Royal Rumble Rewind: 2011

So we come to the end of our journey with a look back at last year's show. The 2011 edition of the Rumble once again tried to change the formula - this time by having 40 entrants in the match. As you'll see, this was not a case where the motto 'bigger is better' is true. I hope you've appreciated this look back at the Rumble match and will enjoy the 2012 edition tonight. As is typically the case, there should be a number of surprises and hopefully a winner we can all support. One thing's for sure, tonight will properly get us onto the 'Road to Wrestlemania'.

2011 Royal Rumble

Emanating from the TD Garden in Boston, MA

Last year’s Rumble MVP, C.M Punk gets the unfortunate luck of drawing #1. At this point, he was the leader of the (new) Nexus. Before #2 comes out, the entire group of the Corre (dumbest stable name ever) come out and surround Punk. They attack him, prompting the rest of the Nexus to run out and even the odds. As they brawl, the anonymous RAW GM sends an email ordering their fight to stop. He sends everyone but Punk to the back or else face removal from the match. Frankly I hope they stay so we don’t have to see them again later in an official capacity. As the crowd chants for Punk, the official #2 entrant, Daniel Bryan makes his way out to the ring. The two have some nice fast-paced back and forth action to start. Bryan connects with a missile dropkick but then misses a charge in the corner. #3 is the first Corre member, Justin Gabriel. Punk and Bryan clothesline each other which allows Gabriel to attempt the 450 splash. Punk moves out of the way and Bryan is able to throw the beaten Gabriel out of the ring. Zack Ryder is #4 and he goes right after Bryan. These three guys would be in much higher positions in the company by year’s end. Ryder charges at Bryan who is able to move and hiptoss him out of the ring. And we go from rising star to cagey veteran as William Regal comes out at #5. He lays some stiff shots in on both Bryan and Punk. Now Bryan lays out Punk and Regal with kicks. Ted Dibiase is the #6 entrant and he goes after Bryan. As Dibiase tries to get rid of Punk, Bryan brutalizes Regal with a series of kicks. #7 is John Morrison and he takes out everyone including delivering a C4 to Bryan. Dibiase manages to get Morrison on the apron. Regal then bumps him off, but Morrison manages to hop onto the guardrail without touching the floor. Morrison then walks the rail and hops back onto the ring steps and reenters the ring. That was pretty sweet. Meanwhile, as we were fixated on him, Regal was eliminated by Dibiase. We’ve paired off now with Dibiase and Morrison fighting and Bryan trying to eliminate Punk. Someone who’s thankful that the Rumble has 40 guys this year is Yoshi Tatsu, who’s out at #8. Nothing of note happens as our second Nexus member, Husky Harris is the #9 entrant. He comes in and plays bodyguard for his leader, Punk. #10 is Chavo Guerrero who continues to sponge off Eddie’s name by giving Dibiase the Three Amigos. That gets interrupted by Punk, so Chavo gives it to him instead. However, he gets interrupted again by Morrison, so Chavo tries it on him. One more interruption by Bryan ends with Chavo completing the move on Bryan. Chavo gets a nice pop for that.

We might get some ring clearing now because Mark Henry enters at #11. Chavo tries to hit him with a high crossbody, but Henry catches him and pitches him to the floor. Tatsu tries to attack Henry, so Henry retaliates by clotheslining him out of the ring. Henry finally gets stopped by a double attack from Punk and Harris. #12 is JTG and he always seems to luck out and get a spot in this match. This match is in need of some star power, however we don’t get it because another Nexus member, Michael McGuillicutty is #13. He does make an impact, however, by quickly eliminating JTG. He and Harris team up and are also able to eliminate Dibiase. The string of Superstars mainstays continues as Chris Masters enters at #14. He gets Punk in the Masterlock and nearly eliminates him before Nexus makes the save. It’s more Nexus members as David Otunga is the #15 entrant. He joins his Nexus brethren in eliminating Bryan, Masters, Morrison, and Henry. Only Nexus members remain in the ring as Tyler Reks (who?) comes out at #16. He doesn’t have the chance of getting one offensive move in before the Nexus eliminate him as well. Vladimir Koslov is the #17 entrant and he receives the same treatment. They eliminate him and pose as they wait for their next victim. We could use for Punk to get on the mic during these breaks. #18 is R-Truth, who runs to the ring seemingly undeterred by the fact that there’s a gang waiting for him. Punk mocks his ‘What’s Up’ catchphrase and then throws him out. Crowd is quickly growing restless with this. The Great Khali waddles out at #19 and I doubt, despite his size, that he’ll make much of a difference. I stand corrected though because he manages to take them down and eliminate Harris. However, just as we think that this will be the end of their dominance, the final Nexus member, Mason Ryan enters at #20. He attacks Khali and manages to throw him out, leaving us once again with only Nexus members in the ring.

