WWE: WWE PPV Thread: Up Now - THE ROYAL RUMBLE (with no fans)

[Natey]

Why did both main title matches just spam finishers?

Because Lesnar has done that for years and Goldberg can't do anything else.

The last 6 world title matches might be 13 minutes combined lol

 

[ColePens]

Yeah that was a bummer. Both title matches were jokes. You could tell Lesnar wanted to put Drew over when crowds were involved but he absolutely gave 0 shits about tonight. That was a bad performance and pretty meh.

Super happy for Drew. Both title matches F-.

 

[TheShape]

Lazy stuff

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Because Lesnar has done that for years and Goldberg can't do anything else.

The last 6 world title matches might be 13 minutes combined lol

Hopefully with belt off Lesnar thats the end of that for a while.

 

[sabremike]

 

[TD Charlie]

Would’ve preferred Brock to win tonight and then put Drew over in front of the next ppv crowd.

Overall, a pretty average two days of wrestling. However, considering the task at hand, i think they did an excellent job. I was on zoom with 8 other guys watching, and we were all laughing and exchanging banter for 7 hours over the weekend. The WWE entertained me and removed me from what’s going on in the world.

a wild success imo

 

[Natey]

Here's my full ratings for the show. I don't care if you like star ratings or not, I have used them ever since I used to write for 411.


WRESTLEMANIA: NIGHT ONE
Cesaro vs. Drew Gulak [**3/4]
WWE Women’s Tag Team Title Match: Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss vs. The Kabuki Warriors (c) [***1/4]
Elias vs. King Corbin [NR]
Raw Women’s Title Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler [**3/4]
IC Title Match: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Daniel Bryan [***1/2]
Smackdown Tag Team Title Ladder Match: John Morrison (c) vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso [****]
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins [**1/2]
Universal Title Match: Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg (c) [-*****]
Bone Yard Match: Undertaker vs. AJ Styles [****3/4]

WRESTLEMANIA: NIGHT TWO
Liv Morgan vs. Natalya [**1/2]
NXT Women's Title Match: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley (c) [****1/2]
Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley [***]
Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler [***]
Last Man Standing Match: Edge vs. Randy Orton [***1/2]
RAW Tag Team Title Match: Austin Theory & Angel Garza vs. The Street Profits (c) [**1/2]
Smackdown Women's Title Match: Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Lacey Evans [****]
Firefly Funhouse Match: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt [*****]
WWE Title Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre [-***]

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

Happy with this WM, especially considering the circumstances.

Most of the matches were entertaining, and most of the wrestlers I wanted to go over did go over.

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

HFBoards botched

 

[ColePens]

Matches that were better because of the current circumstances:
++ AJ/Taker
++ Cena/Wyatt
++ Rollins/Owens
++ Ladder Match

Matches that were in desperate need of a crowd
- Ziggler/Otis
- Drew/Lesnar
- Becky/Baz

 

[Natey]

Matches that were better because of the current circumstances:
++ AJ/Taker
++ Cena/Wyatt
++ Rollins/Owens
++ Ladder Match

Matches that were in desperate need of a crowd
- Ziggler/Otis
- Drew/Lesnar
- Becky/Baz

Add Sami/Daniel to the bottom list.

And Drew/Lesnar just needed to be a match, not the same shit as Goldberg/Braun.

 

[Blueblood9]

all i know is i cant wait for the undertaker last ride to come out. Hes been of my favorites since forever and scared the shit out of 10 yo me when he debuted

 

[ColePens]

all i know is i cant wait for the undertaker last ride to come out. Hes been of my favorites since forever and scared the shit out of 10 yo me when he debuted

I know Im saying this to the wrong person, but every time Taker starts talking wrestling - i lose a littttttle more respect for him. The guy who sat there in 2000 or 2001 saying he never wants to be way past his prime where a father has to explain to a child what he once was... is a hypocrite and a massive mark for himself. That Austin podcast where he was trying to explain what he goes through just to walk out and embarrass himself in the ring is sad. That was really sad.

And he's entitled to do whatever he wants. Quite honestly that walk out in front of a crowd must be a legit drug. But he has pretty much embarrassed himself and put himself (his body) in massive harm not being able to walk away.

All I have to say is thank GOODNESS for that boneyard match. If that's my last taker match... awesome. What a bad ass.

 

[les Habs]

Just watched the Wyatt vs Cena match. From a match perspective I thought it was bad. A few things like the lights going out I can handle, but it just wasn't believable. Curious to see what Cornette has to say about it. That said the video montage as something on the Titantron (is that what they call it these days?) was fantastic. If that's all down to Wyatt I have to say it's crazy that one of my favorite wrestlers touched on essentially two fantasy match ideas I've had for a year or two now. Anyway, I think having Cena wonder the backstage area and actually be on the Funhouse set backstage and spending time looking for Wyatt while the montage plays and is intersected with footage of Cena doing so would have been better. I would have changed the ending too. Instead of The Fiend finishing the match I'd have had Wyatt himself do it and that be the end of the line for The Fiend as his purpose was served. You could always bring The Fiend back again.

 

[dahrougem2]

Just watched the Wyatt vs Cena match. From a match perspective I thought it was bad. A few things like the lights going out I can handle, but it just wasn't believable. Curious to see what Cornette has to say about it. That said the video montage as something on the Titantron (is that what they call it these days?) was fantastic. If that's all down to Wyatt I have to say it's crazy that one of my favorite wrestlers touched on essentially two fantasy match ideas I've had for a year or two now. Anyway, I think having Cena wonder the backstage area and actually be on the Funhouse set backstage and spending time looking for Wyatt while the montage plays and is intersected with footage of Cena doing so would have been better. I would have changed the ending too. Instead of The Fiend finishing the match I'd have had Wyatt himself do it and that be the end of the line for The Fiend as his purpose was served. You could always bring The Fiend back again.

