WWE SuperThread *Spoilers*

[Big Pete]

The finish of the Rumble
Kharma's return
Ricardo
Kofi's hand-stand

Made it better than the trash on Raw.

I did myself a major disservice watching the Rumble this year. Just before I watched the 2001 & 2005 Rumbles. There was just no way it was going to compare.

 

[Misanthrope]

The Rumble suffered from a few things:

- A lack of real contenders in it. Aside from Sheamus, Jericho, Orton, and Show (and to a lesser extent Miz and Ziggler), it just didn't feel at all star studded.
- Too many nonsense entries: Kharma, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Road Dogg, three announcers, Ricardo, Foley and a bunch of nuffie tag teamers.

One or two were good (Kharma and Road Dogg, for mine) and the rest just wasted space.

Lack of real build. Aside from Miz and R-Truth fighting to avoid first place and the Usos battling it out for a spot at some point, it really didn't feel like it mattered.

 

[Marshall_magic]

I think they knew the Rumble lacked star power so they tried to make it a fun rumble.

 

[Big Pete]

The Rumble was just a fight for a mid-card spot at Mania.

 

[Misanthrope]

I think they knew the Rumble lacked star power so they tried to make it a fun rumble.

No reason why they couldn't have had Kane and Cena enter it. Downside to having two world titles also meant that Bryan and Punk had to miss out. One of them could have made it interesting.

 

[Marshall_magic]

No reason why they couldn't have had Kane and Cena enter it. Downside to having two world titles also meant that Bryan and Punk had to miss out. One of them could have made it interesting.

I agree about Kane, but why Cena? He is already facing the Rock.

 

[Misanthrope]

I agree about Kane, but why Cena? He is already facing the Rock.

Isn't the pinnacle of the business (kayfabe) winning the World Title? He doesn't have to win, but it devalues the concept a bit to not even have him care enough to try.

 

[Big Pete]

But Cena already had a match booked against a Mega-star. Few things are better than a world championship opportunity, fighting a legend like The Rock on the biggest show of the year is one of them.

 

[Misanthrope]

So even if we count Cena out, there's still no logical reason why Kane didn't enter.

Shit, lazy as Undertaker is, why wouldn't he be out trying to win himself a bit of gold? Statistically speaking, if he wins the Rumble - he's winning himself the title.

 

[Big Pete]

Kayfabe, not really.

From a business perspective, they wanted Kane to stand tall that night and not undermine it.

Taker's involvement would undermine his thirst for revenge against HHH.

Any other year I would have been disappointed, but given the make up of the Mania card I don't really mind and like I said, the finish was the best I've seen since 2007.

 

[Misanthrope]

Taker's involvement would undermine his thirst for revenge against HHH.

I still don't get that. What exactly does Undertaker want revenge for?

 

[Big Pete]

Triple H made him look weak on his own home turf and shattered the image of The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all like nobody else had done before.

 

[Misanthrope]

Triple H made him look weak on his own home turf and shattered the image of The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all like nobody else had done before.

So... nothing then?

The whole rematch stinks of lazy booking. While I did enjoy last year's bout (although not as much as some) - I'd rather see them use one of (if not the last) Undertaker's appearances on somebody else. Even if he beats them, Undertaker's able to bring a good match out of just about anybody. We've already got one non-wrestler in the main event, but now we've got two more on the card in a match that we've already seen.

 

[WYD]

Triple H made him look weak on his own home turf and shattered the image of The Undertaker on the grandest stage of them all like nobody else had done before.

:lol:

Did you get that spiel from WWE.com?

Triple H tapping out really shattered the image of The Undertaker.

 

[Big Pete]

No, Taker being stretched out and humbled despite pulling off a fluke victory certainly did.

Taker is supposed to be the monster of the WWE, the guy who stands tall after every show and he's never been portrayed weaker in any match. A rematch was always going to eventuate. Would this storyline be strong enough to headline a Wrestlemania? No, but as a preliminary match, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

 

[Misanthrope]

there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Sure there is. It's wasting one of the few remaining Undertaker matches on a guy who has essentially retired.

 

[Big Pete]

Wasting? This is a legitimate dream match with two of the best workers duking it out in one of the toughest matches they both made famous. I wouldn't consider that a waste. I'd consider a match against Wade Barrett or Cody Rhodes a waste because those guys haven't been established enough to be considered legitimate threats.

To me, the match is very similar to Shane/Vince @ WM17. Two non-active wrestlers adding another element to a stacked legendary show.

 

[Misanthrope]

A legitimate dream match we've seen at Wrestlemania twice already. Making it Hell in a Cell is a slight improvement on No Holds Barred, but it's essentially the same gimmick in a steel cage.

It's indicative of the WWE's inability to elevate talent. I get that they're paranoid about having another Brock Lesnar situation on their hands, but they've had a year to elevate a Barrett or Rhodes or Ziggler to a position where they would be a legitimate threat. Hell, they've managed to book previous guys who might have been a threat (such as The Miz) to a point where they're worse off than a year ago.

And don't cite the recent botch when attempting to catch R-Truth as the reason. He's been being depushed ever since Survivor Series did a shitty buy-rate and he was somehow to blame. Hell, there's another example of where the company failed to make an over tag team (R-Truth & Miz) look like a threat and it made the match a snoozer.

I'm not saying Undertaker v Triple H won't be enjoyable. I don't doubt that it will. But that doesn't change the fact that it's a match we've seen (a year ago) and we could have had a potentially equally enjoyable match that also featured somebody who will continue to wrestle regularly after Wrestlemania.

We've already got one dream match on the card. I'd much rather have seen a Barrett or Rhodes or Ziggler being groomed a few months ago to make a run at the streak.

 

[Big Pete]

The big word there is potentially. There's no guarantee it'll be as big as a Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania featuring two of the biggest stars in wrestling history. Yes, it's a basic storyline, but it's a much easier match to sell on paper than some up and comer facing Taker in a match they'd likely lose and wouldn't be as engaging.

That was the beauty of the match last year, for a second there, it really did look like HHH was going to win. I don't think there would be that tension there, especially with a guy like Cody Rhodes or Dolph Ziggler.

I don't think a match always has to elevate talent, sometimes, it can just be enjoyed on it's own merits.

That isn't to discount your point on elevating talent, I agree but that's a whole other topic.

 

[WYD]

It's hardly a dream match, it's a rematch from last year, and we've seen it twice before.

The match has no significance unless Taker loses, and given the way this angle has been booked that can't happen.

Despite being 2-0, Taker looks like the chaser in this match. He can't lose, because it would make him look terrible.

If you're going to do this angle, at least book it in a way where it would be conceivable that Taker could lose.

This is classic HHH, doing the job without really doing the job.