In our first surprise of the night, the six time WCW champion, Booker T enters at #21. Big crowd pop for him. He initially holds his own and takes down the Nexus members long enough to perform the Spinarooni. He gets close to eliminating Punk, but Ryan comes up behind him and throws out Booker instead. #22 is John Cena and I think we can safely say the reign of Nexus will finally be coming to an end. He’s able to divide and conquer and eliminates Ryan, Otunga, and McGuillicutty and short order. Cena and Punk square off in a match up that would get much more interesting a few months later. Cena escapes a GTS attempt and both men clothesline each other. With both men down, Hornswoggle comes out at #23. He taunts Punk, who shoves him down. Good!! Punk gets Cena up again, but Cena escapes and manages to pitch out Punk. Not pleased about that one. Cena then helps Hornswoggle up. If Cena wanted to earn some favor with the crowd he’d launch him into the 8th row, but he instead opts to form an alliance with him. Tyson Kidd comes out at #24 and gets double-teamed by the two of them, which includes an FU by Hornswoggle. He gets eliminated shortly after that. The second Corre member to enter, Heath Slater is #25. He receives a 5 knuckle shuffle from both of them and then gets hit with the tadpole splash by Hornswoggle. Cena quickly pitches him after that. The only saving grace about this sequence is that they’re jobbing out worthless talent. Kofi Kingston is #26 and we’ll see what happens now that it’s another face in there. He actually locks up with Cena as Hornswoggle stands by and watches. That goes nowhere as Jack Swagger enters at #27. He takes down both Cena and Kingston. Hornswoggle shoves Swagger, which is enough of a distraction to allow Kingston to hit him with a high crossbody. Now Kingston and Hornswoggle hit Swagger with the Boom Drop. Sheamus runs out at #28 and I hope he destroys that horrible little nasty stereotype that’s in the ring. He comes in and attacks everyone else. When he spots Hornswoggle he shoves him down. Hornswoggle gets back up and tunes up the band. He hits Sweet Shin Music, but Sheamus quickly recovers and picks him up. He sets him on the top rope and then hits him with the Brogue Kick to punt him out of the match. Thank goodness. We get back to normalcy as Rey Mysterio enters at #29. He slides into the ring and is immediately caught by Swagger. As he tries to hit Swagger with a 619, Sheamus intercepts him with a clothesline. Swagger charges at Mysterio in the corner, but Mysterio heaves him onto the apron. As Swagger tries to reenter, Mysterio hits him with a 619 that knocks him to the floor. With everyone down, the next Corre member, Wade Barrett comes out at #30.

