– I’ve actually been getting a lot of feedback from readers asking me to cover the older Rumbles so I’m going to do this; after this report (2010), I’ll jump back and start from the beginning. Let’s see how many we can get through before this years PPV!
WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2010
– Dolph Ziggler at #1. Let the Shawn Michaels comparisons continue.
– I’m not a fan of guys performing top rope finishers like Air Bourne in the Rumble. Completely impractical.
– I kind of miss cult leader CM Punk.
– This idea of Punk cutting promos between eliminations was genius. It’s never been done before, it capitalizes on Punk’s mic skills and it made this Rumble stand out. I always remember the 2010 Rumble for these promos.
– “Great Khali, I can make you greater!”
– I’m glad they’ve been putting Beth Phoenix in the Rumble. It let’s WWE “forget” about Chyna.
– Hey one pant leg Zack Ryder!
– And he wasn’t even good enough to be offered a spot in the Straight Edge Society.
– I would have loved to see a feud between current CM Punk and “McMahon-Helmsley Era” Triple H. I think Punk needs someone of that caliber and character to actually become the “Steve Austin” they want him to be.
– I think they could have done a lot more with Punk in this Rumble but it was a great showcase for him.
– The two 2010-2011 disappointments, Drew McIntyre and Ted DiBiase. 2012 seems to be getting better for them though.
– Sick DDT on McIntyre from Morrison.
– There’s not many finishers worse than Starship Pain.
– Listening to Matt Striker talk about how guys kick their legs to stay away from the ropes is pretty funny.
– Really never thought DiBiase would be the Jannetty of Legacy.
– I never really cared for MVP until I heard his podcast with Dave Lagana. Smart guy with a true love of wrestling.
– God, Carlito is so athletic. You tend to forget that with how big of a character he was and how disenchanted he got in his career.
– Miz really hasn’t had the best showings in Royal Rumbles. Wasn’t he eliminated by Hornswoggle in 2008?
– I forgot how dumb those tights looked on Matt Hardy. A guy with those legs should not be wearing anything tight.
– This was absolutely the best story of 2010: Shawn Michaels needing to earn a match against the Undertaker at WrestleMania. His performance in this match was incredible.
– What no one really mentions with the Michaels/Undertaker story is that in the 2007, Michaels and Taker were the last two in the match with Taker winning it. In 2008, they were the first two in the Rumble with Shawn Michaels eventually eliminating Taker. Then we get their first classic match at WrestleMania 25. And after this brilliant Michaels performance, we get his final match against Taker at WrestleMania 26. And that’s not even mentioning their Casket Match at Royal Rumble 1998 where Shawn injured his back so badly he retired a few months later at WrestleMania 14.
– I loved how they got rid of Triple H relatively early. The story here was Michaels/Undertaker and they didn’t need anything with DX bogging it down.
– There are more current roster members in this Rumble then there was in the 2011 Rumble. Granted there was more room for releases in the 40 man format last year.
– Kool Aid Henry! Mark Henry was always booked strongly in Rumbles (except for being eliminated for Chyna), it only took 10 years for that push to continue for the rest of the year.
– R-Truth eliminates Big Show and Mark Henry. Really?
– Just a few months from this time, Jack Swagger would win Money in the Bank at WrestleMania. And then he would cash in his shot against Chris Jericho, successfully winning the World Heavyweight Championship and holding it for 3 months. Seriously.
– There would be a lot of unnessicary jumping in an R-Truth/Kofi Kingston feud.
– Anyone else hoping Jericho retires the short trunks for this new run?
– Awesome and unexpected return for Edge. Unfortunately this would be the last time we see him in a Rumble match.
– At the time, I HATED that Shawn lost this Rumble (although I LOVED how his elimination happened). In hindsight though and how the Taker/HBK storyline played out, it was absolutely the right decision.
– The fact that people booed when Shawn hit the super kick on Charles Robinson was great vindication of Michaels’ performance.
– While it was typical for the returning star to win the Rumble, Edge deserved it as a career achievement and considering he ended up only having a year left on his career, this victory could not have come at a better time for one of the best of our generation.
