Smarkism #1 - Picking a Rumble Winner
25th January 2011
This coming Sunday, 40 men enter the Royal Rumble match to compete for a Wrestlemania title shot, but who will emerge victorious?
Generally, over the past 6 years, the WWE main event has been something of an exclusive club. Ever since Wrestlemania 21, and the emergence of John Cena and Batista as world champions, the main event has largely consisted of around 10 men. Of course, there has been more than 10 different world champions since 2005, but for the most part, the main event has consisted of the same men.
That was, of course, until late 2009, when Sheamus was handed his chance at the big time. Sheamus was entered into a 'breakthrough battle royal', which consisted of men who had never been a world champion before, and the winner recieving a world title shot. It was a refreshing change at the time because the Raw main event had been occupied by John Cena vs. Randy Orton for months leading up to that night. When Sheamus won the battle royal, he immediately made his mark on the main event by proceeding to put John Cena through a table on the same night of the 'breakthrough battle royal' (see below).
The beginning of a new era?
Seeing John Cena being beaten down by a new title contender was nothing new at the time, afterall, we'd seen other men such as Umaga, Randy Orton (prior to John Cena's 2007 injury) and many more put a beating on Cena, only to eventually lose out to him at the proceeding pay per view match. This time though, things were different. Sheamus defeated Cena by putting him through a table at TLC (worst pay per view name ever, no?). Sheamus was the new WWE Champion and it seemed like things had finally changed; we now had a champion who wasn't one of the "elite" contenders that had been consuming the main event spotlight for years. Change was on the horizon.
Fast forward to just over a year later, and the trend has continued. Over the past year we've seen The Miz step into title prominence, the emergence of Nexus and their brooding leader, Wade Barrett, as well as men like Alberto Del Rio finding their feet. We've even seen Dolph Ziggler venture into the main event (this still may not end well, but he's there, at least). Times have truly changed, so it seems.
Suit up for the main event.
Make no doubt, WWE has made a sincere effort to push fresher talent over this past year, and they've done an admirable job (in my eyes, at least). There's still a couple of stages that the fresher talent haven't yet conquered though; Wrestlemania, and on a more relevant note, the Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble remains a mainstay of the 'elite' members of the roster. Previous winners include Edge, Randy Orton, John Cena, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Batista, Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Stone Cold and The Rock. I'd say that's a fairly elite list; aside from Batista (relative newcomer to the title picture at the time), Mysterio (see Batista) and Chris Benoit, the Rumble match only tends to be won by the company's top stars.
Now, WWE finds itself in a precarious position; do they allow a newcomer to the main event to win the Rumble match, and potentially risk Wrestlemania buys because of their lesser star power (not necessarily the case, but WWE may see it that way), or do they choose the "safe option" and have a more established star win once again?
Do WWE choose newer talent, or one of their more established stars?
Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett and John Morrison have to be considered amongst the favourites for the Royal Rumble match. Sheamus has been a threat since his first title win and he's been in and around the main event for a good year now. Barrett has unsuccessfully challenged for the gold in the past but he now has a 'route' into the main event with his new group on Smackdown. Del Rio is said to have impressed officials in WWE with his work over the past few months (and has looked good to me too) whilst John Morrison has been working his way up on Raw recently. Whilst he lost his championship match against The Miz, his name shouldn't be forgotten, unlikely as it may be he'll win the Rumble match.
Another option for the Rumble match is Nexus' newest leader, CM Punk (see below).
Wrestlemania main event bound?
Punk has looked naturally accustomed to his role in Nexus and his ongoing feud with John Cena may pave the way for a Wrestlemania main event match-up with Cena. Whilst neither man is champion, the past has shown us that anything is possible between this time of the year and Wrestlemania. Punk could easily win the Royal Rumble due to help from Nexus (see Royal Rumble '08 and Orton's help from Legacy), and Cena could pick up the title at Elimination Chamber, setting up the match. It could happen the other way round too, Cena could win the Rumble and Punk could win the title before Wrestlemania. Either way, the storyline fits; Nexus, the group that has 'tormented' Cena for months on end, and their leader, CM Punk, stand in the way of Cena's Wrestlemania glory. I can see it, anyway.
On the other hand, Barrett could win and lead The Corre into a match with Edge at Wrestlemania. Likewise, Del Rio could win and challenge Edge too. Sheamus could win and challenge a champion. Hell, we could have a suprise return, such as Triple H (shudder), winning the Rumble.
It's all up in the air right now. WWE probably haven't even picked their winner yet. As for me, my money is on CM Punk. Whatever happens, I'm just hoping for someone different.
