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By @TrueGodImmortal
In 1996, the WWF was in an interesting spot. With Bret Hart as WWF Champion, and Shawn Michaels beginning his ascension to the top spot in the company, it seemed these two were on a collision course to a battle at some point. While that was going on, there were other names seemingly going through changes in the company, like Razor Ramon and Diesel, and though we wouldn't know at the time what their future held, their fate at the first PPV of the year would hint at it. The Royal Rumble in 1996 isn't my favorite by any stretch, but it had its moments, and today we go back in time and revisit this Pay Per View. Let's get into it.
*Ahmed Johnson vs Jeff Jarrett
-This match is hilarious to me honestly. Ahmed Johnson, one of the most unintentionally hilarious WWF characters ever, is looking for payback against Jeff Jarrett after he got hit with a guitar at the previous PPV. Surely, Ahmed gets his revenge right? Well, Jeff Jarrett wasn't laying down for a Pearl River Plunging, Red trunk and boot wearing blac.... wait... well scratch that part. However, Jarrett didn't take the pin like he should have to put Ahmed over, instead he ends up hitting Ahmed with the guitar.... AGAIN. This causes a DQ. The match itself had a few decent moments, but it was short and the ending wasn't good.
*The Smoking Gunns vs The Bodydonnas WWF Tag Team Championship
-First off, Skip and Zip were the name of the Bodydonnas who were like two white versions of Richard Simmons (if Richard Simmons isn't already white... which I'm not sure... hell I still think Marc Mero is secretly black). Regardless, they came in with a mission to take the tag team belts and they would come up just a little bit short of their goal. The Smoking Gunns were honestly a good team for the era and they would retain on a simple mistake where Sunny and her interference backfired a bit. This was a solid match, but admittedly, it isn't very memorable.
*Goldust vs Razor Ramon
WWF Intercontinental Championship
-Nowadays, the Goldust character would probably be chastised by our sensitive society for making a mockery of gay people. Either that, or the world would say the WWF embraced the character and accepted it as such, though Goldust was just flamboyant and accompanied by his wife Marlena. Regardless, Goldust managed to get a shot at the Intercontinental Title after beating such great stars like Aldo Montoya and New Rocker Marty Jannetty, and Razor was in a weird booking space. He was the champion, but wasn't really booked that strongly since I don't think he was the first choice to carry the title anyways (remember HBK got injured and Razor won it from Dean Douglas). Razor and Goldust put on a decent match that ends weirdly with 1-2-3 Kid arriving and kicking Razor while the referee was distracted causing Goldust to get a pin. The match lacked storytelling and good psychology and was more about Razor being annoyed with the weirdness of Goldust (like most early Goldust matches) than anything.
*30 Man Royal Rumble
-First things first, this Rumble was touted as the return of Shawn Michaels, as he had been out for a month and some change after a fake injury happened in a match with Owen Hart. They really drove home this injury to build sympathy and while I guess it worked a bit, looking back, it was totally overblown. This Rumble had a lot of implications within it... none greater than what came from the Free For All match that took place before the PPV began. Hunter Hearst Helmsey and Duke The Dumpster Droese, two people who had no shot of winning the Rumble at all, took part in a war (or more like a boring sloppy match) to see who would be no. 1 or no. 30 in the Rumble. Whoever won got to be no. 30 and whoever lost got to be no. 1. HHH loses and he starts off the Rumble. Instantly, we knew he wasn't winning. This Rumble featured some of the biggest names in wrestling at the time..... and by biggest names, I mean guys like Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly, King Mabel, Henry Godwinn, Savio Vega, Barry Horowitz, Isaac Yankem (word to Glen Jacobs) and all those classic legends.... yeah. Well, some legends were in this thing at least, like Dory Funk Jr., Jake The Snake Roberts, and Jerry The King Lawler, along with the cream of the crop then such as Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Diesel, Vader, Steve Austin, Kama (I guess), British Bulldog, and of course HBK. The final four? Diesel, HBK, Kama, and Bulldog. At this point, you know only two of those men would even have a shot at winning the Rumble and only one of them returned from "injury" and much fanfare. Bulldog goes over the top, Kama gets eliminated by Diesel and as soon as Diesel takes out Kama, HBK super kicks him over the top rope to win the Rumble for the second year in a row. HBK won the Rumble in 1995 as a heel and in 1996, he won it as a face. Was this the right call? Considering the other 29 men in the Rumble, there really was no other choice to go with unless maybe a surprise Vader win or Owen getting the victory to take on his brother and win the belt. Otherwise? HBK winning works and was the biggest story of the night. Oddly enough though, the Rumble wasn't the main event.
