GDT: WWE Royal Rumble 2023

[Behn Wilson]

Iron Sheik's health was bad 22 years ago the Wrestlemania 17 gimmick battle royal, let alone today. I don't remember if it was a joke or legitimate, but I remember hearing he won that battle royal because he wouldn't have been able to take the elimination bump.

That was totally correct. They had him win because he could not take the over the top rope bump. But they blew the ending. All the old guys are crowd favorites due to nostalgia element and the crowd loved Sheik winning. But they then had Sgt Slaughter come in and give him the Cobra Clutch because they thought the crowd didnt want a bad guy winning. In hindsight, I think they would like a do over on that part, no one wanted to see Sarge do that. Funny but Doink may have gotten the biggest pop of the match and crowd boo'd when he was eliminated.

Loved Bobby Heenan on Commentary when Sheik was introduced and walking up and he said it will be Wrestlemania 18 by the time he gets to the ring. Heenan and Mean Gene were having a blast that night.

 

[Megahab]

That was totally correct. They had him win because he could not take the over the top rope bump. But they blew the ending. All the old guys are crowd favorites due to nostalgia element and the crowd loved Sheik winning. But they then had Sgt Slaughter come in and give him the Cobra Clutch because they thought the crowd didnt want a bad guy winning. In hindsight, I think they would like a do over on that part, no one wanted to see Sarge do that. Funny but Doink may have gotten the biggest pop of the match and crowd boo'd when he was eliminated.

Loved Bobby Heenan on Commentary when Sheik was introduced and walking up and he said it will be Wrestlemania 18 by the time he gets to the ring. Heenan and Mean Gene were having a blast that night.

Heenan was great that night. I believe the actual line was that by the time Sheik gets to the ring, it would be Wrestlemania 38, which is even funnier.

 

[Troublesome 85]

Was kinda bleh lame “surprises”

 

[GKJ]

Booker T did not know he was going to be in the Rumble until he was asked during the pre-show.

 

[Khelandros]

Sami and KO in the EC, Sami wins the EC, Uso's defend against the winners of the tag team tournament, Roman does nothing that night.

This sets up Cody/Roman night one, and Sami/Roman night 2. Throughout March we get a build up for Uso's vs KO/Sami for one or both tag belts. The whole time Jey is having doubts about Roman.

Wrestlemania night 1, KO/Sami beat the Uso's for the tag belts when Jey can't finish off Sami, KO gets the win. New tag champs. Cody/Roman, one wins one loses. Don't think it really matters because it sets up night two. If Roman wins it's because of the Bloodline, which makes Jey think back to the trial. Sami was taking the bullets, Sami was making the saves, Sami was the reason. Roman is nothing without the Bloodline. Cody wins because the Bloodline without Sami fails to protect Roman, which makes Jey think, see above.

Wrestlemania night 2, Sami/Roman, Sami wins and Roman has either nothing or 1 belt. Roman comes out with the Bloodline, Sami comes out with KO, tag belts in hand. Blah, blah, blah, Bloodline gets involved, KO jumps in, Jey watches on conflicted about what to do. KO takes out Solo and Jimmy, Jey turns on Roman, Sami is new Champ.

This brings us back to full circle, Roman vs Jey, If there are no belts involve, Jey beats Roman finally to breakup the Bloodline and get his revenge for everything Roman put him through. Roman then can take time off and reset. If there is a belt involved, Jey can beat him for it and take over the Bloodline, kicking out Roman and telling him he has lost his way. Roman can then take time off to reset.

Slight tweak to Wrestlemainia story line:

With EC being for Theory, Sami will probably take on Solo as a Roman told me to take you out type match. Jimmy not being allowed into Canada probably leave Jey there by himself to look after Solo. Which would allow the Roman has to go storyline to linger in his head based on what is happening in the Sami/Solo match.

Everything after the EC match stays the same as posted before.

 

[Megahab]

Slight tweak to Wrestlemainia story line:

With EC being for Theory, Sami will probably take on Solo as a Roman told me to take you out type match. Jimmy not being allowed into Canada probably leave Jey there by himself to look after Solo. Which would allow the Roman has to go storyline to linger in his head based on what is happening in the Sami/Solo match.

