"The Slam Diary": Rewinding The 25th Annual Royal Rumble

Welcome Back everyone to the "Slam Diary." We are recapping the 25th Anniversary of the Royal Rumble that took place Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. Here we go with your match-by-match recaps!

Match #1: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Matt:There was not really a whole lot to this match. WWE was already limited by having Big Show and Mark Henry work againtst Daniel Bryan. They were even more limited with Henry being injured. I know that he is trying to tough out ankle and knee injuries, as well as a groin injury. The match really felt like it was just used to build Bryan as a heel. It did not last long at all for a title match. I will say that I am happy to see the WWE having enough confidence to keep the WHC on Bryan. It seems like the WWE hihger ups have full confidence in Bryan right now. Overall I give the match 2 out of 5 stars.


Jack: How freaking lucky can Daniel Bryan be? I said that there could be no way in hell he could keep those guys down...and I was right. Daniel Bryan didn't win that match, he escaped...literally. Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars


Match #2: The Divas of Doom (Divas Champ Beth Phoenix and Natalya) and the Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki) vs. Eve Torres, Alicia Fox, Tamina and Kelly Kelly


Jack: I should have spent this time watching the Atlanta Hawks beat the New Orleans Hornets within a inch of their life. Instead, I put my eyes through six minutes of torture. Rating: -2 of 5 stars


Matt:This diva match was used for nothing more than a time filler and used to make Beth Phoenix look strong heading into WM. Not even worth rating or talking about.


Match # 3: John Cena vs. Kane

Matt:This match felt like it belonged on RAW. I got bored with it and so did the crowd in St. Louis, MO. The ending was also pretty terrible, I never really approve of double count out endings. Then the WWE creative team made the mistake of having Zack Ryder be the victim of Kane once again. If they wanted to make his injuries believeable they should have left him off tv for at least a week. Overall I give the match 2 out of 5 stars.

Jack: Man, any other day this is a main event. This was an all out brawl, and hell everybody loves all out brawls! We saw a side of Cena we haven't see in so long, I loved every minute of it. If this is the Cena we are getting for WrestleMania, SunLife Stadium won't know what hit it. Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Match #4: Drew McIntyre vs. Broadus Clay

Jack: (watching Winter X Games) "Did he just hit a frontflip on a snowmobile?!" (turns around) "Oh, Broadus Clay is coming out." (friend whispers in my ear) "Damn, beat him that quick? Squash!" Rating: 0.5 of 5 stars; 5 of 5 for the women that Broadus Clay comes out with...DAMN!

Matt:Well I wish Teddy Long would make good of his word and get rid of Drew McIntyre. I really have grown to love Brodus Clay's funkasarus character. This was just a squash match used to build up Clay. Overall I give this 4 of 5 stars, but this rating is based only off of Clay's character.

Match #5 CM Punk (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship with John Laura-what his face as Special Guest Referee

Matt:After this match I was pretty pleased. Sure CM Punk carried most of the action in the match. I loved how Punk had Dolph Ziggler beaten several times before the ref "woke up" after being "knocked out." Then for a long two count we almost see Punk get screwed. Johnny Ace did some good butt kissing in this match by "calling it fair." Overall this match had good in-ring and entertainment value. 4 out of 5 stars.

Jack: I seriously thought Johnny Ace was gonna screw Punk, but even though it took 5 times, The Cult of Personality retained his gold. This was the match of the night, outside the Rumble. Punk and Ziggler have had many a great matches and this was another one. Dolph Ziggler isn't ready for a World Title run yet, but he's getting there, wrestling for gold in the last 2 Rumbles. This is a looooooooooooooooong way from the Spirit Squad, but he is a great wrestler and the "ShowOff" persona is working for him. I plan on him making noise at 'Mania. Rating 4 of 5 stars

Match #6: The 25th Royal Rumble Match- Highlights and Lowlights

Jack: Highlights: #1: Sheamus wins: Even though he eliminated my pick to win...this is a great push as a face for Sheamus, and I believe he will be the CM Punk of 2012. He's definitely gonna be a force in Miami.

#2 Surprise Returns: Man, three returns set it off for me. First, Hall of Famer "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, the first Royal Rumble winner, came back and competed (HO!). Then, the next great diva in WWE history, Awesome Kong Kharma came in and made Michael Cole look more pathetic than he already was. Then it hit. "Oh you didn't know?! Your ass better call somebody!!!" "Road Dogg" Jesse James of the New Age Outlaws and DX came back with a little "Shake, Rattle and Roll". Ah, good times.

Lowlights: Why the hell was Jinder Mahal in the damn match? or Michael Cole? Rating 3.5 of 5 stars

Matt: Okay my # 1 highlight from the RR was the finish with Sheamus and Chris Jericho. Yes, I know I picked Jerich to win but in this case it was refreshing to be wrong. My # 2 highlight was Kofi Kingston avoiding elimination by doing a handstand all the way to the steps! Talk about athleticism! I thought the WWE only gave spots like that to John Morrison?

