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Post by Vice honcho room temperature on Jan 29, 2012 15:47:32 GMT -5
I can't see how people didn't think Benoit wasn't going to win that Rumble. I remember having no doubt that year he was going to win. When you say there is no way you are getting a title shot and the Rumble is the only way around that... he's probably winning the rumble.
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Post by Citizen Snips on Jan 29, 2012 15:50:16 GMT -5
The Rock winning in 2000 was REALLY obvious. Come to think of it, how many weren't obvious? Hacksaw, Big John Studd and Ric Flair were probably the least obvious winners.
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Post by cool guy on Jan 29, 2012 15:53:02 GMT -5
I can't see how people didn't think Benoit wasn't going to win that Rumble. I remember having no doubt that year he was going to win. When you say there is no way you are getting a title shot and the Rumble is the only way around that... he's probably winning the rumble. Wasn't HBK's "only hope" of getting another match with the Undertaker the 2010 Royal Rumble? Which he then proceeded to lose?
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Post by Citizen Snips on Jan 29, 2012 15:56:30 GMT -5
I can't see how people didn't think Benoit wasn't going to win that Rumble. I remember having no doubt that year he was going to win. When you say there is no way you are getting a title shot and the Rumble is the only way around that... he's probably winning the rumble. Wasn't HBK's "only hope" of getting another match with the Undertaker the 2010 Royal Rumble? Which he then proceeded to lose? That was because Undertaker was Champion. Then HBK figured out that he could just cost Taker the title and he'd get the match. Slightly different case.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
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Post by chazraps on Jan 29, 2012 16:14:16 GMT -5
I can't see how people didn't think Benoit wasn't going to win that Rumble. I remember having no doubt that year he was going to win. When you say there is no way you are getting a title shot and the Rumble is the only way around that... he's probably winning the rumble. Well, it was Benoit. How much momentum had he had at different times for four years with the company that they just never capitalized on. Him winning seemed one of those too-good-to-be-true things that were just written off as never going to happen, like Jeff Hardy or Christian as world champions.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
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Post by chazraps on Jan 29, 2012 16:16:38 GMT -5
The Rock winning in 2000 was REALLY obvious. Come to think of it, how many weren't obvious? Hacksaw, Big John Studd and Ric Flair were probably the least obvious winners. I'd say Cena just as much. He wasn't supposed to be in action for months. It was one of those surprises that really no-one could have called.
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Post by jivesoulbrah on Jan 29, 2012 16:18:36 GMT -5
1998, 2000-2007, 2009 were incredibly predictable. Austin, The Rock, HHH, Brock, Benoit, Mysterio and Orton were pretty much guaranteed. 2001, 2005 and 2007 were a little different only because it was narrowed down to two people, Rock/Austin, Cena/Batista and Taker/HBK and the latter two were the final two in those Rumbles. 2008 no one had a clue Cena was going to be in it, and 2010 was less predictable until Edge showed up. I remember people were so strong on Kofi winning it in 2010 LOL. Last years was a toss up, it was between Barrett, Cena, Sheamus, Punk, Del Rio.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
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Post by chazraps on Jan 29, 2012 16:21:10 GMT -5
I think narrowing it down to two people doesn't make it all that predictable at all. It adds to the realism of there being favorites. Case in point, how much more exciting was the Cena-Batista conclusion that Lesnar or Triple H's?
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Post by YellowJacketY2J on Jan 29, 2012 16:24:30 GMT -5
For Benoit, I'd say it was 75% obvious. The other 15% was due to the "will they actually pull the trigger" mentality and I thought they'd have him be the final one eliminated. He fights tooth and nail for one more opportunity, gets a match at No Way Out, wins and then challenges for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XX.
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HBL
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Post by HBL on Jan 29, 2012 16:29:53 GMT -5
Just too god damn obvious.
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Post by Citizen Snips on Jan 29, 2012 16:33:18 GMT -5
Hacksaw, Big John Studd and Ric Flair were probably the least obvious winners. I'd say Cena just as much. He wasn't supposed to be in action for months. It was one of those surprises that really no-one could have called. Cena in 2008 is a mixed one. BEFORE the Rumble, absolutely no one predicted him because he was supposed to be out a few more months. Once he came out, it was damn near a lock he was winning.
