Royal Rumble 2017 - The Road Begins

The Road Begins – Royal Rumble thoughts and prediction, and comments on RAW and SD Live for 2017.

I want to begin by saying that the Royal Rumble has always been my favorite match, even if the PPV overall have been lacking. Survivor Series has always been my favorite PPV when it was the Survivor format.

Ever since the winner of the Royal Rumble headlines WrestleMania, the Rumble has taken on an over-important meaning. It has also taking on a lesser surprising role. Usually an established main event star wins to set up a marque match.

Rarely does a mid-card or rising star win the match in any real surprise. Rarely is it used to build a new star. One could argue Roman Reigns, but he was already being groomed for that big spot.

This year is being promoted as the biggest star-studded Rumble in history, and it just may be. That could also lead to it being a massive let down. They are already setting the stage for what seems to be moments that will see long periods of two guys facing off. That has happened in the past, and rarely serves the Rumble well.

The good news is we may also see some surprised entrants, such as Samoa Joe and other NXT stars. Despite many rumors, it would be surprised to see Kenny Omega debut, but there is always a chance we may someone new to the WWE (and not an NXT star) debut. Maybe even a legend or two.

That is part of the beauty.

RAW AND SD LIVE
RAW and SD LIVE have both done really good jobs at building up to the Royal Rumble. Not just the rumble match itself, but the overall card.

RAW has put on its best shows since the Brand Split and have been fairly consistent. Still, the show has a long way to go to reach its once glorious past. The Road to Mania my help.

SD Live has been its usual good show leading into the Rumble, even if it is coasting right now.
Despite the good build, there is still one big drawback, the big stories going into the Rumble are essentially the same ones we had going into Survivor Series.

Jericho and Owens against, Reigns and Rollins. Rollins beef with Steph and HHH. AJ Style and Cena. Brock and Goldberg. Lynch and Bliss. This should be the place to END these feuds and build new ones toward Mania.

I wrote over about the Rumble being over-important. That is true. Is it more than just the Road to WrestleMania. The Rumble, its events and its fallout, set the stage for the entire year.


The Royal Rumble Predictions

The card looks solid, even without the IC Title or US Title defended on the show. The three matches on the Kick Off Show are all Main Card Worthy and are head scratchers as to why they are on the Kick Off.
There are only four non-Rumble matches on the Main Card, meaning that a lot of time will be devoted to the Rumble. It may also lead to longer matches, or a shorter show. It also leads me to think there may be some backstage segments and maybe an unannounced match or two.

Kick Off Show
Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella & Naomi vs Alexa Bliss, Mickey James & Natty
Winners: Bliss, James & Natty

RAW Tag Team Championship: Cesaro & Sheamus (c) vs Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Winners, NEW CHAMPS: Gallows & Anderson

Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax
Winner: NO Contest because Banks can’t continue.

Main Card
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Rich Sawn (c) vs Neville
Winner: Swan by DQ

RAW Women’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs Bayley
Winner Charlotte

WWE Universal Championship, No DQ: KO (c) vs Roman Reigns (Jericho in a shark cage)
Winner: KO

WWE World Title Match: AJ Styles vs John Cena
Winner AJ styles

Royal Rumble:
Seth Rollins – yes he will somehow worm his way into the match and win.
It not, Dolph Ziggler.

Yeah, I know, Dolph is a long shot, but people would love it. Personally, it would be the best way to go.

Ace.

Glitter & Slam Special: The Night Beth Phoenix Rumbled!

As with the rest of WrestleMentary, Glitter and Slam is gearing up for the Road to WrestleMania after the 2017 Royal Rumble. Until then, we'll take a quick look at a memorable moment in Royal Rumble history for Beth Phoenix – at a time when the women's division didn't matter that much in WWE.

Phoenix's appearance sometimes gets lost in accounts of the Rumble's history. Chyna was the first woman to enter a Royal Rumble, and the most recent female entrant was Karma (best known outside WWE as Awesome Kong) in 2012. Phoenix's entry may be the equivalent of a middle child, but she made a memorable moment out of her one minute and change.

CM Punk, in his Straight Edge Society phase, was staring down the Great Khali, hoping some evangelism to his cause could save him some pain. The Indian behemoth wasn't buying it and knocked Punk flat with a slow but powerful palm strike with a platter-sized hand. As he squeezed his opponent's head between said giant hands, an unexpected surprise charged down the ramp.

(Pucker up, Buttercup. Source: WWE.com)

Nobody saw it coming when the Glamazon's music hit, but she charged down the ramp all business and once she slid through the ropes, Phoenix stared down the giant Punjabi Playboy. Khali, being a gentleman, sort of, scooped her up in his arms to gently toss her out of the ring. As she went over the top rope, Phoenix wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips, using her weight as leverage to drag him over and down to ringside, eliminating him. By then Punk had recovered.

(Beth Phoenix usually paid the bills smashing other women into oblivion rather than using feminine charms on the opposite sex, but both worked. Source: Cauliflower Alley Club)

Phoenix didn't miss a beat and immediately charged Punk, decking him with one of the most vicious clotheslines I've ever seen a woman give anyone, let alone a man. She hoisted him upon her shoulders for more, but the Straight Edge Superstar found his opening when Zack Ryder joined the fray and hit her with the GTS before eliminating her. Sure, she wasn't there long, but in that brief window she ran the gamut from using feminine guile to her trademark brutal power to make people remember she was there. The lip lock stunt with Khali was a rare thing for her. Her persona celebrated her femininity simultaneously with her strength and skill as an athlete, but mostly she stayed out of the usual storylines that involved feminine wiles as an element.

Looking back, I wish she could be in WWE now, especially in the injury-riddled women's division on Raw. Picture her as the one out to put Sasha Banks in her place, or the first to come down the ramp and challenge Bayley's claim to the #1 contender's spot.

She may be the female Superstar Billy Graham of her era. She was epitome of what WWE wants in female talent now, but she emerged a little too soon, at a time when women who could wrestle were despotic heels, we were supposed to cheer for bikini models who couldn't and the Divas were lucky to get more than five minutes to tell a story in the ring.

Next time, we will look at how the Fallout from women's action in this year's Royal Rumble will bring the Road to WrestleMania into focus.

Follow me on twitter! @weskozalla #glitterandslam #wrestlementary

2017 State of WrestleMentary Part 1

2017 State of WrestleMentary Part 1

This is the State of WrestleMentary for the New Year of 2017!

For those who pay attention you will have noticed that WrestleMentary has been quite for the last month. This was by design (by me, Ace) and an unannounced break. We need it and the New Year was the best time for it.

You will also have noticed there were no year-end pieces from any member of the Crew. This was because we all decided – separately originally – that it would be redundant. Especially for the WWE. All we would have done is repeat what we have said for the last six month.

Here is a Brief WWE Year-End Piece: Brand Shit Failed. RAW Sucks. SD LIVE Rules.

The Crew and I have decided that we are going to try and turn WrestleMania Season into WrestleMentary Season and step up our commentary on Wrestling, not just on WWE but Pro Wresting in General, which means TNA, ROH, etc.

There are going to be format changes and some new ideas coming. My coverage of RAW and Smackdown is once again undergoing a change, we are planning on doing wrestler profiles and more.

What these changes are, our commentary schedule and other things I will elaborate on in 2017 State of WrestleMentary Part 2, next Wednesday.

Our unofficially, official return starts tomorrow (Thursday, 1/26) with Wes Kozalla’s special piece on Beth Phoenix. Saturday will see my own review of this month’s RAWS and SD LIVES and preview of the Royal Rumble on Sunday.

That it is for now.

Ace and Crew.