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March 3, 2009 - Royal Rumble Special
Ryan Simmons Moonsault was indeed a genuine botch at this past weeks Royal Rumble. Original plans had Simmons going over thanks to the interference of new WWE Diva Barbie Blank who rumor suggests will be renamed as Kelly Kelly. The Rey Mysterio vs Primal match later was unrehearsed and layed out between Primal and Rey Mysterio in the hour or so between Ryan's injury and the match, many spots called in the ring. Some within WWE believe Ryans injury to be "a blessing" as it meant that the planned first meeting between the Scot and Dane can be held off till WrestleMania and Ryan can take on a few gimmick on his return. (Wrestling Observer)
WWE are said to be delighted with the success of the WWE Universe online amongst both fans and Superstars alike, many stars using the service to interact with fans. Joey Styles told one source that the Universe is generating more traffic that WWE.com itself (PWTorch)
WWE were delighted with the Assassin and William Regal match, feeling that Regal did an excellent job of making his much younger counterpart look a Superstar. In other Rumble notes, expect Morrison and Nebraska to continue their feud with the WWE Legends and sites such as Yahoo and TMZ all picked up on Mickey Rourkes Royal Rumble appearance, you can read the TMZ Article by clicking here (Prowrestling.com)
WWE will look to reinvigorate the woman's division from Monday as Vince believes the huge amount of female talent is going to waste as it stands. Expect Katie-Lea Burchill to either lose the Women's Championship, being asked back for a one shot deal, or expect her to simply be stripped of the belt should she refuse to return just for Monday (Wrestling Observer)
WWE are delighted with Primal s performance at the Royal Rumble. Primal and Ryan Simmons are said to be reluctant to break p as a tag team however while creative feels its necessary for both to advance as singles stars. With Simmons new gimmick, which we have no details on, and Primals new momentum, coupled with the involvement of Kelly Kelly, WWE are expecting a hot program between the two up until WretsleMania (Wrestling Observer)
Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble was a late decision made either Thursday or Friday. WWE's other choices had been Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, the last three men in that match. It really could have gone anyway but as Jim Ross was ordered to say, this is not yet over. Expect Shawn Michaels non-elimination to be made a big deal of on Monday. (PWInsider)
WWE were said to be pleased with the elimination chamber and calling it the best match on WWE TV since Shawn Michaels/Randy Orton and a certain contender for match of the year come this December. WWE feel that John Cena in particular has defied the critics and shown he can be amongst the best actual wrestlers in the company (Wrestling Observer Live)
The "Age of the Fall" angle between Michael Shane and Suffering went over a lot better than either man is said to have anticipated with Jim Ross and Ric Flair singles out as playing a major part in getting the angle over on-air beyond the original participants. CM Punk, Sergio Griffon, Mickie James and Ashley Massaro have also been singled out for praise in what many are calling the most shocking angle ever seen on WWE TV, comparing it only with Raven's crucifixion of the Sandman in ECW (WrestleZone)
Not everyone is happy with the angle however, the Parents Television Council (PTC) issued a statement through their website condemning McMahon, WWE, Suffering and Michael Shane for what they called "one of the sickest and most disgusting pieces of television in American TV history". PTC leader L. Brent Bozell III. is no stranger to McMahon and WWE TV, having waged war on the company during their attitude era. You can read part of the article here. (PTC Website, WrestleZone)
Backstage sources indicate that Vince McMahon feels the Royal Rumble marked the official beginning to the New Generation era that has been coming for over a year. The new serious, intelligent and darker mood made up the entire show with only Santino Marella offering light relief. Coupled with all the major roles after Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker going to the likes of Cena, Orton, Suffering, Shane, Jeff Hardy and Primal, Vince believes that this show is as radical a change as the first episode of Raw is War was all those years ago (PWTorch)
WWE RAW Live! House Show Event
from Asheville City Auditorium, Asheville, North Carolina
On … (Wednesday before VWWE Royal Rumble)
Thanks for taking time out for reading my report. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance when the WWE stopped off in town on their last date before the annual Royal Rumble. Fresh off another explosive edition of RAW, the Superstars were in Road to WrestleMania mode, and the fans were hyped for the near sell-out event. Lilian Garcia came out first and welcomed us all before singing the national anthem to a rousing standing ovation. Good ol’ Lilian, God Bless Her! First match on the card was Joey Nebraska with John Morrison against Shannon Moore. Moore got no entrance or announcement, I suspect half the crowd didn’t even realise it was him. Cannon fodder then, and as expected, he is merely being fed as a jobber in a maul of squash.
Match 1, Joey Nebraska w/John Morrison vs Shannon Moore
- Nebraska nails all his patented moves. Moore gets in no offense at all from what I can recall.
- Nebraska works the crowd well, earning himself some legit heat. At one point he even snatched away a kid’s sign and screwed it up.
- Nebraska tries and tries to get the 3 count, but Moore keeps kicking out and Nebraska becomes frustrated.