25th January 2011
This coming Sunday, 40 men enter the Royal Rumble match to compete for a Wrestlemania title shot, but who will emerge victorious?
Generally, over the past 6 years, the WWE main event has been something of an exclusive club. Ever since Wrestlemania 21, and the emergence of John Cena and Batista as world champions, the main event has largely consisted of around 10 men. Of course, there has been more than 10 different world champions since 2005, but for the most part, the main event has consisted of the same men.
That was, of course, until late 2009, when Sheamus was handed his chance at the big time. Sheamus was entered into a 'breakthrough battle royal', which consisted of men who had never been a world champion before, and the winner recieving a world title shot. It was a refreshing change at the time because the Raw main event had been occupied by John Cena vs. Randy Orton for months leading up to that night. When Sheamus won the battle royal, he immediately made his mark on the main event by proceeding to put John Cena through a table on the same night of the 'breakthrough battle royal' (see below).
The beginning of a new era?
Seeing John Cena being beaten down by a new title contender was nothing new at the time, afterall, we'd seen other men such as Umaga, Randy Orton (prior to John Cena's 2007 injury) and many more put a beating on Cena, only to eventually lose out to him at the proceeding pay per view match. This time though, things were different. Sheamus defeated Cena by putting him through a table at TLC (worst pay per view name ever, no?). Sheamus was the new WWE Champion and it seemed like things had finally changed; we now had a champion who wasn't one of the "elite" contenders that had been consuming the main event spotlight for years. Change was on the horizon.
Fast forward to just over a year later, and the trend has continued. Over the past year we've seen The Miz step into title prominence, the emergence of Nexus and their brooding leader, Wade Barrett, as well as men like Alberto Del Rio finding their feet. We've even seen Dolph Ziggler venture into the main event (this still may not end well, but he's there, at least). Times have truly changed, so it seems.
Suit up for the main event.
Make no doubt, WWE has made a sincere effort to push fresher talent over this past year, and they've done an admirable job (in my eyes, at least). There's still a couple of stages that the fresher talent haven't yet conquered though; Wrestlemania, and on a more relevant note, the Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble remains a mainstay of the 'elite' members of the roster. Previous winners include Edge, Randy Orton, John Cena, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Batista, Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Stone Cold and The Rock. I'd say that's a fairly elite list; aside from Batista (relative newcomer to the title picture at the time), Mysterio (see Batista) and Chris Benoit, the Rumble match only tends to be won by the company's top stars.
Now, WWE finds itself in a precarious position; do they allow a newcomer to the main event to win the Rumble match, and potentially risk Wrestlemania buys because of their lesser star power (not necessarily the case, but WWE may see it that way), or do they choose the "safe option" and have a more established star win once again?
Do WWE choose newer talent, or one of their more established stars?
Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett and John Morrison have to be considered amongst the favourites for the Royal Rumble match. Sheamus has been a threat since his first title win and he's been in and around the main event for a good year now. Barrett has unsuccessfully challenged for the gold in the past but he now has a 'route' into the main event with his new group on Smackdown. Del Rio is said to have impressed officials in WWE with his work over the past few months (and has looked good to me too) whilst John Morrison has been working his way up on Raw recently. Whilst he lost his championship match against The Miz, his name shouldn't be forgotten, unlikely as it may be he'll win the Rumble match.
Another option for the Rumble match is Nexus' newest leader, CM Punk (see below).
Wrestlemania main event bound?
Punk has looked naturally accustomed to his role in Nexus and his ongoing feud with John Cena may pave the way for a Wrestlemania main event match-up with Cena. Whilst neither man is champion, the past has shown us that anything is possible between this time of the year and Wrestlemania. Punk could easily win the Royal Rumble due to help from Nexus (see Royal Rumble '08 and Orton's help from Legacy), and Cena could pick up the title at Elimination Chamber, setting up the match. It could happen the other way round too, Cena could win the Rumble and Punk could win the title before Wrestlemania. Either way, the storyline fits; Nexus, the group that has 'tormented' Cena for months on end, and their leader, CM Punk, stand in the way of Cena's Wrestlemania glory. I can see it, anyway.
On the other hand, Barrett could win and lead The Corre into a match with Edge at Wrestlemania. Likewise, Del Rio could win and challenge Edge too. Sheamus could win and challenge a champion. Hell, we could have a suprise return, such as Triple H (shudder), winning the Rumble.
It's all up in the air right now. WWE probably haven't even picked their winner yet. As for me, my money is on CM Punk. Whatever happens, I'm just hoping for someone different.
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