Live Royal Rumble Report - Lots of Event Photos
Jan 26, 2015 11:48:23 GMT -5
Jaz, JHTB®, and 10 more like this
Post by Flair Forever on Jan 26, 2015 11:48:23 GMT -5
UPDATE 1/27/15: My own personal thoughts on the show...
Having been there for the live experience, & coming home & reading the online reviews, & watching most of it on the WWE Network for $9.99, here are some first-hand thoughts I have on the show....
* The undercard was weak. The NAO vs. Ascension did not have enough buildup, it was a nice novelty to see some "Attitude Era" stars but the time probably should have been spent on a nice Intercontinental Title Match, OR a U.S. Title Match (Ryback VS Rusev would have worked well here, I think). No one cared about the Divas match either - again, it seemed slapped together. And I think the crowd had little interest in Usos VS. Mizdow - I think we'd seen it several times already.
* Perhaps due to the weak undercard - from my seat, I noticed that people were drinking - A LOT. The beer was flowing pretty quickly throughout the arena.... which I think contributed to the after-show antics we've heard about with rowdy fans harassing the wrestlers.... it probably also contributed to the boisterous & negative crowd reactions during the 30-Man main event. Fans were pretty liquored up by the time Bray threw Daniel Bryan out of the Rumble....
* The 30-man Rumble did suffer from poor booking. The Philly crowd was pretty psyched for the match - then, when Miz & R-Truth came out as #1 & #2, people really weren't into either one. Compared to past Rumbles, where #1 & #2 were often bigger names - it was pretty obvious from the opening bell that no one would be "going the distance" this year. It almost would have made better sense to have Buh-Buh Ray come out in the #2 spot, as he received a huge ovation from the pro-ECW Philly crowd - definitely would have started the Rumble off on a better footing! Beyond that - I feel the Rumble match simply lacked star-power. I'm all for giving the undercard guys a shot, but there were a lot of names missing from the Rumble (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, & Bo Dallas probably would have made more crowd-impact than Zack Ryder, R-Truth, Sin Cara, & Titus O-Neil). If they were going to use undercard guys - it might have made more sense to showcase some NXT talent as well!
* On a side note - of all the things for WWE to worry about - WHY are they so intent on trying to break the record for SHORTEST RUMBLE ENTRY? I understand they were trying to have Titus break that record but someone screwed up. WHY ARE THEY WORRIED ABOUT THIS, of all things? Are they just tired of showing that Bushwacker Luke footage year after year?
* I know this will make some people mad - but, in retrospect, I think this may have played a bit better if the 3-Way Title match had gone on last. The match absolutely stole the show - the crowd was on their feet for most of it, responding to nearly every move & sequence & they popped big time when Lesnar won. I'm a big fan of having the Rumble match go last - but, based on the outcome, it might have played better the other way (this year). Philly was behind Brock Lesnar for this one, and really anti-Cena. From my seat - all three guys brought their best game & left it all in the ring Sunday night.
* Overall, I really enjoyed the show & my group had a great time. We agreed that the Lesnar/Cena/Rollins match was one of the best title matches we've seen live.... we also agreed that Philly was a little bit harsh towards Roman Reigns. I don't hate Reigns like a lot of people do.... I appreciate that they are trying to elevate someone new. That being said - Daniel Bryan's poor booking was a major miscalculation by someone in WWE - probably Vince McMahon. I really feel that the Authority (or another wrestler) should have somehow screwed Bryan out of the hard-fought win - and had Roman/Rock swoop in for the victory by vanquishing whoever eliminated Bryan. Bryan's elimination was a bit anti-climactic, unexpected, & disappointing. Coming out of the Rumble - who does Daniel Bryan have a beef with? Bray Wyatt? We've seen that before.... I don't believe they used the Rumble match properly to set up future feuds, and this is a huge missed opportunity for WWE.
* Really cool that The Rock came out. I wish they hadn't spoiled it on WWE.com a few hours before the show - that'll teach me for peeking at it (next time I won't).
* I didn't witness any of the inappropriate behavior by fans after the show. We were mostly trying to track down those Mattel posters, & then get back to our car (it was starting to snow). A lot of people were complaining about the finish, but I didn't see anyone acting badly. I hope those rowdy "fans" didn't just blow our chances of getting WrestleMania in the near future!
Let's get to the photos!
NAO VS. The Ascension....
Geez, the crowd was NUTS for friggin' Mizdow..... he was more popular than Cena & Reigns..... good for him!
