After the biggest Royal Rumble in WWE history, what does it show us? In my view, there are several things to take note of from the match and what it could mean for the future of the WWE. Speaking of the future, it seems like it would be a good starting point in this case, as the Rumble was primarily based on the future talent of the company. Alberto Del Rio was the winner and while I didn’t think it was going to actually happen, I think it’s great that he is going to main event Wrestlemania because he has all the skills to be a major star for the WWE. The look, the mic skills, etc. Del Rio brings it all to the table and it’s good to see that the WWE is recognizing it and pushing him to the main event title picture. What does it show us?
The Miz retained the WWE title and Jerry Lawler became the number one contender on Raw, which sets the stage for an extremely interesting title match in a few weeks at the elimination Chamber PPV, especially considering that the ladder match the two competitors had on Raw after Miz won the title is something the WWE can build on to promote the match at the PPV. Who would have thought that Lawler, who hasn’t wrestled in a main event spot in a few decades would main event a PPV in the WWE? Again, the question is what does this show us?
Next, let’s discuss the “surprise” returns at the Rumble and the crowd reaction to them was intriguing. Booker T, who is obviously past his prime at this point, (I still say he should have won the world heavyweight title at Wrestlemania 19) got a major crowd reaction, but I don’t know if Booker T being back on WWE TV on a regular basis would be a wise decision at this point, considering his original WWE run yielded minimal success. The reaction for Kevin Nash’s return as Diesel was surprising and he arguably received the biggest crowd reaction of the night. Nash could be valuable on the mic as a manager for one of the younger stars and hopefully he gets the chance to do so as it could really help establish new talent, but I don’t see Nash wrestling at this point in his career. There have been some reports that there could be a Nash/Big Show match at Wrestlemania, which would be a decent way to add some star power to the show, but other than the “special event” type of matches, there’s really no reason for Nash to be wrestling on a regular basis, as he would be more effective on the mic than in the ring. Two stars that haven’t been on WWE TV in years get some of the biggest pops of the night so what does this tell us?
In my opinion, the answer to the question in each scenario is simple and it shows how low the business is on star power. With an increase in retirements and more possibly on the horizon, the WWE is realizing that they need to make new stars, which is why there has been many younger stars pushed to the main event. When Nash and Lawler are generating that type of crowd reaction, it’s a sign that it’s time to add some fresh talent, which is providing some entertaining TV in the process, but again it shows that there’s a lack of star power in the WWE because even three years ago I doubt you would’ve seen Lawler in the main event of a PPV or Nash appearing in the Royal Rumble. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great the WWE is pushing new talent, but they are using older stars for star power because there is a lack of star power on the current roster. However, it’s been working as they are using the star power from older stars while they rebuild the roster with fresh talent. That being said, the WWE remains an extremely profitable company and with John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and others on the roster the WWE will continue to be a profitable company.
Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
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