Royal Rumble 2016

A Brad Maddox Guy

Owens

Mizdow & Miz were one of the hottest acts in WWE this time last year so bit unfair to include them in Jobber City even if they're living in its suburbs now. But yeah last year's Rumble match was very disappointing, at least the show had that amazing triple threat match to prop it up.

A Primal Nut

Brock

Yeah I'm more thinking where those guys are now (also Bubba Ray Dudley!).

They need to get Curtis Axel to talk about keeping up his streak.

A Brad Maddox Guy

Owens

I remember being so angry about Bubba, seeing him walk out was a genuinely great moment and then they wasted it after 5 minutes. The more I think about last year's Rumble match the more annoyed I get

Axelmania was the best thing to come out of it though

irish_stevo815

Owens

After watching the Rumble by the Numbers promo on raw, it says Roman will face 6 previous RR Winners. Now are they after giving away some surprise returns because the only previous winners I can see so far are Sheamus, Del Rio, Lesnar and Big Show?? Does that mean we may be seeing Cena, Orton or Taker make a return somehow??

Agent Coulson

irish_stevo815 wrote: »

After watching the Rumble by the Numbers promo on raw, it says Roman will face 6 previous RR Winners. Now are they after giving away some surprise returns because the only previous winners I can see so far are Sheamus, Del Rio, Lesnar and Big Show?? Does that mean we may be seeing Cena, Orton or Taker make a return somehow??

HHH

PTH2009

Brock

I can see a screwy ending with something like a double elimination and then triple h and the league of nations beat up reigns and triple h wins the title.

I would like to see rusev eliminate sheamus leading to a rivalry between them thus breaking up the league.

Aj styles can face del rio for the US title. Del Rio comes out and announces an open challenge on raw thus styles coming out and beating him.

Omackeral

Haven't read any of this thread or the other one with 'Surprise Entrants' but just wanted to share this with you all, if it hasn't already been posted. It's the role of a referee for the Rumble match itself. Pretty interesting.

By WWE Referee Jimmy Korderas

There is so much preparation that goes into a match such as the Royal Rumble. Getting everyone from the superstars, referees, producers, camera men, guys in the truck etc. on the same page takes a group effort. I have had the pleasure and honor of officiating many Rumble matches in my 20+ year career as a WWE referee including the first ever Royal Rumble match, so I thought I would focus on what the Royal Rumble day is like for a WWE referee.

Arrival time at the venue for referees depends on which time zone the event is taking place. Regardless of location, referees are at the arena approximately 7-8hrs ahead of the start time. Once the production meeting ends, the guys in stripes find out their assigned matches for the evening. Referees selected to participate in the Rumble now have to attend a meeting with all the talent and producers to go over the match. Everything is discussed from order of elimination, who eliminates who and of course who is slated to win the Royal Rumble. The referees are given a list with all this information on it to go over throughout the day. This list must not be passed around to prevent any potential “leaks” such as surprise entrants and of course the winner.

I remember during the 2008 Royal Rumble that there was to be a huge surprise entrant at #30. So that afternoon, 29 superstars, 4 referees and the producers assigned for that match met in a conference room to go over the match. Once the discussion got down to the final 4, the 26 superstars that were scheduled to be eliminated up to that point were excused from the meeting. This left the producers, the refs and 3 of the final 4 in the Rumble. The fourth was a huge surprise which ended up being John Cena. Cena was out with a torn pectoral and was slated to miss the Rumble and most likely WrestleMania that year. Thanks to Cena’s Wolverine like healing powers, he had recovered in miraculous fashion enabling him to return much sooner than anticipated. Those of us who remained in the room were sworn to secrecy as to the identity of entrant #30. Not that it was necessary to have been told to keep it under our hats as we all knew what was at stake. The secret was kept and the MSG faithful erupted when Cena appeared. This was possible because everyone was on board with keeping the surprise to themselves.

Back to the roll of the referee in the Rumble match. The number of referees assigned to the Royal Rumble match has varied over the years. From as little as two to as many as four or five referees have been at ringside for this annual match. I believe that four is the standard number of refs currently so I will work with that figure for the purposes of this article. That number makes the most sense; four sides of the ring, one ref per side. If you recall back to the 1997 Royal Rumble, Mike Chioda and I were the only two assigned refs for the Rumble. While we were breaking up a fracas outside of the ring between Mick Foley and Terry Funk, we missed the elimination of Stone Clod Steve Austin by Bret Hart which allowed Austin to sneak back into the ring and go on to win the match. It worked for that Rumble for storyline purposes and you can make the argument that that is why there are now four refs at ringside. The referees will get together and decide amongst themselves which side of the ring they will be positioned.

