By Shawn Valentino, PWTorch specialist

Growing up, the Royal Rumble match was one of my favorites of the wrestling calendar. It signifies the start of the WrestleMania season, and this year I was fortunate enough to be in Phoenix to watch the show live in-person. This was my third Rumble that I have attended, and it was a weekend to remember. My friends and I made the drive from Los Angeles, and we spent Saturday night partying at the Sheraton downtown. We saw plenty of potential surprise entrants staying at the hotel, including Mark Henry, Carlito, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Masters. For those of you who have not experienced being at a wrestlers’s hotel during one of their big events, it is truly a surreal experience.

Unfortunately, the actual show itself could not live up to the previous night’s excitement. It was fitting that The Rock became WWE champion because it was a rocky start on the Road to WrestleMania. Here is my live perspective of the 2013 Royal Rumble.

Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz: U.S. Championship match

I usually skip the dark matches before the pay-per-view, but we took our seats early enough to see this throwaway opener. The Miz is just awkward as a face, both in an out of the ring. Cesaro’s in-ring style is too dull to make his matches interesting. This was a serviceable but completely forgettable encounter that deserved its place off the main card.

LIVE EXPERIENCE RATING: 2/10

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show: World Heavyweight Championship match

This started with an interesting backstage meeting between Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Bret Hart. It was an awkward segment, but made worthwhile with a great nostalgia moment when Hart placed his shades on Rodriguez. This was a strong opener with some memorable spots. Last Man Standing matches often have an odd psychology because of the waiting for the count, but these two made this work. I still do not like the idea of Del Rio as a face, but he received a decent ovation. The presence of Ricardo probably helps him because of his likability.

One thing I did not like was when Big Show chokeslammed Alberto through the table. The move itself was quite a spectacle, but the fact that Del Rio was able to get up from the devastating spot takes away from the believability of all matches. Show continued his string of good performances, and they got the crowd hot for the rest of the show. Unfortunately, I felt this was probably the best match of the night.

LIVE EXPERIENCE RATING: 7/10

Team Hell No vs. Rhodes Scholars: Tag Team Championship match

By the second match, we were already waiting for the actual Rumble to begin. Despite the popularity of Daniel Bryan and Kane, WWE has failed to make the Tag Titles appear significant. This was a dull contest that nobody appeared to care about. Since there was no disposable Divas match, many of us, including myself, looked at this as a break to get up and stretch or use the restroom. The post-match segment with Kane and Bryan looking at their Rumble numbers was much more entertaining than the match itself.

LIVE EXPERIENCE RATING: 3/10

Royal Rumble Backstage Promos

The series of throwback backstage promos in front of the plain black background that recalled days of the original Rumbles was possibly my favorite part of the show. I liked how a variety of Superstars expressed their desire and belief that they would attain victory. This not only created the impression that anyone could win, but it also got fans excited about the entrances of stars that we would not think about otherwise.

Unfortunately, it also showcased how generic and goofy most of today’s characters are. Randy Orton seemed to be the only wrestler that has any type of cool factor on the regular roster. Hopefully, he turns heel soon because it may inspire him to return to the main event. I hope WWE decides to go back to this type of segment every year before the Rumble because it makes the entire match more meaningful.

Royal Rumble Match

The last Royal Rumble I had attended was in 2009, and it was a horrible match that failed to take advantage of the unique structure of the gimmick. Sadly, this year’s Rumble had all of the same flaws. Do not get me wrong. There were some memorable moments that made the crowd jump to our feet. Of course, the return of Chris Jericho ignited the audience as it was an awesome surprise that most of us were not expecting, although there was a small “Y2J” chant in the crowd prior to his entrance. Kofi Kingston once again had a show-stealing move when he jumped atop Tensai’s back to avoid touching the ground. The Godfather’s return and prompt exit was fun as well. The Kane and Bryan comedy was well-executed. The final five had a strong mix of younger and older stars and it was fairly well-executed, although I was disgusted by the expected John Cena win.

Although the possibility of another Rock vs. Cena match fails to get me excited, if the Rumble itself were better-executed, I would have been happy. This match had the same fatal flaws that have plagued many recent Rumbles. Most of it was a glorified battle royal with a mishmash of wrestlers in the ring, but nothing to really pay attention to. When done right, there should be internal storylines, rising stars, and feuds created within the context of the match. I thought this lacked all of the key attributes to what makes a successful and intriguing Rumble. This was more about some comedy spots and surprise entrants. Most of the match failed to capture my attention and had the crowd looking up at the clock for the next entrant. Even Ziggler and Jericho, who were in the contest for nearly an hour, hardly had any memorable spots. I am not sure if Pat Patterson is no longer the key person booking this, but WWE needs to put much more though into utilizing this gimmick to make the match more interesting.

Cena winning was predictable, but likely the right thing to do, but what would have given the win much more meaning would have been a suspenseful and dramatic Rumble that led to his expected victory. Here is hoping that WWE hires some editors to prevent more atrocious promos from Cena like the one we suffered through last Monday, and also that Rock and Cena learn from the build-up to the Punk main event how to properly hype their re-match.

LIVE EXPERIENCE RATING: 5/10

C.M. Punk vs. The Rock: WWE Championship match

Despite my disappointment in the mediocrity of the Rumble itself, I was willing to overlook it because the reason most of us were in the arena was to see Rock’s pursuit of stopping C.M. Punk’s long championship reign. The build to this match was magnificent, and there was electricity in the air when the video package played. The Great One had a passionate promo that riled up the live crowd, but strangely, some of the buzz in the arena wore off when the competitors entered. The reactions to Rock and Punk were surprisingly lukewarm for such a major main event.

It was symbolic because the match itself never truly caught fire. It was an awkwardly-paced encounter that lacked a solid cadence or chemistry. Rock appeared much more sluggish than he did in last year’s contest against Cena. Punk also seemed uninspired, and the match never really got into high gear. It was fitting that the major spot of the match was botched when the table collapsed during the Rock Bottom attempt.

The Shield's interference was predictable, as was Vince McMahon’s decision to re-start the match. The conclusion was anti-climactic with Rock overcoming what was supposedly a major beat down to quickly defeat Punk with a spinebuster and People’s Elbow. This reminded me of Cena ending JBL’s long championship reign at WrestleMania 21, an awkward end to what should have been a monumental and dramatic battle.

LIVE EXPERIENCE RATING: 5/10

Despite what I thought was a lackluster show, the ending was a happy one for most fans with Rock posing in the middle of the ring, soaking in the adulation, and clearly proud to be champion once again. It was also an emotional moment to see his mom in the audience, who has supported wrestling virtually her whole life, and one of the main factors that inspired her son’s return to the ring.

Despite my disappointment with the show itself, it was amazing to see one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, a guy I never imagined would ever return to wrestling, with the gold around his waist again. Hopefully nobody complains that Rock is part-time, and we appreciate the fact that this was a man who has earned his spot as champion and elevates the perception of the entire sport. The Road to WrestleMania has begun, and I am thrilled that I will be there in New Jersey to see the magic happen again.




Please send questions, comments and feedback to valentino.torch@gmail.com and check out my book The Showstopper Lifestyle on Amazon. Feel free to add Shawn Valentino on Facebook .

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