BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I’m not going to put up some kind of front. When I woke up on Sunday I was excited about the Royal Rumble coming on later in the night. I wanted to see the Royal Rumble match, Rock and Punk, and even Alberto Del Rio and Big Show. The rest of the card isn’t that plentiful, but based on the announced matches it seemed like very little filler. When you’re watching a Pay Per View, you’re “paying” for the “view”. Throwing filler in there is bullshit. I’d rather a pushed and featured match getting five extra minutes than to stall and bring out Brodus Clay or Ryback to beat some jobber. None of this gripes matters though. The Royal Rumble is and always will be one of the most important and exciting shows of the year. Right?
The show starts with Alberto Del Rio defeating Big Show. This was the only prediction I made that was right. Alberto has really come into his own. The way they had Big Show go out there and then that weird backstage segment with Bret Hart was kind of odd, but it worked. I’ve been saying that Del Rio reminded me of Bret Hart for a while and this just confirmed it. I did like their Smackdown match from a few weeks ago a bit more, but this wasn’t bad. After some filler talk, then next match saw Team Hell No go over on The Rhodes Scholars. This surprised me. I would have sworn that Team Hell No was going to take it. It was a good match, but nothing we haven’t seen a dozen times in the past. Team Hell No won’t last for long, but now I’m not sure who’d take the belts when they do break up.
I enjoyed the Royal Rumble. I thought Undertaker was going to come back, but he didn’t. I was worried that John Cena was going to win. I think we all knew it was going to happen, but didn’t want to admit it. I wanted Dolph Ziggler to win, but he had a great showing in there. I was surprised and happy with Jericho’s return and it was awesome to see Goldust and Godfather show up. But yeah, Cena won. I won’t ramble about it until we cover the fact that CM Punk lost his title to The Rock. The Rock is champion after 10 years. The match wasn’t all that entertaining or exciting, but it was well done. I think the main issue was the pacing, but I could be wrong. It just didn’t click.
People are all sorts of pissed off that John Cena won the Rumble and that The Rock beat Cena. I’m not thrilled with it, but what else are they going to do going into Wrestlemania? If you’re complaining about it, you’re stupid. What is best for the WWE? The guy who has had the belt for 400+ days or mediocre ratings holding onto it longer leading into a less bought Wrestlemania OR does the WWE put the title on a guy who’ll appear on major talk shows leading into a much more bought Wrestlemania? The biggest match the WWE can put on right now is The Rock vs. John Cena. So what if it happened last year? If you’ve watched wrestling for more than a minute you’d know that rematches happen. Get over it. CM Punk could be thrown in there too, but it’s not the end of the world.
Then there are those who bitch that The Rock didn’t “earn it”. It’s professional wrestling. You don’t “earn” shit. You pay your dues until your talent is pays the bills. The Rock did his time “paying dues”. He’s a legend, folks. Does The Undertaker have to “earn it”? Does Jericho? Is anyone bitching that The Godfather or Goldust didn’t “earn” their Royal Rumble spot? If The Rock is going to be back on an almost-full time schedule then why be a little girl about it? Every match he has, every moment he’s part of, and everyone in the locker room getting a rub from him is HUGE. The Rock doesn’t have to be in the WWE at all. He doesn’t owe anyone anything. He makes tons of cash as a successful movie star. The fact that he’s back, putting his body on the line, should be enough. You can complain about his storyline or things like that, but it’s ignorant to say he didn’t “earn” it. I’m not exactly giddy about Cena/Rock II, but the WWE has a few months to reel me in. I’m open-minded though.
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