Royal Rumble 2021

The Build

Royal Rumble 32 is live, the first live WWF PPV since Royal Rumble 31, it is in Tampa, in front of the Thunderdome Virtual Audience.  There are no dark matches.  The inauguration was a week and a half prior; Vince and a still comotose Linda leave the White House.  

The announcers are Scott Stanford; in his 3rd PPV; Paul Heyman, in his 20th as an analyst; and Samoa Joe, in his 6th.  

Open with the clip package of Rumble history...

1989....Hulk Hogan going nose to nose with Andre the Giant...

1990...Randy Savage just bludgeoning Rick Martel with a chairshot...

1991...Shawn Michaels superkicking Marty Jannetty...

1992...Shawn and Owen Hart exchanging a series of cradles...

1993...Curt Hennig hitting the PerfectPlex on Ric Flair...

1994...Owen Hart using the WWF Fork on Randy....

1995...The Undertaker Tombstoning Dick Murdoch...

1996...Hakushi hitting a Space Flying Tiger Drop on Sean Waltman

1997...Stone Cold Stunner on Vader...

1998...Shawn Michaels with the elbowdrop on the Undertaker...

1999...Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn in the Octagon...

2000...Angle Slam on Davey Boy Smith...

2001...Kurt Angle hitting 8 consecutive suplexes on the Rock...

2002...Austin kicking out of the Diamond Cutter...

2003...TLC -- Jeff Hardy with a death defying table bump...

2004...Brock Lesnar F5ing Mick Foley into the barbed wire...

2005...Christian putting Flair away....

2006....Matt Hardy and Edge in an Empty Arena....

2007...Punk hitting the Pepsi Plunge on Matt...

2008...Punk hitting the Go To Sleep on Jeff...

2009...Randy Orton with the RKO on RVD...

2010...Edge and Matt Hardy attacking a handcuffed Punk in the steel cage...

2011...Rey Mysterio getting the pinfall on Bryan Danielson...

2012...John Cena getting the pinfall on Punk....

2013....Chris Jericho and Punk exhanging strikes...

2014...Claudio Castagnoli with a series of European uppercuts on Leviathan Batista...

2015...Roman Reigns with the Superman punch on Wade Barrett...

2016...Reigns with the Superman punch on Hunter...

2017...Dean Ambrose brawling with Langston...

2018...Generico hitting his top buckle brainbuster on Mysterio...

2019...Ronda Rousey pounding away at Becky Lynch...

2020...AJ Styles and Bryan Danielson nose to nose...

1. DEFIANCE (RANDY ORTON/DAMIAN PRIEST) d. MUSTAFA ALI/OTIS

-Opening tag; Orton had been in a funk since getting squashed by the Fiend; his old partner John Cena returned, cajoling Orton to find that old Viper, he has and has reformed Defiance, grabbing Priest from Developmental.  This match is just designed to push that act; Ali is a good worker but there's not anything for him in the foreseeable future and he's just enhancement here.  

2. NATTY NEIDHART d. ASUKA

-Neidhart turns heel in this match; Asuka for years had been the ace of the women's division, she lost the title to Banks, Neidhart has been underneath for years, this is a significant upset, procured when she uses brass knucks; celebrating via Thunderdome are Tyson Kidd and Harry Smith, who are visible but not pointed out by commentary.  

3. TYLER BLACK d. NICK NEMETH (W/SHELTON BENJAMIN)

-Black led the Bullet Club attack on Angle; ending his run with the promotion, that led to Lesnar's busting the Bullet Club apart - but there was no revenge on Black, as he beat Lesnar at Mania in the title defense.  Shoot Nation looks to avenge that here but is unsuccessful as Black defeats Nemeth; as was the case in the build, where Black was on the short side of some numbers - that happens again when he survives a fight with Nemeth/Benjamin postmatch.  It's not a turn, but we are supposed to see Black as overcoming some odds.  Just to file away.  

4. HORSEWOMEN (RHEA RIPLEY/SHAYNA BASZLER, W/ SHAFFIR&DUKE) d. BIANCA BELAIR/TONI STORM

-Ripley replaced Rousey in the Horsewomen; Baszler won and lost the Women's Title, they've remained the ass kicking heel stable, they set upon stomping out Belair, up from Developmental, after she beat Baszler - it's Ripley who gets the fall here, over Storm - we're supposed to see Belair and Baszler as comparable, their rivalry continuing.  

5. ROMAN REIGNS (w/JEY USO) d. JEFF HARDY

-Reigns cuts his promo after entering; he wants Thunderdome to Acknowledge him; he's the head of the table; he's about to demolish Jeff Hardy.  And he does - it's a squash.  

6. BOBBY LASHLEY (w/GABLE) d. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA

-It's Lashley's biggest WWE win; pinfall over the former WWF Champ; Reigns re-enters postmatch - Lashley has been positioned with Reigns/Langston/McIntyre, four men in similar roles in their stables, similar positons on the card, similar spots in the promotion - Reigns enters - doesn't attack - Lashley is at the ready - but Reigns just smiles, nods, then exits - we see him go up the ramp as the first half of the show ends.

