As an event taken in isolation the 2014 Royal Rumble was
mostly a very good show. It featured strong performers in most of its undercard
matches and the Rumble itself was one of the most well planned in years. But
despite these successes the show is likely to be most remembered for what it
didn’t do. Namely make the most of Daniel Bryan’s incredible popularity.
The evening kicked off with a fun pre-show match in which
the New Age Outlaws defeated the Rhodes brothers for the WWE tag team championship.
On commentary JBL focused so much on how long it would be between the Outlaws’ fifth
and sixth reigns that I became even more sure than I had been anyway that Road
Dogg and Billy Gunn would have an unsuccessful night. Perhaps that was
deliberate, WWE having Layfield talk about stats in order to build up surprise
for the title change. I think that’s probably giving them too much credit
though.
I enjoyed the title reign of Cody Rhodes and Goldust.
They made a good team and were the best thing on WWE shows. Losing the titles
doesn’t mean they’re going to stop teaming but it does hint at it. So does the fact
that ‘The Bizarre One’, albeit accidentally, eliminated Cody from the Rumble
later in the night. The rumoured brother versus brother match at ‘Mania looks
like a certainty at this point.
The New Age Outlaws getting a sixth reign is, in my opinion,
a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with a popular team getting one final turn
in the spotlight while they can still perform at the level they’re best
remembered for (which the Outlaws can because they were more about mic work
than anything else). It’s a way of acknowledging their popularity, rewarding
their hard work, and giving them the send-off they deserve. A long championship
reign wouldn’t be the right thing, but I doubt that’s what they’re going to
get.
The pay-per-view portion of the night kicked off with
Daniel Bryan versus Bray Wyatt. The crowd erupted for Bryan and reacted to everything
he did. Wyatt, who was proving popular with audiences before his feud with
Bryan, was booed simply by virtue of who he was facing. Bryan is that over.
The opening moments saw Bray and Bryan trading punches
and kicks and interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. They were
immediately dispatched from ringside by the ref, creating a level playing
field.
Bryan took control with a cross body block from the top
rope to the outside and a second back in the ring. He worked over Bray’s legs
for a few minutes and sent him into the ring steps on the outside. Bray
regained control with an arm ringer that drove Bryan’s head into the ring
apron.
‘The Eater of Worlds’ pummelled Bryan in the corner of
the ring, clotheslined his head into the ring post, then followed up with a
high running back senton and a wild head and arm suplex in the ring. Bryan came
back with charging clothesline, some stiff kicks and a drop toe hold into a
turnbuckle. A top rope hurricanarana got him two count. Bray got a two of his
own with a charging elbow that looked genuinely painful.
On the outside Bryan leapt off the apron and hit Wyatt
with a tornado DDT. Back in the ring again he followed up with a top rope drop
kick and yet more kicks. Moments later Bray blasted Bryan with a lariat. His
attempt at Sister Abigail was reversed into a roll up for a convincing near
fall. The Yes Lock attempt that followed was countered with a distinctly untechnical
biting of the fingers (which probably should have been a disqualification, but whatevs).
The men made their way to the top rope, where Bryan sent
Bray sprawling with a headbutt and followed up with a splash. His attempt at
the running knee sent Bray under the bottom rope to the outside. The suicide
dive that Bryan attempted would prove his downfall: Bray caught him and threw
him into the crowd barrier with his Sister Abigail finisher. A second use of
the move back in the ring earned him the surprising victory.
It was the second eyebrow-raising result of the evening.
At the time it happened it was hard not to see it as WWE continuing to refuse
to recognise Bryan’s popularity. The use of Bray later in the evening makes me
think that it was actually more about preparing him for an important role in
the company. Bryan, as the most popular member of the roster, was the ideal man
to put Wyatt over as it made people react to him and helped him look like a big
deal.
The third match of the night saw Brock Lesnar tangle with
Big Show. The presentation of this was far more interesting than I’d expected
it to be. ‘The Beast’ attacked Show before the bell, taking him down to the mat
and battering him with a chair. When the match officially started Show caught
Lesnar off guard with his WMD KO punch.