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Post by King Boo on Jan 29, 2012 16:35:57 GMT -5
I'd say Cena just as much. He wasn't supposed to be in action for months. It was one of those surprises that really no-one could have called. Cena in 2008 is a mixed one. BEFORE the Rumble, absolutely no one predicted him because he was supposed to be out a few more months. Once he came out, it was damn near a lock he was winning. Of course when Cena surprise came back at #30, it seemed pretty freaking likely he was going to win. The weeks leading up to it, he wasn't an option so there's no way he was a predictable choice. People like Orton, Lesnar, HHH...they were obvious from before the event even started. You went into the PPV knowing. It's a different thing.
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chazraps
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Post by chazraps on Jan 29, 2012 16:36:10 GMT -5
I'd say Cena just as much. He wasn't supposed to be in action for months. It was one of those surprises that really no-one could have called. Cena in 2008 is a mixed one. BEFORE the Rumble, absolutely no one predicted him because he was supposed to be out a few more months. Once he came out, it was damn near a lock he was winning. Well, that's only for about four minutes of the match itself. Plus, for weeks upon weeks upon weeks they made it seem like Trips was winning, arguably even moreso than 2002. My guess is that that was the plan B if Cena wasn't ready, or Cena being able to compete was a last minute possibility that they went for.
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Post by DSR on Jan 29, 2012 16:37:23 GMT -5
For Benoit, I'd say it was 75% obvious. The other 15% was due to the "will they actually pull the trigger" mentality and I thought they'd have him be the final one eliminated. He fights tooth and nail for one more opportunity, gets a match at No Way Out, wins and then challenges for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XX. And the other 10%?
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Post by YellowJacketY2J on Jan 29, 2012 16:40:32 GMT -5
For Benoit, I'd say it was 75% obvious. The other 15% was due to the "will they actually pull the trigger" mentality and I thought they'd have him be the final one eliminated. He fights tooth and nail for one more opportunity, gets a match at No Way Out, wins and then challenges for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XX. And the other 10%? *smacks self* Damn it!
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Post by cabbageboy on Jan 29, 2012 17:20:21 GMT -5
The other 10% thought someone else besides Benoit was winning. Truth be told I never thought he was any sort of serious favorite going in. But then no one else really stood out either, so I dunno.
The most obvious winner ever is Austin in 1998. There was literally no one else that had any chance of winning. No one else made any sense challenging HBK at WM. No one else was even discussed going in. The entire thing was about Austin. Oh, and did Rock actually win in 2000? I thought the subsequent Big Show match at No Way Out 2000 was supposed to declare a legit winner, and Show won.
2006 was one where I really didn't know what to think going in. I don't buy someone as puny as Rey lasting an hour in a Rumble, so him being Iron Man was kind of a joke.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Jan 29, 2012 17:26:22 GMT -5
I thought Shawn in '95 was even more blatant than '96, although the complete lack of credible contenders in that Rumble had a lot to do with it.
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kidglov3s
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Post by kidglov3s on Jan 29, 2012 17:27:08 GMT -5
I thought Shawn in '95 was even more blatant than '96, although the complete lack of credible contenders in that Rumble had a lot to do with it. Even with Tell Me a Lie and the press conference?
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Jan 29, 2012 17:35:45 GMT -5
I thought Shawn in '95 was even more blatant than '96, although the complete lack of credible contenders in that Rumble had a lot to do with it. Even with Tell Me a Lie and the press conference? '96 at least had Extra Pissed-Off Tweener Diesel complaining about how he deserved a shot at the title, and the big, hyped-up debut of Vader. '95 had... Luger, I guess? And no one gave a damn about Luger.
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kidglov3s
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Post by kidglov3s on Jan 29, 2012 17:38:39 GMT -5
Even with Tell Me a Lie and the press conference? '96 at least had Extra Pissed-Off Tweener Diesel complaining about how he deserved a shot at the title, and the big, hyped-up debut of Vader. '95 had... Luger, I guess? And no one gave a damn about Luger. To me Bulldog, Owen, Luger, Backlund and Shawn all seemed somewhat possible, and Shawn didn't really seem to have been made exceptionally more likely, though I guess the Pam Anderson thing fit his gimmick more than the others. I didn't find it to be as blatant as 1996, with all the special attention given to Shawn.
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