 My lowlight was NO BIG NAME RETURNS! I felt that this year's RR was missing that special moment, I figured that they would make it with The Rock or something like that. Rating 3 of 5 stars

Final Grades:

Matt Brown: C, It didn't feel like a big four PPV.

Jack Patterson: C+, 1st subpar PPV since the debacle that was Vengeance.

And once again, the official theme song of the Royal Rumble was "Dark Horses" by Switchfoot. It's off the album "Vice Verses."

Well, that will do it for the "Slam Diary" for now, next time we will see you will be in a little over two weeks when we preview the Elimination Chamber from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Coming Up on the Blog tomorrow: "Sounds of the Squared Circle: The Royal Rumble", a countdown of every theme song used for the Royal Rumble.

Recapping a Major Day in Sports

Oh, where, oh, where do I begin with this insanity that was Sunday, January 30th, 2012...


I guess we start at the beginning of the day with a tennis match that looked like it may turn into a "last man standing" match...

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in a 5 set thriller to win the Australian Open. That match lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, longest Grand Slam final in history. Being a former tennis player, 2 hours was my longest match in my career and I nearly passed out of fatigue. That performance was completely unreal.

                                                                                                                                                             

Back to the mainland, and for the first time this year, to the racetrack. The unofficial start to Daytona Speedweeks is the Rolex 24- a 24 hour endurance race around the famed 3.56 mile road course that encompasses parts of the traditional 2.5 mile NASCAR circuit. This year's running had so much more meaning, it was the 50th running of the race. And wouldn't you know it, we would have a owner getting an elusive first win and two drivers who get career-defining wins...

Needless to say, Mike Shank, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Wilson were extremely emotional...the great thing is that the other two drivers, Oswaldo Negri, Jr. and John Pew (two extremely accomplished road racers in their own right) were just as emotional. That's the beauty of sport, my friends.

                                                                                                                                                                

Down 1-95 from Daytona to Miami, where a battle between the Chicago Bulls and the NWO (4 LIFE!)  Miami Heat came down to the wire...

Miami would win 97-93 and LeBron sent in demo to be on the next SportsNation "Dunkface" segment, courtesy of John Lucas.

                                                                                                                                                                        

From South Beach to North of the Border, we head to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game or Match des Étoiles de la LNH for our French speaking fans. But it was a New Yorker spoiling any chance that the team led by the Senators' Daniel Alfredsson of winning...

NY Ranger Marian Gaborik had a Hat Trick (2 goals was on his own teammate, Henrik Lundqvist) and was the difference, as his team, led by the Bruins' Zdeno Chara won the All-Star game 12-9. Gaborik was named MVP and won a car.

                                                                                                                                                                     

Now, from Canada, we go to way sunnier and warmer Hawai'i for the NFL Pro Bowl. And if the Bengals want another wideout for Andy Dalton, they might wanna look towards Miami...

The AFC beat the NFC 59-41 in the typical "no one actually gives a damn about this game" score. Brandon Marshall nearly had 200 yards was named MVP.

                                                                                                                                                                   

From Hawai'i to the "Gateway to the West" as the WWE stopped in St. Louis for the 25th Annual Royal Rumble as we start the Road to WrestleMania 28. In the final two in the Royal Rumble Match, it was the Living Legend vs. the Rising Star...

The "Celtic Warrior" Sheamus eliminates Chris Jericho to win his first Royal Rumble and will be heading to Miami for WrestleMania. But who will he face? Matt and I will have predictions of who that might be, a complete recap of the Rumble and a look ahead on the way to Elimination Chamber, later today on "The Slam Diary: Rewinding the 25th Annual Royal Rumble."

                                                                                                                                                                           

And closing out this phenomenal Sunday was the final day of Winter X Games from Aspen, Colorado. Needless to say, these two clips are certifiably insane...

How in god's name do you jump snowmobiles over 70 foot ramps, I'll never know. How in the hell Heath Frisby did a frontflip- I repeat- a frontflip with a 450 lb. snowmobile, I don't wanna know. But I sure like to watch!

And just when you thought that Winter X had hit the holy grail twice in the same event, they did it again later that night. And wouldn't you know, it was the "Flying Tomato" delivering the theatrics...

In a thrilling showdown for the Gold in Slopestyle, Shaun White dropped the first ever perfect run in the history of Winter X, clinching his 5th straight Gold medal in the event.

                                                                                                                                                                          

It was a hell of a sports day, top to bottom. It's why we love sports. 

Remember: Catch "The Slam Diary: Rewinding the 25th Annual Royal Rumble" later today and our 1st "Sounds of the Squared Circle" Music Countdown later this week!

Until then,

-JP

The Slam Diary: The 25th Annual Royal Rumble

Welcome to the 1st edition of "The Slam Diary" as we get you set for the 25th annual Royal Rumble this Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri! First things first, we are gonna address what we feel are the five most burning questions going into Sunday night.

