Tis rumble season once again! Ask any WWE fan what their favourite PPV (sorry, premium live event!) is and chances are they will say the Royal Rumble. Wrestlemania will always be the “show of shows” - the huge spectacle event but the Rumble just offers the kind of entertainment that everyone can enjoy. Already existing as a simple concept, WWE took the battle royle formula, added a few new rules and created one of its all time best match concepts. Who doesn’t love the idea of a ring full of wrestlers scrapping at one another whilst trying to throw each other out of the ring?
It’s a simple concept that casual watchers can easily get on board with but it also allows WWE to go big with its booking. When done right, it can be used to create and continue multiple storylines at once, setting the journey to Wrestlemania. It can be used as a vehicle to launch new main eventers and add accolade notches to the already established. Not only that, it can pack thrills and surprises resulting in some of the biggest pops and reactions you will ever see. Royal Rumble 2022 is already starting to take shape so I’m going to cast a few thoughts for how I think this year's show will shape up.
Johnny Knoxville is Going to Get Hurt
WWE has been going all out with movie promotions recently and it’s been mostly terrible. There was of course the Backlash zombies from last year which became more tragic when legend Batista didn’t even bother to show up to promote the film. Then there was the weird golden egg plotline from last year's Survivor Series which was just so bizarre you wondered why they even bothered. However, the latest promotion has the potential to be brilliant.
Jackass star, Johnny Knoxville, got the Rumble hype train rolling this year when he announced on social media he planned to enter the match. Cut to a recent episode of Smackdown which saw Knoxville dump Sami Zayn over the top rope to earn his place. This presents WWE with a unique opportunity to do something wild with a celebrity involvement, as they have a celeb who is famous for doing ridiculous stunts that results in a hospital trip. Knoxville after all is famously known for breaking his penis after very poorly trying to backflip a motorcycle. So I’m willing to bet both parties have something ridiculous lined up for the Jackass star to do.
WWE and Jackass have partnered before which resulted in Steve-O and Chris Pontineus getting a lesson in why you should take wrestling seriously, as Umaga really roughed them up. Given WWE is all about creating “moments” I’m expecting Knoxville’s involvement to go beyond a few seconds of being in the match before being eliminated. My prediction will see him maybe taking some kind of dive off a tall platform - think Shane McMahon. How they get to that is for the booking team to decide but it appears Sami Zayn will be involved with this somehow. The end result though will be a successful tie-in for Jackass Forever and a Rumble moment that will be replayed for years to come.
Lesnar vs Lashley - Hoss Battle
If it’s one type of match that WWE can do really well, it is that of the “big hoss” fight. Given Vince’s love of big “beefy” dudes, he often has a locker room stacked with giants with the potential to knock the p**s out of one another. Since Bobby Lashley returned to WWE, the one match everyone has been calling for is to see him face Brock Lesnar. It is a little surprising it took this long but at least we are finally getting it.
I’ll be the first to say, I have not been the biggest Lesnar supporter since he came back to WWE. I’m not going to list it all out here but I’m sure you can draw your own conclusions based on what a lot of the census is about his run over the last few years. However, I have been really enjoying this latest return. Everything from his embraced farm boy look to the brilliant feud with Roman Reigns. Lesnar looks like he is actually having fun for once and that’s why I am hopeful for this match.
It'll be interesting to see how the match plays out. Given both men have MMA backgrounds many would assume we might see those types of moves brought out for this. I think we will see a little of that influence here but mostly this will just be two giants colliding. Expect hard strikes, tables to be broken and barricades to be knocked down. Ultimately it’ll just be a solid big man match and I can’t wait to see the collision.
Unlocking the Forbidden Door
In one of the most surprising developments, it was recently announced that current Impact Knockouts Champion, Mickie James, will be appearing in the women’s Rumble. Given James was among the 80 wrestlers cut last year and was famously sent her belongings in a garbage bag, it is a bit shocking to see her back. That aside, it is even more shocking to see WWE could be following it’s main competition, AEW, in unlocking the “forbidden door”.
WWE has been no stranger to this in the past, but recent history has seen them being mostly isolated on their own island. The only notable exception being the partnership of the various indie promotions such as Progress, Evolve and ICW. To see them getting involved with a bigger player such as Impact has started to raise a lot of questions as to how far the door will be opened. Is this a one time deal? Will we see other companies allowed through? Will WWE talent show up in these other promotions?
Only time will tell but the Rumble could be the whole start of it. James is already confirmed and rumours are circulating that WWE is looking to pull out a surprise for the men’s Rumble as well. I just hope they keep some of their cards close to their chest in order to keep in the spirit of Rumble surprises. I think many people would lose their minds if Moose showed up in the match. But given the wealth of former WWE talent currently with Impact we will probably get a safer option such as Bryan Myers, Matt Cardona or William Morrisey. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what follows on from this.
A Shake Up for the Women’s Division
There is no denying that WWE has come on leaps and bounds with their women’s division. Although not perfect, WWE has some of the best female wrestlers on the planet and has done a great job in giving them more of a spotlight. However, it feels like things have reverted slightly and in some cases have become a bit stale.
I don’t blame WWE for structuring their division around the 4 Horsewomen given how vital their role has been in helping to make the division what it has become. But it feels like in doing so they have created a glass ceiling for the other female talent. The only exceptions I can think of that goes against this is Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair but even then it has not always been perfect for those two. It feels like when WWE is ready to push a new talent they will inevitable fall back down the card at the hands of either Beck Lynch, Charlotte, Bayley or Sasha Banks. So far the women’s Rumble has done well at giving us new stars but you worry about how far they will go.
Another issue the women’s Rumble brings up is how small the talent pool is on the main roster. Every women’s Rumble so far has had to rely on a heavy amount of appearances by legends and NXT talent. Not always a bad thing but it does take away the spotlight from the talent they should be focusing on. I hope that following this Rumble that WWE realises they need to fill out the pool a bit and actually start banking on more women to be main event players.
It Really Could Be Anyone's Night
The best thing about the Rumble is that typically it is nearly always a surprise on who will actually walk away the winner. You may not always agree with the choice but it will often surprise you. There are only a handful of Rumbles where you could see the ending coming before the match happened. The most notable example that comes to mind was Triple H in 2002. Usually, you will have a handful of candidates to choose from, but this year I’m really unsure who could be walking away as the winner.
The smart option would be Big E but I have my doubts about that. Through no fault of his own, WWE booked his recent title run very poorly. And even though they booked it, they will often view that as a talent not getting over so they can move on to something else. What makes things more difficult to determine is what WWE have in mind for Wrestlemania. Word is the Lesnar and Reigns feud is far from over with many thinking it will be title vs title at Mania. Reports have indicated that WWE are not going to be doing that but it could still change. Which would leave a win in this years Rumble feeling ultimately pointless.
I would hope that a title opportunity is on the cards for the winner and it is always a pleasure to see someone new win it. But looking at the roster as of writing this, it is really hard to nail down a good suspect. Finn Balor? AJ Styles? Kevin Owens? All great picks but have not had a lot behind them in terms of main event matches or story recently. In on respect it is going to make the men’s Rumble an exciting watch but you also can’t help but wonder what the future holds for the winner.
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