A Phenomenal Rumble

I don't like saying the cliche best 'something' ever when I talk about wrestling events because a lot of what I feel is based on the circumstances at that time. There are many Royal Rumbles that I enjoyed at first but then when I re-watch them later, they don't have the same effect. I'm going to say this though; this was my favorite Royal Rumble ever. The PPV as a whole was great with all the title matches delivering. The table spot in the Last Man Standing was dangerous and a nice finish to their feud. New Day were able to retain thanks to underhanded tactics, nothing new there. As New Day continues to destroy the tag division, who's really left for them to face now? Kalisto was able to capture the US Title for the 2nd time, which means we'll hopefully get a new feud out of him now. Kalisto VS Neville, I'm just saying... Becky and Charlotte had a great match but it was what happened afterwards that had me buzzing. Sasha Banks made her return to TV and made her intention clear; she wants the Divas Title. FINALLY! Sasha has let to get a shot at the title and it looks like WWE will indeed be doing Charlotte/Banks down the road. I hope they let this build for the next 10 weeks. Let Sasha disband from Team Bad leading up to Fastlane then let the two Divas clash at Wrestlemania. It's the smart thing to do and exactly what the Divas division needs. 

The Royal Rumble was filled with a few surprises. Reigns and Rusev started off the match, making this one of the only times where the last two from the previous year's Royal Rumble were the first two in this year's Rumble. The last time was HBK and Undetaker in 2008. Reigns quickly eliminated Rusev and it was time for #3 to come out. 

IT'S AJ STYLES!!!! STYLES IS OFFICIALLY IN WWE! The greatest professional wrestler to NEVER sign with World Wrestling Entertainment finally made his much anticipated and expected arrival on Sunday. The crowd's reaction was deafening. I don't think I heard a pop like that in years. It was truly a great moment for AJ and for wrestling fans as Styles adds a whole new dimension to WWE's programming. Welcome to WWE Styles! Styles would last 28 minutes before being eliminated by Kevin Owens. Is that a sign of things to come? Will Styles and Owens clash at a PPV near you? Maybe, maybe not as Sami Zayn made a surprise appearance in the Rumble match and eliminated Owens. Those two obviously have unfinished business from their NXT days so a match between the two should be coming, definitely after that little meeting. Besides those two, there weren't really any other surprise entrants this year, mainly because the title was on the line and I guess WWE didn't see the point of old timers coming out trying to be champion again. It was nice to see WWE use the guys they had on their roster though, despite Wade Barrett not being in the match. Reigns would last until #30 came out and he was shocked to see who came out as Triple H made his return

The final four came down to Roman Reigns (#1), Dean Ambrose (#19), Sheamus (#29) and Triple H (#30). All guys had numbers with two victors from them so it's anyone's game odds wise. Sheamus was eliminated first by Reigns, thanks to a Superman Punch but as Reigns did that, Triple H came from behind and eliminated the reigning champion, guaranteeing that either Triple H or Dean Ambrose would be crowned champion. Ambrose already competed earlier in the night and it definitely effected him as Triple H was able to dump him over and become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion again. Triple H is now a 14 time World Champion. I never thought I'd see the day my favorite wrestler would win the title again but it happened. Triple H will now go on to headline Wrestlemania 32!

WWE did a great job in setting up the Road to Wrestlemania, like they do every year. The obvious main event of Wrestlemania is Roman Reigns VS Triple H, which is definitely the best thing they could do with all of their injuries and a match 2 years in the making. Other potential matches set up were Bray Wyatt VS Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose VS Chris Jericho and the earlier mentioned Owens/Styles or Zayn.. Lesnar eliminated Harper, Rowan and Strowman from the match, only to have those three guys eliminate him after being ordered to by Wyatt. This will be a showcase match for Lesnar, as he'll be able to throw around four guys all he wants with the crowd loving it. Wyatt is going to lose in the end and it's sad but hey, it's the business. Remember when Jericho joined Reigns and Ambrose to face The Wyatt Family at Night of Champions? Remember how they teased Ambrose and Jericho feuding but went nowhere with it? Well, Ambrose eliminated Jericho on Sunday, with Jericho lasting over 50 minutes into the match. I don't think he's going to just take that lightly. Jericho/Ambrose would be a great match with Jericho doing what he does best; push the young talent. Lastly, either Styles or Zayn would make for a good match with Owens at Mania. It doesn't really matter who. Add Sasha VS Charlotte and you already have another great Wrestlemania.

