OORick
Intellectual Savior of the Masses 
Posts 3333
Registered 12-27-2001 Location - The Birthplace of Aviation Member Is Offline Mood: Flyered Up
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 04:05 AM |
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PPV DISCUSSION: Royal Rumble 2016
It's that time of year, kids.... the Royal Rumble: the official start of the Road to WrestleMania. Call it the WWE equivalent of the start of
the playoffs. Everything just seems a little bit bigger, better, and more important.
And this year, it seems WAAAYYY more chaotic and wacky than any other year in recent memory. Due to major injuries (especially Rollins and Cena) and
an inability to secure a major Stunt Casty Legend (Austin withdrew from consideration, the Rock can't get insurance as he's in the middle
of filming a movie, Sting is facing career threatening neck surgery, and Hogan had to go and be all racist-y) completely wrecked the WrestleMania 32
plans that WWE had in place last autumn.
Even some revised plans had to be thrown out just 3 weeks ago, when Cena's injury came to light. Supposedly, WWE has now got a basic framework
in place for Plan C, but as far as we fans go, there have been no real clues as to how the WM32 card will shape up.
Well, other than the obvious: Roman Reigns and Triple H will be fighting. Very likely, this is where The Rock's non-wrestling participation will
happen. And also, unless WWE is very, very dumb, there's no way the WWE Title will be involved in this feud.
Which brings us back to Sunday's Rumble... for the first time since 1992, the winner of the Rumble will be crowned the WWE Champion. In
'92, Ric Flair outlasted a star-studded field to win the vacant title, and it still rates as one of the very best Rumble matches ever. This
year, it's a bit different, as Roman Reigns is the current champ, and he's being forced to defend said title against 29 other men.
Upping the intrigue and drama even more: Reigns is entering the match from the #1 position, which would require him to last 45 minutes or longer if he
is to hold onto his title. [As of this writing, WWE is claiming 90 second intervals, though earlier on in January, they mentioned 60 second intervals
a couple of times.]
Since OO's stance is that Reigns/HHH is NOT the place for the WWE Title, come WM32, we need to puzzle out the best guy to be the new champion,
and who he would defend against in a second WM32 marquee match.
Of the announced participants, Brock Lesnar is a clear cut favorite, but there are a slew of viable heels who could very easily win the strap, and
create a "chase" scenario for WM.... to me, this is the way to go, and it's also been WWE's go-to play over the years. With Lesnar as a
face, my call is to have him as the challenger, delivering the feelgood crowd pleasing title win at WM32.
Against whom? I figure it's one of three guys...
(1) Sheamus. Sheamus just had a brief reign, and is aligned with a stable of guys who can lend assistance so that it's not such a foregone
conclusion if Lesnar emerges as a challenger. And also: Brock's last two ultra-rare house show appearances were both against the League of
Nations; once against Sheamus, and the other against Alberto del Rio... WWE's M.O. is to get guys in the ring with each other so they can get
comfortable before big PPV matches, so Sheamus would fit.
(2) Bray Wyatt. Wyatt was the stand-out star of WWE TV this last week, ending RAW by standing tall over Lesnar, and ending SD by standing tall over
Reigns. Like Sheamus/LoN, he has a posse, too, so that if Lesnar were to challenge him, it would be a de facto 1-on-4 situation where Lesnar would
actually be in jeopardy.
(3) Kevin Owens. Owens is easily WWE's best pure, old school heel. As a bonus, his "prize fighter" schtick is PERFECT for pairing him against
Brock "Six Times per Year" Lesnar. Those two would instantly generate Big Fight Atmosphere. Only problem: Owens is in a Last Man Standing Match
earlier on the card, and it's already stretching credibility that he's pulling double duty.... that he could survive WWE's most
brutal gimmick match and WIN in his second match against 29 other guys seems a stretch. That said, if he did it, man, it would be like strapping a
rocketpack to his back, and pushing him to the moon.
Of those three, if I were forced to guess, I'd pick Bray. I think it's the best chance to create some actual drama and uncertainty, since
Lesnar's damned near indestructable. I'd love it to be Owens, but the WM card shapes up better if he's available elsewhere
(specifically, I'd like to see him and and his virulent levels of disrespect face off against Undertaker).
Obviously, there will be some unannounced participants, too. Triple H is the one who stands out as all-but-inevitable, since him showing up and being
the driving force behind Reigns' elimination is so clearly the right/smart play.
Other possible entries: the Undertaker (he's been far more active over the last year, with several non-WM matches for the first time since 2011,
and is said to want a more organic build to WM32, rather than just showing up and having a random guy challenge him).... AJ Styles (he's
definitely coming into WWE, the only question is: is having him debut at the Rumble, only to be eliminated 20 minutes later like 28 other shlubs the
best, most impactful way to debut him?)... Daniel Bryan (he's been cleared by outside doctors since late last Summer, but WWE is exercising an
abundence of caution; with the recent spate of injuries, they might relax their concerns and bring Bryan back; that said, it'd be near suicide
to bring him back to the Rumble unless he's gonna win it; so maybe a return on Monday is better?).... and maybe even Randy Orton (who has
recently revealed that he will NOT need an additional neck surgery, and that his December shoulder surgery is rehabbing very nicely)....