Now on to the Royal Rumble match itself. The most important responsibility for the referee during the match is pass along time cues and when needed inform the talent who and when an elimination should take place. The easiest way for the talent to remember when they are scheduled to be eliminated is to know who is eliminated before them. The referees can help as they have the luxury of having an IFB or earpiece with the producer in his ear letting him know who is next to go. The trickiest part for the refs is to communicate this info to the talent without making it obvious they are relaying messages. Sometimes it is next to impossible but a good ref will make it work without making it to obvious.

Even though the referees are not in the ring, they still have to be able to help direct traffic. This is especially true when things do not go quite as planned. The best example of this was the 2005 Royal Rumble. That match will be remembered for a few reasons. Let me elaborate for those that are unaware of what happened. The final two superstars in the 2005 Rumble were Batista who represented RAW and John Cena representing Smackdown. After several near eliminations, both men were to tumble over the top with Batista hanging on to the top rope while Cena hits the floor thus being eliminated making Batista the winner of the Royal Rumble.

Those who remember the match know that this is not exactly what happened. As both Batista and Cena went over the top rope, they kind of got tangled up and both men hit the floor at virtually the same time. The RAW refs almost immediately signaled that Batista had won because Cena hit the floor first. Within seconds, we were informed on our earpieces that a Smackdown ref raises Cena’s hand declaring him the winner which I did. This lead to a disagreement between the RAW and Smackdown referees. As the refs continued arguing about who won the match, we could hear in our IFBs that those at the Gorilla position were calling for the refs not at ringside to find Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long, the respective GMs of RAW and Smackdown. They were to continue the argument over who actually won then restart the match to get an eventual winner.

The GMs were nowhere to be found which led to an impromptu appearance by the chairman, Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Vince came out hotter than a firecracker, threw down his blazer and proceeded to charge to the ring. Then the unthinkable happened. VKM gained speed and went to dive under the bottom rope. As he attempted to stand up, his legs gave out and he hit the deck. We were all stunned as Vince just sat there with an angry look on face. He ordered the match to continue, slid under the bottom rope and slowly made his way to the back. The amazing thing about it is, as we later learned Vince had torn both his quads and still managed to make his way backstage. The man is a beast. The match continued, Batista won as was scheduled and most everyone watching live did not realize that there was a miscue of any kind. Sometimes, spontaneity comes across better than planned spots. With the assistance of the Gorilla position, this whole scenario could not have gone better if it was orchestrated (minus the quad tears).

Another responsibility a referee has when officiating a Royal Rumble match is to be aware of everything going on around them. You have to keep one eye on the action because you do not want to be in the way of someone flying over the top rope to the floor. Always be cognizant of your surroundings so you don’t get landed on. Jack Doan was the unfortunate recipient of a mild concussion after being taken out during one Rumble match when Phineas Godwinn was eliminated and took Jack with him. Not placing blame on anyone as this was just an unfortunate set of circumstances. This is just a reminder to all referees to be on their toes and mindful of what is going on around them. This is why I try to sit in and listen to as much of the match as possible. Most of the referees do.

With all those other responsibilities, to me the most important function of the referee not only in a Royal Rumble but in any match is the safety of the talent. With so many bodies in one match the risk of injury increases and referees should be able to recognize if a superstar is legitimately hurt. If an injury does occur, the referee must inform the ringside physician immediately. The doctor will then make the call whether or not the injured talent can continue with the match. The referee is the first line of contact between the superstars and the doctors.

I hope I was able to give you a little insight into the roll of a referee during Royal Rumble day. This year’s edition of the Royal Rumble should have some twists and turns that will invariably gives us insight into the plans for WrestleMania 32. I will be looking forward to that but I will also be keeping an eye on the referees as I always do. I can’t help myself. In the words of my old friend Mark Henry, “that’s what I do”.

Until next time, keep your shoulders off the mat and enjoy the Rumble!

CastorTroy

irish_stevo815 wrote: »

After watching the Rumble by the Numbers promo on raw, it says Roman will face 6 previous RR Winners. Now are they after giving away some surprise returns because the only previous winners I can see so far are Sheamus, Del Rio, Lesnar and Big Show?? Does that mean we may be seeing Cena, Orton or Taker make a return somehow??