There's still the question if Undertaker will compete or not, what is The Rock doing and what the statuses are of some of the injured reserve list are but so far, WWE has set, at least if I booked it correctly, a Wrestlemania for the ages. It's now WWE's job to continue on doing the great job they did on Sunday night. 

Good to see Sasha on WWE TV again! 

AJ Styles is now a WWE Superstar! 

Congrats to Triple H on winning World Title #14.

Welcome to the Road to Wrestlemania!!!

Royal Rumble 2016 Predictions

It's time to start the road to Wrestlemania. This is one of the Wrestlemania seasons that nothing seems to be in place just yet. You have the stars, just not the direction right now. With guys like Cena, Orton, Bryan, Rollins and Cesaro out, WWE is hurting. Still, they're doing everything possible to make you care about their product, like having Roman Reigns defend his title in the Royal Rumble match. That's how you get people talking.

This Royal Rumble card has ALL title matches on it, which is a far cry from last year's Theodore Long produced tag team special. 5 title matches on the card, all but the main event is a rematch. Let's get into it!

Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose battle over the IC Title in a Last Man Standing match. Now, I'm indifferent on this selecting here, mainly because it's likely that neither man will be competing in the Rumble. That's asinine, especially seeing how the title is on the line this time. I know the other stars will be in from the other titles matches but due to the match type, I won't hold my breath. Anyway, here you have the match of the night. Two hard hitting individuals with a lot of time and no rules equals an awesome title match. Owens and Ambrose's plans at Wrestlemania aren't solid just yet. Many say Owens might be in line to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, which would mean a title win here isn't likely, unless Lesnar is shooting for the IC Title. Ambrose on the other hand, doesn't have that opportunity or such plans in place. There have been talks of having Wyatt face Taker at Mania too so if they go with those plans, the winner of this match isn't affected much by that decision. Anyway, I don't think they'll give Ambrose a 1 month reign with the title. It doesn't seem likely as he's such a heavy fan favorite. After an absolute war, Ambrose will retain the title. Next feud? There are plenty of guys just waiting for an opportunity. Rusev, Barrett, Tyler Breeze, Sheamus, etc. Sheamus seems the most likely and a hard hitting match between the two would exactly what Wrestlemania needs.

Kallisto VS Alberto Del Rio III for the United States title. It should be a fast placed affair with many close falls but once again, I think the title switch was done to garner interest in Smackdown for that week as you know it just moved to the USA Network. Del Rio will retain, hopefully setting up a feud with Neville, who could do amazing things with the title.

I think time is up for The New Day. New Day will face The Usos Sunday and they've been champs since August and have beaten every team in their path. Their next challenge are the two time Slammy award winning team of The Usos, who have also been the tag champs two times, just like The New Day. This should be a fun and hard hitting contest. Big E has never looked better since forming with New Day and his unique moves make for an interesting match. As I said, New Day are having a long reign but I think it's time for them to give them up. I personally don't want to see it just yet but The Usos won the Tag Team of the Year. It's time to prove why. The Usos will win their 3rd Tag Team Championship on Sunday in a great tag team match.

Charlotte VS Becky Lynch will be awesome on PPV. The two didn't have a proper feud in NXT so it's good to see the two feuding now. I like this match a lot. So far, their matches on Raw and Smackdown have been so this one should be no different. I still believe in my heart of hearts that Sasha and Charlotte will meet on the grand stage of Wrestlemania. Sasha has been blessed with a minor injury apparently so that keeps them further away. I think Becky will win the title one day but I just don't think it will be Sunday, unless they plan on doing a triple threat at Mania. I'm still on the bandwagon of a singles match between Banks/Charlotte but at this point, whatever gets the title on Banks is fine with me. Charlotte retains.

