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WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Discussion Thread - January 28, 2018 from Philadelphia, PA (#31)

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The 31st annual WWE Royal Rumble will come to you, live on pay-per-view and the WWE Network, on January 28 at a special start time of 7/6c from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.

 

The official theme songs of the Royal Rumble are "Power" by Little Mix featuring Stormzy, off of their album "Glory Days", and "King is Born" by Aloe Blacc, which are both available now on iTunes and Spotify.

 

wwe-royal-rumble-2018-poster.png

 

Confirmed Matches/Events

 

30-Man Royal Rumble Match

 

First Ever 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match

 

WWE Championship: 2-on-1 Handicap Match:

AJ Styles © vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

 

Universal Championship: Triple Threat Match:

Brock Lesnar © vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane

 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: 2-out-of-3 Falls:

The Usos © vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin

 

RAW Tag Team Championship:

Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan © vs. Cesaro & Sheamus

 

United States Championship Open Challenge (Kickoff Match)

 

Kickoff Match:

Gallows & Anderson vs. The Revival

 

6-Man Tag: Kickoff Match:

Kalisto, Lince Dorado, & Gran Metalik vs. TJP, Jack Gallagher, & Drew Gulak

Men's Royal Rumble Match Participants

Elias (12/18/17)

Randy Orton (12/26/17)

Shinsuke Nakamura (12/26/17)

John Cena (1/1/18)

Finn Balor (1/1/18)

Baron Corbin (1/2/18)

"Woken" Matt Hardy (1/8/18)

Bray Wyatt (1/8/18)

Rusev (1/9/18)

Aiden English (1/9/18)

Apollo Crews (1/15/18)

Titus O'Neil (1/15/18)

The Miz (1/22/18)

Tye Dillinger (1/23/18)

Big E (1/23/18)

Kofi Kingston (1/23/18)

Xavier Woods (1/23/18)

Roman Reigns (1/26/18)

 

Women's Royal Rumble Match Participants

Naomi (12/19/17)

Asuka (12/25/17)

Ruby Riott (12/26/17)

Natalya (12/26/17)

Sasha Banks (1/1/18)

Bayley (1/1/18)

Mandy Rose (1/1/18)

Sonya Deville (1/1/18)

Carmella (1/2/18)

Lana (1/2/18)

Tamina (1/2/18)

Liv Morgan (1/2/18)

Sarah Logan (1/2/18)

Mickie James (1/8/18)

Nia Jax (1/8/18)

Becky Lynch (1/9/18)

Dana Brooke (1/15/18)

Alicia Fox (1/15/18)

Edited by TPIB

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MVP
ECIII (if that counts as a surprise?)
Both MVP and EC3 would be fun. Can't see either happening though.
ECIII (if that counts as a surprise?)

Only if he comes out to DDP's music - "It's me, it's me, its EC3'.

WWE have announced rumble '19 for the 50000 capacity chase stadium in Phoenix AZ. Its an outdoor sports stadium. One would assume it has a retractable roof.

 

 

Ronda Rousey has signed a full time contract, most sources expect her to be in the Royal Rumble.

Edited by The Icon

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Ronda Rousey has signed a full time contract, most sources expect her to be in the Royal Rumble.

 

According to Rousey herself, she will be on Columbia when the Royal Rumble is happening and she said that she hasn't finalized anything with WWE yet. As is usually the case in professional wrestling, there's every chance that this is a swerve.

 

There are some people saying that Lita might be a surprise entrant since she wasn't invited to RAW 25. Speaking of RAW 25, there were a few of the former Superstars that looked to be in great wrestling shape. Kelly Kelly and Brie Bella both stood out to me as being in good shape so I could see them entering the Rumble. Trish Stratus has never not been in good shape but, unless they have her win, I can't see them putting her in the match given her star power.

 

One name that nobody seems to be talking about but that I've had in the back of my mind since the Women's Royal Rumble Match was announced is Victoria. Naturally, I see WWE wasting a few entries on competitors that have no chance of winning. I just hope we don't see Hervina or Santina show up.

 

As for surprises in the Men's Royal Rumble Match, MVP is a good idea. I'm thinking maybe Jeff Hardy or Dean Ambrose (probably unlikely but you never know). Big Cass also came to mind as a potentially early return. There's quite a few recently released Impact stars that could, but probably won't, return like Bobby Lashley or (as mentioned) EC3. If Dolph Ziggler doesn't answer the U.S. Title Open Challenge on the Kickoff (or maybe even if he does), he might get a spot in the Rumble as well.