That would not be enough to stop Lesnar. After a brief
trundle around ringside they headed back into the ring and Show got scooped up
into an F5. The match ended quickly and emphatically, exactly as it should
have.
This is the best way to use Lesnar. He is not someone we’re
supposed to think of as a wrestler. He’s a man we’re supposed to think of as a
fighter, an unstoppable wall of rage and muscle. His pre-match attack reminded
us how volatile he is and the ease with which he dropped Show once the match
began reminded us that he’s a man who can make short work of anyone. Arguments
that Lesnar looked weak having to resort using a chair against Show miss the
point: the aim was to portray Lesnar as unstable and a poor sportsman, not to
protect Big Show. Lesnar could have defeated Big Show without the aid of a
chair but he used it because he was angry. Plus he shrugged off Show’s KO
punch, which has been established as a guaranteed finish.
After the match the beating continued, driving home the
point that ‘The Pain’ is not a stable man. It went on for a while but that was
fine. I’d rather this approach than a lengthy match in which Show is given
offence. The important thing was building Lesnar up for the next two months,
and that goal was achieved.
The evening’s penultimate match was Randy Orton’s WWE
championship defence against John Cena. It will be remembered almost
exclusively for the hostility of the crowd towards the two men. This is something
that’s been caused by years of overexposure and it’s been made worse by WWE’s pig-headed
refusal to create a batch of new stars. This is a subject I’ll return to below.
The problem with this match was that we’d seen everything
they did in the first fifteen minutes before. There was nothing new,
highlighting the overfamiliarity already present in any Orton v Cena match. It didn’t help that they were supposed to
be battling not just over the title(s) but over a deeply personal issue. ‘The
Viper’ had viciously attacked Cena’s dad on an episode of RAW and yet they
started with a lockup. Surely such an issue warranted a wild brawl to kick
things off, something that would have stood a better chance of engaging the
crowd. They even had the relaxed rules to allow for that.
The match progressed slowly. They were blasted with
chants of “End this match!”, “This is awful!” and “We want Divas!” in between
the bouts of silence and stretches of boos. Cena, used to the reception,
carried on with the match as planned. Meanwhile Orty was visibly irritated and
didn’t know how to react. In the end he simply stopped and did his arms raised
in the air pose and hoped for the best.
Things did pick up in the closing minutes once the two
started hitting their finishers and lifting one another’s signature spots.
Orton started that off when he applied the STF to Cena. Moments later he
slipped out of a Cena STF and planted the challenger with a dodgy AA. Cena
responded with an RKO. The crowd reacted to all of this but it was too little
too late: the moves got momentary pops but didn’t regain interest in the match
as a whole. The crowd were doing everything they could to send WWE the message
that they did not want to see Orton and Cena facing off.
The finish did get a sustained reaction though. As Cena
had Orty trapped in the STF the lights went out and the Wyatt Family’s
signature was screened. When the lights came back on the three Family members
were stood on the ring apron. Cena dashed at Bray and knocked him down to the
floor but turned around into the match-winning RKO. For the second year in a
row a heavily pushed three man faction played a part in the WWE title match at
Royal Rumble.
This was a step in the right direction as far as creating
new stars is concerned. Having Bray be the reason Cena lost a WWE title match
obviously sets the two up for a collision of some sort. It could be a singles
match. It could be a tag match with Cena and Bryan taking on two members (I’d
personally favour Bray and Harper). It could even be a six man if Hulk Hogan’s
capable of standing on the apron for ten minutes before Hulking up and hitting
a leg drop.
Whatever it leads to I think Bray interfering in this
match gives sense to Bryan’s loss to him in the opener. Bryan will remain
popular. Not indefinitely, not at his current level at least, but enough to take
one loss to an upper mid-carder. Bray needed that victory to make him appear
credible for whatever he does with Cena.
After a final check-in with the expert panel, which was
most notable for how hammered Flair appeared, and a short video of mini promos
from Rumble entrants (Batista’s was most cringe-worthy, he simply looked at the
camera before saying “Exactly”) it was time for the Royal Rumble match. It was
Seth Rollins who would start things off against CM Punk. As I wrote in my
prediction piece he was a good choice because he was a big enough name to get a
reaction but not so big as to be needed later in the bout. Damien Sandow and
Cody Rhodes followed. ‘The Intellectual Saviour’ was the first man out when
Punk back dropped him over the top rope.
