The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[TheEdgeOfReason]

Except that 1) he has a built in feud with Sheamus, 2) he's already won it, 3) he's not a very good top of the brand babyface, and 4) he probably shouldn't be built as the top guy at age 41.

 

I would be pleasantly surprised if the winner doesn't end up being Punk or Cena, but right now that feels like what they're building towards.

 

2 of your points are redundant, another is wrong and the first isn't really a problem. There is a reason they have the EC a month before WM, to put the belt on who ever they need too. They can have Trips come in and win the Rumble, then have Sheamus win the EC very easily.

[tommyb]

They can have Trips come in and win the Rumble, then have Sheamus win the EC very easily.

 

But, in my opinion, the Sheamus/HHH feud doesn't need the belt. It has enough build that it can stand alone as a PPV/Wrestlemania match without a title on the line. The World Titles can then be used to add heat to another match.

[Fantabulous]

The EC is for the brand's respective main titles and with WWE high on Miz I'd say the chances of them taking the WWE belt off of him before Wrestlemania are pretty much non-existent.

 

I see Miz retaining the WWE title against Orton at the Rumble in some cheap fashion, probably not with a pinfall finish because that's not how they're handling Miz and they rarely have Orton get pinned anyway. Because the Rumble has 40 people in it then I'd say everybody on the undercard, apart from whomever the main champions are, will be in it, so Orton comes back out and wins the Rumble to secure a guaranteed rematch against the guy who cheated to get past him earlier in the night and who screwed him out of the title in the first place. Cena doesn't need to win it and they can have Punk eliminate him through cheap tactics to heat up their Wrestlemania match, doubly so because the Rumble is in Cena's home state. Triple H doesn't need to win it, and probably won't, because the big deal for Triple H on his comeback is getting his big win over Sheamus and they can have him look strong by eliminating a bunch of people, maybe Alberto Del Rio as well to play off of the deal with Shawn Michaels, before he and Sheamus maybe eliminate each other to build their match.

 

On the Smackdown side, Alberto Del Rio is probably the most likely winner on the brand but I don't see him getting favoured over Orton in a 'Rumble winner to main event Wrestlemania'-type scenario, plus Edge isn't as over as a babyface anywhere near as much as Miz is over as a heel so it would really come across as a letdown if the big deal coming out of the Rumble is Edge defending against Del Rio or, well, anyone else on the brand really.

 

Because of that, and because I still think Del Rio is a strong candidate for a World title win this year, I'd say Del Rio comes back from the failure to win the Rumble to come out of the Smackdown EC match as champion and defending against Edge at Wrestlemania.

[crownsy]

I like the idea of Barrett winning, but when it comes to Wrestlemania, it's rare they venture outside of that small window comfort zone. Which leads me to think that it's gonna be Cena, or Hunter.

 

I think, if it were my Rumble, though, and all parties were healthy to perform for it, what I'd do is have Cena and Kane and Kofi and Sheamus in the ring. #38 counts down, and HHH's music starts pumping, and people lose their ever loving minds. Hunter eliminates Kofi, drops Cena and Kane, and focuses on the King of the Ring. They battle, while Cena and Kane face off, and out comes number #39 ... let's say ... Darren Young. Young comes in, gets walloped (official term for the kind of beating he'd sustained), and eliminated. Then it turns to #40 ... and here comes Christian!

 

The crowd goes crazy, Captain Charisma rushes to the ring, and with HHH and Sheamus focused on each other, Christian dumps them both, before turning towards Cena and Kane. Big battle between the three, and eventually Cena and Christian eliminate Kane. Kane goes nuclear, re-enters the ring, does his chokeslam thing on both guys, before stomping away, thus leaving a level playing field. A couple more back and forths, with false eliminations, until finally, Christian outsmarts Cena, causing him to slip over the top rope, and leading us towards E vs. C for the world title!

 

Will it happen? No chance, but darn it, that's how I'd do it! lol

 

I'm with ya brother, that would be awesome

 

I agree they won't do it though, despite the fact that Christan gets a major crowd pop, he hasen't been pushed above midcarder status...me thinks Vince still resents the TNA move.

[Self]

I'm not sure a WWE crowd would go 'crazy' for Christian turning up in the Rumble. I mean, he's well-liked, but not exactly a megastar, and not someone you'd expect to win the Rumble. Even if he's a 'surprise' entrant.

