Thirty not Forty

I'm starting to sense a trend in the wrestling world. Everybody seems to want bigger, badder, oh my god I can't believe what I'm seeing twists. So of course when Raw introduced the announcement the Royal Rumble was going from 30 to 40, the entire wrestling world screamed in approval. I, on the other hand, flipped out. I hate it. Where's the tradition? What about history? No, screw that. We don't need anything like that. We need 40 guys in one match. I knew I would be on the other side of the argument. Now, it's my time to prove this is a mistake.

I read the reports of the reasons WWE changed the Rumble. The biggest reason sounded like they felt the Rumble hadn't gained the momentum. You know who is to blame for that? THE WWE WRITERS! In previous weeks, hardly any Superstar talked about winning the over the top battle royal. John Cena was the first mega star to mention it during the opener of Raw, two weeks prior to the event. Great booking. You want a spark and build momentum, start earlier. I give the WWE credit for giving us the World Title Match and WWE Title Match back in the first week of January. They didn't do squat for the Rumble. I mentioned in a Raw blog, create excitement by having qualifying matches. Nope. We don't need those. Instead, they named 21 names so far and that list is a whose who of jobbers and only a few real names that can win. Here's the list:

Alberto Del Rio- glad he is a part of it. First person to even mention he was winning the Rumble.
CM Punk- an obvious choice
"Dashing" Cody Rhodes- mid-level competitor and deserves a spot.
Daniel Bryan- not doing anything else.
Darren Young- oh great, he's alive.
David Hart Smith- feud with Kidd didn't pan out.
David Otunga- all of Nexus is in
Husky Harris- ditto
John Cena- odds on favorite
John Morrison- underdog that has a chance
Mark Henry- need big guys
Michael McGuillicuty- all Nexus
Primo- Why?
R-Truth- another mid-level guy
Rey Mysterio- past winner
Sheamus- has to be in so Triple H can eliminate him
Ted Dibiase Jr.- much like Bryan, he's not doing a thing
Tyson Kidd- should be feuding with Bryan
William Regal- thought he retired
Yoshi Tatsu- thought he was on the future endeavors list
Zack Ryder- soon to be on the future endeavors list.

That's it so far. No wonder the WWE has no momentum for the Rumble. Here's an idea:
Instead of adding 19 more guys, eliminate half the guys on that list and tell us the real participants. Triple H is coming back and we all know it. To create some excitement, they should have announced him already. If you don't want to do that, bring HHH back 6 days prior to the Rumble for added shock value. We see guys return for the Rumble WAY to often. Tell us in advance and we will likely be more pumped to shell out the $50.

So we have to wait to see Triple H. How about Kane, Jericho, Evan Bourne, Barrett or Christian? That's 6 guys right there. We are up to 27 participants if all those guys are going to be in. We have no idea and since it's 40, we have 13 more jobbers to go. I can't wait for Lawler to leave the table and join. Will Ziggler, if he loses to Edge, be able to go in the Rumble? Same for Orton? The WWE has left to many holes to fill. You can't just fill those 19 spots with other crappy guys and think we are going to believe this was somehow a greater feat than past Rumbles just because of more guys. It's not.

The other problem is I can bet that the ring will never get that full. Last year, Cena lasted the longest by staying in almost 20 minutes. I have a feeling this year will be more of the same. I've fully enjoyed Morrison's push on Raw. I felt, before the announcement, he should be introduced in the starting 5 spots and last the entire way until the final four. That's a solid push. He could throw out a few major competitors and fans will react stunned as to say 'we didn't think he had a shot.' After the rumble, fans start looking at Morrison as the real deal. You see that's how you create a star. The longest one might last for about 25 minutes. He might toss a few guys and then one of the big guys are going to come down and clean house.

With 40 guys, you can spread the field, keep the big names apart longer and have smaller guys show off their skills. I understand that. I don't think it will happen. I think 30 men was the perfect number because it doesn't spread out the big names. You need those guys to come out about every 4 or 5 guys. It creates a more on the edge of your seat feel to the battle royal. I have a feeling at the end of the night, your going to wish tradition wasn't dead.

J Call