*The Undertaker vs Bret Hart
WWF Championship
-Diesel and Taker brawl a bit at ringside before the match really gets going, and this was to set up their Mania match, so it was obvious that Taker probably wasn't winning the title. This match was good however and it showed that Taker and Bret had some good chemistry together, but my only gripe is that it went too long for the crappy finish we would get, which ended up being a DQ because... you guessed it, Diesel interferes. Taker was close to winning and Diesel cost him, then flips Taker off. A pretty uneventful way to end the night and the show I'll say.
While this PPV had a few good moments, overall it dragged and had nothing great on it, with the main event being the best match of the night, but even that dragged some. If you want to watch a Royal Rumble as you prepare for this year's, just skip this one.
-True
Tagged under:
By @TrueGodImmortal
This list is not intended to put these matches in order, but rather separate the best matches from the worst. Over the years, the championship matches at the Rumble have stole the show over the actual Rumble and with John Cena vs AJ Styles coming up for the title, we figured what better time to talk about some of the best championship matches in Royal Rumble history. Let's get into it.
*Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit
WWE Championship
Royal Rumble 2003
-This is probably one of the absolute best of them all, as Angle and Benoit took it to each other for 20 minutes in a true classic that saw Benoit really entice the crowd and get over immensely, even in a losing effort to Angle. A great contest to watch.
*Triple H vs Shawn Michaels
World Heavyweight Championship
Royal Rumble 2004
-This match is a bit underrated and I really think it fits the HBK vs HHH rivalry as one of the ending chapters. The Last Man Standing stipulation worked perfectly and the way it ended really added some drama to it and showed that both men were capable of keeping up with each other.
*The Rock vs Mankind
WWF Championship
Royal Rumble 1999
-This classic "I Quit" match flows so well and is full of crazy moments and hilarious moments in between all the brutal action. The chair shots to Foley are iconic now at this point, and the fact that he never really gave up added even more to his underdog role overall. Rock did a great job as the heel in this, on the mic and in the ring.
*Triple H vs Cactus Jack
WWF Championship
Royal Rumble 2000
-The brutal street fight that saw Triple H look like a million bucks also helped elevate the legacy of Foley in a way. Both men gave their all, Triple H looked tougher, Foley looked like the demented man he was, and at the end, Triple H stole triumphant at the end and retained the title.
*Bret Hart vs Razor Ramon
WWF Championship
Royal Rumble 1993
-Bret was the new champion and Razor was in his first big main event as a singles star, but this match is one of the most underrated matches in both men's careers. This match was 18 minutes of greatness with Bret retaining but Razor showing he can hang in the big time matches.
John Cena vs Umaga
WWE Championship
Royal Rumble 2007
-Another Last Man Standing match on the list, but this one was a brutal contest. Umaga was on a roll, but he ran into the wall named Cena and would lose the match here in a valiant effort. Cena was on his Superman Cena mode here, but Umaga did have decent showing. Still, this is a good match to watch back.
*Edge vs Dolph Ziggler
World Heavyweight Championship
Royal Rumble 2011
-Edge and Ziggler had a great match here that saw Edge walk out victorious. It was great to see Ziggler get that chance at the time and he delivered on the big stage, showing he had potential to become a major player. We're still waiting for that to happen however.
*Brock Lesnar vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Royal Rumble 2015
-The final match on this list is the most recent and my favorite on the list. Brock, Cena, and Seth really put on with a classic and one of the greatest triple threat matches ever, if not THE best. Seth was the MVP here and this is where we knew he could hang with the big time guys. Seth really kept this match afloat, and although Brock retained, Seth stole the show. He's THE MAN.