Main event is of course the Royal Rumble match, which for the 1st time ever sees the champion defending his title in the match type. Roman Reigns will enter #1 and try to fight to retain his championship. It's One VS All at the Royal Rumble. Let's be serious everybody; of all the announced competitors, there's only a few worthy winners. Reigns because he's the champion and the odds are against him. If Reigns was to win though, he's going to break the history books wide open. 1st superstar to defend his title in the Royal Rumble, 3rd star to win from #1, 4 man to win back-to-back Rumbles and 6th man to win 2. Crazy! Brock Lesnar will enter only his 2nd Royal Rumble. The last one he entered in, he won. Lesnar's name alone allows him to be a favorite. Chris Jericho returning puts him among the favorites. Jericho is one of the biggest name to never win the Royal Rumble and he's definitely due for a championship reign. Bray Wyatt has jumped into the names to watch as he has laid out the top names on Raw and Smackdown before the Rumble. Wyatt is one of WWE's treasures. A great gimmick, amazing mic skills and a hard hitting style. He's the complete package so a championship win would be very deserving here. And we can't forget about the rumor of all rumors; will AJ Styles make his long awaited and anticipated debut in the Royal Rumble match? We'll see. If he does, I will react accordingly.

Anyway, I think it's pretty obvious that WWE is building towards Roman Reigns VS Triple H at Wrestlemania. It's a match that has been building since the Raw after Wrestlemania 30, when Reigns speared Triple H. With all the talent out, it's the only logical match that makes sense to end such a big show. That being said, only two men can win then; Roman Reigns or Triple H. As WWE says, it's more money in the face chasing the heel for the title so I think it makes sense for Triple H to come back and ruin Reigns' moment and finally win one more World Title. Then, at Fastlane you have Lesnar/Reigns in a #1 contender's match where the Wyatts cost him the match. You set up two Wrestlemania main events that way. Triple H win the 2016 Royal Rumble and wins his 14th World Championship.

The Royal Rumble should be a great event. Yes, all the title matches have happened in the past month but the main draw is the Royal Rumble match itself. Will Reigns overcome the odds? What surprise entrants will make it to Orlando? Will the greatest professional wrestler in the world AJ Styles make his long awaited debut?

You don't want to miss what WWE has in store for us this Sunday.

Royal Rumble Fun Facts!

It's my favorite PPV of the year, the Royal Rumble! Every year, I try to rewatch all the Rumbles I either saw live, so that's 1997 to the present. This post is all about the stats and various things about the match itself. It's also to hype me up even further, as if I could get anymore hype with the rumors that AJ Styles has been in negotiations with WWE. It doesn't help when actual WWE superstars like to tease their fans with the various surprises that are sure to be in store for the fans come January 24th. Finn Balor posted the below picture on his Twitter account. Obviously, it won't happen but the fact that they're letting him post it makes me want to believe that the impossible is indeed possible.

Anyway, let's get started!

-The first three spots in the Royal Rumble suck, as you have to basically to last the whole match to reach the end. In a surprising number, the first three numbers have produced almost the same amount of winners as the last three numbers. Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit won from the #1 entry in 1995 and 2004 respectively, Vince McMahon and Rey Mysterio won from the #2 entry in 1999 and 2006 respectively and Ric Flair won the match and the WWE Title from the #3 entry in 1992. The number 28 has been very good to Batista as he won the Royal Rumble in 2005 and 2014 with that number. Brock Lensar and Edge won from #29 in 2003 and 2010 respectively. The Undertaker was the first man to win from the coveted #30 spot in 2007 and John Cena followed up in 2008 winning from the same number. 5 winners from the first three compared to 6 winners from the last three. Odds are good with those numbers!

-#27 gets a lot of credit as being the luckiest number to draw as the most number of winners have come from it. Big John Studd, Yokozuna, Bret Hart and Stone Cold have all won from that entry. Have you ever wondered what's the next best number? That would be #24 as that number has produced 3 different winners in the 28 Royal Rumbles and they are an elite list of superstars. Hogan did it first in 1991 followed by Stone Cold's win in 1998 and then The Rock in 2000. The Mt. Rushmore of professional wrestling! Will another elite star enter 24 and win in 2016?