 

EDIT: Don't worry, guys. It was announced on Twitter and confirmed on WWE.com that Roman Reigns will be an entrant in the Royal Rumble Match. :lol:

 

I noticed something interesting when reading about Roman's entry into the Rumble on WWE.com. They mentioned that the winner of the Rumble can face a World Champion "of their choosing". Whether this was a mistake by whoever wrote the article or we're in for a swerve.

Edited by TPIB

Apparently Michelle McCool is expected to enter the rumble. At least WWE approached her with an offer. They have also asked Molly Holly to appear.
  • Author
Apparently Michelle McCool is expected to enter the rumble. At least WWE approached her with an offer. They have also asked Molly Holly to appear.

 

I could see Michelle McCool entering the Rumble. She's been out of action for a while but it's not like the Royal Rumble Match is very demanding.

Apparently Michelle McCool is expected to enter the rumble. At least WWE approached her with an offer. They have also asked Molly Holly to appear.

 

If they can get Layla back too (no idea what she's been up to), I'd love a little face off between LayCool and The Iconic Duo.

  • Author
If they can get Layla back too (no idea what she's been up to), I'd love a little face off between LayCool and The Iconic Duo.

 

That would be awesome to see, actually

Layla is a real estate manager now. I doubt she will ever wrestle again.

 

So Stephanie is going to commentate the Rumble event. What are your thoughts on that?

 

Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Undertaker, EC3, HBK and Ricochet have all being spotted close to the Royal rumble location in Philly.

Edited by The Icon

It’s my annual get pissed, watch wrestling and request a password reset for this site night.

 

Really enjoying this evenings ppv. Probably helps I’m pissed and don’t know half of the competitors but all these nostalgic entry’s (womens rumble) have made it worth while

Enjoyable event. Will edit this with proper comments when it isnt 5am.

I thought it was a fun show.

 

Random thoughts during the events:

 

- Loved the Mania sign - one of my favouritres, really stands out

 

- There were some nice spots in the cruiserweight match, shame there wasn't much of a crowd. I hope with the new GM announced on Tuesday it will be able to build some momentum, besides a few bright spots the division constantly seems to struggle

 

- I'm glad they put the US title open challenge match on the pre-show, can you image if it was on the main show and Mojo walked out :D

 

- I was hoping for a better match between the Usos and Cable/Benjamin, it was alight but I know they can do better

 

- I didn't like the triple threat between Brock/Braun and Kane, seemed a little off - I knew it would be a brawl but I thought some of their brawls on Raw in the lead up to this were better

 

Men's Rumble:

 

- I actually thought Kofi was eliminated when Jinder threw him over, luckily he was OK, well, for a little while :p

 

- I don't see what the point of Dolph's hiatus was - it hasn't achieved anything :rolleyes2:

 

- I was really hoping Gargano was going to come in and face Almas, I think that would have got a great pop, would have actually preferred him to Adam Cole

 

Women's Rumble:

 

- Was it me or did a lot of women seem to spend most of their time outside the ring...

 

- Loved Vickie Guerrero coming back, wasn't expecting her, so that was a nice surprise :lol:

 

- Loved the little tease with heel Sasha at the end with the Bellas - then getting double crossed by them :)

 

- I was REALLY hoping for Khama to make an appearance, that was my only real disappointment, overall was a fun Rumble

 

Considering the amount of hype the show gets, I think they did a good job.

 

Overall with NXT and the Rumble, I think WWE had a pretty good weekend!:lovesign:

Haven't been around for a while, so thought I'd pop in and see what was said about the Rumble.

Meltzer is a glorified fan - he doesn't have any credible inside knowledge so I would take what he says with a pinch of salt...
Give over, man. Meltzer's opinions are just that, but to say he doesn't have any credible inside knowledge is as asinine a statement as has been said on this forum... and I was here for the Jayfunk era.
Just worried that the crowd will be burnt out by the end of the men's rumble. ( I assume the mens rumble will go on last.)
If the male Rumble had went on last, it wouldn't have mattered if the crowd were burnt out by the end of it as there would have been nothing following it.
Braun and Kane hate each other in storyline. Why would they team?
Wrestling is littered with teams that disliked each other and then either grew to like each other and teamed or were forced to team up, got their shit together and became credible duos.