-True
Tagged under:
By @MeenHendrix
You've heard the saying "Opposites attract" a million times before right? I think these guys would disagree. The stable of Decay led by (Current) TNA Knockouts Chamion Rosemary, are something straight out of the mind of Rob Zombie but 10x more disgusting. Abyss and Crazzy Steve are a match made in Monty Python's Black Comedy Hell. However, these guys are no joke. They are psychopaths and that makes for great wrestling!
Before coming together as Decay, Crazzy Steve and Abyss couldn't be from more complete opposite sides of the TNA Spectrum. Crazzy Steve debuted in the company in 2014 with the stable "The Menagerie", a group of circus freaks who didn't really fit in with the TNA crowd because to be fair the gimmick was pretty shitty. The Mike Knoxx (Known as Knux in TNA) led stable lasted 13 months exactly and did absolutely nothing. Well to be fair, Crazzy Steve is credited with winning the TNA World Cup of Wrestling in 2015 under Jeff Hardy's leadership but other than that, nothing. No one cared when the group disbanded. The on air commentators said they had gone back to the Carnival business. Without The Menagerie, Crazzy Steve had zero direction.
On the opposite side, we have The Monster Abyss, who has been sort of a slave for TNA. He has put his body through hell for this company. From Barbed Wire Massacres to Broken Glass and thousands of Thumbtacks being stuck to his body to split personality disorder gimmicks, he has gone out and done every single thing he's been asked and I think ultimately that will be his downfall when the company finally folds, but that's a different story for another day. Abyss has done it all in TNA. World Champion? Check. X Division Champion? Check. Television Champion? Check. Tag Team Champion? Check. Second ever Grand Slam Champion. He is a legend within the company. Like Crazzy Steve after the Mengaerie folded, Abyss too was left without direction after leaving the James Storm-led group The Revolution.
There were no speeches or promos that brought these two together. They made a statement by destroying The Wolves, first in a backstage promo then a week later in a match that introduced us to Rosemary and ended with the trio stealing the Tag Team Title belts from The Wolves. Their first victory would come in Abyss' signature match, The Monster's Ball, against Beer Money. They then challenged the Wolves to a Monster's Ball match for the titles but were unable to win the titles. There was also this weird feud with Jimmy Havoc, who was supposedly trying to save Rosemary, but he was obliterated by Abyss. Eventually they would go on to win the TNA Tag Team Championship from Beer Money and engage in another weird relationship angle between Rosemary and Bram which ended in Abyss and Crazzy Steve destroying him.
Notice a common theme here? These guys love to break things.
The best thing they have done as of date is their feud with the Hardys. If you haven't watched Delete or Decay or Tag Team Apocalypto, you're missing out on four psychopaths putting on a fantastic show. These guys are scary good. They aren't mat wizards. They are flat out street fighters. Crazzy Steve literally will bite, scratch and try to eye gouge an opponent all the while delighting in the torment and pain he is causing them. Abyss dropping his signature mask in favor of Zombie face paint has also been a fantastic touch. The character development has also been very noteworthy. Although the team doesn't say much, the short and sweet promos from all three have been great to watch because they make you pay attention to them and question if these guys are just playing a character or if they are real life psychopaths. TNA has done a lot of things wrong but Decay is one of those things they have just nailed and booked them perfectly. There's literally nothing I can complain about because these guys have looked great all year even in defeat and weird love story feuds with Bram and Jimmy Havoc. "The Great War" and Wolf Creek Cage Matches with the Hardys are good if you wanna see these guys in action.