1. Will the real John Cena show up in St. Louis?

Matt:  Well folks, my answer to this question is maybe. Cena and Kane have a good storyline going on RAW. If you watched RAW this past Monday you saw that Cena was pushed to the limit by Kane. I want to see Cena really unleash his inner "hate" and last a good while in the Rumble. Do I honestly think that Cena will unleash his hate? It is too hard to tell. Keep in mind if the WWE toys with Cena's character too much he could lose a good chunk of his fan base. I think that he will show signs of a new character shift, but it will not be completed Sunday in St. Louis.

Jack: Many of us in the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) have been begging and praying for either a John Cena heel turn or a return to the Dr. of Thuganomics. Now, he's shown signs that the aggression that he had (for instance during his feud with Carlito in late '04) is coming back. But is it really coming back? Can the Chain Gang really return? Seeing how he's probably the heel in the matchup with the Rock at 'Mania, why not now? But look towards Elimination Chamber for the full fledged turn. Sorry CeNation. (shaking my head). 

2.    Will “Johnny Ace” screw CM Punk?

Jack: I’m torn on this one. On one hand, if Laur- I can’t remember how to spell his damn name, but if our interim GM decides to do it…we’ll be saying bye bye on Raw the next night. That and CM Punk will “beat him like a bitch.” On the other hand, will he be too intimidated and shrivel up like the pathetic asshole he’s been since October. Just because I want to see CM Punk beat ole Johnny Ace within a inch of his life, Punk will get screwed and Dolph Ziggler will walk out the “Gateway City” as champ. What the hell did I just say?!

Matt: CM Punk is in one of the biggest hard spots anyone in the WWE you could ever face. I agree with Jack I would love to see Punk destroy ole' Johnny Ace the next night on RAW. Ladies and Gentlemen here is how it will all go down. Johnny Ace will try to screw Punk during the WWE title match against Ziggler, but Triple H will save the day! I think Punk takes out our interiem GM with a GTS or maybe even a chairshot. Then Triple H comes out to finish the match as the new ref and Punk retains his WWE title. This could lead into a triple threat match at WM betweem Punk Jericho and Ziggler for the WWE title, if everthing goes the way I have it planned out in my head. I can dream, can't I?

3.    Is there anyway that Daniel Bryan survives two monsters in a steel cage with the title on the line?

Matt: I really do not understand where the WWE is going with this story. Mark Henry was in the middle of the biggest push of his career until he tweaked his ankle. The WWE then decided to have him drop the WHC to the Big Show at TLC, only then to have Daniel Bryan cash in on Show. Go figure right? Well now we are stuck with a pretty bad storyline, and to top it all off we are trying to sell Bryan as a heel? This match and storyline just has bad written all over it. I think Bryan retains somehow. By the way, big props to Henry for working through this injury. You my friend made SmackDown entertaining to watch again!

Jack: I’m gonna use a quote Tazz once used. "If you don’t believe in God, start." This is like the Great Khali v Hornswoggle...how in the hell are you supposed to keep two giants down long enough to escape because Bryan isn’t pinning or making anyone tap? This is like his worst nightmare come to life. Oh, well.

4.    Does Jericho actually do something to get excited about?

Jack: Oh, yes. Somebody better bust out the tune he came out at the ’02 Survivor Series (Saliva- King of My World)

Matt: Yes, let me put it this way. If you miss this RR you are a damn fool.

5.    Who is your top 3 surprise entrants into the Royal Rumble Match?

Matt: 3. Christian: Well Christian has been side lined for a good while with a bummed leg, it fits that he return at the RR. 2. Hacksaw Jim Duggan: Hacksaw I say just because I like to believe that WNW.com is always right. 1. The Rock: And lastly The Rock because he really needs to show his face, WM is right around the corner!

Jack: My top three is a dream: 1. Rob Van Dam: RVD was a surprise in 2009 and was great. Mr. Monday Night would be great to see again. 2. Christian: Captain Charisma has been on the shelf lately, but Peeps, don’t fret, I expect him back in a big way Sunday. 3. The Rock: Hey Rock’s done filming movies we aren’t gonna see anyway…3 words. Boots To Asses.

And Now For The Slam Diary's "Predictions You Can Take To The Bank"

Matt Brown: Chris Jericho- Y2J! It makes perfect sense. He said it all Monday night when he said get ready for the end of the world as you know it on Sunday! He will win a go after Punk and his WWE title at WM! Punk and Jericho would work well in the ring together, and Punk has also been calling himself the best in the world? Hmmmm, didn't Jericho use that same phrase not too long ago? I guess we will find out who the best in the world is at WM.

Jack Patterson: Chris Jericho- "The Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah" will win the Rumble for the first time...remember folks, Y2J main evented WM 26 two years ago...he can still get the job done and if him and "The Voice of the Voiceless" CM Punk get in a feud, I WILL BE GLUED TO EVERY MINUTE OF RAW!!! 

The official theme song of the 2012 Royal Rumble is "Dark Horses" by Switchfoot. 

So enjoy the Silver Anniversary of the Royal Rumble, Sunday @ 8pm on PPV. We'll be back next week with a recap of the event. The Road to WrestleMania begins now!

 "And you just got slammed..."

J