-Roman Reigns will be chasing history this Sunday. There's a lot to be made. If Reigns is to successfully win the 2016 Royal Rumble match, he will be the 6th man to win two different Rumble matches, joining the elite list of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, John Cena and Batista. He'll also become the 4th man to do it back-to-back years. As the #1 entrant, he'll be the 3rd man to win from that number. Finally, he would be the first man to successfully defend his title inside the Royal Rumble match. For a man who has already etched his name in Royal Rumble history, eliminating 12 men in 2014 and winning in 2015, it seems Reigns will continue to dominate at the event for years to come. Oh yeah, Reigns is the first man to win the Rumble match after being the runner up the year before. Maybe this should be called the Reigns Rumble from now on.

-History shows that the person who controls the match the most usually doesn't win. Look at some of the great performances in the last couple years as proof. Kane eliminated 11 guys in 2001, only to be the runner up. Likewise, Reigns took out 12 men in 2014, only to lose to Batista. CM Punk had impressive Rumbles in 2010 and 2011, eliminating over 10 stars between the both of them but couldn't win either one. Wyatt had a breakout performance in the Rumble last year but couldn't turn it into a win. If you want to win, be a surprise entrant or don't do too much work.

-The 2010 Royal Rumble is the only one in history where the #30 entrant came out and was automatically apart of the Final Four. Edge, Cena and HBK were already in the ring when Batista came in at #30. That has to be one of the best Final Four in history, in terms of star power.

-All but three of the Rumble winners were World Champions. The only three that didn't win a World Title were Lex Luger, John Studd and Jim Duggan.

-Big Show, Triple H and John Cena are the only men to be the runner up at two different Royal Rumbles. Big Show in 2000 and 2004, Triple H did it BACK TO BACK years in 2008 and 2009 while Cena did it five years apart, once in 2005 the other in 2010.

-From 2005 to 2010, the final four/three/two reflected what the main events were going to be for Wrestlemania. 2005, Batista won by eliminating Cena. They both went on to win titles at Wrestlemania 21. In 2006, Rey Mysterio won by eliminating Triple H and Randy Orton. Mysterio and Orton were involved in a Triple Threat for the title while Triple H went onto main event against John Cena. In 2007, Undertaker won by eliminating HBK. At Wrestlemania 23, HBK and Taker would face their respective brand champions. In 2008. John Cena shocked the world and won the Rumble match by last eliminating Triple H. The two were apart of the WWE Title match at Wrestlemania. In 2009, Orton won by eliminating Triple H last. They WERE the main event at Wrestlemania 25. Lastly, in 2010, the final four of Edge, HBK, Cena and Batista were all in main event matches at Wrestlemania 26; Edge against Jericho, Cena against Batista and HBK VS Taker. It happened also in 2012 when Sheamus won and Jericho would get a shot against Punk at Mania 28.

That's all I got for now! I hope this has hyped you up for Sunday's event!

NJPW Takeover in WWE?

Happy New Year all! The year just started and we already have one of the most chaotic news weeks in pro wrestling history. I compare it to 2006's first week of the year. You know, the week Edge won his 1st WWE Title and Batista was forced to relinquish his World Title, which led to Kurt Angle winning in his place? Yeah, WWE is having one of those crazy weeks.

Here's the top three headlines:

-AJ Styles might be coming to WWE
-Roman Reigns will defend his title inside the actual 30 Man Royal Rumble Match
-John Cena is injured, needs surgery and will MISS Wrestlemania 32.

Craziest first week in WWE history? Maybe. Let's talk!

It's the story that has everyone in the wrestling world buzzing. It was reported on Monday that major New Japan Pro Wrestling stars Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ STYLES are all coming to WWE. This rumor has been making the rounds this week and was evident with NJPW's major event Wrestle Kingdom 10. Anderson and Gallows were the IWGP Tag Champs heading into the event but they loss them on the show. Meanwhile, Styles and Nakamura had an instant first time classic and showed a sign of respect after the match. Briefly after this, The Bullet Club turned on AJ Styles with Kenny Omega assuming leadership of the group while declaring he was after Nakamura's Intercontinental Championship. Styles would then bow to crowd to cheers and everything about it screamed a send off. WWE themselves didn't help matters when they published an article on the four stars coming to WWE.

