2012 Royal Rumble Thoughts

   The 2012 Royal Rumble is fresh on my mind as I just finished watching it as I started to write this. With the exception of the chosen winner, I would say this was a pretty good Royal Rumble.  There were two excellent Championship matches and a Royal Rumble match filled with surprises and great moments.  Kofi Kingston took over for John Morrison as the Rumble spot master and top superstars came to compete.  Yoshi Tatsu defeated Heath Slater in a dark match before the event began.

World Title Triple Threat Steel Cage Match - Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry

   At TLC, the Big Show avenged his injury at the hands of Henry, by defeating him for the World Title.  Minutes later, Daniel Bryan cashed in his "Money On the Bank" and defeated the Big Show to become the World Heavyweight Champion.  With two men now exercising their rematch clauses, a Triple Threat Match was announced.  Due to the intensity of the rivalry, it was to be in a cage.  How would the much smaller Bryan survive and keep his Title?  Bryan had a grudge against Big Show due to Show accidentally running over Bryan's girlfriend at the time, AJ Lee.  Henry wanted to induct both into his Hall of Pain.  Bryan somehow got out of Show's grasp as they were on the other side of the cage, falling to the ground to retain the Title.

Eight Woman Tag Team Match - Beth Phoenix, Natalya, & Bella Twins vs. Eve Torres, Tamina, Alicia Fox, and Kelly Kelly

   At the time, Beth Phoenix was the Diva's Champion.  Together, Beth and Natalya were known as the Divas of Doom.  Once again, with the exception of those two, no one else in the match was that good.  Tamina had the pedigree of her father Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka but never reached the top.  The Bellas were never great but they were just plain awful here.  Beth dominated as usual.  She tagged herself in by slapping Nikki Bella hard on the shoulder and finished the match with a Glam Slam to Kelly Kelly.  Sadly, the highlight of the match for me was the fact that Beth, Natalya, and the Bellas all wore matching outfits.  To be fair, I should point out Kelly Kelly's plancha to the other women outside of the ring. Poor Beth and Natalya were stuck in the middle of the "Dark Ages of Women's Wrestling."

John Cena vs. Kane

   This was an interesting angle, in that Kane just returned and tried to make John Cena "embrace the hate."  Many fans had been clamoring for Cena to turn heel so a glimpse of the dark side for Cena was pivotal for the match.  Kane had recently attacked Zack Ryder and cost him his US Title.  Ryder was watching this match but Kane attacked him and dragged him out to the ring, delivering a Tombstone.  Unfortunately, nothing was resolved as it was a double count out and was more about Kane's feud with Ryder than anything else.  The concept of the match was intriguing but the execution failed.

Drew McIntyre vs. Brodus Clay

   Unlike many fans, I actually enjoyed this gimmick for Brodus Clay, as the dancing Funkasaurus.  I loved the whole shtick, from his dancers to the showmanship, and his natural charisma that came out.  In my opinion, it gave him a few more years out of his WWE career, as he would have been boring as just another generic big man.  I don't know who Drew pissed off at the time but by this time, his treatment by the company was unfair.  A man of his talent deserved better.  Clay won this match in quick succession and danced with Naomi and Cameron to celebrate.

WWE Title - CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler

   This was just after the beginning of Punk's modern day record setting 434-day reign as WWE Champion.  Ziggler was the perfect superstar for Punk's next test as Champion, as Punk had bested Alberto Del Rio and The Miz at TLC the month before.  Raw General Manager John Laurenitas, who had been a thorn in Punk's side since July 2011, was the special outside enforcer.  Big Johnny had it in for Punk so many fans found his presence to be unwarranted.  To be perceived as fair, John banned Ziggler's allies Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger from ringside.  It was a great match where both men went hold for hold in an absolute clinic.  Towards the end, the referee was briefly incapacitated.  Punk executed a GTS to Ziggler and since it looked like the referee might not come to in time, Laurenitas joined in with the three count and tried to present Punk with the Championship he retained.  Punk kept an eye on him the entire time, as you never knew what the "gladhandling, nonsensical yes-man" was up to!