 

If I were booking Christian to win, I'd have him in early, and give him half an hour to make to fans believe in him. He's got the skills to really build some "Holy Crap, is he going to do it?" believability.

[cappyboy]

Other favorites: John Cena. He's been operating at a very high level as he's essentially replaced HBK as the guy on Raw who doesn't need to be in the title picture to be in a great feud, but he's still WWE's guy and they'd love to put him vs. Punk or him vs. Miz as their headliner.

 

Then in terms of character psychology, he needs to be in the title picture. BADLY. Because that's a demotion. Unless you're a character like Taker to whom wrestling is just a means for finding people to consign to hell, every worker's ultimate goal is supposed to be the world title. If that's not Cena, then he should be in-character fired and he should be hosting a talk show segment until his character's fire is written back in him.

 

Then again, I come from the school that doesn't care who "needs" the belt so much as who "deserves" the belt. Titles aren't promotional tools to me. They are the reward for taking advantage of having been promoted. So a guy like Cena can have great feuds without the world title involved? That's great. But that's all the more reason he should be in the hunt for it. That's the pinnacle and if he isn't worthy at this point, then nobody is. And if nobody's worthy, why have a company at all?

[lazorbeak]

Then in terms of character psychology, he needs to be in the title picture. BADLY. Because that's a demotion. Unless you're a character like Taker to whom wrestling is just a means for finding people to consign to hell, every worker's ultimate goal is supposed to be the world title. If that's not Cena, then he should be in-character fired and he should be hosting a talk show segment until his character's fire is written back in him.

 

Then again, I come from the school that doesn't care who "needs" the belt so much as who "deserves" the belt. Titles aren't promotional tools to me. They are the reward for taking advantage of having been promoted. So a guy like Cena can have great feuds without the world title involved? That's great. But that's all the more reason he should be in the hunt for it. That's the pinnacle and if he isn't worthy at this point, then nobody is. And if nobody's worthy, why have a company at all?

 

I'm talking about from a story perspective. It's incredibly easy to build a story around somebody wanting the title: it's pretty much the only story Batista was ever in after his rise to the top. It's harder and takes more skill to get people to care about a top level program that isn't for the title. People get fatigued from seeing a guy constantly in the title picture 12 months a year. Cena taking a six month break from constantly being in title matches has been great for the character. It's flat out boring from a story perspective if everybody in the company just generically goes after the belt. Main event level grudge matches have always been an attraction, and good for Cena that he has enough heat to pull a former complete unknown like Barrett into a top heel spot.

 

Don't even know how to address the "nobody's worthy" stuff, so I won't.

[GatorBait19]

Doubt it would be Christian. Officials don't even think he'll be back by WM. Now this could be smoke a mirrors like with Cena. Personally I always saw KOTR, MITB, and the Rumble as stepping stones for futures superstars i.e Steve Austin when he did it the first time, Batista, John Cena, etc.

 

Now when a established guy wins it, it's either they are coming back from injury or because there wasn't anyone WWE saw as a future Champ at that moment

[milamber]

RAW was more interesting than Smackdown this week, IMO. I'm glad they've done a brand split on Nexus. Enjoying the McIntyre/Baretta fued. I'm interested to see what sort of push they both get this year.

 

Is it just my imagination or has there been more cross-over between brands the last few months? It's certainly given the creative team more to work with.

 

Enjoyed seeing Ricardo Rodriguez clumsily win his first match on NXT. He's funnier than Santino. I'm also starting to enjoy DiBiase's losing streak and he's putting on some decent matches.

 

Del Rio is getting a lot of heat for the Royal Rumble but I don't see the need for either him or Punk to win it (Or Cena or Barrett for that matter). I don't think Christian and HHH will return yet, unless they want to give the HHH/ Sheamus fued some momentum before Wrestlemania. Would be cool if Jericho turned up. My pick: John Morrison

[eayragt]

Is it just my imagination or has there been more cross-over between brands the last few months? It's certainly given the creative team more to work with.

 

They always try to do a bit each year before the Rumble to try and get a bit of storyline between the brands going. This'll often go on to WrestleMania where there's normally a cross-brand match.

 

I think it's been pushed a little more as they had to use a few of the Smackdown guys on the RAW show after Christmas where some of the roster couldn't make it due to the snow, and they've run with it.