Here are my thoughts on the potential acquisitions: OH MY GOOOOODDDDDDD!!! AJ STYLES might be coming to WWE! That has to be the biggest established star they have ever signed. The amount of matches that could take place would be epic. Obviously, the Royal Rumble is right around the corner so you have to believe that IF Styles is indeed going to sign with WWE, they would introduce him in a big way at the PPV as it is officially Wrestlemania season. This would help Wrestlemania as a whole with Rollins, Cesaro and possibly Bryan all missing the event. Styles would have some big time players to have matches with. The biggest obviously being John Cena. Cena has wrestled the biggest indie names that have come to WWE. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens all have gone against the franchise of the company and have had amazing matches with him. Styles would be another name that would put Cena to the challenge. If Cena is busy then I would give Styles and Owens 20 minutes at Mania to make something spectacular. Or even Ziggler/Styles. Anyone VS AJ Styles is best for business but a feud with the top guy in the company would escalate Styles very quickly and let fans know that he's the real deal. Also, a Balor/Styles match is something that needs to happen very quickly. They have left over issues from NJPW involving The Bullet Club so why not finish it in WWE, especially if Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are coming over. Anyway, if this all pans out, you have some major players for WWE for years to come.

Roman Reigns defending his title inside the Royal Rumble match is unique because it doesn't paint the Wrestlemania main event at the end of the show. Once the Rumble winner is crowned, you basically know one half of the main event. This year, it's going to be a different road. With 30 guys and the title on the line, there's only a handful of guys who can actually win the title. With all the injures in WWE, they are going to have to rely on the past part timers, guys like Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, Triple H and even The Undertaker need to compete. They need to make Reigns defense as big as possible. If Bryan is healthy, throw him in there. If Styles is signed by then, he needs to debut. They need to bring NXT guys up. This match has to be huge with all of WWE's current loses. You have guys like Rollins, Orton, Cesaro, possibly Bryan and now Cena out. The only way people will forget about it if you produce the big names. If Rock is available, CALL HIM. If all the part timers compete. they all have a chance at winning, the most being Triple H so they can set up the inevitable main event of Reigns/HHH at Wrestlemania. Lesnar could win to give the fans the rematch from WM31. If Reigns does retain and win his 2nd Royal Rumble, I don't know how the fans will react. The only other guy I think is worthy of winning is Kevin Owens. I always thought an Owens/Reigns match would be great for the main event and by WWE not putting them in a lot of one on one matches, it's there way of keeping the idea fresh. The top picks are Reigns, Triple H, Lesnar and Owens in that order but once again, WWE needs to go all out to make us forget about all the guys they don't have.

John Cena just came back from his two month hiatus and it's been reported that he requires shoulder surgery and will miss Wrestlemania 32. WWE had apparently penciled in John Cena VS The Undertaker in one of the big matches on the card. WOW. This is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR blow to WWE right before the biggest show of the year in front of what could be the biggest crowd in WWE history. What makes me more mad is that it seems like they were FINALLY going to do the dream match of John Cena VS The Undertaker at Wrestlemania, a match that has been YEARS in the making. YEARS. Now, due to some injury, we may never get that match. Cena has been injured before and has come back much earlier than expected from other injuries so there's still a slight chance that Super Cena could wrestle but he basically has three months to rehab a 6-9 month injury. The chances are just not likely. WWE will have to rely on the part timers to save Wrestlemania this year. Reigns/Triple H, Lesnar facing off against The Wyatt Family, whatever The Rock is doing, Jericho/Undertaker maybe, there's just not a lot of options. WWE MUST have a NXT Title match on the show now, just to better the card. It looks like Sasha Banks and Charlotte might get their wish to main event a WWE PPV if stars keep getting injured. I feel for Cena. I'm not his biggest fan but I damn sure wanted to see The Undertaker VS John Cena this year. I wanted to feel the hype, the crowd reactions, everything. Too bad it's likely not to happen. Get well soon Cena!

What a chaotic week. So many ups and downs. Ups like Styles potentially coming to WWE and downs like Cena sitting out Wrestlemania. Never thought I'd see the day where I was unhappy with Cena not being at Wrestlemania. Anyway, let's see how things play out. I think Styles' contract might just have received another 0 to the end of it.

NXT comes back to Philadelphia next month! I'm buying tickets TOMORROW!!!