- Nebraska feigns injury, and as the referee attends to him, Morrison snucks in and hits Moore with a savate kick. Nebraska miraculously recovers and picks up the easy 1,2,3 as Moore is out cold.
Solid match, nothing special. Did the job, excuse the pun, with Nebraska and Morrison continuing on their roll going into the Rumble, winning in dubious circumstances.
A treat up next as out of nowhere with no prior press release (but a whole load of internet leaks!!) it’s announced the Hardy Boyz, hometown heroes Matt & Jeff will be competing in tag action. It had previously been advertised as Matt Hardy versus a well known local guy called C.W. Anderson.
Match 2, Christie York & Joey Matthews vs The Hardys
- Roof COMES OFF for the Hardys! Tremendous reaction, the noise was deafening and it brought back lots of nostalgia for yours truly. I remember coming to see these guys when they first broke into the big league!
- Funny “You’re Joey Mercury” chants directed at Joey Matthews. He didn’t react.
- The locals played the heel roles, and of course the over Hardys were the clear hometown favourites!
- Hardys pulled out all their usual spots and were brilliant – they clearly hadn’t lost it as a tandem.
- Jeff nails a Twist of Fate, and heads up top. Instead of hitting the Swanton straight away he appears to hestitate. Matt asks him what’s up. Jeff then lowers his head and leaves to the back without explanation. Matt chases after him demanding reasoning but Jeff simply ignores him. The Hardys are counted-out and the fans boo as Matthews and York celebrate as if they had WON THE RUMBLE!
- Feel a bit ripped off, as this was no Hardy exhibition, but the match did the job in advancing Jeff’s current storyline.
After the match Forxxx comes down with Bearer and destroys Matthews and York who are still in the ring. Bearer cuts an in-ring promo saying that Forxxx is becoming the new WWE Champion inside the Elimination Chamber, and he will do so by defeating Kane.
Third match on the card was Assassin, and on jobbing duty this time was David Flair. I’m sure most the crowd must have known David from his WCW days, but despite a mild pop there wasn’t much fanfare for the Nature Boy’s son.
Match 3, Assassin vs David Flair
- WOW! Never really realised just how over Assassin is until you hear the reaction of live crowds.
- Several Aussie’s in the crowd attempted to sing their national anthem (badly!) This caused a section of crowd to boo, which confused a lot of people elsewhere in the arena!
- The HD-Tron showed footage backstage of William Regal scouting his Rumble opponent on monitors.
- During this match Assassin suddenly developed a real vicious streak, showing David (sorry, just can’t bring myself to refer to him as ‘Flair’) real attitude. This unnerved a lot of fans, especially the younger ones.
- Squash is over in 5 mins as a black and blue David takes a pretty shabby looking DDT (I’ll blame Flair, opps, I mean David for this one, he sold it too early) and Assassin gets the 1, 2, 3.
- Regal is seen watching the end backstage.
- Assassin looks to the back, and looks very mean.
- Nice to see Assassin break his duct and pick up a win after so many consecutive defeats, but the big one is this Sunday and I’ll certainly be routing for this young kid!
In-ring segment with Santino next! Yay! Santino comes out and slates North Carolina, saying all the girls are ugly. Nothing compared to the Italian beauties he dates back home. He then picks a very pretty girl out of the crowd and invites her into the ring. Santino flirts and charms her, then Beth Phoenix trudges out and Santino looks like he’s in trouble. Santino turns on the plant from the audience and says she is ugly, no match for Beth. Beth and Santino gang up on her and tell her to leave. Santino then repeats she is no match for Beth, just like that cheap slut Maria. Cue Titan, and we have ourselves a match.
Match 4, Titan w/Maria vs Santino Marella w/Beth Phoenix
- Very short match, with Titan picking up the victory, pinning Santino humiliatingly with a small package roll-up in just over 3 mins.
- Maria celebrates with her victorious friend on the outside and gives Titan a kiss on the cheek, to which he blushes as Beth and Santino shout trash from the ring.
Match 5, Primal & Ryan Simmons vs Suffering & CM Punk
- There may have been an interlude interspersing these 2 matches, but what the hey, I was busy queuing for a hotdog at the time! Sosage anyone? Apparently Simmons is going by the name Drew McIntyre nowadays, not that you’d have noticed. Apparently WWE do that a lot, changing Superstars names on the road to see if something different fits.
- Pretty much a carbon copy of what we saw on RAW.
- This time after a communication breakdown and a mini-argument Simmons simply walks away, leaving the Dane to fend for himself.
- Primal gains the upperhand initially, but is soon overcome by the numbers game.
- End comes as Suffering taunts the crowd and Punk nails the GTS on a depleted Primal for the win. Suffering looks peeved that Punk finished the match and made the resulting cover, as he wasn’t even paying attention.
Divas come out with cannons to fire some freebies into the crowds. None came near us. Although one was shot right at a fan who was carrying a beer at the time, spilled it everywhere. I later heard Primal ate the offending, beer soaked tee. Could just be an urban legend?