Kingston stomps away at Barrett in the corner as Dolph Ziggler makes history by being the first ever #31 entrant into the Rumble. It should also be noted that Ziggler already wrestled and lost to the World Champion, Edge earlier tonight. Cena, Kingston, and Mysterio team up to try and eliminate Barrett, but they’re unsuccessful. In yet another surprise entrant, #32 is Big Daddy Cool Diesel, who gets an even bigger pop than Booker. Barrett goes right after him but gets knocked down. Diesel catches Kingston and hits him with Snake Eyes. He even knocks down Cena with a clothesline. Drew McIntyre is the #33 entrant and he quickly teams up with Sheamus to take on Diesel. A ‘Let’s Go Diesel’ chant breaks out. Mysterio hits Diesel with the 619, which draws boos. The Miz’s protégé, Alex Riley enters at #34. He runs in and immediately gets punched by Cena. Meanwhile Barrett manages to dump out Diesel, which the crowd does not like. As the action continues, the Miz joins the commentary team. #35 is Big Show who has a brief staredown with Diesel in the aisle before entering the match. He knocks down everyone who comes in his path. Show grabs Ziggler and heaves him out of the ring. Cena and Kingston work together and manage to eliminate Riley, something that the commentary team, including Miz, completely miss. The final Corre member, Ezekiel Jackson is the #36 entrant. As he runs down Show manages to throw out McIntyre. Jackson clips Show in the leg and then heaves him out of the ring. Miz says that Riley is being very smart right now, apparently oblivious to the fact that was eliminated minutes ago. Santino Marella runs out at #37 and goes after Sheamus. Sheamus recovers and hits Santino with a Brogue Kick. That shot causes Santino to be knocked out of the ring, but under the bottom rope. Driving out to the ring in a Bentley is Alberto Del Rio at #38. As he postures in the aisle, Matt Stryker finally figures out that Riley was eliminated. Del Rio still hasn’t made it to the ring yet when Randy Orton runs out at #39. Orton also lost a world title match earlier tonight. He clotheslines Del Rio from behind and then sends him into the steps. He brings Del Rio into the ring and gives him the RKO. He then gives one to Sheamus and Kingston as well. He eliminates both Sheamus and Kingston after that. Orton and Cena have a staredown which draws zero response from the crowd. I absolutely love that their staredown was met with such apathy. They wanted to have an iconic moment in the same way whenever Austin/Rock, Michaels/Jannetty, or Santana/Martel met in the ring and yet nothing. Rounding out the field is Kane at #40. He comes in and punches everyone in his way.

Jackson charges at him, but Kane ducks and causes him to fall out of the ring. Kane catches Mysterio coming off the top rope. Before he can chokeslam him, Mysterio reverses it into a ‘rana that eliminates Kane. While still on the apron, Mysterio gets knocked to the floor by Barrett. We’re seemingly down to the final four of Cena, Orton, Del Rio and Barrett. From my perspective that’s a weak quartet, although the brain trust that run this company would disagree. Cena and Orton staredown again and it’s one again met with silence. To quote Nelson Muntz, ‘haw haw’. Despite being down to these last few guys, we’re still getting some pretty generic fighting between them. Suddenly Alex Riley runs back down and distracts Cena. That allows Miz to run into the ring and throw Cena out. I have to imagine that was not how that was originally supposed to play out. Riley likely got eliminated earlier than he was supposed to and that was the audible. Now Del Rio and Barrett team up against Orton. Orton recovers long enough to toss out Barrett, however, Del Rio quickly runs up behind him and throws out Orton. Del Rio begins to celebrate his victory, but suddenly Santino Marella, who had never been eliminated, reemerges. Del Rio turns around and gets hit with the Cobra. The crowd is loving this. Santino goes to throw Del Rio, but Del Rio reverses course midstream and pitches out Santino instead. Now Del Rio can officially celebrate his win.

Bottom Line: They added 10 more guys to this match and yet the roster still seemed weaker than in other recent years. We really did not need nearly a tenth of the roster to be comprised of Nexus and Corre members. Their presence also created the major sag in the middle of the match where either they or the Cena/Hornswoggle duo were dominating. On the plus side, there were a couple nice surprises and it also attempted to set up some Wrestlemania feuds. While I give them credit for trying to promote a new star in Del Rio, I think hindsight may prove that they made the wrong call by giving him the win. In fact, I think I would have rather had Santino win here, only to have him lose the title shot sometime before Wrestlemania. It would have given the match a feel-good ending and could have actually built Del Rio’s heel heat further by having him win the title shot in a more nefarious manner later down the line. This was not a strong Rumble and time (albeit only a year) has not been kind to it. ** ¾

Royal Rumble Rewind: 2010

As we get closer to the end, we look back at the 2010 Rumble which featured another surprising return who managed to come back and win it all