-Ameen
Tagged under:
By @Phranchize19
Background
Stone Cold was riding high as wrestling’s most popular figure. Austin was engaged in a buffer feud with The Undertaker. This feud began when Undertaker challenged Austin to a title match in June of 1998. Austin and Taker were then forced to be tag team partners and even won the tag team titles. Austin and Taker would meet at a classic in Summerslam with Austin coming out on top. The feud continued when Taker and Kane would defeat Austin for the title at Breakdown. Since there was no definitive winner, Taker and Kane had a match for the vacant title with Austin as the referee. Austin would then cost both men the match and was subject to termination. After being cost the title; Taker turned to an even darker side and attacked Austin every chance he got, including trying to embalm him, hitting him with a shovel and sacrificing him on symbol. In order for Austin to get a shot at the title, he would have to get in the Royal Rumble and his path to the Rumble was based on if he defeated Undertaker in his specialty, a Buried Alive match.
The Match
Austin was so popular he main evented a PPV that was named after the current WWE champion, The Rock. Austin and Taker would engage in war back and forth which saw Austin take quite the beating during this match. This battle raged from the entrance to the ring to the gravesite back to the ring and even into the crowd. Stone Cold would hit his stunner on the Undertaker who then landed into the grave. Austin then disappeared and Taker was attached by the tweener brother Kane. A returning Austin would be on one of the many vehicles he's driven in a wwe career and proceeded to bury the Undertaker alive with a bunch of dirt.
Fun Fact
The Undertaker has been in all 5 of the Buried Alive matches in WWE history but this match has not been very kind to him. His record in these matches stands at 2-3.
Conclusion
Although not a classic match and not their best together, this is a very hard hitting match. The storytelling was great and although Jim Ross could not be there due to illness, the commentary sold this match and focused only on the match. They told how Austin wanted to be champion, but was being hounded by the Taker who felt he was screwed out of the title. The rivalry itself may have been the best rivalry in wrestling in 1998 and both men sold this feud which never had a dull moment.
-C. Yates
Tagged under:
By @__Doug___
Alberto Del Rio was one of the hottest talents that the WWE had signed. With Rey Mysterio on his last legs, Del Rio was viewed as the spiritual successor to the face of the Latin American market. This article will show how badly that idea failed.
Del Rio was signed from CMLL in 2009. Once he left developmental, Del Rio debuted on Smackdown with the Mexican Aristocrat gimmick and started a feud with Rey Mysterio. Putting him in a high-stakes feud so early means that the company had faith in the man. The long term program did help Alberto as that did legitimize him, but at the same time, that was probably his peak when it came to feuds, as what followed after it was not pretty.
After the Mysterio feud, we have Del Rio winning the clusterfuck known as the 40 man rumble. While Del Rio was a fresh face in the main event scene, it was way too soon for him and the fans reacted accordingly. Building to a feud with Edge, he was on a mission to fulfill his destiny. That was the beginning of a very turbulent run in the title scene for Alberto. This looked like one of the worst built WHC title matches that the company had since the belt was introduced. The only other one that seemed in the realm of this terribleness was Sheamus/DB and Del Rio again vs Jack Swagger. The match itself was good however, with Edge rightly winning. A longer feud would have been ideal for Del Rio and Edge, but Edge’s retirement changed things. A loss to Christian and a move to Raw soon followed.
After an uneventful stint, logic would dictate that Del Rio would fall back and settle into the midcard role for a bit. This seemed the case when he was background fodder to a Big Show/Mark Henry program that was emerging. However, they tried to go back into the dipping well with this one giving him MITB for the WWE Championship. He then cashed it in after the match at Summerslam between Cena and Punk in order to become the new WWE Champion. While I think him winning the title was a terrible idea, I get why they did it. Del Rio isn’t an overwhelming presence (compared to guys like The Miz), and he would be perfect fodder in a story that wouldn’t be centered around him. Del Rio had the same issues that Punk had during his first WHC reign. ADR was not even a key part of Raw compared to the likes of Punk, Cena, Miz, Truth, HHH, or even Kevin Nash. That’s not a good thing for a champion. Fast forward to the end of the year where he lost the title and got injured.
Returning from injury, Del Rio ended up back on SD and again started to go after the World Heavyweight Championship. After failed stints in the main event scene on both brands, you would think he’d finally go back to the midcard. Nope, didn’t happen. Immediately, he had entered a title feud with Sheamus (because for some reason, everybody has a feud with Sheamus at least once a year). The only thing noteworthy about the Sheamus/Del Rio feud was that the company ran an angle with Sheamus stealing Del Rio’s car and using Tout (man that service was terrible) to brag about it. After ADR lost this snoozefest, he had another snooze feud with Orton (when he was on airplane mode).