We may also get Sami Zayn or Apollo Crews or somebody from NXT (they'll pop the crowd, since the PPV is in Orlando), though this won't
result in a stunning upset victory; although it'd be crazy awesome if they did try something completely unexpected (and Crews is EXACTLY the
right kind of guy to try it with, as he's a favorite of the "smart fans" and he's got everything Vince loves, too).... same thing goes
for the one or two random/comic relief appearances by legends that seem to happen every year.
Anyway, I begin to ramble.... point is, no matter how you slice it, this Rumble has more intrigue, more moving parts, and more uncertainty and
ambiguity than any Rumble in a long time. It's been SOP to have about 27-28 entrants confirmed on the day of the show, leaving just a little
teensy bit of room for a surprise or two. This year, WWE's only confirmed about 16 entrants so far...
So if we don't know who's in the Rumble, how in the blue hell can we know who's gonna win?
And some thoughts about the rest of the show...
The Dudley Boyz vs. the Ascension vs. Mark Henry/Jack Swagger vs. Darren Young/Damien Sandow (Preshow Match). The winners of this four-way earn spots
in the Royal Rumble Match... it seems almost too easy to predict the Dudleys (they are the only ones who'd get pops upon entry), but I guess in
"WWE Think" this could be a way to launch Henry/Swagger as a patriotic tag team. Young/Sandow, on the other hand, is totally pointless and random
(because Titus is already set for the Rumble Match)... but if this somehow results in Damien Sandow dressing up as Titus, I will be a happy camper.
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch (Women's Title). I can't say enough good about how well these two have played their roles over the past 6 weeks.
Becky's the best babyface the women have had since AJ was around. And Charlotte and Ric are dastardly as all get-out. I'm kinda hoping
that Becky has some "surprise" back-up (Mick Foley had been campaigning for the job) and scores the title win.
Alberto del Rio vs. Kalisto (US Title). Kalisto had a cup of coffee with the belt, but now ADR has it back, and as much as I wish Kalisto would get a
fair run with it, that just doesn't seem to be the right fit heading into WM. ADR retaining and providing the competition for an incoming
babyface (Bryan or AJ Styles) is something that would go over like gangbusters at WM32.
The New Day vs. the Usos (Tag Titles). I'll be cheering for the New Day, but I suspect I'll be happy no matter what happens, as these 5
would have to try really, really hard to ever be not entertaining.
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing Match for the IC Title). Same as the tag title match, I'm mostly just expecting to sit back and
be entertained. LMS is almost always a great stip, and Ambrose and Owens are already streets ahead on their own merits. The no decision brawls
they've had on SD lately are harbingers of great things, if you ask me. I'm probably leaning towards Ambrose, because (counter
intuitively) it frees Owens up for something bigger at WM32 (yes, a loss leads to bigger and better things, sometimes!). Plus, I have this nagging
suspicion that we've got Jericho turning heel to challenge Ambrose.... Jericho's last WWE run (he was a surprise partner for Ambrose and
Reigns against the Wyatts) ended with Jericho and Ambrose at odds; and plus, Jericho's douchey tendancies since returning make more sense if
he's prepping a heel turn.
So that's that.... just about everything I can think of to get you ready for Sunday's Royal Rumble. I'm sure you can tell I'm
pretty fired up, so hopefully, I've managed to get some of that to rub off on you.
OO's coverage of the Rumble is already underway in the OO Forums, so head over there if you want to make your own predictions, or if you want
real-time results and discussion on Sunday night. Then, shortly after the Rumble concludes, come on back to the main page, as PyroFalkon is making his
victorious return to recap the PPV!
And as for me, I'll see you all again in about 72 hours, with my recap of Monday's post-Rumble RAW. See you then, kids...
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punkerhardcore
American Dream  
Posts 7552
Registered 7-15-2005 Member Is Offline Mood: Lickable
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 07:47 AM |
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Have they ever booked the Rumble during Championship Sunday before? I guess with the emergence of the Network, they don't care as much about
this, since people can watch later on if they please.
That's what I'll be doing for sure, given what should be a good NFC Championship game and the return of the X-Files. If this was only
available on PPV, it would definitely be a skip from me.
I dunno... I'm just not as hyped about this year's Rumble as others seem to be. Despite the potential for all kinds of cool spots and
surprise entrants, I have a feeling we're going to get Roman running the gauntlet bell-to-bell, and he'll retain the title. Even if we
think the company would do something different, we all thought that last year, too. All we're gonna end up getting is the Roman Rumble. Yawn.
Is everyone mad here?
Of course they are, and you are too... otherwise, you wouldn't have come here.