Was it that or the number of former champs where it was worded as being "on the roster" as opposed to being in the Rumble?


Avoiding the Surprise entrant thread, as this is one time of the year I like the surprises. But was wondering, are the guys who are fighting in other matches eligible for the Rumble? I know they have in the past, usually if they lost a title earlier in the night.

Stereomaniac

Triple H

They're always eligible, kayfabe-wise. But this year it doesn't look like anyone from the undercard is going to be in the main event except for some reason I think Alberto Del Rio might be appearing in it to have a stretch where the League Of Nations are dominating everyone.

Deadlie

Brock

How many NXT guys are expected to go in this year? There's loads of talk of a few of them, but it seems to be all hot air - there's not much precedent for it. Rusev was in it one year from NXT, has he been the only one?

Stereomaniac

Triple H

Bo Dallas won a place in the 2013 Royal Rumble, and he eliminated Wade Barrett when he got into the match itself, which set up a match or 2 on the television shows that came afterwards.

Bounty Hunter

Owens

these are the only options:

Reigns, Brock, HHH, Wyatt, Taker, surprise

I'll cheat and put Owens in under surprise but generally I mean an unexpected big name entrant but tbh I don't think the winner will come from here.

Weirdly since Raw I actually think Wyatt has a good chance. Roman being no.1 means it really would have to be a super super big superman push for him and considering HHH has been kept off TV since TLC to sell the comeback screw job I think Romans time is up.

Unless the entire rumble is about roman (possible I'll admit) it wouldn't be HHH winning as I doubt he will be in the match too long after screwing reigns.

Taker returning is possible but I don't see one last run with the gold as I expect lesnar in the mania title match and I doubt they would do them two again, that feuds done.

Lesnar is who I voted for but now the match is for the title and tbh he'd make a much better challenger for mania IMO

So Wyatt, maybe I'm just saying this cos I want a winner outside of the obvious two but it would finally cement him as a top level star, the Raw before the rumble presents him and his family vs Brock as an option, it's an option with legs that could run till mania and thanks to his family Wyatt is one of only a few people who could believably eliminate Lesnar.

PTH2009

Brock

Reigns to win it for me, someone will knock triple h out and reigns will eliminate them

Agent Coulson

I can't see Reigns getting away with what he did at last years Rumble sitting out most of it in a corner.

He's first in and to win and get proper over with he will need to be active for the best part of an hour I don't think he has that in him to do it.

The White Feather

I am thinking Reigns will be doing great throwing out a record number, possibly all the league of nations together to look strong! Then HHH throws him out. Rock then thows HHH out to great cheers but then throws out Lesnar. Rock has the title to promote it until he faces Lesnar at Mania.

Maybe a swerve and Rock helping Reigns during the match and then Reigns throws Rock out to turn heel.Unlikely but I think the Rock will definitely be involved.Maybe even a heel Rock to try to get Reigns over yet again!

Lord TSC

Can't see past a HHH win now.

Brock vs Bray looks the direction they'll go for Mania, and they don't need the title involved at all.

Reigns vs HHH seems the other main match, and while the idea of a HHH title run doesn't thrill me, they're stuck in a position where they've put so many eggs into that basket, they don't have much choice but to stick with it now. I don't see Reigns walking out with the title at all, so it's deciding if HHH enters as a competitor, in which case I think he'll win it, or if they'll try to use the match as a chance to push an Owens or someone like that, have HHH just enter through the crowd and eliminate Reigns. Two brawl and a new champ gets crowned.

I think it's the former (HHH enters and wins) but if the latter, then it needs to happen early; establish quickly into the match (like...within 10 minutes) that we are definitely getting a new champion, let the crowd accept it and let the crowd dream that Owens or Ambrose or someone of that level are about to get a massive push.

DM_7

Bray as champion would be a good way to repair his character.

He could get a successful title defense in before Mania. They could have Brock forced to beat the rest of the Wyatts to earn the Mania title shot.

Bray could get 10 minutes of a competitive match in v Brock at Mania but then get battered.

Follow it up with Bray getting a win v Brock (Thanks to the family) in the follow up PPVs or a RAW, a run for a few PPVs with the Wyatts on top would be a nive change and also repair what Bray should be.

If the cut out the long speeches and let their actions speak for them the Wyatts could contribute a lot to WWE. They have far more menace to them than League of Nations for Example.