Match 6, John Morrison w/Joey Nebraska vs Evan Kourageous
- Merely an exhibition for Morrison to show off his talent, awesome arsenal of moves and of course that very macho, oiled six pack.
- Nebraska winds up the crowd as Morrison gets it done in the ring.
- Evan Karagias, sorry, I mean Kourageous starts to mount a fight back to the delight of the crowd.
- Morrison fakes a leg injury, and even Evan is fooled, only to be blindsided by Nebraska who plants him with a corkscrew reverse DDT variant and exits quickly, before the ref turns his attention back and Morrison collects the cheap, and easy win.
- Morrison and Nebraska clearly working well as a tag team and have momentum going into the Rumble.
Cena comes out – “The Champ is Here” yadda, yadda – bored now. Randall interrupts. This just got interesting! His legacy will be etched forever at the Royal Rumble apparently. He calls for certain other Superstars to step up to the plate, and vows that come Sunday the Champ will be here (pointing at himself) as the Age of Orton is reborn. Champ and challenger go nose-to-nose, and we have our main event.
Main Event, John Cena vs Randy Orton
- Great and entertaining back and forth action – these guys certainly haven’t forgotten how to entertain us!
- It gets more brutal as the action spills to the outside, and both men take hard knocks. Orton being whipped into the barrier, Cena, the announce desk. They both play on their injured ribs.
- Orton goes for an early RKO, but can’t connect. Cena looks for the FU, but Orton wriggles free and hits his inverted backbreaker. He can’t capitalize, and aches into the cover late, Cena getting a shoulder up at 2.9.
- At some point the referee take a knock and goes down like a stack of shit. Seen better acting from the Big Show. The match continues with both men slugging it out, brawling. Then they collide together and both are down.
- Dibiase and Rhodes show up hoping to get into Randy’s good books one can assume. They both get the FU treatment for their troubles.
- Rhodes and Dibiase quietly make their way back to the back, so to speak. Cena slams Orton down – 5 Knuckle Shuffle – connects! Looks for the FU – Orton grabs the ropes and holds on tight!
- Orton with a desperation kick right to Cena’s groin, and then the swooping RKO for the 1, 2, 3 finish.
- Orton stands tall over the fallen Champion as this one is over.
End Segment
Vince comes out on stage, cutting off Lilian as she’s wishing us a safe journey home and thanks for coming. He dismisses Lilian rudely to the back. He asks the crowd if they want Shawn Michaels in the Rumble match this Sunday? They pop big time! Hell yeah baby! McMahon says he’s a man of the people, and he’s always been a man of the people, and therefore he will give the people what they want, cos quite frankly he knows what they want more than they do (!) Therefore, without further ado please welcome the latest participant to enter the 2009 Royal Rumble Shawn Michaels!!! That Sean Michaels creepy porno guy walks out and the arena goes dead (I MEAN DEAD!) I guess most people either missed that episode he was last used or just don’t plain remember it. Vince says that you’re the only Sean Michaels that has a chance in hell in being a part of the rumble, and even that isn’t going to happen. Glass shatters. At last, salvation! Austin pads out to easily the biggest pop of the night. Goes to every turnbuckle and poses. Music fades out and he gets in Vince’s face. Reminds the boss of all their run-ins in the past, and of course trash talks McMahon as only ol’ Stone Cold can. Austin points at the adult entertainer and says forget Sunday, I’m gonna hurl your scrawny ass out over the top rope right now! Big pop. Porn star attacks Austin from behind, but the Rattlesnake no sells. Stunner. Austin calls for some refreshments and the crowd go wild, beer flowing everywhere. Obligatory Stunner to McMahon and Austin leaves to end show, saluting… or is it?
Dark Main Event, John Cena & the Hardys vs Randy Orton, Forxxx & William Regal
- Yay! I knew they wouldn’t let this passing through Carolina pass without a proper Hardy Boyz moment to remember.
- Match was pretty short in all honesty. Cena ended up chasing Orton to the back after a few minutes in.
- Match broke down and became a free for all. End comes as Matt drives Regal with the Twist of Fate, Jeff heads up top and scores with the Swanton for the 3.
- Hardy pose for the cameras and sign autographs to send us all hoke very happy!
Second Dark Main Event
- Eventually Cena makes his way back into the ring, sans Orton, to a good reception. He gets into the ring, parading his belt. Bearer gets on mic and challenges Cena on Forxxx’s behalf there and then. Of course, the fighting underdog Champ accepts, and a matter of seconds later Forxxx is staring up at the bright lights courtesy of an FU and that’s it!
Fantastic final stop-off before the Rumble, and I cannot wait until the WWE comes back to North Carolina! I will be forever thankful to whomever decided the Hardy Boyz should reconcile within the hour and make a second unannounced appearance, made our night for sure!
Biggest Pops: 1. Stone Cold Steve Austin
2. Hardy Boyz
3. John Cena
Biggest Heat: 1. Randy Orton
2. The Gathering
3. Santino Marella when he slagged off Carolinian
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