Midpoint of the show - an in ring promo from GDI (Cole/O'Reilly/Fish/ and now, Strong, who just joined).  Cole is the new Dark Ride Champ, having taken from Ciampa when Strong joined GDI - lot of targets in the promo - oGDI is a target; those two factions have been low key sniping at each other for months, but not face to face, given they are on separate ends of the promotion.  But now - with Cole holding the Dark Ride belt, GDI gets a little more pointed - maybe Old GDI should pick a new name in the new year, they're tarnishing the brand.  It's pointed enough that, in the back, Black hears some component of this and flashes anger - threatening to run to the ring, he's calmed down, asked to leave, and we will see him exit the building.

Then the promo turns to the title defense coming up - Cole will be defending against Devitt.  Devitt enters, there's a tease of something physical - Devitt showing no fear despite being hugely outnumbered - Heyman interrupts for the last word - says he has an announcement - whomever wins the Cole/Devitt match will be defending, here in Tampa - in front of 25,000 people - when live crowds return to the WWF, in a dark match at Wrestlemania 37 --- against --- and on the video wall -we see Walter, from the UK, holding up his Dark Ride belt, which he has never relinqushed.  We've got Cole v. Devitt coming up - and then the winner v. Walter as dark matches return to the WWF at Wrestlemania.  

7. NO DQ: EDGE d. CHRISTIAN

Long clip package to cover the full Edge/Christian arc - from Young Boys and "Let Them Play" through the Kliq and the long feud with the Hardys and Dudleys, through Edge's Triple Crown, the Matt feud, the Punk feud, the Montreal Match, Christian's return to WWF, the show the two men did at the Network in retirement, Edge's return a year ago to win the tag belts, Christian revealing himself as Edge's attacker.  

One of them, probably both of them, cut promos in the build saying this isn't a chapter, it's the end of the book. 

It's a match really hurt without a live crowd; so during the mid show promo and the long clip package, workers filed in, so Thunderdome now also includes bodies in seats.  

Best brawl they can have - callbacks to the entire Edge/Christian run - it's an epic match, Edge, obviously, puts Christian away.  That wraps Christian up.

8. WWF TAG TITLES: NEW DAY (LANGSTON/WOODS W/KINGSTON) d. HOOLIGANS (SHEAMUS/MCINTYRE) & MIZ/NITRO

Clip package of every WWF Tag Champion coming down the ramp to the Royal Rumble ring holding their belts - followed by the New Day coming to the ring holding their belts.

1989...Arn/Tully/and the /Brain - the Brainbusters....

1990...Shawn and Marty....the Rockers...

1991...Hawk and Animal....the Road Warriors...

1992...the Road Warriors...

1993...Rick..Scott...the Steiner Brothers...

1994...The Steiner Brothers...

1995...Bret...Anvil....the Hart Foundation...

1996...Razor...Diesel...the Kliq...

1997...Marc Mero and Bart Gunn...

1998...Rock...DLo...the Nation of Domination...

1999...Rock...DLo...the Nation of Domination...

2000....Bubba...DVon...the Dudley Boys...

2001...Taz and Raven...

2002...The Dudley Boys...

2003...Chris Benoit....Eddy Guerrero...the Horsemen...

2004...HBK....HHH....the Kliq...

2005...Kurt Angle...Shelton Benjamin...Team Angle...

2006...Booker T...Bradshaw...

2007...RVD...Sabu...

2008...HBK...HHH...the Kliq...

2009...Edge...Christian...

2010...Nick Nemeth...Jack Swagger....Division One...

2011...Kingston...Killings....Young Money...

2012...Wade Barrett...Justin Gabriel...Empire

2013...Randy Orton...Giant Bernard...Defiance...

2014...Tyler Black...Dean Ambrose...Langston...The Shield

2015...The Shield...

2016...Kingston...Langston...Woods...The New Day...

2017...Claudio Castagnoli...Neville...Trash...

2018..Jimmy Uso...Jay Uso...The Usos...

2019...Sheamus...McIntyre...w/Miz....Hooligans

2020...Kevin Steen..Rey Mysterio...

New Day keeps - this is a 3 Way Dance, so that's an elimination match; WWF does milti-man matches both ways, Miz pins Sheamus; Langston pins Nitro.  

This is the final severing of Miz from the other two Hooligans - the two pairs start off seeing if they can work together to eliminate the champs, but Nitro cheapshots Sheamus and Miz has a clear decision to make - he makes it, siding with Nitro - and the two are full heels, unprepentant in cheating as they eliminate Hooligans, Miz grabbing Nitro's hand for leverage as he pins Sheamus.  McIntyre wants to destroy Miz right now, but Sheamus talks him down - the New Day part of the story is Langston really carries the load, Woods is in constant trouble, Langston saving multiple times, then Langston runs wild and gets the fall to keep the belts.  Whenever Langston and McIntyre are in the ring together they are positioned as equals and a head above everyone else in the match.  