Women's Match.... went to the bathroom during this match, that's where the comedy was, apparently - some dude came into the Men's room and announced "If You Think John Cena's going to win the World Title Tonight..... I'M AFRAID I'VE GOT SOME BAD NEWS"..... and some little kid in a Cena shirt proceeded to cry..... "tell him you were kidding!" everyone started chiding the guy, and he did tell the kid he was only kidding. It was really funny. Then, a guy dressed like the Spirit Squad came I and started greeting everyone with Spirit Squad names "Johnny! Nicky!" That was equally funny....
Almost looks like another bad episode of "Total Divas"....
The crowd was REALLY hot for the World Title Match.... and Cena was nearly boo'd out of the building by the Philly fans....
We had an amazing time during that match, the crowd responded to every move!
I'll update the thread later today with my pics from the actual Rumble match, so check back!
RUMBLE MATCH:
1st big surprise - Bully Ray, I mean - Buh Buh Ray.... now I have to get used to calling him by his old name again! The Philly crowd popped like crazy for this ECW favorite - but where was Devon?
Wyatts VS Wyatts was.... actually, very cool! The Rumble was still going pretty well at this point!
The Boogeyman was a fun surprise!
When Daniel Bryan came out - the roof blew off the Wells Fargo Center! I was sure there was no way he was going to lose at this point!
Awesome to see DDP again! BANG!
The crowd was really digging the Royal Rumble match until Daniel Bryan got eliminated - after that, it was like the air just deflated out of Philly.... the crowd just seemed irritable, and ready to boo everyone for everything they did.... this is the moment the Royal Rumble died!
I really like the way this picture came out!
Once Ziggler got eliminated - most in the crowd were saying "I don't want any of these guys to win!" It was pretty sad, at that point... I heard some people saying they were leaving..... I don't think they did, though.... I hope they didn't, it was pretty awesome when The Rock came out! For a minute, then they started jeering again....
At one point, they actually started cheering for Rusev.... it was downright scary!
To be perfectly honest, I felt a little it sorry for Roman Reigns.... I mean, he's trying to be successful just like all the other wrestlers - the Philly crowd was brutal! I cold almost see the sadness in his eyes as he tried to play to the crowd like a hero..... only being met with jeers. Must be tough....
Overall - the 3-way WWE World Heavyweight Title match absolutely stole the show here, all three competitors worked their butts off & the crowd was white-hot for every move & sequence in the match.
Small Update: On the way out to our cars after the show - they were handing out Mattel Posters, advertising some of the current lines, & the Hulk Hogan Defining Moments! Has anyone seen these before, is this poster exclusive to the live events? It's pretty cool, I'll be framing!
Thanks for looking!
Having been there for the live experience, & coming home & reading the online reviews, & watching most of it on the WWE Network for $9.99, here are some first-hand thoughts I have on the show....
* The undercard was weak. The NAO vs. Ascension did not have enough buildup, it was a nice novelty to see some "Attitude Era" stars but the time probably should have been spent on a nice Intercontinental Title Match, OR a U.S. Title Match (Ryback VS Rusev would have worked well here, I think). No one cared about the Divas match either - again, it seemed slapped together. And I think the crowd had little interest in Usos VS. Mizdow - I think we'd seen it several times already.
* Perhaps due to the weak undercard - from my seat, I noticed that people were drinking - A LOT. The beer was flowing pretty quickly throughout the arena.... which I think contributed to the after-show antics we've heard about with rowdy fans harassing the wrestlers.... it probably also contributed to the boisterous & negative crowd reactions during the 30-Man main event. Fans were pretty liquored up by the time Bray threw Daniel Bryan out of the Rumble....
* The 30-man Rumble did suffer from poor booking. The Philly crowd was pretty psyched for the match - then, when Miz & R-Truth came out as #1 & #2, people really weren't into either one. Compared to past Rumbles, where #1 & #2 were often bigger names - it was pretty obvious from the opening bell that no one would be "going the distance" this year. It almost would have made better sense to have Buh-Buh Ray come out in the #2 spot, as he received a huge ovation from the pro-ECW Philly crowd - definitely would have started the Rumble off on a better footing! Beyond that - I feel the Rumble match simply lacked star-power. I'm all for giving the undercard guys a shot, but there were a lot of names missing from the Rumble (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, & Bo Dallas probably would have made more crowd-impact than Zack Ryder, R-Truth, Sin Cara, & Titus O-Neil). If they were going to use undercard guys - it might have made more sense to showcase some NXT talent as well!
* On a side note - of all the things for WWE to worry about - WHY are they so intent on trying to break the record for SHORTEST RUMBLE ENTRY? I understand they were trying to have Titus break that record but someone screwed up. WHY ARE THEY WORRIED ABOUT THIS, of all things? Are they just tired of showing that Bushwacker Luke footage year after year?
