Royal Rumble Thoughts

I haven't scoured the net for reactions yet since I returned home last night from the PPV, but I have to assume that there was a mixed reaction for this one. Although I went an appaling 1-for-5 on my predictions, possibly my worst outing to date, the show still had some highlights.

Oh, and the compulsory movie theater story for the night: I'm out at the concession stands getting my monthly dose of junk food, when (former?) WWE Canada president Carl DeMarco struts in, shaking people's hands like he's some kind of a celebrity with his big WWE logo leather jacket on. This has to be the fifteenth time I've seen him at a theater since they've started airing WWE PPV's there. Can't the big guy afford PPV's? Maybe he just enjoys kicking little kids out of their seats (loooooong story).

6-Way Cruiserweight Match

Not bad, and London had awesome spots as usual. Not sure I understand the value in ripping the CW belt off of Kid Kash and giving it to someone who's on Raw (unless he jumps ship soon), but as far as the match went, it was fun.

Ashley vs. Mickie

Am I the only one who noticed Mickie's new music is eerily similar to the song "Mickey"? Not a great match, and certainly not the right decision. The Trish-Mickie thing is getting ready to jump the shark pretty soon, it's time to orchestrate the official turn already.

The Boogeyman vs. JBL

Here's the way I would have done this; you get JBL on the run for most of the match and then have him eke out a sneaky victory. Who, exactly, does that finish help? Boogeyman would have been completely safe losing here.

Royal Rumble
Well, I can't really complain here; the Rumble is almost always a fantastic match. Not that this counts for much, but AFTER I had sent in my PPV predix to OO, I switched to Rey winning the thing. Kind of figured out right from the start that both he and HHH were going to last the balance of the match, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I DID call the Eugene appearance (though Tatanka and Goldust were kind of lacking, given that we'd seen both of them in the last six months), and most of the match itself moved along at a nice pace. I AM surprised that Shawn Michaels wasn't in the first few names there. And yes, I'll complain along with (I'm sure) everyone else in that the Rumble match should never, EVER, go on halfway through the show. Still, Rey winning = right move. Now watch him lose his shot to Randy Orton at No Way Out...

Edge vs. John Cena

This was totally the wrong decision. Edge made the title picture interesting again, was able to show a side of himself that had never been there before, and ratings were actually increasing. So, uh, why the fuck would you have him drop the belt less than a month into his reign? I guess we'll see what happens next, but I can't imagine it will be particularly positive. Yes, Cena-HHH will be a decent WrestleMania main event, but HHH-Cena-Edge could have been even more compelling.

Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry

THIS shit is was went on last? The hell? I remember seeing Henry vs. Angle years and years ago as a throwaway match on Raw -- and it was probably more compelling THEN that it was last night. Gosh, I'm not a Henry hater or anything, but you just don't put this on at the end. Yes, I realize it was to setup the 56th big return of The Undertaker, but.... who cares? REALLY, WHO CARES? AAAAARGH! Though I loved hearing Tazz's "Holy Shit (Beep)!" comment, it wasn't a very good payoff to end the night, in my opinion.

So in conclusion, a very good Rumble, but the rest was kind of skippable...