By Tony Donofrio, Torch specialist

-- 1/31 WWE Royal Rumble PPV Hits & Misses

RUMBLE HITS

Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson (ECW Title): This was a solid opener with Christian doing his best to carry Jackson...and it came off well. It was your classic style of match were the big man dominated the smaller wrestler and it told a good story. As a Christian fan, this was a bitter-sweet ending. I was happy to see him win on one of the biggest PPVs of the year, but part of me wanted to see him drop the title in hopes of something bigger for him in the near future. Christian has done wonders for the ECW Title and given it credibility that it probably hasn't had since Bobby Lashley last had it before leaving WWE. We might get a tease or some small interaction between Edge and Christian since Edge won the Rumble and is now entitled to challenge the champion of his choice (more on that later, obviously). Here's hoping that Christian has done his penance on ECW since he is nearing one full year since his WWE return.

The Miz vs. MVP (U.S. Title): Another solid match, even if the live crowd wasn't totally into it. My only problem with the match was how it came about (more on that later, as well). The way the match finished and Miz and MVP's interaction later in the show (more on that later...sensing a pattern yet?) promises that this feud has not yet hit it's conclusion, which is a good thing because it's one of the more intriguing things that Raw has done lately. This feud and especially Miz's run as champ have definitely elevated this title, which around a year ago was near death. I'm looking to see how much farther they go with these two from here as the animosity between them on-screen is hot right now.

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton (WWE Title): I'll start with the negative on this, no one likes DQ finishes. However, this wasn't the main event and it looks as though some seeds were definitely planted at the end of this match. First of all, as the match got closer to the end, Orton was getting cheers from the majority of the crowd. Now, I know that Sheamus is more hated right now because he doesn't really have the respect of the die-hard fans yet, but bear with me here. I'm sensing a potential face turn for Orton if WWE feels the need to pull the trigger on it. Orton does have some Steve Austin type qualities and this match was booked in a way that could turn him into the "bad ass type" face. Secondly, it appears (although we've seen glimpses before) as though Legacy's dissension is at an all-time high and the stable could disband as early as the upcoming Raw. Orton's interaction with both Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase before his match teased it and the ending all but put it into action. One way or another, it should be great TV to see where they go from here.

Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James (Women's Title): Here was a match that fell right on the fence for me and happened to tumble over into the "hit" column. The pre-match promo was definitely not needed. However, everything after that was pretty well done. Mickie coming out like a woman on a mission was perfect considering how she's been abused during this feud and I didn't mind the very short match because how it went down. Even the post-match "cake celebration" was entertaining in my view. I'm sure this feud will continue, maybe with a twist, because now McCool and Layla have been embarrassed. I'm all for it as long as some of the "piggie" stuff gets dropped.

Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight Title): Another classic big man vs. little man match-up, but Rey works so damn well with the bigger guys (I know they're all "bigger" to him, but I think you catch my drift). I really thought that Rey was going to somehow come out of this match as the champion but he didn't. Even as the match progressed, I gave him more than the proverbial "snowball's chance in hell." That can be attributed to how well the match came off and the fact that we're not used to seeing most champions in WWE hold onto a title more than three months at a time. I still think a title shakeup will happen before WrestleMania (more later).

C.M. Punk cuts promos mid-Rumble: Classic stuff here from Punk. Even though he didn't make a very deep run into the Rumble, he made his presence known and got over more in the process. His character (and stable) continues to get stronger each week and his involvement in the Rumble was very fun to watch. Would I like to see him be feuding with someone right now? Sure. But, they building right now to something big and I can't wait to see what it is.

Beth Phoenix makes an impact in the Rumble: Beth entering this match was a definite surprise and you had to figure that she would eliminate someone. Being only the second woman, behind Chyna, to be in the Rumble is kind of a big deal. With all of that said, I didn't think that she'd take out the biggest dog (size wise anyway) in the match! I guess it goes to show you that World Titles don't mean much to Khali as he went for the kiss over a title opportunity...what a pervert!