[cappyboy]

I'm talking about from a story perspective.

 

Don't even know how to address the "nobody's worthy" stuff, so I won't.

 

No worries. You first statement cancels out the need to. The "nobody's worthy" stuff is old school character psych stuff that doesn't pertain to the direction you said you were taking anyway.

[ThriceP86]

Based off some earlier comments, I was thinking that Triple H wouldn't actually be in the rumble itself but just come out while the ring is full with Sheamus inside and eliminate and destroy him on the outside with steel steps and junk. I was thinking this because a) I don't think Triple H needs to be in the rumble unless building up for another match against Sheams and b) it would be something cool and different.

 

However, with the rumble going up to 40 superstars that probably won't happen so either Trips will be a surprise entrant (hope not) or he won't be in the match.

 

That said, I could see Sheamus, Christian, Cena, Punk, Orton, Undertaker or Kane winning this year. Christian would be ideal for me just because him and Edge could have a great lead up towards a World Heavyweight title match. Otherwise, I'm not really sure who they will have win it.

 

Although, I'm not high on any Nexus or Corre member winning the rumble. As much as I like Barrett, it feels to me that he needs to show something more. If he can break out on his own instead of having a group of lackeys, I'd like to see how he'd work then.

[sebsy]

I am a huge Christian fan, but I don't want him to win this year. He isn't going to be in it anyway if recent reports about him possibly not being ready even for Wrestlemania are to be believed.

 

I really just don't want to see any returning superstar winning the Rumble this year as it's already been done twice in the last 3 years, and many, including myself, consider that a bit too much. That rules out Christian, Triple H, The Undertaker and Chris Jericho.

 

I'm going to assume that the losers of the championship matches won't be in the Rumble as they usually aren't, which rules out Randy Orton, Edge, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler.

 

The only superstars I can then see realistically winning are any of the following. John Cena, CM Punk, John Morrison, Kane, Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio. No way Mysterio is winning again, hopefully.

 

I don't think the CM Punk-John Cena feud needs the title on it, but neither does Sheamus vs Triple H - both possible matches for this years Mania. - but all of those men could feasibly win it. I'd love Punk to win it though as he has been consistently great for a good while now.

 

Kane is another who I think deserves the win, he finally got a decent title run this year, and a Rumble win would be a nice thank you to him for his years of service, although as I suspect he doesn't plan to wrestle for much longer, it could be considered a waist to give him the win.

 

This brings us to John Morrison and Alberto Del Rio. Morrison has been getting better and better and his title match against The Miz a few weeks ago on Raw was outstanding. He is a bit like Jeff Hardy imo, but with much more to him than the crazy bumps Hardy relied on too heavily. And he isn't a messed up idiot, but that's another matter. Del Rio on the other hand is a relative newcomer, and has been very impressive so far, and could easily be given the Rumble win to take him to that next level, and it could lead nicely to a Del Rio vs Edge match at Mania.

 

There are several men who could win, I'll just be happy if it isn't a returning superstar or Mysterio! But my main picks in no order are Punk, Del Rio, Kane and Morrison.

[Fantabulous]

On one hand, it says something about the power of WWE programming that they can have people making a real argument that the likes of Morrison or Christian can win the Rumble, and that should be commended. On the other hand, if you put any kind of logical thought into it, you should really know that the chances of a Morrison or Christian winning are zero.

[Self]

People I will be rooting for should I bother watching the Royal Rumble:

 

John Morrison

Zack Ryder

Justin Gabriel

Daniel Bryan

Any Woman who enters

 

Not watching WWE any more, but do like that Rumble match, so might give it a watch. I find I enjoy the match a lot more if I'm actively cheering someone on. Which is true of all wrestling matches, but it's especially true with the Rumble. Either last year or the year before I was totally into it... and then John Morrison was eliminated and I totally lost interest. I don't really care who wins any more. I just like cheerleading my guys.

[LordJaguar]

If Dolph Ziggler is in then I predict he wins! He is perfection!

[BurningHamster]

Not watching WWE any more, but do like that Rumble match, so might give it a watch.

 

I have to admit, even for the years I didn't regularly follow WWE (most of the late 2000s) I always watched the Rumble. I really would like to see something a little different happen in the rumble though. there haven't been any huge surprises and they have overused having early entrants win in recent years. I guess this 40 man thing is bit of a change but not sure I like the idea, I prefer to keep things the same.

