2013 Royal Rumble Thoughts

   For the most part, I liked the 2013 Royal Rumble event.  The matches were pretty good and the Rumble, while somewhat predictable, was entertaining.  Once again, the Rumble match was not the last match and that disappoints me.  Every other Pay-Per-View, you could make a case that the main event should always be one of the World Title matches.  However, when it comes to the Royal Rumble, I believe the Rumble match should always end the show.  I don't care how big a star The Rock is, his Title match with CM should have been before the Rumble match.

Pre-Show US Title Match - Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz

   This match was weird because The Miz was the babyface here. Everyone was so used to The Miz as a heel that it was hard to picture him in the protagonist role.  The match was solid and it told a good story.  The Miz injured his leg during the match and it played a part later on.  The pain was too much for The Miz to handle.  Cesaro took advantage and ended the match with a Neutralizer.  I should also point out that Cesaro still had his first name here.  This was an annoying trend WWE started to do.  No more first names.  They did it to Big E, they did it to Rusev!  I don't know why!

World Title Last Man Standing Match - Alberto Del Rio vs. The Big Show

   Speaking of odd choices to go from heel to face!  That's exactly what they did with Del Rio! It's most likely a result of his shtick being so over with the crowd.  What's not to love about a guy that has his own personal ring announcer? That's why I liked Mr. Kennedy!  Hell, Kennedy was his own ring announcer!  Anyway, back to the match here.  Alberto just won the Title from Big Show on a Smackdown two weeks earlier in another Last Man Standing Match, where Del Rio trapped the big man under the announce desk.  This time, Del Rio had to think of a new way to defeat the seven foot tall giant.  In one of the most innovative moments in a match like this, Del Rio used duct tape to keep Big Show on the mat for the ten count and retain his Championship.  Just before the match, Del Rio was greeted by Bret "Hit Man" Hart, who gave him some words of encouragement, and a pair of sunglasses to Ricardo.

Tag Team Titles - Team Hell No vs. Rhodes Scholars

 Odd couples in wrestling often work for some reason.  That's why we loved the Rock n' Sock Connection, for example.  Team Hell No was no exception! Daniel Bryan and Kane together just clicked! Their anger management skits were hilarious and they actually had a legitimate run as Tag Team Champions.  On the other hand, both Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were left with nothing to do and their partnership worked very well also.  Cody's gimmick at this point was that he grew a mustache.  If anyone call pull off a mustache gimmick, it's Cody!  Sandow was still the "Intellectual Savior" as well.  Both teams had chemistry with each other and with their respective opponents in the ring.  Team Hell No won and retained their Titles with a submission from Bryan.

Royal Rumble Match

   Before the Rumble match began, in a pre-match interview, Dolph Ziggler, said he had chosen to start at number one.  After he came out, he was shocked to see the man that drew number two, the man he thought he rid the company of, Chris Jericho!  Both men would go on to last a long time in the Rumble.  Cody Rhodes entered third and after a few others made their ways to the ring, the buzzer rang for number eight.  It turned out to be Cody's brother, Goldust!  The two Rhodes Brothers went at it until later on when Cody was able to get the best of his brother and eliminate him with a huge smirk on his face.

   A few more wrestlers came in, such as Sheamus, Tensai, Brodus Clay, and Rey Misterio.  After Tensai was eliminated, Ziggler pushed Kofi over the top rope.  Kofi looked like he was about to fall but to save himself, he hopped onto Tensai's back.  Tensai slammed Kofi onto the announce table and after hitting him a few times, officials were finally able to get him to the back.  Once again, Kofi found himself in a quite a predicament.  He asked JBL for his chair and used it to pogo from the table to the ring to save himself from elimination, in yet another incredible Royal Rumble moment.

   Brodus Clay, Rey Misterio, and Bo Dallas soon entered the ring and now it was time for number 17 to arrive.  The fans were on their feet when The Godfather danced his way to the ring, with two girls in tow.  After giving away his sunglasses, hat, chain, and coat, he entered the ring, only to immediately be eliminated.  Though The Godfather was a little upset, he got over it fairly quickly, grabbed his accessories, and danced his way to the back with his two girls.  The fans were happy to see him for sure!

   Business picked up when the one and only John Cena came out.  Everyone in the ring jumped on him the moment he entered. Remember when Maven eliminated the Undertaker in 2002? Another shocker occurred right here during the 2013 Royal Rumble match.  NXT superstar Bo Dallas, who won a tournament to enter the Royal Rumble and represent NXT, eliminated Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett from the match.  Naturally, Barrett was furious and pulled Dallas out and attacked him at ringside.

 
   Daniel Bryan got Blackjack as he drew number 21.  He went right to work on everybody with stiff kicks, all with "Yes" and "No" chants, respectively,  Soon after, his Tag Team Championship partner Kane showed up.  Bryan eliminated his partner but was suddenly thrown over the top rope, landing in Kane's arms.  Though he begged Kane to place him back into the ring, Kane dropped him, eliminating him from the match as well.  Meanwhile, Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho, who started the Rumble were still there.  Ziggler was finally able to eliminate his foe Jericho from the match.

   Randy Orton entered at number 26 and he became WWE's Oprah, giving out RKO's to anyone and everyone.  You get an RKO!  You get get an RKO!  You're all getting RKO's!  It was soon time for #30 and it was the powerhouse, Ryback. The final four were Ryback, Cena, Orton, and Sheamus.  Sheamus eliminated Orton and then ran at Ryback in the corner, intending on landing a Brogue Kick. Ryback ducked and sent Sheamus flying out of the ring.  In what foreshadowed their feud later in the year, Ryback and Cena stood toe to toe.  In the end, Cena eliminated Ryback to secure his second Royal Rumble win and his one way ticket to WrestleMania!

WWE Title - CM Punk vs. The Rock
   This is the match that ended CM Punk's amazing 434-day reign as WWE Champion.  I know a lot of people, including myself, were not happy about this decision. I would have been better with it had Cena not just won the Rumble earlier.  I'll get to that one day!  I'll go into how I disliked WrestleMania 29, even though I attended live, because it looked like Rematch Mania to me. Also, the fact that they promoted Rock/Cena as once in a lifetime in 2012 and then did it again anyway drove me nuts!  The people I feel bad for are the ones that bought the DVD. They didn't get my money, I'll tell you that!  But I digress!  It was speculated that Paul Heyman had hired The Shield to interfere and make sure Punk never lost.  It was a legit claim, as The Shield had done it before.  For this match, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon ruled that if The Shield interfered in this match, The Rock would win the Title. During the match, the lights went out and The Rock was attacked. leading to Punk getting the pin. Vince came out and although he couldn't see for sure, he assumed it was The Shield and was about to award the Title to The Rock.  The Rock didn't want it that way so the match was restarted.  After a People's Elbow to the Straight-Edge savior, the WWE Title went home with "The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment!"

   I think the only problem I had with this Royal Rumble was the fact that the Rumble match did not go on last, which I absolutely detest.  Also, once Cena won, you almost knew The Rock would win the WWE Championship, setting up "Twice In a Lifetime!"  Other than that, the Rumble match itself was solid.  We got a surprise at the beginning in Chris Jericho, and another in the middle when The Godfather entered the match to a rousing ovation.  In other matches, Alberto Del Rio outsmarted the Big Show once again and Team Hell No successfully retained their Tag Team Titles.  It was now on to WrestleMania!



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