Is this a fair comparison?

[mcstoklasa]

Is this a fair comparison I'm making regarding this years Rumble?

Go back to the 1998 Royal Rumble. The most over guy in the arena that night, indeed the most over guy in the company and the guy all the fans were waiting to see was 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. He arrives, kicks ass and wins. Predictable? Maybe. Logical? Yes. That's what the vast majority of fans wanted to see.

So here's my comparison: Austin enters the Rumble in 1998, the crowd are chanting AUSTIN! AUSTIN! AUSTIN! He eliminates one or two people, and then barely half way through the Rumble, he gets eliminated, cleanly, with no shenanigans, by a midcard heel. No storyline is even built with the guy who eliminated him, he's just gone... Done.

That didn't happen to Austin. That didn't really happen to any top guy; Rock, HHH, Cena etc. Most of the time they'd nearly always make it to at least the final four because in kayfabe they were the best. Yes, I'm obviously making a point about Bryan the other night..

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

I've always compared last year's Rumble to the 1998 Rumble, with the idea that Steve Austin joins the Truth Commission in the lead up to the event, and then gets pinned by Kurrgan in the opening match, and instead The Ultimate Warrior wins the Rumble because wrestling used to be so much better in that era. Maybe perhaps Austin eventually leads a fan revolt leading to a main event of Warrior vs. Austin vs. Michaels.

This means this year, Vince doesn't feel like Austin can main event twice in a row, so Austin gets thrown out mid way, and the Rumble is won by someone with boatloads of potential and a great look, but has yet to have any memorable moments, promos, or matches outside of a group setting.

That's right, the winner of the 1999 Royal Rumble is Test.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

No because in no world is Bray a midcard heel. He's, at worst, the third biggest heel behind Rollins and Lesnar (who is basically a tweener at this point).

Also, no storyline? What about the story that, no matter where he goes or what he does, Bryan just can't beat Bray? That's kinda a huge plot point to ignore.

[Deleted]

The different between 1998 and 2015 is that Vince doesn't have another company slaughtering him.

[thelonewolf527]

Not even close. Stone Cold had never been a World Champion before and was above and beyond the biggest guy in terms of overness, popularity, and overall talent in the company despite not being a champion before. Not to mention the entire Rumble was built up for weeks for only him to win.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Jan 27, 2015 17:33:16 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

No because in no world is Bray a midcard heel. He's, at worst, the third biggest heel behind Rollins and Lesnar (who is basically a tweener at this point).

Also, no storyline? What about the story that, no matter where he goes or what he does, Bryan just can't beat Bray? That's kinda a huge plot point to ignore.

I always thought it was a no-brainer that Wyatt should have been Bryan's first feud as World champion instead of Kane, for this exact reason.