Lets get ready to Rumble!

I have mentioned before that the Royal Rumble is one of my favourite wrestling PPV's. This years Royal Rumble was contested this week and I watched it at home with my dad and my uncle.


I found last years Royal Rumble to be high in comedy value but deficient in star power - there were really only a couple of wrestlers with any real chance and the winner was rather predictable. Despite having some memorable spots (Foley and Santino, Kingston handwalking) It was one of the most disappointing rumbles I had seen and I thought that they pushed the comedy element too far.

Royal Rumble 2013 Poster

It is normal for Rumbles to have a thin card as the Rumble is a lengthy match. This rumble had four matches. They started with a championship match between Big Show and Del Rio. Del Rio was never going to lose, having won the title only 3 weeks ago and receiving a pre match pep talk from the legendary Bret Hart, but the manner in which he won was very creative. They then moved into the tag team championship match - Hell No vs the Road Scholars. Hell No isn't as fun when they are at peace with each other, but predictably retained the tag belts and followed on with their self toxic rivalry.

In a break from tradition, they went straight into the rumble. From the minute Cena announced his entry into the rumble at the start of the year you had the feeling he was going to win it. There were some nice surprises along the way. Seeing Jehrico come in at No.2 had me cheering - and the crowd appreciated it too. He had quite a run in the rumble and made it pretty deep. I felt the same way when Goldust entered the ring. I was a little suprised when Godfather ended the ring (I thought Brodus Clay had assumed that role and Godfather was way too old for the match) but he was disposed of quickly). There were good comedy spots and story telling but it wasn't overdone like last year. As predicted, Cena took it out.

Then came the main event. This had to be a good one to be billed after the rumble and it was on paper. Two of the best talkers in the business - The champ, having held the title for over a year and one of the longest reigns in history, C.M. Punk versus the prodigal son and movie star, probably the best known name in the business right now returning for his first match in about 6 months, The Rock. I had high expectations but was going for the heel and current champ even though the event was primed for a Rock victory. I was actually disappoiunted in the match itself - it was a little boring and lacked flair. It was nothing compared to Rovk vs Cena at WrestleMania  last year. I had my cheer when there was a false ending but the predictable winner won.

All in all, the event was enjoyable but far too predictable. The Rumble waa a good match, there were several creative spots and endings and wasn't a complete waste of time but all the faces won (and as a guy who likes heels, this was a little disappointing). Looks like it will be Rock vs Cena at WrestleMania - interesting particularly as last year was billed as "Once in a lifetime"