 

As for the show itself, here's my opinions on the matches.

 

CW 6-Man

Obviously booked at relatively short notice, but it was a nice (if nothing special) match to kick things off proper and entertain the few fans who came into the building early.

 

The Revival v The Good Brothers

Much better than their waste of time at RAW 25 (I prefer to go with anything that happened in the Manhattan Center was non-canon), this was a good tag-match. Both are capable of much better, but as this in the middle of a pre-show, no need to blow your load totally.

 

I did love the leg work from the old-shoolers and that it played perfectly into the finish.

 

Roode v Mojo

I like Mojo, his promos leading up to the match with Ryder were next level, but this was a waste of Roode and of Rawley. The open-challenge aspect needs to be dropped as every US Champ since Cena has done it, but it has only worked with Big Match John because of who he is and that he faced a litany of guys overall. This match meant nothing in the grand scheme of things and will be one of those "Oh yeah, I forgot they fought then" bouts you have jarred back into your memory when the two guys meet in a better setting.

 

AJ v Canadian Friends

The start of this with the quick tags was fun, while these three are always good to watch. The wrestling isn't the problem here, it's the authority-figure storyline backdropping it that sucks. And with the pin being made on the illegal man, it's only going to continue. They cannot have the title on anyone but Styles come 'Mania. If they tease us now with him v Nakamura, only to switch the title to someone else, I think I'll cry.

 

Usos v American Beta

The first fall was fantastic and while I liked the nature of the second fall coming due to Shelton's hubris, I did felt cheated because I'd have loved them to have gone another 10-15mins (akin to the best-of-three between Revival and DIY).

 

Men's Royal Rumble

This was fantastic. Perfectly placed surprise entrants, pretty much everyone got something to do in the match. Corbin got to destroy people on the way out, people got to hit Slater on the way in, Sheamus got dumped by Slater (yeah), Almas and Cole got a big pop in this house, though nothing topped the surprise pop for Mysterio.

 

The final six being three old versus three new was relayed well, as was the Cena / Reigns against Balor / Nakamura for the final four. Big spots leading to Reigns charging into a Kinshasa was the perfect end to one of the best Rumble matches.

 

Jordan / Rollins v The Bar

An angle more than a match, it was OK, but struggled after the emotional high of the previous match. This should, hopefully, be the end of the former champs as a tag-team, but I look forward to seeing JJ as the entitled (and oblivious) daddy's-boy heel.

 

Monster v Machine v Beast

This was a lot of fun. Strowman clattering Brock with a stiff knee, followed by Lesnar rattling Braun with a legit full-force punch to the head, set the tone. Not much wrestling, but we got what we needed; big men hurling each other around, tables being broken and Kane eating the pin.

 

Women's Royal Rumble

First off, Stephanie was great on commentary. Sure, she wasn't calling the action as such, but she did a great job of putting over the match and everyone in it. Plus it was refreshing to have her and both champions out there and it not be a factor in the match at any point.

 

The right person won (I too was disappointed that Kharma wasn't in there, though if they are building Nia, it wouldn't make sense to have a more evolved version of that same character appear in the same match), the surprises were nice, though I felt there were too many Legends and spots could have been given to more NXT roster members.

 

That being said, Vikki's appearance put a smile on my face and Ronda Rousey appearing at the end could be a legit game-changer if booked and promoted properly.

 

Overall, the Rumble and Takeover were two great nights of wrestling. MANIA SEASON!!!!

I wanted to mention a huge missed opportunity in the Rumble.

 

I think Ziggler's absence and return was completely wasted. So what if he was #30? If he won then maybe it would have been worth it. I would have had Ziggler return on Smackdown as part of the US Title. And he even had his music playing again? (WTF?)

 

My pick for #30 was Jason Jordan. Was dying to see him eliminate Rollins, would have meant so much more than Reigns eliminating him. Plus, him at #30 also fits in perfectly with this ongoing "favouritism from daddy" storyline.

 

Any thoughts on this or other missed opportunities?

First off, Stephanie was great on commentary. Sure, she wasn't calling the action as such, but she did a great job of putting over the match and everyone in it. Plus it was refreshing to have her and both champions out there and it not be a factor in the match at any point.
I thought she was awful. Probably one of the few things I didn't like. I would have preferred her to be the ring announcer then sit inbetween Charlotte and Alexa during the match.