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TonyTH
Showstopper 
Posts 523
Registered 10-3-2007 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 11:01 AM |
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With AJ, Somoa Joe, big stables in the Social Outcasts and New Day and the Wyatts, possible returns of Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan, this should be
super easy to book and make a fun Rumble. That said, I really have zero hope. I really really assume we'll be bitching on page 4-5 of this topic
about how they made it all about Reigns, and that the winner will be between Reigns, or HHH.
And I really expect the damn thing to get shit on if Reigns is the focus the whole time. I do NOT hate the guy, but they got him over at TLC when he
killed everyone there with chairs. And then he is right back to his smirking lame self. And he'll overpower all the stables with actual
characters, and he will get boo'd. All the cool possibilities in the above paragraph will be squandered. Disappointment 3 years in a row.
That said, with my expectations low, I'm going to be stoked if it turns out even remotely interesting. And I HATE being this guy. But when the
terrible talked about possibilities the last two years were Batista and Reigns, and that was absolutely what happened? It's really hard to not
be that guy. Especially when things have been so stale and they refuse to be creative, even with the 20 injuries they have right now.
Also, we should have a counter for number of superman punches. Or make it a drinking game. But I don't think my liver could handle that.
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TexShark300
The Rowdy One
Posts 2174
Registered 12-7-2005 Location West Texas Member Is Offline Mood: I Will Do Better
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 01:21 PM |
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Don't forget to make your picks here!
http://www.oowrestling.com/OOForums/viewthread.php?tid=30974
OOWF Historian
Life is about choices. You can choose to have a Good Attitude or you can choose to have a Bad Attitude.
- Msgt Hal D. Aaron
1953-2007
House watches TNA. He goes bowling. I Knew I liked that show for a reason.
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nOOb
The Man 
Posts 6497
Registered 5-24-2004 Member Is Offline Mood: Hot Dog!
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 02:09 PM |
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My biggest fear isn't that Roman wins: it's that Randy Orton returns AND wins (because Authority). And thinking about it, I can see WWE
doing this because it's the safe route to take: Triple H faces Roman at Mania and Orton and Brock face off in a match establishing that only
John Cena, Roman Reigns, Triple H, and Randy Orton are capable of putting up any sort of fight vs Brock. Not only do I not want to see that route,
that route kills my interest because it establishes WWE doesn't WANT to make new stars people want to see. I don't need to watch the next
night to see the fan reaction because we've already seen WWE doesn't care when they mocked the audience the next Raw last year by telling
them to go ahead and cancel the Network.
Reigns winning isn't much better but at least that only tells the story that WWE can't tell a story worth telling.
So long as they pull out a change of pace like Bray, Brock, or even Sheamus, maybe they can tell a story that makes Reigns interesting finally.
Probably not, but maybe.
Also, is it just me or does Sandow/Young seem like a team that gets taken out before the match by parties unknown and then replaced by said
attackers?
[Edited on 1-24-2016 by nOOb]
"The Seahawks are cool. Me and Tubby here hung out with them once at a Bruno Mars concert."-Jay and Silent Bob representing the Broncos on FOX NFL
Sunday.
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DKBroiler
SpeciASSl CUMedian
Posts 1146
Registered 1-25-2008 Location One Inch Right of Philly on a Map Member Is Offline Mood: Old
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 02:30 PM |
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Predictions based on nothing.
- ROMAN REIGNS comes out at #1 one and faces ... "HOOKED ON A FEELING" BATISTA AT #2. Nuclear bizzarro pop of dueling hatred.
- The final few will be REIGNS, THE NEW DAY, BATISTA, WYATT, STROMAN, AJ STYLES, and LESNAR. HHH comes in at 30, but gets attacked by a masked man
who takes his spot. Upon seeing HHH getting beat down, REIGNS gets eliminated due to distraction. Masked man is revealed to be DANIEL BRYAN!
- Houses are cleaned to leave a final 5 of BATISTA, WYATT, STYLES, LESNAR and BRYAN.
- STYLES gets tossed by BATISTA setting up a WM feud no one ever asked for but actually sounds fun.
- LESNAR tosses WYATT to set up a Fastlane feud.
- BRYAN tosses BATISTA to set up a Fastlane feud.
- LESNAR and BRYAN wrestle for 10 minutes to insanity heat levels.
- BRYAN tosses LESNAR by using his own momentum setting up LESNAR VS BRYAN at Wrestlemania 32.
DANIEL BRYAN WWE CHAMPION and ROYAL RUMBLE WINNER
(Puts down pipe)
Edited to add the random thought that adding "Hooked on a Feeling" to Batista's entrance music would be pretty fantastic.
[Edited on 1-24-2016 by DKBroiler]
[Edited on 1-24-2016 by DKBroiler]
[Edited on 1-24-2016 by DKBroiler]
Get off my lawn.
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nOOb
The Man
Posts 6497
Registered 5-24-2004 Member Is Offline Mood: Hot Dog!