Royal Rumble Match

   The Royal Rumble match almost never fails to entertain.  The Miz began the Rumble as number one and he would start against former protege Alex Riley.  Unfortunately for The Miz, another former friend in R-Truth entered third.  At number seven entered the legendary Mick Foley, who went after everyone, before engaging the crowd in his alter ego Cactus Jack's "bang bang" taunt.  Next up was who everyone thought to be Alberto Del Rio, but a dilapidated car drove out, carrying Del Rio's personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez, who ready to compete.  Next out was Santino Marella and before long, we would get the battle for the ages, as Marella and Foley stood toe to toe.  If you thought Hogan and Warrior was a battle, wait until the Cobra vs. Mr. Socko!  If ever there was an epic war, this was it!  All kidding aside, fans in the arena loved every minute of it, as it lightened up the Rumble with some fun.  I thought it was great and it put a big smile on my face!

   Kofi Kingston found himself facing impending elimination at the hands of The Miz.  He was thrown over the top rope face down and his feet were still on the apron.  The Miz pushed Kofi's feet off the apron and then we all watched in awe as Kofi walked on his hands towards the steps and reentered the match.  Kofi took over for John Morrison as the master of near elimination Rumble spots and it was simply incredible!  To break up the monoteny during the Rumble, the buzzer rang for the twelfth entrant.  It was Jerry "The King" Lawler, who had been sitting at the commentary table.  He got out of his seat and entered the ring.  Not to be outdone, Booker T did the same thing a few minutes later.  During this time, Michael Cole berated both men for being in the match and not doing their job.

   Meanwhile, Hacksaw Jim Duggan made his way to the ring and the crowd erupted to see an old favorite.  Huge USA chants broke out, as did a tremendous "hoooooooooooo!"  Michael Cole himself then entered the Rumble match and looked pretty sure of himself until Kharma made her way to the ring.  She became the third woman in history to enter a Rumble match. Cole was so intimidated that he voluntarily climbed over the ropes, as Lawler and Booker pulled him down to complete the elimination, possibly saving Cole from destruction at the hands of Kharma. Dolph Ziggler wasn't so lucky, as he was manhandled by her.  Vickie Guerrero didn't take too kindly to her man being attacked so she got on the apron to taunt Kharma.  From behind came Ziggler, who dumped her out of the ring.

   Sheamus entered the ring as number 22 and he cleaned house.  He eliminated a few superstars and simply dominated.  The count down was on once again for number 23.  The fans lost their minds when the New Age Outlaws theme started playing and out walked the Road Dogg himself. He went after everyone with classic punches, a pump handle slam, and his signature "Shake, Rattle, & Roll" routine.  It's always fun when legends come back and participate in the Royal Rumble.

   The ring filled up again with superstars, as Jack Swagger and Wade Barrett entered the match. Number 28 was Randy Orton, who went right after Barrett, as they had a personal feud at the time. Orton was relentless, unleashing power slams and right hands to everyone in sight.  He caught both The Miz and Cody Rhodes on the ropes and delivered a DDT to both men.  Orton than added a few RKO's for good measure to anyone in his way.  Chris Jericho and then the Big Show rounded out the rest of the Rumble spots.  The final four were Sheamus, Jericho, Big Show, and Orton.  Orton managed to eliminate Big Show, before falling victim to Jericho.  Jericho did all he could to escape the clutches of Sheamus and found himself in multiple near elimination situations.  After managing to get Jericho over the ropes, Sheamus ran towards Y2J with a Brogue Kick to win the Rumble.

   All in all, the Rumble match was very entertaining.  Returns of legends like Duggan and Road Dogg were appeciated, as was the classic Cobra/Mr. Socko showdown.  It was great seeing Kharma in this match, commentators getting in on the action was entertaining, and how awesome was Kofi Kingston?  The only problem I had was the winner.  I felt like Jericho should have won, especially seeing it was likely Sheamus and Daniel Bryan wouldn't get time to showcase.  Sure enough, I was right, as it lasted all of 18 seconds.  Although, in the end it was the right move because it led to the "Yes Movement" and the rise of Daniel Bryan.  Even so, if Jericho won, his Title match with CM Punk was overlooked by John Cena vs. The Rock anyway.  The two title matches on the Rumble card were good, I enjoyed Brodus Clay's antics, and Beth Phoenix dominated like only she could.




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