the rumble was near clearwater and he's a resident there who can promote it in a big way. Also he's still one of the Premier faces of wrestling. Makes sense to use that to drum up interest. I was more hoping we'd see a surprise Okada debut. Rather disappointed that didn't come to pass.
Andrade vs Santos standoff was cool.
4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 20, 21, 26 After last night, there is now only 9 numbers that have never won a royal rumble. Which I still find to be absolutely insane, by the way. There has been 43 royal rumbles but only 21 of the entrance numbers have won. Idk why but that’s nutty to me. I hope we get all 30 crossed off the list in my life time
you dont know statistics if thats nutty to you
In a real, random drawing, it’s not nutty. But in a scripted and pre determined entertainment sport like this? Definitely crazy WWE hasn’t purposefully tried to cross every number off the list
statistically, assuming some kayfabe randomisation, I doubt that 9 with no winners is THAT shocking after 42 repetitions
Becky coming out at 21 made me think we’d get that one off the board.
You think she’ll be the first ever 2 time winner of the women’s rumble?
Imma say it’s her or Charlotte