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 03:01 PM |
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After GotG, no way Batista gets booed. He's built up way too much goodwill with the IWC by being in that movie that booing him would
essentially be booing Drax the Destroyer, which based on my very limited but nonetheless authoritative view of nerd culture is high blasphemy.
Batista, at this point, is immune to booing and is a perfectly acceptable option to win the Rumble.
Of course he also kinda hates WWE right now so there's that.
"The Seahawks are cool. Me and Tubby here hung out with them once at a Bruno Mars concert."-Jay and Silent Bob representing the Broncos on FOX NFL
Sunday.
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the goon
Sister Act
Posts 5527
Registered 3-13-2004 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 06:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore
Have they ever booked the Rumble during Championship Sunday before?
I was thinking about that too, because I don't recall the Rumble being on the same Sunday as the championship games before, but I could be wrong
about that. And if someone had told me back in August that I would be missing some of the 2016 Royal Rumble because my Panthers were going to be
playing in the NFC championship game, I would have told them they were fucking crazy.
My picks:
The Royal Rumble: This one is tough to call and I really like that fact. I could see Roman wining and retaining the title just as easily as I
could see Triple H coming out and costing him the match. But I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say that Bray Wyatt wins. And of course
I'll probably be wrong about that, but I just have a vibe that he's winning it this year (and then you could do Bray/Brock at
WrestleMania).
Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens: This definitely has the potential to be a kickass affair and should be the blowoff to their feud. I could see the
match going either way, but I'm going to go with Kevin Owens winning back the IC title.
Alberto Del Rio vs Kalisto: These two have done some solid work together so far and I don't expect tonight to be any different.
I'll pick Del Rio to retain, just because it doesn't make much sense to hotshot the US title back and forth between these guys.
Charlotte vs Becky Lynch: It seems a little too early to take the title off of Charlotte and her new heel persona, so I pick her to win, with
an assist from daddy Flair (plus it seems like Charlotte/Sasha would be the money match for WrestleMania).
New Day vs The Usos: I'm going to go with the Usos to win the titles, simply because if New Day wins, you run the risk of them beating
all of the other tag teams in the division and having nobody left to face. The Usos winning could stretch the feud out for another month before the
real build to WrestleMania begins.
Nash is only a few inches bigger than JBL and depending on how stiff he gets Punk should be able to take it. -JB King, meant in a totally non-sexual
way
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da1rocksez
Turd Generation Superstar
Posts 15
Registered 9-16-2013 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 06:21 PM |
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The odds on the betting websites keep going in favor of HHH winning. Fair, but the true odds start showing up at 6-7pm. I think HHH as the favorite is
the red herring and Wyatt wins.
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williamssl
Steers and Queers
Posts 6816
Registered 1-11-2004 Location Hippieville Member Is Offline Mood: Fuck USC
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 06:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nOOb
My biggest fear isn't that Roman wins: it's that Randy Orton returns AND wins (because Authority). And thinking about it, I can see WWE
doing this because it's the safe route to take: Triple H faces Roman at Mania and Orton and Brock face off in a match establishing that only
John Cena, Roman Reigns, Triple H, and Randy Orton are capable of putting up any sort of fight vs Brock.
If this happens, I will find you. I will hunt you.
Don't Mess With Texas
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First 9
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1664
Registered 1-22-2013 Member Is Offline Mood: Doing the Emma Dance
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 07:47 PM |
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I'd actually be ok with Lesnar vs Orton for WM. Maybe not if it was set up in such a lame way as Orton randomly being HHH's guy again but
those two could have a phenomenal match and Heyman would have a field day cutting promos with the parallels of their careers.
New Days vs Usos has to be a Usos win doesn't it? New Day has defeated everybody, PTP, Lucha Dragons, The Dudleyz, and already have wins over
The Usos. The only thing left is facing some super teams like Jericho/Ziggler. Usos win here, New Day chases for a while while another heel team is
built up.
Owens vs Ambrose depends on which of the two will be having a major WM match, whoever doesn't gets stuck with the IC Belt while the other loses
in a very protected way.
Charlotte wins to built more sympathy for Becky. It's the first good Divas feud they've had since AJ vs Paige. No need to end it now.
I know Reigns vs HHH overshadowing everything looks like the depressing reality but it feels like Lesnar's WM program needs the Title more than
Reigns. Unless somebody brutalizes Lesnar at the Rumble to add some ''oomph'' to Lesnar's WM match, I feel Bray Wyatt or
somebody else wins The Title and Brock chases while Reigns vs HHH is it's own thing.
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GodEatGod
Showstopper 
Posts 798
Registered 1-14-2004 Location Monroe, LA Member Is Offline Mood: Weird
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 07:47 PM |
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I don't think Orton will win, but I definitely feel like he's going to be one of the surprise entrants. He was pretty strongly denying
his injury was as serious as people thought and I'm sure he wants to be at Wrestlemania. I wouldn't be opposed if they went with him and
Brock (I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened already).