KingJamsie

Previous Rumble winner Vince to come out at #30? We will see

Ageyev

Jim Ross on his favourite Rumble memories - http://www.foxsports.com/wwe/story/wwe-royal-rumble-the-rock-stone-cold-steve-austin-jim-ross-vince-mcmahon-011516

J. Marston

I think they might shock us all and have Reigns thrown out very early on.

Stereomaniac

Triple H

My favourite recent memory is The Rock doing his version of Dusty Rhodes' "hard times" promo.

Agent Coulson

This is one of the big 4 PPV's and I'm humming and hawing over will I watch it live or watch it on fast forward tomorrow.

There really isn't anything in it to excite me to stay up till 4am and considering this is the one show a year they could spring huge surprises I don't see Vince having the testicular fortitude to do anything game changing.


Saying that I more than likely will watch it and probably fall asleep while watching it.

Agent Coulson

This is one of the big 4 PPV's and I'm humming and hawing over will I watch it live or watch it on fast forward tomorrow.

There really isn't anything in it to excite me to stay up till 4am and considering this is the one show a year they could spring huge surprises I don't see Vince having the testicular fortitude to do anything game changing.


Saying that I more than likely will watch it and probably fall asleep while watching it.

Mick Murdock

Sorry of this has been asked already, in the arsend of Fermanagh with no reception. What time does the Rumble usually kick off?

Might set the alarm to see it.

Loughc

Owens

Mick Murdock wrote: »

Sorry of this has been asked already, in the arsend of Fermanagh with no reception. What time does the Rumble usually kick off?

Might set the alarm to see it.

1am

Mick Murdock

Loughc wrote: »

1am

Cheers. I should have been clearer. I meant the Rumble match itself.

gimmick

About 2.30ish I'd say.

LeeJM

Im defo gonna be staying up for this. Will be up for work at 6:30am but Im not a huge sleeper anyway so Ill be fine :cool: I hope :pac: Will prob be spending a tonne of time tweeting during it too. BohsJohnny is always on twitter too during ppvs for anyone that misses him

Stereomaniac

Triple H

I would miss Bohsjonny if he hadn't behaved the way he did towards me on here and on Twitter. I'm not in work until half 4 tomorrow so I'm good to go for this tonight, looking forward.

Furious-Red

Diabhal Beag

Bohsjonny is a good lad. Will have to wait till tomorrow to watch this but if Tripster wins I'll probably skip it.

LeeJM

I really think they need to shock everyone and have Reigns eliminated by the time no 20 comes out. Really make the final third interesting. Lets be honest, Reigns isnt over no matter how hard they try. I hope a certain somebody debuts in the Rumble early and has a great showing lasting until the final 5 or 6.

Lithium93_

Brock

I'm between 2 minds whether or not to stay awake and watch, WWE have done a sh** job of selling/building the Royal Rumble for me.

sky88

LeeJM wrote: »

I really think they need to shock everyone and have Reigns eliminated by the time no 20 comes out. Really make the final third interesting. Lets be honest, Reigns isnt over no matter how hard they try. I hope a certain somebody debuts in the Rumble early and has a great showing lasting until the final 5 or 6.

Get the screwjob in early then let the rest of the match happen.

What I'd like to happen reigns in the ring waiting for number 2, vince music hits reigns gets distracted hhh attacks from behind destroys reigns and there's one mania match set up.

LeeJM

sky88 wrote: »

Get the screwjob in early then let the rest of the match happen.

What I'd like to happen reigns in the ring waiting for number 2, vince music hits reigns gets distracted hhh attacks from behind destroys reigns and there's one mania match set up.

I like that. Have Reigns come out then Steph and Vince come out for a "promo" to distract him and allow HHH sneak in and destroy him. And I mean properly, viciously destroy him! Leave the audience in no doubt that Reigns wont be back. Then have Vince introduce Alberto or Rusev as the #1 entrant to replace Roman.

Then we can have a decent Rumble with some proper drama and intrigue.

A Brad Maddox Guy

Owens

LeeJM wrote: »

I like that. Have Reigns come out then Steph and Vince come out for a "promo" to distract him and allow HHH sneak in and destroy him. And I mean properly, viciously destroy him! Leave the audience in no doubt that Reigns wont be back. Then have Vince introduce Alberto or Rusev as the #1 entrant to replace Roman.

Then we can have a decent Rumble with some proper drama and intrigue.

