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| Royal Rumble 2007 - AT&T Center - 1/28/07 |
Here's a Rumble PPV in which I had zero emotional stake. WWE in 2007 was rather half-assedly pushing new talent - mostly guys Vince liked but the fans didn't respond to. Other than that the show was built around existing headliners Cena, Orton and Batista, and a host of older stars like Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Undertaker. At this point I was so burned out on the same ol' guys being featured I simply stopped caring.
The opening match was actually pretty good. The Hardy Boyz took on MNM in a solid 15-minute tag match. Nothing was at stake here, but the four smallish wrestlers had good chemistry and did an admirable job warming up the crowd.
Next was the ECW Title match. One of the aforementioned new guys being pushed was a guy Vince happened to love based solely on his look. The fans didn't respond to him at all due to his complete lack of anything resembling charisma, but goddammit Vince was gonna shove him down our throats anyway. His name was Bobby Lashley. Lashley was a former amateur wrestler and to be fair, looked like a million bucks. So he was pushed hard in late 2006 and given the ECW Title even though he was the fans' third choice for it. Lashley would eventually feud with Vince and later with John Cena, before being injured and subsequently released by the company. So this was all for nothing in the end. For a decade till Lashley came back anyway....
Anyway Lashley had a forgettable match with Test, which he won by countout to retain the belt.
The World Title match was third, as Batista defended against another Vince pet project, Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy had a fair amount of charisma and talking ability but as I've said before I never saw main event potential in him at all. His in-ring acumen was quite limited and he looked Not Ready for Prime Time. The audience didn't seem to see it either, and his intended push was derailed anyway due to wellness violations and backstage issues. This match was also passable at best.
The one strong Title match on this show pitted John Cena against a third pet project, Umaga. Umaga was the brother of Rikishi, and being a large Samoan wrestler was of course presented as an uncivilized beast with a goofy thumb-to-the-throat finisher called the Samoan Spike (one would think such a maneuver would be illegal but whatever). He could work a decent match and moved well for his size, but again never got super over. This Last Man Standing match was pretty good (nowhere near as good as it was received at the time though) and creatively booked - Cena won by choking Umaga out with a detached ring rope.
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| Wait, are you the guy who does the Stinkface? Can I request no Stinkface? |
The Rumble match was restored to its rightful place in the main event slot, and the 2007 edition was far from great but watchable, particularly in the final minutes. Amusingly the announcers hyped this as "the most star-studded Rumble in history." Just hilarious. Edge had a good run, lasting nearly 45 minutes, and the match's climax was excellent, boiling down to Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker. The two veterans put together an expertly-worked final ten minutes before Taker won his first Rumble match (This was also the first time #30 won). While I appreciated the work of Michaels and Taker, I couldn't help feeling like this was a missed opportunity to elevate someone new - CM Punk for example. Also despite winning the Rumble, Taker was not in the main event of WrestleMania. His match went fourth that year, while runner-up Michaels got to challenge Cena in the final match. Having two World Titles really cheapens the accomplishment of winning the Rumble.
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| ....And that's for throwin' me on that casket! |
Participants: Ric Flair, Finlay, Kenny Dykstra, Matt Hardy, Edge, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Gregory Helms, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, CM Punk, King Booker, Super Crazy, Jeff Hardy, Sandman, Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Rob Van Dam, Viscera, Johnny Nitro, Kevin Thorn, Hardcore Holly, Shawn Michaels, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, MVP, Carlito, Great Khali, The Miz, Undertaker
Final Four: Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton
Long Man: Edge (44:02)
2007 was another year where it seemed like WWE wasn't really listening to its fans and those in charge were pushing who they wanted. It was disheartening to see two 42-year-olds challenge for the two World Titles at 'Mania, though as it turned out both matches were excellent. But overall I just wasn't feeling any urgency with the product and didn't care about match outcomes or angles. Too much of WWE's programming felt safe and phoned-in, and the Rumble was no exception.
Best Match: John Cena vs. Umaga
Worst Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Test
What I'd Change: The product at this point needed to get behind new stars the fans actually liked. They needed a bold move heading into 'Mania season, and giving CM Punk the Rumble win (or at least a near-win) would've been a good choice. Obviously Taker deserved this win and his feud with Batista was shockingly good. But the fact that no new stars the audience cared about were being spotlighted just made everything feel stale.
Most Disappointing Match: The Rumble
Most Pleasant Surprise: That Cena vs. Umaga was even watchable
Overall Rating: 4/10
Better than WrestleMania 23, Summerslam '07 and/or Survivor Series 2007? - No, God Yes, and No.
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2006
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