CMWaters
Ozymandius
Rolled a Seven, Beat the Ads.
Bald and busy
Posts: 63,311 
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Post by CMWaters on Jan 18, 2011 2:21:03 GMT -5
OK, one time in a previous message board, someone noted that every year, the Final Four of the Royal Rumble seems to have one "clunker"...someone who you don't think should belong in the Final Four.
So...let's determine who would be that for each year. Try to keep in mind stories, who was being pushed, and all that.
They go in reverse order of eliminated. First one listed was the winner, second listed is the runner-up, and so on.
1988: "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, One Man Gang, Dino Bravo, "The Rock" Don Muraco
1989: Big John Studd, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Akeem, Rick Martel
1990: Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Hercules
1991: Hulk Hogan, Earthquake, Brian Knobbs, British Bulldog
1992: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage
1993: Yokozuna, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Bob Backlund, "The Model" Rick Martel
1994: Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Fatu
1995: "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, British Bulldog, Crush, Lex Luger
1996: "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Kama, The British Bulldog
1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Diesel II, Undertaker (or Vader, not sure who landed first there)
1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Faarooq, Dude Love
1999: Mr. McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Big Bossman, D-Lo Brown
2000: The Rock, The Big Show, X-Pac, Kane
2001: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, The Rock, "The One" Billy Gunn
2002: Triple H, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect, Stone Cold Steve Austin
2003: Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Kane, Batista
2004: Chris Benoit (no Holly joke from me), The Big Show, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho
2005: Batista, John Cena, Edge, Rey Mysterio
2006: Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Triple H, Rob Van Dam
2007: The Undertaker, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton
2008: John Cena, Triple H, Batista, Kane
2009: Randy Orton, Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase
2010: Edge, John Cena, Batista, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels
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Post by i.Sarita.com on Jan 18, 2011 2:23:33 GMT -5
Good luck on last year. NONE of them would be clunkers.
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BigWill
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 16,619
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Post by BigWill on Jan 18, 2011 2:25:46 GMT -5
Many of the recent ones don't seem to have any clunkers.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2011 2:26:15 GMT -5
2005 and 2010 don't really have them, while for 2006 I've inclined to say Randy Orton. Conventional wisdom says RVD, being the smallest star of the four and the only one of them not in a Mania title match that year, but at the time no one gave much of a damn about Orton and while Van Dam was having the biggest year of his career Orton had a months-long feud with Carlito.
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
Rolled a Seven, Beat the Ads.
Bald and busy
Posts: 63,311
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Post by CMWaters on Jan 18, 2011 2:28:07 GMT -5
Many of the recent ones don't seem to have any clunkers. Yeah, I think the initial time we did that before was...building to the 2005 Rumble. Back then the closest in our eyes to the perfect Final Four was 1992. Even then people debated about Sid in it. |
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Post by lemonyellowson on Jan 18, 2011 2:28:32 GMT -5
none in 2002 either
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Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
Posts: 42,454
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jan 18, 2011 2:29:08 GMT -5
92 was Flair.
Yeah, I said it.
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
Rolled a Seven, Beat the Ads.
Bald and busy
Posts: 63,311
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Post by CMWaters on Jan 18, 2011 2:30:22 GMT -5
When we did that in 2002 most people said, even though they marked for it at the time, looking back it would be Mr. Perfect. |
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Post by joeskvorecky on Jan 18, 2011 2:44:25 GMT -5
Gotta be Perfect in 2002, at least to the average fan at the time.
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Post by WorkingInAColeMine on Jan 18, 2011 3:20:39 GMT -5
Fake Diesel got robbed in 1997
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Jan 18, 2011 3:58:49 GMT -5
Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, Billy Gunn. One of those things is not like the others.
Hint: It starts with "B" and ends with "illy Gunn".
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Post by kyromax on Jan 18, 2011 4:07:03 GMT -5
Gotta be Perfect in 2002, at least to the average fan at the time. I get what you are saying, but he is arguable the best wrestler not to win a world title. |
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vm88
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,252
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Post by vm88 on Jan 18, 2011 4:15:55 GMT -5
X-Pac was never to the level that The Rock, Big Show, and Kane were at the time, so he's one.
And Kama was still around in 1996? I thought he came in 1994 and left in late 1995. He's one too.
Fatu was primarily a tag team wrestler in 1994 as one half of the Headshrinkers, so he's another one.
Those are the three I can think of off the top of my head as to who would be "Clunkers" in the final 4 of the Royal Rumble.
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Post by The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM} on Jan 18, 2011 5:56:23 GMT -5
1988: "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, One Man Gang, Dino Bravo, "The Rock" Don Muraco - I was only four at the time, so I have no idea what feuds were happening, but I distinctly remember I didn't give a crap about Muraco.
1989: Big John Studd, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Akeem, Rick Martel - Never thought much for Martel. DiBiase was robbed!
1990: Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Hercules - First one to have close to an AWESOME final four, but Hercules ruined that.
1991: Hulk Hogan, Earthquake, Brian Knobbs, British Bulldog - I wanna throw Bulldog in, too, but I think he may have been getting a push at the time...can't remember.
1992: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage - None. This was the first perfect final four. I LOVED the Sid/Hogan stuff. Hogan was such a cry baby.
1993: Yokozuna, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Bob Backlund, "The Model" Rick Martel - This seems to be the first Rumble of the New Generation, and Martel doesn't exactly fit. Liked him better as The Model, still wasn't a fan though.
1994: Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Fatu - Really? Fatu?