A HHH attack only works if Roman is an official entrant when the match starts & gets thrown over the rope, otherwise they'd be having a title match where the Champion isn't even in it. I think if it's going to happen early then Reigns needs to eliminate the first 3 or 4 people quickly, commentary hype up his dominance & then run the promo/attack from behind angle when he's alone in the ring.

I fully expect Reigns to last until at least the final 5 though.

LeeJM

Good point! Have him eliminate the Social Outcasts 1 by 1 then do the promo attack elimination schtick. But yea hes gonna be there till the end

RobbingBandit

Owens

Barring a massive swerve of insert random winning I can see one of three winning. Reigns, Brock or The Rock. The last one being a screwjob finish where he costs either Roman or Brick the match setting up a Wrestlemania Main Event match.

CastorTroy

I know we've had 40 in one year, but has there ever been a surprise 31st entrant any of the other years? Like maybe tonight HHH could enter himself after the 30th person.

Off work tomorrow but not gonna stay up. Will just sit and watch it as a wee birthday treat tomorrow. Yep, I'm living the life.

Stereomaniac

Triple H

There could be worse ways to spend your birthday, Castor. Hope it's a good one for you anyway. This is the first pay per view I'm watching live since Night Of Champions so I'm excited. There's never been a 31st entrant in the Royal Rumble except for the 40 man one anyway.

johnnyryan89

Does anyone think we could see no winner to the Rumble match tonight because it seems way to obvious that it's either gonna be Roman or Brock who wins tonight and will be a repeat of last years 'Mania main event again at this years 'Mania barring the Rollins cash in.

Basically where I'm getting at is you come down to the final two and it's Brock vs. Roman. You let them fight on for a bit and have Lesner dominate Reigns hitting him with suplex after suplex and picks him up for the F5 to throw him over the ropes but Reigns counters with some elbows and starts to do his best Hulk Hogan/John Cena impression and starts hitting Brock with some big moves, finishers and lays waste to him. When everything looks like he's about to eliminate Brock the lights go out and when they come back on HHH attacks him with a sledgehammer but Reigns manages to roll out under the bottom rope which means he's still in the match but then HHH proceeds to give him a vicious beat down like he received at TLC outside the ring.

Brock gets up to his feet and is about to go outside when the lights hit again and when they come back up the Wyatt family are surrounding him in the ring and put a beat down on Brock but don't eliminate him. It sounds far fetched but you can then move the supposedly proposed feuds of HHH vs. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesner vs. Braun Strowman on at Fast Lane and have Reigns vs. Lesner at 'Mania because would prefer to watch them at 'Mania then have HHH in the main event.

Or to go completely far fetched and have a final three of Brock, Roman and Bray. Have HHH still attack Reigns and the Wyatt family beat down Brock but eliminate him and have them eliminate Reigns after he's been completely destroyed by HHH and Bray Wyatt is your new champion.

J. Marston

I can't stand the Wyatts so if they have anything to do with the finish, I'm going to be disappointed.

Loughc

Owens

J. Marston wrote: »

I can't stand the Wyatts so if they have anything to do with the finish, I'm going to be disappointed.

If they are building to a Lesnar Wyatt match at mania they are seriously wasting a Lesnar WM appearance.

johnnyryan89

I used to like the Wyatts but creative have screwed them over with shit bookings at times and never know what to do with them.

You wouldn't mind if it was a Lesner vs. Bray Wyatt but apparently it's Lesner vs. Braun Strowman, one is gassed after a couple of minutes and the other cant wrestle to save his life.

Turtyturd

Anyone got a checklist of spots for tonight?

Something from Kofi.

Someone attacked before they get in the ring.

Nostalgia entrant.

Everyone teaming up to throw out the big guy.

Big guy clears out the ring.

Two people at the ropes trying to throw each other over end up both being thrown over by another person.

Someone being eliminated after the person they eliminate climbs back in and eliminates them.

????

CastorTroy

Guy eliminating/attempting to eliminate his friend/partner, usually after they work together to eliminate someone else.

One guy trying to convince a bigger guy that they should work together.

CastorTroy

Guy eliminating/attempting to eliminate his friend/partner, usually after they work together to eliminate someone else.

One guy trying to convince a bigger guy that they should work together.

Pugzilla

Owens

Hopefully Brock wins

Faugheen

Triple H

NXT entrant.

On that, surely it can't be anyone but Balor? It makes no sense for some token NXT entrant and it not be the Champion...

Faugheen

Triple H

NXT entrant.

On that, surely it can't be anyone but Balor? It makes no sense for some token NXT entrant and it not be the Champion...