"It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like
Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist." - Tina Fey
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the goon
Sister Act
Posts 5527
Registered 3-13-2004 Location Charlotte, NC Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 08:31 PM |
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Count me in as someone who would be okay with Lesnar/Orton for WrestleMania. It's a matchup we've never seen before and I think those two
could put on a hell of a match together (but I agree with First 9 that I definitely would not want to see the Authority involved and would much prefer
it to just be a face vs face feud).
Nash is only a few inches bigger than JBL and depending on how stiff he gets Punk should be able to take it. -JB King, meant in a totally non-sexual
way
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G. Jonah Jameson
Showstopper
Posts 855
Registered 12-28-2010 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 08:56 PM |
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If Roman Reigns were to win the Royal Rumble, he would have basically retained the WWE World Heavyweight Title against every possible challenger, and
there'd be no one left for him to beat. I mean, I guess you could throw him up against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but it'd be
painfully obvious he was going to win, and having him beat 'Taker at Wrestlemania wouldn't help with WWE's ongoing efforts to get
the crowds to cheer him. I also can't see Triple H winning the Rumble, because then you have to do HHH-Reigns at Wrestlemania and the outcome of
that match would be even more obvious than the outcome to the hypothetical Reigns-'Taker match. Brock Lesnar seems the most likely winner. HHH
enters No. 30, directs a gang-beating of Reigns, but Reigns manages to eliminate him and some of the goons, Lesnar eliminates the rest, and then they
fight until a HHH distraction allows Lesnar to dump Reigns.
Because I am a huge dork, I basically predict the entire Rumble from start to finish every year, so here's something nobody asked for.
Order of entry:
1) Roman Reigns
2) Rusev
3) Bo Dallas
4) Stardust
5) King Barrett
6) Jack Swagger
7) Hardcore Holly (or whatever random one-night-only entry)
8) Adam Rose
9) Tyler Breeze
10) The Big Show
11) Ryback
12) Luke Harper
13) Neville
14) Heath Slater
15) Erick Rowan
16) Titus O'Neil
17) Bray Wyatt
18) Mark Henry
19) A.J. Styles
20) Kane
21) Dolph Ziggler
22) Kofi Kingston
23) The Miz
24) Brock Lesnar
25) Sami Zayn
26) Sheamus
27) Chris Jericho
28) Braun Strowman
29) Curtis Axel
30) Triple H
Order of elimination
1) Bo Dallas by Roman Reigns before #4
2) Stardust by Roman Reigns before #5
3) Jack Swagger by Rusev before #8
4) Hardcore Holly by King Barrett before #8
5) Adam Rose by Rusev before #9
6) King Barrett by Roman Reigns before #9
7) Rusev by Roman Reigns before #9
8) Tyler Breeze by Roman Reigns before #10
9) Heath Slater by The Big Show before #17
10) Neville by Bray Wyatt before #18
11) Titus O'Neil by Bray Wyatt before #18
12) Ryback by Luke Harper & Erick Rowan before #18
13) The Big Show by Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Bray Wyatt before #18
14) Mark Henry by Bray Wyatt before #19
15) Erick Rowan by Brock Lesnar before #25
16) Luke Harper by Brock Lesnar before #25
17) Kane by Brock Lesnar before #27
18) Kofi Kingston by Chris Jericho before #28
19) The Miz by A.J. Styles before #28
20) Dolph Ziggler by Braun Strowman before #29
21) Curtis Axel by A.J. Styles before #30
22) Sami Zayn by Sheamus
23) Chris Jericho by Sheamus
24) A.J. Styles by Braun Strowman
25) Triple H by Roman Reigns
26) Sheamus by Roman Reigns
27) Braun Strowman by Brock Lesnar
28) Bray Wyatt by Roman Reigns
29) Roman Reigns by Brock Lesnar
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First 9
Man of a Thousand Holds
Posts 1664
Registered 1-22-2013 Member Is Offline Mood: Doing the Emma Dance
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 09:17 PM |
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Jameson I feel you're missing that big middle of the match elimination that they always attempt to do.
2010 HBK eliminates HHH around the 20th entry
2011 Cena eliminates Punk around the 25th entry(40 man Rumble)
2012 This was the jobber's Rumble and I haven't bothered to rewatch it.
2013 A returning Rey Mysterio unceremoniously eliminated by Barrett
2014 Reigns dumping Ambrose and Rollins after they went on a tear eliminating everybody
2015 The infamous Daniel Bryan elimination
Out of the current batch, the only guys who could elicit that ''damn, he's already eliminated?'' reaction would be
Reigns, Lesnar, and maybe Bray. So maybe you're right and all the big stars will be saved till the end.