Things would turn around for Del Rio and for once things started to click. Ricardo Rodriguez, the target for bullying and antics for years, was beaten to the point where Del Rio actually stood up for him. This act against Big Show (the bully), led to ADR gaining support from the crowds. This fresh face turn worked for a while, as he became a worthy champion. A champion of the people. The goodwill went to crap as soon as the crapfest feud with Jack Swagger happened. This was known as a placeholder for Dolph Ziggler to get his coronation as champion. Injury problems for Ziggler led to Del Rio winning the belt again and having terrible feuds before losing the belt to John Cena. That was pretty much the end for Del Rio as a main event player and after serving as a warm body for Batista, his time came and went.
Round 2 of Alberto in the E started off great with him winning the US title from Cena cleanly to a cheering crowd. Once again it went to crap with MexAmerica, a terrible idea from the beginning. Fans soon tuned out, and as much as he tried, to get himself over, it did not work. Luckily Kalisto got the US title away from him after a series of quality matches. Del Rio also joined the doomed LON, whose purpose was to get Roman over.
Alberto failed with not just one run, but two runs with the company. For a small period of time, he was getting reactions and seemed to actually be the next Latin American star that the company has craved, but ultimately, he was bland. He was a snooze. One day he might go back to the WWE and maybe find success like he has in Mexico or in the Indies during his short stint in between WWE runs. For that reason however, he is overrated.
-Doug
Tagged under:
By @TrueGodImmortal
Right before the year closes, we have to stop and take a look at the feuds of 2016 in WWE, and crown the feud of the year. There were a few lengthy feuds overall and some of them really showed and proved. Let's get into it.
Runner Ups
*AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose
-Minus the inclusion of James Ellsworth, I loved the entire feud. Their matches were all solid, and Styles brings out the best in Ambrose. Their TLC match was a runner up candidate for Match of The Year and their Backlash match was also quite solid. Styles and Ambrose kept Smackdown afloat the second half of the year.
*The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
-This feud seemed like it would never end at one point and it should come as no surprise that these two familiar rivals went above and beyond this go round to make this work. Each match they had together this year was very good, but the feud hit the apex when Dolph won a Career vs Title match at No Mercy to capture the Intercontinental title. That match is a Match of The Year candidate and one of my personal favorites this year. Miz and Dolph brought out the best in each other this year, when we least expected it.
*John Cena vs AJ Styles
-For years, there have been many people who tried to have John Cena's number but couldn't defeat him. AJ Styles was different. The year that Cena would become a part timer would be the year that he had one of his best feuds of all time. Styles has earned his way to becoming one of the greatest opponents in Cena's career, giving him a really great match at Money In The Bank, then picking up a clean win over him at Summerslam in an instant classic. Styles and Cena would clash in a triple threat that included Dean Ambrose at No Mercy and Styles pinned Cena for a third time. On a strictly wrestling level, this feud was better than anything and deserves accolades as one of the better feuds of this modern era we are in. Kudos to both Styles and Cena.
Winner: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte
-I mean... who else could win this one? The feud that started around Wrestlemania 32 (included Becky Lynch then however) and lasted mostly all the way up until the end of the year is easily the pick for feud of the year. Since when in wrestling has a women's feud captivated audiences, headlined PPVs, main evented RAW, and more? Since when have two women gone out and stole the show regularly from the guys? In the wrestling business, it is very rare, so the fact that Sasha and Charlotte ended up taking the WWE by storm and really ramping up their feud after the brand split was official, showed you what they were capable of. They had amazing matches on RAW, all of which Sasha won, and had some solid PPV matches, all of which Charlotte won. They traded the Women's Title back and forth and made history in the process. This feud was the feud that we were waiting for in professional wrestling for women and because of that, it takes the crown as WWE Feud Of The Year. Hands down.
-True