Everything after the EC match stays the same as posted before.

Jimmy Uso is still not allowed in Canada?

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Was kinda bleh lame “surprises”

To me, Logan Paul was the biggest surprise. I thought his knee injury was going to put him on the shelf for almost a year.

 

[Unholy Diver]

To me, Logan Paul was the biggest surprise. I thought his knee injury was going to put him on the shelf for almost a year.

Apparently he announced that the injury wasn't as bad as originally thought (no torn ACL) in mid November and it just flew under the radar, it ended up an MCL injury that he could rehab in 6 weeks

 

[CDJ]

Logan Paul is honestly incredible. I don’t like his content and I think he’s cringey but when it comes to wrestling? Dudes a natural. Him and McAfee both are pretty remarkable.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Might be the first time in a while we'd see crap thrown at the ring like the old days lol. That would be a catastrophic decision on their end. The blowback would be so bad it likely results in a full scale fan revolt towards whatever they would have planned for Mania. Kinda like how Roman winning the rumble while having the guy they wanted tossed caused hatred for him to find another gear largely because of the super heavy smark crowd in Philly.

If they don't want Sami then they need to put the breaks on it before we get to Montreal. If we go into that PPV with an inkling Sami is still in the mix then they need to commit to it.

The fans wanted Bryan that year, and if not him than Wyatt or Ziggler would have been acceptable, and all 3 were eliminated like common jobbers. After that it was basically anyone but Roman. Big Show and Kane cleaning house stuff seemed like a big FU to the fans and just made things more volatile.

 

[TD Charlie]

Logan Paul is honestly incredible. I don’t like his content and I think he’s cringey but when it comes to wrestling? Dudes a natural. Him and McAfee both are pretty remarkable.

They are entertainers first and foremost. Also being athletically gifted helps, so having both of those things on their side I suppose the wrestling comes along on it’s own.

I’ve been impressed with them both every time they’ve been in the ring. Not even in a “hey for a random celebrity this guy is pretty good” way, but in a legitimately fun to watch way.

 

[Jussi]

 

[Emperoreddy]

Logan Paul is honestly incredible. I don’t like his content and I think he’s cringey but when it comes to wrestling? Dudes a natural. Him and McAfee both are pretty remarkable.

WWE has really hit home runs with celebrities the last two years between Bad Bunny, Pat, and Paul all being able to legit wrestle

 

[DaaaaB's]

Logan Paul is honestly incredible. I don’t like his content and I think he’s cringey but when it comes to wrestling? Dudes a natural. Him and McAfee both are pretty remarkable.

I don't really disagree but I think the majority of professional athletes could be naturals at wrestling if they dedicated themselves to it. Someone else in here said Paul is one of the most natural athletes he's ever seen. That's a pretty big stretch considering Mayweather in his mid 40s was still far more athletic then Paul is.

 

[CDJ]

I don't really disagree but I think the majority of professional athletes could be naturals at wrestling if they dedicated themselves to it. Someone else in here said Paul is one of the most natural athletes he's ever seen. That's a pretty big stretch considering Mayweather in his mid 40s was still far more athletic then Paul is.

He seemed to get more spring than Ricochet, I thought that was wildly impressive

Agreed about professional athletes being able to step right in though- they just need to be coordinated. Deangelo Williams had an awesome match when he gave it a whirl

 

[Jussi]

He seemed to get more spring than Ricochet, I thought that was wildly impressive

Agreed about professional athletes being able to step right in though- they just need to be coordinated. Deangelo Williams had an awesome match when he gave it a whirl

I wonder if they'll take a chance and put Logan Paul in a MITB match? Not to win but for a spectacular spot. I think he'd be up for it.

 

[Sheppy]

Any idea when they announce next years Rumble location? Kind of feel like scratching that one off the Wrestling list depending where it is.

 

[GKJ]

Any idea when they announce next years Rumble location? Kind of feel like scratching that one off the Wrestling list depending where it is.

They’re not even through the rest of this year yet. Probably want to keep an eye on indoor baseball stadiums though. Or domes without an NFL team. I brought up Toronto for summerslam, but they could host a rumble too. There’s kind of only so many they can do. I don’t know how many outdoor ones they can do.