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punkerhardcore
American Dream
Posts 7552
Registered 7-15-2005 Member Is Offline Mood: Lickable
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 09:57 PM |
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Plus you have Axel entering way too late. He'll probably be the #2, and stroll out cutting a promo about how he was never eliminated last year,
and he's been in for a record amount of time, etc... only for Reigns to dump him over the top rope three seconds later. And then Cole and JBL
will fucking hee haw over the whole thing. Because that's the sort of thing the WWE loves to do.
Is everyone mad here?
Of course they are, and you are too... otherwise, you wouldn't have come here.
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S Kid J E T S 48
The Great One
Posts 3923
Registered 10-12-2007 Location New York Member Is Offline Mood: UPPERCUT
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 10:13 PM |
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Regardless of how the Royal Rumble went the last two years (and that was a mix of terrible decisions and some truly bad luck on the surprise
Batista's year), I'm always excited for it. With the title on the line and a bunch of possibilities to win it (including the obvious one),
it's going to lead to some good elimination anxiety throughout it.
I see only 3 possibilities for winners - similar to Rick, though it's more recapping my earlier predictions (note: Orton winning it, as stated
above, is perfectly fine with me - though he hasn't been associated with the Authority in a year, so I don't see why WWE would do that end
of it):
HHH: The obvious one. The story makes sense, and if that one final run with the title is going to happen for HHH, it'll never make more sense
than now. I could see him entering at 30 or 31 and getting the job done...but I think there's a reasonably good chance it happens earlier in the
match to create a different championship storyline.
Kevin Owens: The one heel with constant mic time who has been built up for over a month with a key edge that WWE usually likes to place on their heels
about to rise to the main event. Whether this is ending with Brock or the Undertaker, it's probably leading somewhere, which makes him a likely
winner. Added possibility of him losing a Last Man Standing match before the Rumble is just another one of those things that WWE thinks throws us off
the scent that can lead to him winning it.
Bray Wyatt: They didn't suddenly do what they did last week by accident. Those actions directly replaced the League of Nations as the top
faction and Sheamus as the defacto top heel. Now we thought after Raw it was done to set up Bray eliminating or getting eliminated by Brock in the
Rumble, but doing the equal job to Reigns on Smackdown suggests he's a player here. Bray is the type of "cool heel" WWE can build a
Wrestlemania title match around and him vs. Brock, with the Family behind Bray makes him a legit threat. Only issue still remains that Wyatt
hasn't been consistently bringing the big match after a good feud...so will WWE depend on that?
It'll annoy the hell out of fans (I'm sure), but I think if you add The Rock to Reigns' corner and Vince/Steph are in HHH's,
that match can still supersede the Title match in the main event of Wrestlemania. So I'm going to go with...
JUST KIDDING ABOUT EVERYTHING I WROTE ABOVE: The Rock wins the WWE World Title after HHH eliminates Reigns and he comes out as #30. We get
Reigns vs. HHH and Rock vs. Brock as the double main events of Wrestlemania XXXII. Done and done.
Other RR notes:
1. No Daniel Bryan - he'll be the post-RR or post-WM return.
2. Yes, AJ Styles, who steals Curtis Axel's spot, eliminates Alberto Del Rio and takes off (like last year, Axel keeps the spot, but never
enters), immediately setting up their (at least) Fast Lane program.
3. Dean Ambrose eliminates Chris Jericho...who snaps and eliminates him, turning heel. WM feud begins.
4. Orton returns, eliminates Bray.
That about ends the predictions I've been thinking about that I can still remember. I still can't figure out how Brock is eliminated in
this scenario. Oh well. I can live with WWE surprising me. And with the NXT entries as well. Rest of the card:
Charlotte defeats Becky Lynch - I see this all ending at Mania with a Charlotte/Becky/Paige/Sasha 4-way for the belt, so it doesn't
really matter what happens here...but I think they want a lengthy reign. They've been up Becky in a way that should keep her from falling into
the pool of others for now on.
Dean Ambrose over Kevin Owens - Just doesn't feel like they want to take the belt off Ambrose yet. Owens is definitely more interesting
with a title, but as the proverbial prize fighter we've discussed him being, he'll have a different route.
The Usos defeat The New Day - There's nothing wrong with Big E belting out "Your 3-time champions!"...Usos are the lone team that
hasn't fallen to The New Day...so unless someone's coming back or some star team is being put together to beat them at Mania, you need the
Usos to regain their top spot for a bit here.
ADR over Kallisto - if this were any other time outside of January-April, I'd go Kallisto, but it's not...so ADR.
Preshow: Whatever team Mark Henry is on. Can't imagine they're keeping him out of this. Bonus: Maybe this is the moment Bubba Ray finally
turns on D-Von.
As always, need to add the updated WM predictions after a RR prediction:
1. Reigns vs. HHH
2. Brock vs. Rock
3. Taker vs. Owens
4. Charlotte vs. Becky vs. Paige vs. Sasha
5. Wyatt vs. Orton
6. Jericho vs. Ambrose [costs Ambrose the title at Fast Lane]
7. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan [For IC Belt] (Coming back for his title, going after the guy who put him out, the match WWE has always wanted. Yup.]
