2011 Pro Wrestling Thread

Going to my first Rumble down in STL in January. What should I expect in terms of matches? Anyone ever been to a Rumble? It was my favorite event growing up and I'm pretty excited about going.

 

Not to mention Kane, Brodus Clay, Skip Sheffield, an opponent for Air Boom or whoever has the tag straps by then, Christian if he's healthy, Mysterio if he's healthy, and some other guys I'm forgetting.

I'd rather see one more over-the-top super-corny gimmicky Undertaker-Kane match. Fans are willing to tolerate supernatural stuff and old-era schtick from those two; it's as though they're grandfathered in from that era. I also suspect they'll revisit the HHH as COO stuff again, so we might see some sort of match with HHH and a representative for Johnny Laryngitis for control of the company, possibly with Vince McMahon as special ref.

Too bad they spun Money in the Bank off into its own show, because that would be a great way to bring in a bunch of guys with no active feuds.

 

Well, they've already announced that the Rumble is going back to 30 men, which is a smart move. Daniel Bryan will defend the World title against one of the monsters, probably Big Show. Punk-Miz sounds logical. Of course, all bets are off depending on what 1.2.12 brings us.

 

I personally hope 1.2.12 brings us Shane McMahon and he starts battling Stephanie/HHH for control of the company with it ultimately paying off with a "streak vs. company" match at WrestleMania with Shane in Taker's corner but that's just me.

Also, FootballScribe, I've been to three Rumbles and you pretty much expect the usual from what you see on TV. I've found that the matches themselves seem a bit downplayed because everyone is looking forward to the Rumble bout but it's pretty exciting, especially once the countdown begins. The middle of the Rumble match itself is a bit of a drag but the payoff at the end is always worth it.

 

Just as a quick aside, I found a pretty scholarly history of professional wrestling in America and am working my way through it rather quickly -- "Ringside" by Scott M. Beekman. Stretches of it are rather dry, but it is thorough, especially after about 1880, and its bibliography is incredible. I certainly wouldn't spend $40 on it over at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Ringside-History-Professional-Wrestling-America/dp/027598401X), but if your library has it, I recommend it.

Now back to Rumble and Mania talk.

 

Anyone catch SmackDown last night?

I know Santino has pretty much become an afterthought, but his bit with Teddy Long was hilarious.

 

Watched some of it, missed the Santino part.

Ziggler took some hellacious bumps in his match with Bryan.

 

Just caught that match and you're not kidding about Ziggler. The backdrop from the top rope was pretty amazing to watch and just knowing everything that could have gone wrong with it scares the hell out of me. Ziggler's rising on a rocketship in my book with his ringwork and is coming around on the mic, if he's not already there.

 

So who does everyone think will win the Rumble?

A ton of different ways they can go with it obviously. My buddy down in STL I'm going with is convinced Orton is going to win it because of the hometown angle but it really doesn't seem like there's much of a storyline there or anything in the works to have him in one of the top three matches at Mania. I suppose I could be wrong. And I realize a lot will depend on this Jan. 2 deal.

 

Depends on the 1.2.12 reveal. If it's Jericho, he'd be a good bet. If it's Undertaker, probably not. Ziggler is a strong possibility, with Barrett and Rhodes behind him. WWE usually screws the hometown guy, but they DID let Punk look good in Chicago, so maybe that mentality is changing. Also, who the champs are supposed to be at WM will dictate a lot of it. If Punk and Bryan are still champs, a heel almost has to win. Other than Orton, there's really no faces in a position to win it (I guess they could always mack Rock-Cena a title match, but I can't imagine why)

 

Going to be ringside for the RAW Holiday tour at MSG tomorrow. Looks like a
pretty good slate.

 

Raw is in chitown tonight. Should be an interesting show.