Both the below news stories are from Wrestling-Online Newsletter:

 

NIKKI BELLA, NIA JAX, AND SASHA BANKS NOT HAPPY ROUSEY OVERSHADOWED THE RUMBLE

 

- A couple of female WWE Superstars don't seem to be too thrilled about Ronda Rousey joining WWE or how the company pushed her debut overshadowing the history-making first-ever women's Royal Rumble match on Sunday. Nikki Bella started the whole thing on Twitter when she replied to a WWE tweet about Ronda Rousey offering her candid thoughts on the night just moments after the Rumble finished. "Wonder what all the 30 other women candid thoughts were too?" Nikki tweeted. She then answered a fan's question who asked what did she think of Rousey's arrival. "Awesome!... if it was tonight," Nikki wrote, referring to Monday. "Not last night when the women of WWE that have worked so hard for SO many years and years to make history." Nia Jax also spoke about WWE's continuous push of Rousey on social media. "UP NEXT: We receive the moment you've all been talking about..." the WWE Twitter account said showing a photo of Rousey pointing to the WrestleMania sign. "Cool she’s here....I guess 30 women making history can just be forgotten," Jax responded. Sasha Banks, appearing on the Busted Open radio show, was asked repeatedly about Rousey and every time the topic came up, she replied with, "I have nothing nice to say so I can't say anything at all." When then quizzed about what she would do if she goes to work and her name is next to Rousey's for a segment, the former champion said she'd do what she does every time and does her job. WWE Hall of Famer Madusa also took a dig at WWE for suddenly ignoring the Rumble. Madusa said that the problem is not with her, but with the company for discrediting all the women before her. "I totally love and support Ronda and everything she did to change the future for women. My rant is not at her. I am merely making sure the women of wrestling get the credit that is due," she wrote.

 

ROUSEY BACK IN COLOMBIA FOR MOVIE AS WWE TRIES TO SECURE THE ROCK FOR TAG MATCH

 

- WWE's newest recruit, Ronda Rousey, is back in Bogota, Colombia to resume filming her scenes for her upcoming movie Mile 22. Rousey flew in via a private jet on Sunday and was kept totally hidden from everyone at the Rumble until her time was up to come out in front of the cameras. The former UFC Bantamweight champion flew back to Colombia after the show. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that WWE is trying to secure the services of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to team up with Rousey at WrestleMania to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. All four worked an angle years ago at WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, with Rousey hip-tossing Triple H and then grabbing Stephanie by her arm, only to let her go unharmed. Meanwhile, Roddy Piper's kids Colt and Ariel spoke with TMZ regarding Rousey's arrival and the jacket she was wearing. Colt was the one who personally gave his father's jacket to Ronda on Sunday so she could wear it for her debut. Colt said that Roddy would be "damn proud" of Ronda because she deserves everything that she has gotten in her career. His sister Ariel said that she feels honored and cried a lot when she saw her wearing the jacket at the Rumble. "That jacket, I saw it going down that aisle a thousand times and I never thought I'd get to see it again, but she's the right lady to wear it," Colt said.

 

I kinda agree with the WWE women - they made this whole deal about how historic the Women's Rumble would be, yet they completely overshadowed it with Ronda's debut. What makes it worse is that now she's gone back to filming so they can't even build any angle of the back of it (yet).

Having Ziggler at 30 was just baffling. Plus he wasn't even on SmackDown this week for any follow up! The Jordan thing would have been a lot better. I would have even liked to see Reigns at 30 just for the reaction it would have gotten from the fans.
I wanted to mention a huge missed opportunity in the Rumble.

 

I think Ziggler's absence and return was completely wasted. So what if he was #30? If he won then maybe it would have been worth it. I would have had Ziggler return on Smackdown as part of the US Title. And he even had his music playing again? (WTF?)

 

Having Ziggler at 30 was just baffling. Plus he wasn't even on SmackDown this week for any follow up! The Jordan thing would have been a lot better. I would have even liked to see Reigns at 30 just for the reaction it would have gotten from the fans.

 

I saw a few posts before the Royal Rumble hoping Ziggler would come out at 30 but to Daniel Bryan's music (continuing his gimmick of using other superstars music) - the crowd would have gone mental...until they saw Ziggler. I actually would have LOVED for them to do that :lol:

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