8. US Title Ladder Match: ADR vs. AJ Styles vs. Ziggler vs. Rusev vs. Kane vs. Ryback vs. Cesaro vs. whatever is left
Preshow: Usos vs. The New Day, because what else?
Not as strong as you'd hope for Mania, but at least 3 legit main events if The Rock is actually going to wrestle.
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Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2555
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 10:48 PM |
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Royal Rumble
I'd like to see Reigns look strong right out of the gate; get his numerous eliminations early, and then do the HHH either entry, or interference
and elimination of Reigns early.... like in the 15-20 range so you get two "big" stories happening in the Rumble instead of potentially nothing
happening for the first while, and then the ending being a big jumble of stuff.
Reigns versus HHH does not need the title, and having Reigns win will result in probably more damage to Reigns, and a third year of the Rumble closing
with boo's.
I don't hate the idea of Brock versus Orton; but I think the ship on that one has sailed... yeah it's a fresh match up, but it's a
match that should have taken place 3 years ago instead of three HHH versus Brock matches. Orton was the kind of high level talent that had he gotten a
rare win over Brock, or even just being in the ring and looking good would allow him to share that win/elevation around a bit.... I don't have
the same hate for Orton that many do, but the guy feels like he's at the end of his career and that the WWE doesn't know what to do with
him anymore. So I'd rather see Orton get the #3 spot... take on the IC winner as Orton can go either heel or face, and he's big enough
that it'd continue to help elevate the IC title.
Brock shouldn't win in my opinion.... a loss in a situation like this where he can be ganged up on isn't going to hurt his mystique, and a
face chasing feels better going into WM than a heel trying to unseat a face champ.
So that leaves Wyatt or Sheamus, and honestly... I don't really care which takes it... Wyatt probably is the better long term candidate, but I
think Brock versus Sheamus excites me a bit more as they can both brawl. Really though, Wyatt's or League of Nations... same story.
Owens the prize fighter is pretty damned exciting, and he's about as good a heel as you could want.... devious, sharp, and brutal... to take on
Brock. Plus, him losing out to Ambrose would give the night at least one big face win on a PPV that looks like it will probably be pretty heel winning
heavy.
Ambrose vs Owens
For the above reason i'd be cool with Ambrose winning; but honesty both guys are great with the IC strap that it doesn't both me one way
or another.
ADR vs Kalisto
I think the US title is probably better around ADR's waist, but depending on what happens in the RR itself, I don't know if the US title
wouldn't be just lost if Sheamus wins the title and needs his posse to go at Brock. So maybe Kalisto wins, but I don't see him keeping the
title long if he does.
Charlotte vs Becky
Honestly you could go either way, but a heinous post match beat down to put Becky out for a bit so she could come into WM as the hot baby face (with
Foley in her corner to counter Flair).... Next month at Fastlane (?) they could maybe do a women's rumble where Becky could come in for the win.
So yeah; Charlotte wins tonight.
New Day vs Uso's
I'm going to go with the Uso's.... might as well hold onto the New day as heels for a bit longer, and as they become more and more popular
a face run is probably inevitable (which would no doubt ruin them somewhat).... frustrating the heels who are entertaining and give them a reason to
whine works for them.
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Nobledictator1278
And I am AWESOME
Posts 131
Registered 4-9-2013 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 10:57 PM |
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Ive always wondered with all the teases of someone going over the top rope.....what happens if someone slips and falls out. I assume if it happened
before the last competitor they would have the next guy in tell the folks in the match who wins. Or do they just have the runner up win and then fix
it on Raw between then and WM to get the match they wanted?
This sounds horrible and I'm sure it would be extremely frowned upon....whats to stop one of the lower level folks from somehow knocking a
favorite out when they are in a precarious position to make themselves more relevant.
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Matte
"Family Man" 
Posts 8487
Registered 12-16-2008 Member Is Offline Mood: YES!
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 11:11 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Nobledictator1278
This sounds horrible and I'm sure it would be extremely frowned upon....whats to stop one of the lower level folks from somehow knocking a
favorite out when they are in a precarious position to make themselves more relevant.
Legitimately or kayfabe like Maven/Taker? If legitimately, the repercussion of being fired is what's to stop it.
"I'm a professional. I know exactly what I'm doing." - Jeff Hardy
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Nobledictator1278
And I am AWESOME
Posts 131
Registered 4-9-2013 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 11:12 PM |
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I just had a whicked idea.....it wouldn't work for this match....but if Reigns was a heel, I think this would get so much heel heat, and Im not
even sure how this would work, but Im sure they could come up with some BS way.
What if the Champion somehow we DQed from the match.
Have him get eliminated "DQed" at like number 10....then let the rest of the match run its course, have a winner, dude is celebrating but then the
announcer remind everyone however a title can not change hands in a DQ and the heel come back in as champ as the winning face just lose in in the ring
setting up your WM match.
