Rumble is best hour in wrestling
WWE presents the Royal Rumble Sunday night on the WWE Network, and a popular adage is that the actual Rumble match itself is the best hour of the year in pro wrestling.
Technically, since there are two Rumble matches now, maybe the line has to change!
With that said, the men鈥檚 Rumble has garnered the most attention, although only 24 participants have been announced.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will be the first entrant, and WWE can go many ways with this.
If WWE wanted to build up multiple stars, why not have Lesnar last the whole match and tease others throwing him out?
He is the biggest star in the company, and it would help establish several guys.
Whoever throws Lesnar out will be his WrestleMania opponent, and there are plenty of options.
During his promo this past Monday on Raw, Paul Heyman said that Lesnar was looking forward to eliminating 29 other 鈥渃ontracted challengers鈥� from the Rumble.
Anyone else catch the word 鈥渃ontracted鈥� and think there may be a surprise entrant, not under a Raw or Smackdown contract, who enters and throws Lesnar out?
Keith Lee from NXT would be a great choice.
Only five women have been announced as of this column鈥檚 deadline, which is strange.
Look for some NXT and NXT UK female stars to be included, and I would not be surprised to see Shayna Baszler win.
Ironically on the men鈥檚 side, NXT dominated Survivor Series yet not one male star from NXT has been announced for the Rumble.
Anyone else find this odd?
In a few of the other matches, Bray Wyatt defends the Universal title against Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch defends the Raw women鈥檚 title against Asuka, Bayley defends the Smackdown women鈥檚 title against Lacey Evans, Andrade puts his U.S. title on the line against Humbero Carrillo and Roman Reigns faces Baron Corbin in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
The cool thing about this year鈥檚 Rumble show is that the is buzz about some surprises.
Who could make a long-awaited return? Edge, CM Punk, Paige, Ronda Rousey, The Undertaker and John Cena are just a few of the names that have been thrown around.
Also, Jinder Mahal, Nia Jax, Matt Riddle, Ruby Riott and The Velveteen Dream are in Houston for Rumble weekend.
I think Drew McIntyre would be the best bet to win the men鈥檚 match, and I sense fans at Minute Maid Park are in for a good show.
But I do feel bad for whoever draws the 30th spot if Punk is not in the match.
Chances are that the person will be booed out of the building.
Could Houston natives Harlem Heat appear in the Rumble?
The legendary WCW duo consists of Booker T and his brother Stevie Ray.
The Rumble begins at 7 p.m. while the preshow is set for 5.
NXT vs. NXT UK
Saturday night, NXT takes on NXT UK at the Worlds Collide show on the WWE Network.
The preshow begins at 6:30 p.m. with the main card starting at 7.
In an eight-man tag match, Imperium takes on The Undisputed Era.
Rhea Ripley faces Toni Storm for the NXT women鈥檚 title, Finn Balor takes on Iija Dragunov, the NXT Cruiserweight title in on the line in a Fatal Four-Wy match between Angel Garza, Isaiah 鈥淪werve鈥� Scott, Jordan Devlin and Travis Banks and DIY faces Moustache Mountain.
In a preshow match, Kay Lee Ray faces Mia Yim.
NWA Hard Times tonight
The NWA presents Hard Times tonight on FITE.TV.
Head to www.nationalwrestlingalliance.com for more information.
On this day 鈥�
Jan. 24 has been a very popular day for the Royal Rumble, as three of them have taken place on this date.
In 1988, the very first Rumble took place with 鈥淗acksaw鈥� Jim Duggan winning it.
1993 saw Yokozuna win the Rumble, which guaranteed him a WWE title shot. This was the first time the stipulation was added that the winner received a title shot.
In 1999, Vince McMahon won the Rumble, last eliminating 鈥淪tone Cold鈥� Steve Austin.
Also on that card, The Rock defeated WWE Champion Mankind to win the title in an 鈥淚 Quit鈥� match.
The bout was one of the most vicious in pro wrestling history.
This week鈥檚 question: Is Shane Taylor still with Ring Of Honor? I enjoyed his work locally and in ROH. Craig, Jefferson.
Shane鈥檚 deal with ROH expired recently and he is weighing his options.
He could return to ROH, sign with WWE, AEW, Impact or even head to Japan.
Earlier this week, the former ROH TV champ and I spoke briefly about his options and I am excited to see what his future holds!
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III.