[TakerNGN74]

I hope Sheamus will win, I understand it if he doesn't though as that might be too much to give him in only his second or third year (Cant remember) with the company. He has already won the WWE Title twice and the King of The Ring so some might say he doesn't need it but regardless of that he is still my pick to win it.

[sebsy]

On one hand, it says something about the power of WWE programming that they can have people making a real argument that the likes of Morrison or Christian can win the Rumble, and that should be commended. On the other hand, if you put any kind of logical thought into it, you should really know that the chances of a Morrison or Christian winning are zero.

 

 

Now I would have to disagree with that a little, I would not say the chances were zero, slim maybe, but not zero. Logically I would say Morrison has been built up very well over the past few months with his feud with Sheamus and his on-going rivalry with The Miz. Morrison would be the perfect logical choice to win the rumble if the WWE are going to go with someone who is a surprise winner outside of the usual main eventers. Have him come in early and last a while, almost being eliminated a few times only to somehow avoid putting both feet on the floor, gives the crowd time to believe in him. But then they could have him do that but get eliminated 3rd last and it would still be good for him.

[James Casey]

I agree. Morrison usually puts in a decent stint purely because of his athleticisim making it easy for him to have several close calls, but it's rarely made much of post-Rumble.

 

I can't see him winning the Rumble, not this year. MitB? Yes - right now, I'd say he's Raw's go-to guy for that match, albeit that we're six months away from the show.

 

Still, I expect him to put in a good showing, and maybe get one or two biggish eliminations. Nothing related to Sheamus, though, please...

[Fantabulous]

Morrison is in the Chris Benoit Spot; kept in a strong upper midcard position so he can be a credible opponent for the real top guys or those who WWE really intend to make it to the top. Given the interaction with Sheamus on Raw, I'd say we're finally going to see Sheamus get his win over Morrison and start getting built up for Triple H

 

Interestingly, a former WWE writer posted a long blog entry (since taken down but reposted on the cut and paste sites) that included the news that Vince does not see Morrison as top guy because he doesn't feel he could kick anyone's ass for real. I don't think it helps Morrison's case that he played the happy cuckold while he was with Melina and she would sleep around on him. That was widely known in the company, would have inevitably made its way to Vince, and would have made him look like a total ***** in Vince's eyes, and Vince wants his men to be men.

[Purple Cowboy]

I wouldn't have Morrison win the Rumble because then he'd have to cut promos about it afterwards! I can't take when he has to speak, just something off about it to me.

[jwt13]

WWE stock is still droping rapidly after yester droping around 3% it ha dropped 9% today

[1234]

Just weighing in on the Rumble debate, and although it is highly unlikely I am heavily rooting for Christian. Mainly because there could be a great story leading from it.

 

-Edge Retains the title at the Rumble over Ziggler

 

-Christian returns to win the Rumble match. (Not a great fan of another "return to win the rumble", but has to be done for this purpose)

 

-Straight away Christian announces he is going to Challenge for Edge's World Heavyweight Title. The story behind the build-up being that ever since E&C disbanded Edge has been seen as the better wrestler, more popular, more World title matches, while Christian has been regarded as the 'other' member of the former tag team, limited to competing on 'The B Show' ECW. Now Christian wants to prove on the Biggest stage of them all that he is better.

 

-Of course the obstacle being that Edge must first make it through the Elimination Chamber to make it to Wrestlemania as Champion. (What a twist ). During the Elimination Chamber it ends up being Edge vs Big Show, and it looks like Big Show is going to win. Christian then appears on the outside to distract Big Show while the Corre sneak in for the attack, leaving Edge to make an easy cover for the win. This of course sets up the Wade Barrett(The Corre) vs Big Show at Mania, which it seems like they are building towards.

 

-The story then flips around with Christian bragging that Edge needed him to retain the title, but the only reason that he did it was to ensure he gets the match he wants at Wrestlemania, he isnt doing Edge any favours.

 

-Then of course the match itself at 'Mania which either man could win.

 

 

 

Of course I know its unlikely but its fun planning out potential 'Roads To Wrestlemania'

[Linsolv]

Wow. WWE is dropping like a stone.

 

Apparently it's because they released their profit expectations and it's not what people were expecting (like... WAY lower than analysts predicted), according to fool.com—though it has risen about 1 point since the article I'm seeing was written.