It wasn't supposed to be?

If you started that match - knowing full well it's a Firefly Funhouse match - expecting even an ounce of realism, you were going to be disappointed.

 

[CDJ]

Didn’t watch but apparently Edge-Orton did a spot that was basically how benoit killed himself?



yeesh


Member when they fired Daniel Bryan for choking the ring announcer with his tie? Pepperidge farm remembers

 

[iamjs]

I don't think that I like this, but I prefer it to an actual match between them. Nothing wrong with them doing something so different given the current situation.

This is probably the best description for that match.

It was entertaining, but at the same time I'm still not sure what it was.

 

[ColePens]

Just watched the Wyatt vs Cena match. From a match perspective I thought it was bad. A few things like the lights going out I can handle, but it just wasn't believable. Curious to see what Cornette has to say about it. That said the video montage as something on the Titantron (is that what they call it these days?) was fantastic. If that's all down to Wyatt I have to say it's crazy that one of my favorite wrestlers touched on essentially two fantasy match ideas I've had for a year or two now. Anyway, I think having Cena wonder the backstage area and actually be on the Funhouse set backstage and spending time looking for Wyatt while the montage plays and is intersected with footage of Cena doing so would have been better. I would have changed the ending too. Instead of The Fiend finishing the match I'd have had Wyatt himself do it and that be the end of the line for The Fiend as his purpose was served. You could always bring The Fiend back again.

Yeah it wasn't supposed to be a match. This was supposed to be like a psychological thriller movie. Or even something with some deep thinking like Inception.

Wrestling is fake just like every movie, tv show, etc. This told an amazing deep story and fed into what fans have been screaming out since WM 30. I thought this was pretty much damn near perfect. There were even very deep digs at 80s wrestlers who bulked up but didn't have talent. There was an AMAZING deep meaning behind Cena's rap jokes burying talent and being quite mean to pick on inner weaknesses. Bray sat there and took the insults while Cena started realizing how much they hurt.

Man... it was perfection. Honestly.

 

[JackSlater]

I know Im saying this to the wrong person, but every time Taker starts talking wrestling - i lose a littttttle more respect for him. The guy who sat there in 2000 or 2001 saying he never wants to be way past his prime where a father has to explain to a child what he once was... is a hypocrite and a massive mark for himself. That Austin podcast where he was trying to explain what he goes through just to walk out and embarrass himself in the ring is sad. That was really sad.

And he's entitled to do whatever he wants. Quite honestly that walk out in front of a crowd must be a legit drug. But he has pretty much embarrassed himself and put himself (his body) in massive harm not being able to walk away.

All I have to say is thank GOODNESS for that boneyard match. If that's my last taker match... awesome. What a bad ass.

I don't blame Undertaker for chasing the money but clearly his reputation has suffered over the last ten years. If he'd retired not long after his two Michaels Wrestlemania matches he'd be much more deified than he's going to end up being when (if) he does retire. As of right now though I would call his match from Wrestlemania 36 the best thing he's done in the ten years since he last faced Michaels.

 

[GKJ]

I don’t get what people expected Goldberg and Lesnar to be, I mean you can hate that that’s what they do, but they’re not guys who work by the hour. Lesnar working 15 minutes with no crowd would’ve been way worse. Both matches were exactly what they were supposed to be, and Lesnar still worked hard to put McIntyre over.

 

[TD Charlie]

Nothing was a wrestling masterpiece, and nothing will go down as a wrestlemania classic, but for a solid 7 hours this weekend i was entertained. It provided an easy break from the corona

 

[BobColesNasalCavity]

I haven't been into wrestling for years but this was definitely entertaining. Undertaker/AJ Styles match could change a lot of things going forward. You could actually have an Undertaker/Sting match now and produce it to be semi-believable considering they are both ancient fossils.

 

[les Habs]

Yeah it wasn't supposed to be a match. This was supposed to be like a psychological thriller movie. Or even something with some deep thinking like Inception.

Wrestling is fake just like every movie, tv show, etc. This told an amazing deep story and fed into what fans have been screaming out since WM 30. I thought this was pretty much damn near perfect. There were even very deep digs at 80s wrestlers who bulked up but didn't have talent. There was an AMAZING deep meaning behind Cena's rap jokes burying talent and being quite mean to pick on inner weaknesses. Bray sat there and took the insults while Cena started realizing how much they hurt.

Man... it was perfection. Honestly.

But in the end it was a match, no? I mean the finisher was part of the match as was the pin, correct?

I get all that. It was fantastic, I agree, but not in place of some sort of "realism" of an actual match. As the viewer, I took it as a match happened within all of that and there was a pin and a winner. That's what I don't like. Had the montage still happened on the "Titantron" and/or in part with Cena perhaps going backstage and maybe finally ending up in the ring where his guard being down was attacked from behind and defeated, that would have been more acceptable for me.

It's all subjective. Again, I liked most of the montage, but it didn't work for me as a match. On a side note, I still can't believe Vince let's him get away with that sort of that thing. The funniest part for me was during the NWO bit and the Vince puppet said something like "this shit is good!"

 

[GKJ]

It wasn’t a match, regardless of what it was promoted as.

neither was Undertaker/AJ for that matter

 

[HandsomeHollywood]

I can't get Rhea Ripley screaming f***ing bloody murder for what felt like 40 minutes out of my head.