Entrant five was Kane, who tore his shirt off as he
trundled towards the ring. He went straight for Punk, trying for a choke slam
but getting smacked with a roundhouse kick and eliminated instead. He was followed
by NXT regular Alexander Rusev. He knocked everyone in the ring around but would
ultimately leave without eliminating anyone.
The crowd weren’t sure whether to pop for Cesaro or boo
for Swagger when the Real Americans music hit. It ended up being Swagger, so
they booed. He was followed by Kofi Kingston, Jimmy Uso and Goldust. It was at
this point that ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ was eliminated via group effort. If this
was his official introduction to the main roster it was unimpressive.
Up next was Kofi Kingston’s annual avoiding elimination
spot. This year he got knocked off the apron by CM Punk and caught by an angry
Rusev at ringside. For no discernable reason Rusev dropped ‘The Wildcat’ on to
the crowd barrier, punched him a few times, then wandered off. After psyching
himself up Kofi made the eight foot leap from the barrier on to the ring apron
and rejoined the action. A while later he would avoid elimination again by wrenching
Jack swagger’s boot off and hanging upside down from the ropes. It was not as
impressive.
Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth and Kevin Nash followed.
Truth found himself immediately eliminated by Ambrose while Nash made short
work of Swagger. The reaction for ‘The Show Off’ was impressive. Despite being
booked like a nobody for months the fans reacted like he was a star, popped for
his missile drop kick, and piped up with a “Let’s go Ziggler!” chant.
The reason for the slight number of eliminations was
revealed when Roman Reigns entered at fifteen and set about dominating the
match. CM Punk was knocked silly with a running drop kick. Goldust, Cody and
Ziggler were all dropped with spears. Kofi was dunked over the top rope after
attempting a spinning heel kick. Moments later he was joined by Ziggles and ‘Big
Sexy’.
A group effort from The Shield weakened The Great Khali
for elimination, but it was Reigns that scooped him up and threw him out. A
(planned) timing error between the brothers Rhodes saw Goldy accidentally knock
Cody off the apron. Reigns then added to his tally by getting rid of ‘The
Golden One’. That left Punk alone with The Shield. Luckily for him, but
unluckily for viewers, Sheamus was entrant seventeen. He single-handedly
sidelined all three heels.
The Miz, Fandango , El Torito and Antonio Cesaro brought
the numbers back up. Fandango and Torito didn’t last long. The dancer went out
to the bull and the bull went out to Roman Reigns. Cesaro earned cheers by
fending off Rollins and Ambrose and performing a lengthy big swing.
Luke Harper, Jey Uso, JBL and Erick Rowan were the next four.
By this point chants for Daniel Bryan had begun and people that weren’t him
were getting booed as they entered. ‘The Wrestling God’ kept his suit on and
didn’t last long, as you’d expect. He was added to Roman Reigns’ elims list. Eagle-eyed
viewers would have noticed Kane sneaking towards the ring as Layfield’s music
was playing. This was understandably not acknowledged by Cole and ‘King’.
Jey Uso went out to a Luke Harper boot just as The Ryback
was introduced. He was followed by Alberto Del Rio and Batista. The initial
reaction for ‘The Animal’ was good but he found himself jeered heavily once he
got into the ring. He made quick work of eliminating Rowan, Ryback and ADR. That
was intended to remind us of how good he is. Personally I’d have spanned them
out a little more, tossing out three guys so rapidly left Big Dave with nothing
much to do.
The penultimate entrant was Big E Langston. He too got no
reaction because the crowd were holding out for Daniel Bryan. Rey Mysterio was
heavily booed when he came out at thirty. Everything that the remaining men did
for the next several minutes got similar treatment. It was the fans’ way of telling
WWE they were not happy with what they were being given.
Cheers returned when Seth Rollins elim’ed Mysterio.
Reigns’ Superman punch elimination of Luke Harper got a mixed reaction but the
crowd came to life when Ambrose tried a sneak attack on his big teammate.
Rollins shouted at Ambrose for his lack of team spirit and Cesaro tried to
chuck them both out. Seconds later all three found themselves on the floor
courtesy of Roman Reigns.
