Live Report on the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble
By Alex Roberts, PWTorch Review specialist

Every year, pro wrestling analysts and reporters ask the same question following the last episode of Raw heading into January’s Royal Rumble: did WWE adequately hype the Pay-Per-View? Building anticipation for a big show, after all, is critical. It can turn a mediocre show into a great one - done wrong, it can also turn a promising lineup into an utterly forgettable show.

While this is true of almost every wrestling event, I’d argue the Royal Rumble is the one event each year where this isn’t necessarily the case. The 30-man Rumble match sells itself. Over at least the past few years, I feel WWE has done a particularly poor job of creating hype for this PPV, yet it remains one of the company’s most successful events. It felt no different this year - very little time seemed to go into building meaningful feuds heading into the PPV, with excitement generated mostly by the Rumble match itself.

As a member of the live audience in St. Louis (my first live Royal Rumble), this dynamic was even more keenly felt. While every preliminary match felt at times rushed, clunky, and underwhelming, any of these criticisms were forgotten once the Scottrade Arena was enveloped by the excitement of the Royal Rumble match. While I’ve noticed many (not unfair) criticisms of the event from viewers since Sunday and share their concerns about the booking and dynamics heading into WrestleMania, I simply can’t bring myself to make similar criticisms about the overall event. The excitement and unpredictability of witnessing the Royal Rumble match live is truly something to behold; it’s not hard to see why it has remained so beloved for so long.

I’ve seen the event criticized as “inconsequential,” and looking at the undercard, I can’t disagree. The World Heavyweight Championship cage match felt over before it even had time to begin, with only one spot (Daniel Bryan dangling from the cage just before his victory) that got any significant response from the crowd. The Divas tag match and Brodus Clay’s squash both seemed entirely out of place on a major PPV. Kane and Cena put on a plodding match that was not helped live by an indecisive finish and a taped backstage follow-through. Perhaps most disappointing, though, was C.M. Punk and Dolph Ziggler’s WWE Championship match. Both men promised to steal the show, but were given less than 15 minutes to do so, and were strapped with a finish that made Ziggler look almost laughably weak. Through all but one match, the show felt decidedly flat.

The disappointment of all these matches, though, was instantly forgotten once the Royal Rumble began. Taking part in the live Rumble experience was about as fun as wrestling gets. A crowd that for most of the show was quite silent suddenly came alive together as everyone counted down to the next contestant and erupted for each surprise entrant. Personally, my favorite moments included seeing Mick Foley and "Road Dogg" Jesse James (two favorites from my childhood), seeing the return of Kharma, and the extended exchange between Jericho and Sheamus that ended the match. It was my first live Royal Rumble match, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

At the same time, I can understand the many criticisms the match has garnered. Yes, there was a lot of comedy (though, at the risk of losing all credibility, I’ll admit I strongly liked the showdown between Mr. Socko and The Cobra). Yes, the bulk of the match could be seen as filler with too many undercarders, legends, and novelty contestants taking part. And, yes, I’d question the overall booking of the final competitors and winners. I was hoping to see more of Wade Barrett, Randy Orton spent far less time in the match than the live crowd wanted, and, while I have no problem with Sheamus winning, I still feel like Jericho was the only logical choice to win.

However, all these complaints still feel minor to me compared to the excitement I felt throughout the night. Though the build-up to the show was quite poor, many of the matches fell flat, and the overall booking left something to be desired, the Royal Rumble still lived up to my expectations. In this case, perhaps the Royal Rumble is the sort of event that eludes certain criticism - the match’s inherently exciting, unpredictable nature forgives any number of flaws in its execution. While many might have seen the event as a rocky start to the Road to WrestleMania, I left the Scottrade Arena Sunday night feeling completely satisfied.

Questions? Comments? Just want to chat wrestling and more? Follow and send me a tweet @Roqnrollmartian!

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