Edge Returns to win the Royal Rumble: I didn't think that he would win, if he returned, but figured he would at least spoil Chris Jericho's chances at winning. It was fun to see the tremendous pop the Atlanta crowd gave him. There is definitely a fork in the road right now with WWE and there's so many way they could go but the most obvious is Edge-Jericho, but what about Edge's world title shot? This should make for a fun run to WrestleMania.

Rumble Match progresses storylines already in progress: MVP-Miz, Jericho-Edge, HHH-HBK, and Punk and his Straight Edge Society. All of the above feuds and angles were strengthened by the Rumble match. While the match was entertaining pretty much from start to finish, it also was booked well in that it kept these storylines in mind. This is a big time hit in my estimation, even if there's not much else to say about it.

RUMBLE MISSES

Teddy Long in charge and silliness runs amuck: First of all, let me get something straight. Teddy Long, by default, is in charge? I guess that's because there was obviously no guest host representative from Raw available and Tiffany runs ECW, which doesn't have equal footing with the other two brands. First of all, we all know that ECW is the "C" show, but does WWE have to acknowledge that so easily by giving Teddy max authority by default? Also, why does someone like Teddy Long, who is "on probation," get to run one of the biggest shows of the year? Maybe I'm being picky, but that just resonated with me.

Pop culture references: The next issue was the silliness that ensued with Cryme Tyme, Khali, and the aforementioned GMs. The "Family Matters" references were God-awful and so outdated. They tried to rescue that with the "Pants on the Ground" references, but it didn't quite work. Finally, going back to the first point (kinda sorta), Teddy making a U.S. Title match between two Raw wrestlers while he runs Smackdown just didn't make sense. If Miz had lost, could he have appealed that Long didn't have the authority to make said match? Now, that could have been interesting.

ANALYSIS/OVERALL GRADE

I don't feel there really was much to complain about. Sure, there were some nagging things that happened, but nothing to send anything labeled as a "hit" into the "miss" column. I guess I will start with the biggest question, where does Edge go from here? He could challenge Sheamus, Undertaker, or even Christian. I think they could have some fun teasing a feud with Christian but won't go there...yet. As for the other two, I don't think both of them will be champion come WrestleMania. Most likely, at least one of them will lose their title at Elimination Chamber in three weeks. Does Edge tease everyone for three weeks until the champs are set in stone for WM? I think he might. I don't see him challenging The Undertaker because of the face vs. face factor right now. We just saw that with Taker and Rey too. Edge vs. Sheamus could be interesting but my heart tells me that won't happen. I'd be shocked if Chris Jericho didn't somehow win one of the titles (probably the World Heavyweight Title because of the Smackdown ties, but you never know. Last year, Edge lost one title and won another at No Way Out).

The Edge and Jericho feud doesn't need a title, but you'd have to believe that this should be Edge's "welcome back" feud. As far as the WWE Title goes, we might be looking at the rumored Hunter vs. Sheamus match for WM. If that goes off, let's hope that it comes off better in the ring than it does on paper. Assuming Taker loses his title, that frees him up for a re-match with Shawn Michaels. So much hype has gone into this, that I can't believe that they wouldn't pull the trigger on it. Even though it wasn't touched on much at the Rumble, the ongoing Vince McMahon-Bret Hart feud should be great from here (not that the slow burn has been bad thus far). Also based on events from the Rumble, you'd have to assume that Orton will have some type of feud coming with his old Legacy mates. I'm curious to see where they go from here, though. Does Legacy technically boot out Orton? Does Orton reconcile with one but not the other to spark his next feud? If he does, the smart money is that he feuds with DiBiase for WM as has been the rumor for months.

Some of these obvious routes are the way to go. Remember, as I always say, 80 percent of the time the predictable route is the way to go. Surprises and swerves just for the sake of doing them, doesn't always work and kills the element of the surprise...ahem, Vince Russo. As for the Royal Rumble event itself, I give it a solid "A." As I said, no big complaints and good storyline development made this a stellar PPV. All three brands have been solid recently and the build up was good for the Rumble. Here's hoping WWE keeps with this winning formula as they move forward.

Tony Donofrio is a Specialist for the Torch covering WWE PPVs monthly and contributes to the Torch Roundtable Reviews on a weekly basis. You can
contact Tony at PWTorchTD@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TonyDonofrio.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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