 

[Megahab]

Toronto for the Rumble seems like an obvious choice to me. Rogers Centre should be available and it's the only one of the big 4 PPVs they haven't hosted yet.

 

[Sheppy]

They’re not even through the rest of this year yet. Probably want to keep an eye on indoor baseball stadiums though. Or domes without an NFL team. I brought up Toronto for summerslam, but they could host a rumble too. There’s kind of only so many they can do. I don’t know how many outdoor ones they can do.

Yeah, I wasn’t sure if they announced it the same way Wrestlemania. They announce next years the same time the current one is happening.

I haven’t even heard any rumblings for the rumble (he he)

 

[Brodeur]

Yeah, I wasn’t sure if they announced it the same way Wrestlemania. They announce next years the same time the current one is happening.

I haven’t even heard any rumblings for the rumble (he he)

EARLY WORD ON 2023 WWE ROYAL RUMBLE LOCATION | PWInsider.com

www.pwinsider.com

This last Rumble location was announced in August, although they did announce Phoenix (2019) a year ahead of time. Houston (2020) was announced in February 2019.

As GKJ pointed out, domed stadiums (due to weather, ie avoid what happened with Wrestlemania 37 in Tampa) without possible NFL conflicts would probably be likely since the last two Rumbles have been on the Saturday night of Conference Final weekend.

To my surprise, there's only 20-25 big domed stadiums in the US/Canada. Just going west to east:

Vancouver: BC Place (54,320)
Seattle: T-Mobile Park (47,574)
Dallas: Globe Life Field (40,300) -- maybe they wouldn't do Texas consecutively?
Tampa: Tropicana Field (42,735)
Miami: LoanDepot Park (36,742)
Toronto: Rogers Centre (54,,00)

Phoenix: Chase Field (48,519) -- hosted Rumble in 2019
Houston: Minute Maid Park (41,574) - hosted in 2020
St. Louis: The Dome (67,277) - hosted in 2022
San Antonio: Alamodome (64,000) - hosted in 2017, 2023

Probably unlikely due to NFL: Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, Minneapolis.

Although if they specifically targeted the Saturday of Pro Bowl weekend, maybe that would open up the non-Vegas NFL stadiums?

Edit: I missed that they announced SummerSlam for Detroit (Ford Field) this morning.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Rogers Centre is likely out for 2024. Jays are doing big renovations in two waves, the upper bowls this winter, and re-arranging the lower bowl next winter.

 

[Unholy Diver]

EARLY WORD ON 2023 WWE ROYAL RUMBLE LOCATION | PWInsider.com

www.pwinsider.com

This last Rumble location was announced in August, although they did announce Phoenix (2019) a year ahead of time. Houston (2020) was announced in February 2019.

As GKJ pointed out, domed stadiums (due to weather, ie avoid what happened with Wrestlemania 37 in Tampa) without possible NFL conflicts would probably be likely since the last two Rumbles have been on the Saturday night of Conference Final weekend.

To my surprise, there's only 20-25 big domed stadiums in the US/Canada. Just going west to east:

Vancouver: BC Place (54,320)
Seattle: T-Mobile Park (47,574)
Dallas: Globe Life Field (40,300) -- maybe they wouldn't do Texas consecutively?
Tampa: Tropicana Field (42,735)
Miami: LoanDepot Park (36,742)
Toronto: Rogers Centre (54,,00)

Phoenix: Chase Field (48,519) -- hosted Rumble in 2019
Houston: Minute Maid Park (41,574) - hosted in 2020
St. Louis: The Dome (67,277) - hosted in 2022
San Antonio: Alamodome (64,000) - hosted in 2017, 2023

Probably unlikely due to NFL: Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, Minneapolis.

Although if they specifically targeted the Saturday of Pro Bowl weekend, maybe that would open up the non-Vegas NFL stadiums?

Edit: I missed that they announced SummerSlam for Detroit (Ford Field) this morning.

You have the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, the former Miller Park in Milwaukee as well with capacities between 40-50K

 

[GKJ]

Miami sounds like a place they’d do.

 

[Petey But Really Jim]

Miami sounds like a place they’d do.

Bad Bunny seems like a Miami kinda guy.