Watching The Royal Rumble last night, I’ve got to say I thought the show was really enjoyable. Apparently I am in the minority when it comes to those feelings. But that’s okay. Pro Wrestling is a subjective art form and as such everyone is entitled to their opinions.
However it seems to me like everyone is writing off this event because of one man… or lack thereof. And I do understand the disappointment and anger there. Really I do. And I agree that on the surface it would appear as though WWE made a bad move last night in the booking of Daniel Bryan (but please remember I said “on the surface”. Sometimes a little patience goes a long way) but did those angry fans miss the rest of that show?
I try to be a positive person and see the glass half full, even when something happens I don’t like. It is in this spirit that I want to try and help any of you out there who left The Royal Rumble with a bad taste in your mouth… that is, if you want it. If you don’t, well, just click that back button right now, because this is a happy place my friend. For just a few minutes I’m going to focus on the positive and have a little fun. Then we can all go back to the land of negativity known as the Internet Wrestling Community.
As we’re told by WWE every year, The Royal Rumble is all about numbers. And none more important than number 30 (unless you’re not Daniel Bryan. Poor Rey Mysterio.) So with that in mind, here are 30 things I liked about the 2014 Royal Rumble.
01. The kickoff panel had a great diverse team for this event and each man came off as confident and natural in their analysis.
02. The promo where wrestlers drew their numbers from the tumbler. Something they used to do which was lots of fun and teased where guys would end up in the Rumble. Lots of fun. Glad they brought it back
03. The WWE Unified Tag Team Championship match really showed that all four of these guys can still put on a decent match, and especially showcased Cody Rhodes’ talent and bright future.
04. Speaking of Cody Rhodes, how awesome was that reversal from Road Dogg’s Pump Handle Slam into Cross Rhodes?
05. We got to see a title change hands! Always a little exciting.
06. For a little while there, everyone who missed the attitude era was a little happier during that match.
07. Getting to see thousands of people chanting “YES! YES! YES!” It’s still fun.
08. Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt.
09. Paul Heyman’s promo reminded me of a guy in a horror movie warning the dumb teenagers how they’re all about to get slaughtered if they don’t turn back now, which made me think about how awesome it would be if Paul Heyman got typecast in Hollywood as a guy in horror movies who warned dumb teenagers how they’re all about to get slaughtered if they don’t turn back now.
10. Brock Lesnar selling Big Show’s WMD Punch.
11. Brock Lesnar giving the F5 to Big Show. Damn, that’s still impressive.
12. Everybody in the Brock Lesnar vs Big Show match looking strong and threatening after it was all over.
13. The Shield doing a good job of pushing their story, teasing things to come in the Rumble, and Dean Ambrose acting all kinds of subtle crazy.
14. Randy Orton cutting a promo that made me remember how good he can be on the mic and got me excited for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
15. Randy Orton and John Cena still managing to get the crowd into their match despite a very vocal distraction in the first half.
16. The Wyatts teasing some big plans heading into Wrestlemania.
17. The old Rumble promos where guys gave their thoughts on why they were going to win the Royal Rumble match. Those are great for not only putting over the Rumble match itself but giving an indication about who these guys are for the uninitiated. Like the tumbler gimmick, it has been sorely missed.
17. CM Punk vs the “next” CM Punk (according to some) Seth Rollins to start the Rumble.
18. Seeing Kane stay in character by coming out to the Rumble match in dress pants.
19. Seeing NXT talent Alexander Rusev in the Rumble match. It’s a great way to showcase the up and coming talent on NXT and he did a good job in the match too.
20. Kofi Kingston’s creating another memorable Royal Rumble moment when he leaped from the barricade to the ring apron (barley)…
21. …And then hanging by his feet and beating Jack Swagger with his own boot to save himself again.
22. Zeb Colture’s signs. They were hilarious. If you missed them, try to find a pic online.
23. Dolph Ziggler’s selling of Roman Reign’s spear.
24. Sheamus’ triumphant return looking good with the crowd behind him (until the end when he wasn’t Daniel Bryan)
25. El Torito bringing some fun to the match and both CM Punk and Fandango being complete professionals by making the little guy look good.
26. Antonio Cesaro’s Giant Swings.
27. CM Punk getting choke slammed through the announce table.
28. Dean Ambrose trying to push Reigns over the top and Seth Rollins getting mad at him, telling a great story and getting over the seperate personalities of The Shield.
29. Roman Reigns eliminating both Rollins and Ambrose moments later to a huge ovation.
30. Witnessing history as Roman Reigns snapped the 13 year record of Kane by eliminating 12 individuals in a single Rumble match.
You may not agree with everything you see here, and that’s fine, because everyone has an opinion, and you’re completely entitled to yours. My only hope with this list is that it give some perspective from a guy who genuinely enjoyed last night’s show, and my reasons as to why. I know this year’s Royal Rumble wasn’t perfect. Far from it. But there was some good stuff in there too, and I want to challenge you. Leave all the rage about Daniel Bryan alone for just a few minutes (trust me, it’ll be there for you when you get back) and give me just one genuine #goodrumblemoment from this year.
There is so much negativity out there regarding last night’s show all because one wrestler was badly booked. I know that one good apple can spoil the bunch, but it seems like shame to throw out the others that taste perfectly fine.
photo credit: DuckPuppy via photopin cc
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