The four remaining men (Reigns, Punk, Sheamus and
Batista) exchanged finishers, with Punk getting the best of the sequence and
ending up stood in a corner. That would turn out to be the wrong thing to do as
‘The Big Red Machine’ would appear from his hiding place under the ring and
pull him out of the match. I don’t want to see Kane v CM Punk but I think we’re
going to. Probably at, but not necessarily in, Elimination Chamber.
Boos rained down on the three finalists as they clambered
back to their feet. Sheamus and Batista made their way through an unengaging
exchange of punches and kicks. After what seemed like hours Batista attempted a
Batista bomb. Sheamus muscled out of it but ended up back dropped on to the
apron. That allowed Reigns to barge him off, making him the record holder for
most eliminations in a single Rumble match with twelve.
The crowd rallied behind Reigns. Part of the reason for
that is that he’s been teasing a face turn for months. Another part is that he’d
single-handedly eliminated twelve men, meaning that he’d earned a victory
within the context of the Rumble match itself. But the biggest reason Reigns was
cheered was that he’s a fresh face in such an important spot. And new faces are
what WWE fans want.
Obviously the crowd would have preferred Bryan because
Bryan typifies the new face sentiment. But Roman Reigns was a decent enough substitute.
He represented a new direction and youngsters being pushed to the fore. Batista
represented big names from yesteryear clogging up the roster and denying the
more deserving regulars the spots they’ve earned.
They exchanged punches before Reigns wiped ‘The Animal’
out with a lariat. Batista responded by wiping the Shield boy out with a spear.
Seconds later Reigns was back on his feet and dropping Batista with a (far more
impressive) spear of his own. He scraped Batsy up off the mat and went to throw
him out but the veteran reversed it and chucked ‘The Hound of Justice’ out. Just
like that Batista became a two time Royal Rumble winner.
Loud boos and chants of “No!” and “Daniel Bryan!” filled
the arena. Batista’s response was to point at the WrestleMania sign and no-sell
pyros going off above him.
The booking of the Rumble match itself was mostly fine.
It could have done with a few more surprise entrants (Nash felt like a waste as
he made a similar appearance in 2011 and I could have done without R-Truth and
the Usos) but it did its job re-establishing Batista as a force to be reckoned
with, adding reasons for a Rhodes brothers split, furthering the dispute
between Punk and The Authority, and prepping Roman Reigns for his babyface
turn.
But that’s all likely to be forgotten. What people will
remember about the 2014 Royal Rumble is that Daniel Bryan was not a part of it.
His absence overshadowed everything else. Had he been popped in in place of The
Miz, El Torito, Ryback or even Rey Mysterio the fans would have been satisfied.
They’d have had the man they wanted in the match. He didn’t have to win. He
just needed to be given the opportunity to.
There is a positive side to all this. It’s just about
possible that the omission of Bryan was planned to get the backlash it did.
After the show Bryan posted the following on Twitter:
Sorry guys, the
machine wanted me nowhere near the Royal Rumble match. But I thank everyone for
their support. YOU are the #YESMovement
They try to keep US
down and away from the top spots, but they can’t ignore the reactions forever.
Keep voicing your opinions. #YESMovement
You could expect this out of CM Punk but it’s completely
at odds with the unassuming, level headed Daniel Bryan. I’ve no idea how they’d
make it work but I could imagine WWE trying a storyline in which backstage
politics and pre-determined finishes are acknowledged (or strongly hinted at),
along with the non-random nature of bouts like the Rumble, with Bryan being
portrayed as a man the WWE Machine doesn’t want on top. This is already sort of
what’s happened with The Authority but so far it’s only been explained and
shown in storyline terms with vague insider terms. The opportunity’s there for
WWE to take an experimental approach and have Bryan held down in a completely
new way, one that acknowledged wrestling’s pre-planned nature.
The odds are against this idea though. Not only is it
something wildly outside of WWE’s comfort zone but they’d be doing it at their
most successful time of year and just as they’re launching the WWE Network.
Still, it’s something to think about. And it would explain why WWE seem so
against doing anything with the man who is clearly the most popular performer
they have.