* I know this will make some people mad - but, in retrospect, I think this may have played a bit better if the 3-Way Title match had gone on last. The match absolutely stole the show - the crowd was on their feet for most of it, responding to nearly every move & sequence & they popped big time when Lesnar won. I'm a big fan of having the Rumble match go last - but, based on the outcome, it might have played better the other way (this year). Philly was behind Brock Lesnar for this one, and really anti-Cena. From my seat - all three guys brought their best game & left it all in the ring Sunday night.
* Overall, I really enjoyed the show & my group had a great time. We agreed that the Lesnar/Cena/Rollins match was one of the best title matches we've seen live.... we also agreed that Philly was a little bit harsh towards Roman Reigns. I don't hate Reigns like a lot of people do.... I appreciate that they are trying to elevate someone new. That being said - Daniel Bryan's poor booking was a major miscalculation by someone in WWE - probably Vince McMahon. I really feel that the Authority (or another wrestler) should have somehow screwed Bryan out of the hard-fought win - and had Roman/Rock swoop in for the victory by vanquishing whoever eliminated Bryan. Bryan's elimination was a bit anti-climactic, unexpected, & disappointing. Coming out of the Rumble - who does Daniel Bryan have a beef with? Bray Wyatt? We've seen that before.... I don't believe they used the Rumble match properly to set up future feuds, and this is a huge missed opportunity for WWE.
* Really cool that The Rock came out. I wish they hadn't spoiled it on WWE.com a few hours before the show - that'll teach me for peeking at it (next time I won't).
* I didn't witness any of the inappropriate behavior by fans after the show. We were mostly trying to track down those Mattel posters, & then get back to our car (it was starting to snow). A lot of people were complaining about the finish, but I didn't see anyone acting badly. I hope those rowdy "fans" didn't just blow our chances of getting WrestleMania in the near future!
Let's get to the photos!
NAO VS. The Ascension....
Geez, the crowd was NUTS for friggin' Mizdow..... he was more popular than Cena & Reigns..... good for him!
Women's Match.... went to the bathroom during this match, that's where the comedy was, apparently - some dude came into the Men's room and announced "If You Think John Cena's going to win the World Title Tonight..... I'M AFRAID I'VE GOT SOME BAD NEWS"..... and some little kid in a Cena shirt proceeded to cry..... "tell him you were kidding!" everyone started chiding the guy, and he did tell the kid he was only kidding. It was really funny. Then, a guy dressed like the Spirit Squad came I and started greeting everyone with Spirit Squad names "Johnny! Nicky!" That was equally funny....
Almost looks like another bad episode of "Total Divas"....
The crowd was REALLY hot for the World Title Match.... and Cena was nearly boo'd out of the building by the Philly fans....
We had an amazing time during that match, the crowd responded to every move!
I'll update the thread later today with my pics from the actual Rumble match, so check back!
RUMBLE MATCH:
1st big surprise - Bully Ray, I mean - Buh Buh Ray.... now I have to get used to calling him by his old name again! The Philly crowd popped like crazy for this ECW favorite - but where was Devon?
Wyatts VS Wyatts was.... actually, very cool! The Rumble was still going pretty well at this point!
The Boogeyman was a fun surprise!
When Daniel Bryan came out - the roof blew off the Wells Fargo Center! I was sure there was no way he was going to lose at this point!
Awesome to see DDP again! BANG!
The crowd was really digging the Royal Rumble match until Daniel Bryan got eliminated - after that, it was like the air just deflated out of Philly.... the crowd just seemed irritable, and ready to boo everyone for everything they did.... this is the moment the Royal Rumble died!
I really like the way this picture came out!
Once Ziggler got eliminated - most in the crowd were saying "I don't want any of these guys to win!" It was pretty sad, at that point... I heard some people saying they were leaving..... I don't think they did, though.... I hope they didn't, it was pretty awesome when The Rock came out! For a minute, then they started jeering again....
At one point, they actually started cheering for Rusev.... it was downright scary!
To be perfectly honest, I felt a little it sorry for Roman Reigns.... I mean, he's trying to be successful just like all the other wrestlers - the Philly crowd was brutal! I cold almost see the sadness in his eyes as he tried to play to the crowd like a hero..... only being met with jeers. Must be tough....
Overall - the 3-way WWE World Heavyweight Title match absolutely stole the show here, all three competitors worked their butts off & the crowd was white-hot for every move & sequence in the match.
Small Update: On the way out to our cars after the show - they were handing out Mattel Posters, advertising some of the current lines, & the Hulk Hogan Defining Moments! Has anyone seen these before, is this poster exclusive to the live events? It's pretty cool, I'll be framing!
Thanks for looking!