Held in Reserve?

[nisidhe]

The Rumble thread last night talked about the possibility of a number of the women rumoured to have been invited/back from injury/definitely in the Rumble, but who never actually appeared, being held in reserve in case any of the others were to be unable to enter the match (COVID-19, unexpected injury, etc.) It made sense in that moment because of the larger shortage of women participants compared to the men's Rumble.

However, the men's Rumble notably did not include, among others, Finn Balor (who would still have drawn a major pop on only his second outing in the match), Cesaro (who would have been more credible than some who did appear) and (for understandable reasons) Mustafa Ali. Since we were expecting Knoxville, but not necessarily Shane O'Mac or Bad Bunny (not an unwelcome sight, but still), why would you give two spots to part-timers when you had at least two (and more, really) full-timers available and when you could have made more money touting the appearance of Shane and Bunny but left them a surprise? I can understand that they're solid hands, but there was a lot of filler talent in that Rumble last night that could have filled the bill as reserves while giving fans a potentially more satisfying experience.

I'm disappointed in the situation but the rumour mill about further cuts may have found new grist. Vince might not want these guys gone, but Nick Khan's number-crunching and the end of the quarter might demand otherwise.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Jan 30, 2022 14:04:01 GMT -5 nisidhe said:

The Rumble thread last night talked about the possibility of a number of the women rumoured to have been invited/back from injury/definitely in the Rumble, but who never actually appeared, being held in reserve in case any of the others were to be unable to enter the match (COVID-19, unexpected injury, etc.) It made sense in that moment because of the larger shortage of women participants compared to the men's Rumble.

However, the men's Rumble notably did not include, among others, Finn Balor (who would still have drawn a major pop on only his second outing in the match), Cesaro (who would have been more credible than some who did appear) and (for understandable reasons) Mustafa Ali. Since we were expecting Knoxville, but not necessarily Shane O'Mac or Bad Bunny (not an unwelcome sight, but still), why would you give two spots to part-timers when you had at least two (and more, really) full-timers available and when you could have made more money touting the appearance of Shane and Bunny but left them a surprise? I can understand that they're solid hands, but there was a lot of filler talent in that Rumble last night that could have filled the bill as reserves while giving fans a potentially more satisfying experience.

I'm disappointed in the situation but the rumour mill about further cuts may have found new grist. Vince might not want these guys gone, but Nick Khan's number-crunching and the end of the quarter might demand otherwise.

They could put Finn or Cesero instead of all these lackies like do we need Mad Man Moss, Rick Boggs, and ext. When you could added more star power when Finn. Shane and Bad Bunny was a waste. The fact Bunny out lasted Orton just gets me.

[Tiffany Stratton's Daddy]

Shane shouldn't have been there... that's the easy spot for Finn Balor.

I heard Cesaro was injured, so if that's true, it's understandable to not be on the show. Apollo Crews, R-Truth, VEER, Angel Garza, King Woods, Mansoor... these are all guys who could've been in the Rumble as well. Just not Shane, and what good will Bad Bunny do?

also wish there was at least 1 legend or NXT guy for the men's Rumble.

[Spider2024]

Jan 30, 2022 14:40:40 GMT -5 Tiffany Stratton's Daddy said:

Shane shouldn't have been there... that's the easy spot for Finn Balor.

I heard Cesaro was injured, so if that's true, it's understandable to not be on the show. Apollo Crews, R-Truth, VEER, Angel Garza, King Woods, Mansoor... these are all guys who could've been in the Rumble as well. Just not Shane, and what good will Bad Bunny do?

also wish there was at least 1 legend or NXT guy for the men's Rumble.

Bad Bunny would've been worthwhile had he actually interacted with Damian Priest. He even mentioned it in a vignette earlier that night, how Bad Bunny helped him climb up in status.

[A Platypus Rave]

Finn wasn't at the Rumble, not sure if he's injured or just taking more time off, but he was back in Ireland.

edit: and yeah Bunny was fine... but it would make more sense if Damien was still around at the point.

[Citizen Snips Has Left]

Everyone mentioning Finn/Cesaro has mentioned taking out Shane and Bad Bunny, who both gave the Rumble some sorely lacking star power.

Take out the goddamn Dirty Dawgz if you need two more spots.

[asuka007]

Io Shirai and Kaitlyn were both backstage apparently. Why neither of them were in the women’s match is bizarre?

[jivesoulbrah]

Holland, Moss, Boogs, Alpha Academy, Shane, Bad Bunny, Street Profits would’ve been spots for The Fiend, Strowman, Lee, Kross, Daniel Bryan, Adam Cole, Gargano, Balor, Aleister Black… I mean that could’ve made things so much better. Preferably could’ve replaced Brock as well.

[sportatorium]

Knoxville was stupid, but at least they are promoting a movie and there's a rub buried in there somewhere.

Shane is clearly coming in for a Mania match which could have been built up on TV. No need for him to be in the Rumble, especially no need for him to eliminate Kevin Owens unless it was a complete fluke.

Bad Bunny, I'm sure the Nick Khan answer involves "eyeballs on the product", but giving him actual eliminations & hearing about how hard he trains before Brock giving him the world's gentlest toss out makes it seem dubious. They didn't gain anything from his appearance last night.

[Feyrhausen]

Jan 30, 2022 18:40:44 GMT -5 sportatorium said:

Knoxville was stupid, but at least they are promoting a movie and there's a rub buried in there somewhere.

Shane is clearly coming in for a Mania match which could have been built up on TV. No need for him to be in the Rumble, especially no need for him to eliminate Kevin Owens unless it was a complete fluke.

Bad Bunny, I'm sure the Nick Khan answer involves "eyeballs on the product", but giving him actual eliminations & hearing about how hard he trains before Brock giving him the world's gentlest toss out makes it seem dubious. They didn't gain anything from his appearance last night.

Did they promote Bad Bunny as being in the Rumble or was it a surprise? If there was no promotion then I dont see how you get more eyes on the product.

[nisidhe]

Jan 30, 2022 18:56:27 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

Jan 30, 2022 18:40:44 GMT -5 sportatorium said:

Knoxville was stupid, but at least they are promoting a movie and there's a rub buried in there somewhere.

Shane is clearly coming in for a Mania match which could have been built up on TV. No need for him to be in the Rumble, especially no need for him to eliminate Kevin Owens unless it was a complete fluke.

Bad Bunny, I'm sure the Nick Khan answer involves "eyeballs on the product", but giving him actual eliminations & hearing about how hard he trains before Brock giving him the world's gentlest toss out makes it seem dubious. They didn't gain anything from his appearance last night.

Did they promote Bad Bunny as being in the Rumble or was it a surprise? If there was no promotion then I dont see how you get more eyes on the product.

Bingo. As pleasant a surprise as it was, it wasn't expected and you wouldn't have missed him if he wasn't there. Take out Shane and Bunny and there are two spots for two full-timers who absolutely would have popped the joint.

[polarbearpete]

Jan 31, 2022 7:04:10 GMT -5 nisidhe said:

Jan 30, 2022 18:56:27 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

Did they promote Bad Bunny as being in the Rumble or was it a surprise? If there was no promotion then I dont see how you get more eyes on the product.

Bingo. As pleasant a surprise as it was, it wasn't expected and you wouldn't have missed him if he wasn't there. Take out Shane and Bunny and there are two spots for two full-timers who absolutely would have popped the joint.

They needed more surprises like Bad Bunny and Shane in the middle of the Rumble and less full-timers. The better full-timers like Cesaro and Balor should’ve replaced Madcap, Roode, Dawkins, those types and not the actual surprises.