2010 Royal Rumble

Emanating from the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA

#1 is Dolph Ziggler, who’s theme song claims he is perfection. He’ll need to be if he’s to win this match. He’ll begin this match against Evan Bourne, who is #2. Bourne uses his speed to gain an early advantage. A standing dropkick by Ziggler nearly sends Bourne out. A sloppy ‘rana by Bourne puts Ziggler on the apron. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag, but Bourne recovers and connects with Air Bourne. Out to save us all is C.M. Punk at #3. Punk makes quick work of both guys, sending them out and to the floor. He then asks Serena to get him a mic. Punk says those two were just the first of 27 others who will be saved tonight. #4 is JTG, who must have once again won the coin toss. He foolishly tries for a 10-punch count on Punk who dumps him to the floor. And now we get more sermonizing. He claims he’ll be the first straight-edged Rumble winner. To do so, he’ll have to go through The Great Khali, who is #5. Punk tells Khali he can make him greater. He asks Khali to raise his hand and make a pledge. Khali chops him instead. As Khali applies the head vice, the second woman ever to enter the Rumble, Beth Phoenix, is the #6 entrant. Khali picks her up and places her on the apron. Beth grabs Khali and lays a big kiss on him that sends him over the top rope and to the floor. Beth now goes after Punk and attempts to eliminate him. He escapes and hits her with the GTS. As Zack Ryder comes out at #7, Punk easily dumps out Beth. Punk asks Ryder if he’d like to join the Straight Edge Society and then nails him with the microphone. It doesn’t take too much more after that to eliminate him as well. A ‘C.M. Punk’ chant begins. He has been ruling the Rumble thus far. Punk says he is better than whoever will come out next. #8 is Triple H and yet somehow I don’t think that Punk will recant his statement. HHH comes in and takes it right to Punk. As HHH connects with a spinebuster, Drew McIntyre enters at #9. He takes his time coming to the ring. HHH meets him when he does get in the ring and hits him with a running knee. Punk attempts the GTS on HHH, but he blocks it and throws him out. That is very disappointing. #10 is Ted Dibiase and he goes after HHH. Dibiase and McIntrye begin to team up to work over HHH. Matt Striker is already beginning to grate on me with his moronic rhetoric questions that he tries so hard to make profound.

John Morrison enters at #11 and he attacks both Dibiase and McIntyre. Hard to believe this is the first time tonight that we’ve as many as four guys in the match. Morrison connects (sort of) with Starship Pain on McIntyre, but then gets clotheslined by HHH. #12 is Kane and he enters with a flying clothesline on HHH. He takes down everyone in the ring but has yet to eliminate anyone yet. He chokeslams HHH as Cody Rhodes comes out at #13. He saves his partner Dibiase who was nearly eliminated thanks to Kane. Rhodes sends Morrison to the apron, but he hangs on. Morrison reenters the ring by springing off the top rope, but Rhodes hits him with a dropkick in midair. MVP is #14, but before he can make it to the ring, The Miz runs out and nails him with the U.S. title. Legacy work on eliminating HHH while Morrison hits a spin kick on McIntyre. Carlito enters at #15 and I had honestly forgotten he was still employed with the company at this point. He begins to hit the Backstabber on several of the guys in the ring. And after briefly appearing a moment ago, The Miz officially enters at #16. Suddenly MVP runs out from the back and goes after The Miz. He tackles Miz causing both of them to fall out and be eliminated. #17 is Fat…er…I mean, Matt Hardy. He earns Bushwacker status by entering the match and going to the top rope only to be shoved out by Kane. However, HHH comes up behind Kane and throws him out as well. Now HHH hits everyone left in the ring with a spinebuster. HHH attempts to Pedigree Rhodes, but McIntyre clips him from behind. Shawn Michaels is the #18 entrant and he enters the match on a mission. He desperately wants to fight The Undertaker at Wrestlemania and can do so by winning this match. He makes an immediate impact by backdropping Carlito out of the ring. He then pitches out both Rhodes and Dibiase. He avoids a Morrison kick and throws him out as well. Michaels and HHH team up and eliminate McIntyre. We’re down to HHH and Michaels, but before they can fight, John Cena enters at #19. He goes after both members of DX. He hits the five knuckle shuffle on both of them, which draws boos from the crowd. Cena tries to eliminate Michaels, but HHH makes the save. HHH hits the Pedigree on Cena. When he stands up Michaels hits him with Sweet Chin Music, which knocks him out of the ring. Big shocker there! There truly are no friends in this match. As we still recover from seeing that, Shelton Benjamin comes out at #20. Why do I have the feeling he’s once again going to be a victim of Michaels. Benjamin actually manages to hit Michaels with a few moves. However, when he goes for his finisher on Cena, it’s Cena who actually dumps him out of the ring. I guess Michaels got bored eliminating him year after year.