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Wickedfrost
I LOVE RVD 
Posts 805
Registered 2-14-2006 Member Is Offline Mood: Cranky!
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 11:33 PM |
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I'm a little bit off the board on this one. I'm going with the Undertaker to win and set up a program with Bray, KO or another go with
Lesnar.
Stay wet my friends.
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Flash
The Rowdy One
Posts 2555
Registered 4-22-2005 Location Brantford, Ontario Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 1-24-2016 at 11:49 PM |
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Apparently tonight's announce team will be Cole, JBL, and Saxton... both Lawler and Renallo will be staying home. Renallo has said he will be
twitter commentoring tonight though.
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CM Crunk
Showstopper
Posts 800
Registered 7-20-2011 Location The Coachella Valley, California Member Is Offline Mood: Ready.Willing.Gable.
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| posted on 1-25-2016 at 12:01 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by TonyTH
Also, we should have a counter for number of superman punches. Or make it a drinking game. But I don't think my liver could handle that.
I think we might have a way of balancing out whoever draws Roman in the Rumble game. Half a point for everyone else whenever he cocks his fist, one
point whenever he connects, two points for every "OooOOOAAHHHH", five points for every spear, and ten points if he finds a way to work in the apron
dropkick. That way you can still lose to whoever draws number one by but only a few scant points.
Alright, here goes:
The Not Quite Ready For Primetime Players vs. The Dudley Boys vs. The Ascension vs. Black Swagger Huh. I guess Titus is gonna be busy cutting
the ribbon at an Ar-Ar- -Arby's somewhere. Now I'm not saying
there's any reason for this match to be happening, but if there is, I'd like to think it's the start of some dissension amongst The
Dudley ranks. Good on them for the nostalgia run and putting some teams over, but it's time to let Bully Ray do his thing. He still has
something to offer, but he isn't getting any younger. Black Swagger gets the win, but I don't really know what you do with them
moving forward. Feud with The League of Nations? Ehhh.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto Speaking of The League... Fucking Rafi's hilarious, amirite? Jason Mantzoukas is a national treasure.
I'm going to go with Del Rio here. I'd like to see Kalisto get a modest run, but I don't know that WWE is behind him the way
that they should be yet. Plus The League's gonna get torn up like kleenex at a snot party by Roman later in the night, so a win for Alberto
helps keep the scales balanced.
The New Day vs. The Usos I can't quite put my finger on why I'm so apathetic towards The Usos. I think it's either their lack
of distinct personalities, or it's just a side effect of me trying to give Roman a chance and there's some irrational part of my
subconscious lizard-brain that needs to hate itself some Samoans. My liberal Californian ass really hopes it's the former rather than the
latter. At this point the only way I would pop for them would be if they did The Fusion Dance and turned into Umaga. Unless that happens I have to go
with The New Day. On a side note, with Francesca on the shelf, can we get Xavier trying out other instruments in the weeks leading up to
'Mania? Maybe a keytar? Didgeridoo? Then at Wrestlemania he can unveil Francesca 2.0 and lead New Day out with a full marching band, Music
Man-style, to the tune of "76 Trombones"? I'd like that very much please.
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch An entertaining Diva's feud on the main roster? By gar it's been a while. I'd love to see Becky get
the win here, but I think Charlotte continues emulating her father and ekes out a win by nefarious means. I don't know what the severity of
Sasha's injury is, but I get the feeling they'll maybe go with a triple threat with the three of these girls at Wrestlemania.
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens I'm really looking forward to this one for all the reasons mentioned above. What has me curious is whether
or not WWE adheres to the unofficial rule that seems to have popped up in recent years that participants in earlier matches aren't in The Rumble
itself. Depending on the outcome of this match, you could set up any number of interesting scenarios in the Rumble. I could see this one going either
way, but I'm going to go with KO
Roman vs. The World This is where I can't make up my mind. The rational part of my brain says Roman. But the part that hopes to be
surprised thinks otherwise. With the current status of the roster it wouldn't be a bad idea for WWE to try and throw us a curveball to generate
some interest heading into their biggest show of the year, but I don't know how they'd do that without making Roman look kind of like a
chump. It only makes sense to set up a stipulation like this to make the face champ overcome the odds, it would seem, unless they have something major
in their back pocket...
I'm going to go against my better judgement and pick Not Roman.
"I'm gonna fix that last joke by taking out all the words and adding new ones..." - Mitch Hedberg
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kiez
Fella 
Posts 435
Registered 10-23-2002 Location Nottingham, England. Member Is Offline Mood: Bitchin'
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| posted on 1-25-2016 at 12:08 AM |
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I had �1 on randy orton to win/come 2nd. Pays �66. Not bad.
Just to add, Brock would have to be a face vs Orton. HHH interference.
We fight like men, but bitch like women.
John "Realest of the Real" "Thug Life" "True Soldier" "Stone Rock-a-Mania" Cena -BlackDragon
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