1995: "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, British Bulldog, Crush, Lex Luger - Never liked Crush. Kronik was awesome in WCW, though.
1996: "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Kama, The British Bulldog - As much as I loved Papa Shango and The Go(o)dfather, Kama was terrible. Bulldog sure did end up in the final four a lot.
1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Diesel II, Undertaker (or Vader) - Not even up for debate.
1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Faarooq, Dude Love - Faarooq could've been huge. Could've been.
1999: Mr. McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Big Bossman, D-Lo Brown - I'm also inclined to say Bossman, but as far as I can remember, wasn't he part of the Vince/Austin angle? He may have had to be there. I'm also inclined to say McMahon, but hell, it was the biggest angle in the company.
2000: The Rock, The Big Show, X-Pac, Kane - Yeah, Pac just shouldn't have been there.
2001: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, The Rock, "The One" Billy Gunn - Gunn was a tag-team wrestler and should never ever ever have tried to go singles.
2002: Triple H, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect, Stone Cold Steve Austin - I LOVE Perfect. He's my second favorite wrestler of all time, behind Michaels. And I loved seeing him get a chance to shine again. But still...Triple H, Angle and Austin were in a WAY different status league at this point.
2003: Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Kane, Batista - Don't remember much around this time, so I'm inclined to say Batista may not have been there yet...but I'm just not sure, so I'm gonna say none.
2004: Chris Benoit (no Holly joke from me), The Big Show, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho - None, though Show is a sore thumb in an otherwise workrate lover's wet dream.
2005: Batista, John Cena, Edge, Rey Mysterio - Was Mysterio being pushed yet? I don't know, wasn't really watching. I'll say none since he's since become an unstoppable monster.
2006: Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Triple H, Rob Van Dam - Again, none.
2007: The Undertaker, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton - None
2008: John Cena, Triple H, Batista, Kane - None
2009: Randy Orton, Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase - Though I wasn't watching in 09, considering Ted's current status and Cody JUST getting a push, I'm gonna say in 09 they were nowhere NEAR Main Event ready.
2010: Edge, John Cena, Batista, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels - NONE.
Considering how, as others have said, there haven't been a lot of "clunkers" recently, I'll go out on a limb and say the 40 man Rumble has the potential to be stacked. And I seriously considered DiBiase as a contender when he started his promo...he reminded me of his old man a little...then Henry dominated him.
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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Jan 18, 2011 6:18:49 GMT -5
2009: Randy Orton, Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase - Though I wasn't watching in 09, considering Ted's current status and Cody JUST getting a push, I'm gonna say in 09 they were nowhere NEAR Main Event ready. I wouldn't call Cody and Ted clunkers. They were prominently featured on Raw during that time, and it made perfect sense for them to be there at the end. It was all 3 members of Legacy working together to guarantee one of them won. |
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ToyfareMark
Vegeta
A WINNER IS YOU!
Get well soon Hutch!
Posts: 9,672
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Post by ToyfareMark on Jan 18, 2011 6:57:10 GMT -5
Gotta be Perfect in 2002, at least to the average fan at the time. I get what you are saying, but he is arguable the best wrestler not to win a world title. He was AWA World Champion. Probably the last AWA champ of any real significance, and yes I'm aware that Jerry Lawler beat him for it, but look what that led to. |
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ToyfareMark
Vegeta
A WINNER IS YOU!
Get well soon Hutch!
Posts: 9,672
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Post by ToyfareMark on Jan 18, 2011 6:58:45 GMT -5
As for the topic at hand, I think the 94 Rumble has the biggest clunker of them all. At least fake diesel went on to be Kane. I know Fatu went on to become Rikishi, but I guess it doesnt matter much.
Its either Fatu or Fake Diesel.
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Post by Bake Or Die on Jan 18, 2011 6:58:48 GMT -5
1999-Worst final four ever
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Post by King Devitt and the Woke Mob on Jan 18, 2011 14:02:25 GMT -5
OK, one time in a previous message board, someone noted that every year, the Final Four of the Royal Rumble seems to have one "clunker"...someone who you don't think should belong in the Final Four. So...let's determine who would be that for each year. Try to keep in mind stories, who was being pushed, and all that. They go in reverse order of eliminated. First one listed was the winner, second listed is the runner-up, and so on. 1988: "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, One Man Gang, Dino Bravo, "The Rock" Don Muraco 1989: Big John Studd, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Akeem, Rick Martel 1990: Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Hercules 1991: Hulk Hogan, Earthquake, Brian Knobbs, British Bulldog 1992: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage 1993: Yokozuna, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Bob Backlund, "The Model" Rick Martel 1994: Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Fatu 1995: "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, British Bulldog, Crush, Lex Luger 1996: "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Kama, The British Bulldog 1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Diesel II, Undertaker (or Vader, not sure who landed first there) 1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Faarooq, Dude Love 1999: Mr. McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Big Bossman, D-Lo Brown 2000: The Rock, The Big Show, X-Pac, Kane 2001: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, The Rock, "The One" Billy Gunn 2002: Triple H, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect, Stone Cold Steve Austin 2003: Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Kane, Batista 2004: Chris Benoit (no Holly joke from me), The Big Show, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho 2005: Batista, John Cena, Edge, Rey Mysterio 2006: Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Triple H, Rob Van Dam 2007: The Undertaker, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton 2008: John Cena, Triple H, Batista, Kane 2009: Randy Orton, Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase 2010: Edge, John Cena, Batista, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels 2006: Rey Mysterio. |
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