#21 is Yoshi Tatsu and somehow I don’t think he’s going to be able to hold his own against Cena and Michaels. He gets some token offense in, but soon Cena clotheslines him out of the ring. We’re back to Cena and Michaels. The Big Show is the #22 entrant and he’ll likely have better success than Tatsu. Show grabs Michaels and puts him on the apron, but Michaels begins to pull Show out with him. Neither is eliminated. Cena attempts to throw Michaels out, but he skins the cat to come back in. Hey Kool Aid! Oh nevermind, it’s just Mark Henry out at #23. He gets in Show’s face and they begin to slug it out. After Cena joins the attack, Henry is able to slam the Big Show. Cena gets Henry up for the FU, but his weight causes Cena to buckle. #24 is Chris Masters and nobody cares. Why couldn’t he have been quick fodder for Punk earlier in the match? Masters whips Michaels, who does his flip flop and fly sell. However, Show quickly grabs him and throws him out. As Henry tries to eliminate the Big Show, R-Truth runs out at #25. He comes up behind both Show and Henry and dumps them both to the floor. What did he do to deserve that push?? Now he manages to hit a scissors kick on Cena. It’s the All-American America Jack Swagger out at #26. He goes after everyone in the ring. Swagger clotheslines Michaels out, but once again Shawn finds a way to hang on. #27 is Kofi Kingston and he enters by hitting a high crossbody on Swagger. As Swagger tries to eliminate Kingston, Kofi reverses it into a ‘rana that sends Swagger to the floor instead. Kingston hits a 10-punch count on R-Truth. Truth then dumps Kingston to the apron. Kingston, however, uses a legscissors to pull Truth out of the ring and send him to the floor. Chris Jericho comes out at #28 and goes after Cena. Good. Cena recovers and hits him with the FU. Michaels then hits Jericho with the flying elbow. Michaels tunes up the band, but Kingston hits him with Trouble in Paradise instead. Cena then grabs Kingston and pitches him out of the ring. Cena turns around and Jericho hits him with the Codebreaker. And in a big surprise, it’s Edge at #29. He has been out with an injury since last May. He immediately attacks Jericho, who’s badmouthed him since he’s been gone. Edge hits spears on Jericho, Michaels and Cena. Edge then throws out Jericho. #30 is Batista, who automatically becomes part of the Final Four along with Edge, Michaels, and Cena. Man, I could easily see any one of these guys winning it. Batista comes in and takes down everyone. Batista foolishly takes time to taunt, which allows Edge to spear him. Now it’s Michaels who begins to get his second wind. He hits flying elbows on both Cena and Batista. He then hits Sweet Chin Music on both of them. Edge clotheslines Michaels and they both fall over the top rope and onto the apron. Michaels kicks Edge back into the ring, but then Batista knocks Michaels off the apron to eliminate him. Michaels is absolutely heartbroken, no pun intended. He begins to flip out knowing he lost his chance to face The Undertaker. He throws a referee down and then superkicks another one before leaving despondent. Meanwhile things continue in the ring as Batista attempts the Batista Bomb on Cena. Cena blocks it and backdrops him. Batista charges at Cena, who pulls the top rope down causing Batista to fall out. Edge goes for a spear on Cena, but he avoids it. However, when he makes a charge, Edge sidesteps him and pitches him out for the victory.

Bottom Line: This was almost the opposite of last year’s Rumble as they kept things very streamlined. There were hardly any slow spots or periods with too many guys in there. You also had a lot of fun or entertaining moments like Punk’s sermonizing, Michaels coming up short in his quest to win and Edge’s surprise return. However, there were also a number of small aspects that could have made this match even better. I felt like there were some missed opportunities to set up the eventual Wrestlemania matches better. Since Batista would face Cena, I would have liked for Batista to be more instrumental in causing Cena to be eliminated. I also would have liked more interaction between Edge and Jericho for the same reason. Still these are minor quibbles in an otherwise strong Rumble. **** ¼