9. WWF WOMEN'S TITLE: SASHA BANKS d. BAYLEY

Clip package with each women's title match from Rumble history.

2015...Paige taking the belt from Natty...

2016: Charlotte keeping her belt from a Becky challenge...

2017: Sasha takes Charlotte's belt in the 2/3 Falls match...

2018: Becky keeps the belt against Asuka, losing via countout...

2019...Asuka keeps over Ember Moon...

2020...Baszler keeps the belt over Asuka...

Banks and Bayley are both babyfaces; they are, however, in different babyface factions, Bayley with Hooligans and Banks with New Day, and that rivalry is on again/off again - it's been on again in this build, with the tag title match accompanying it - Banks keeps in a competitive match - the other 3 members of New Day enter postmatch - all 4 going to the turnbuckles to hold up their title belts postmatch.  Big night for New Day.

10. IC TITLE: CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI d. AJ STYLES

Clip of each IC Champ as they entered the Rumble ring...followed by AJ Styles entrance.

1989...Bret Hit Man Hart...

1990...The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase...

1991...Bret...

1992...Rowdy Roddy Piper..

1993...The Rocket Owen Hart...

1994..The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels...

1995...The Bad Guy Razor Ramon...

1996...HBK

1997...Cactus Jack...

1998...The World's Most Dangerous Man Ken Shamrock...

1999...Stone Cold Steve Austin...

2000...Lionheart Chris Jericho...

2001...His Lordship Steven Regal...

2002...The Human Suplex Machine Taz...

2003...The Whole Fucking Show Rob Van Dam...

2004...Chavo Guerrero Jr...

2005...The Lizard King Chris Jericho...

2006...The Canadian Crippler Chris Benoit...

2007...Spreekiller Shane Helms...

2008...MVP...

2009...MVP...

2010...HBK...

2011...Johnny Nitro...

2012...Sheamus...

2013...Nick Nemeth...

2014...Dean Ambrose...

2015...Luke Harper...

2016...AJ Styles...

2017...Rusev...

2018...Brock Lesnar...

2019...Prince Devitt...

2020...Ricochet...

Claudio wins, becoming the 76th IC Champ - all babyface match; pure workrate match, AJ is nominally the heel in the match as Claudio has the stakes - his win makes him the newest Triple Crown winner.  

Following the match - the highlight reel of all the previous Triple Crown winners plays:

PEDRO MORALES

BRET HART

SHAWN MICHAELS

OWEN HART

STEVE AUSTIN

CACTUS JACK

EDDY GUERRERO

REY MYSTERIO

CHRIS BENOIT

CHRIS JERICHO

EDGE

NICK NEMETH

AJ STYLES 

BROCK LESNAR

And then the final name - and a shot of Claudio Castagnoli from moments before appears on the video wall -- Gargano enters - he and Claudio embrace - the workers who still are in the crowd and the Thunderdome fans do the old "Hey" chant as Castagnoli becomes the 15th man in WWF history to hold the Hart-Guerrero Triple Crown.

Tomorrow - on RAW - as is tradition, will be the ceremony to present Claudio with the Triple Crown; historically the most recent recpient is there to pass along the Cup, as he retains possession until the next winner; so there will be speculation from wrestling Twitter about how WWF will navigate that.  

11. #1 CONTENDER: MATT RIDDLE (W/HBK) d. REY MYSTERIO/SAMI ZAYN/KEVIN STEEN

-Matt Riddle will head to the main event of Wrestlemania 37 to face the winner of tonight's WWF Championship match; he gets a submission on Mysterio.  

This is a one fall match, as opposed to the elimination match in the tag, to allow for the breaking up of falls.  Driving story here is Zayn/Steen - they each break up the other's chances to get the fall - Steen actually has the first chance to do that - say Zayn has a submission hold on Rey, Steen has a chance to break it up --- but does not - but Riddle does.  And when Zayn has a similar choice, he does break up Steen's chance at a fall - the two then are basically in their own fight that supercedes this match; it goes outside the ring, they smash into the Thunderdome monitors - whatever brawling spots Edge/Christian did not do, these two do - they completely ignore Mysterio and Riddle, and Riddle gets the fall. Mysterio congratulates Riddle postmatch, Michaels and Riddle celebrate - several of the workers who have been in the building as fans wind up having to separate Zayn and Steen; it is a rivalry that cannot be contained by the ring, we are told by the announce in what seemingly is not a tossed aside turn of phrase.  

Before the main event, the taped package - it's every WWF Champion holding the title belt postmatch at the Rumble - but before that it's Danielson's introduction - he demands his music is cut after he enters - and demands the remaining crowd members leave before his match.  Danielson says they are not capable of appreciating his art and he does not want them in his arena.  So, that taped package then plays while the building empties (that's why some were cleared out in the Zayn/Owens brawl)

1989...Randy Savage...

1990...Mr. Perfect...

1991...Mr. Perfect....

1992...Ric Flair...

1993...Bret Hart...

1994...Bret Hart...

1995...Shawn Michaels...

1996...Bret Hart...

1997...Bret Hart...

1998...Owen Hart...

1999...Owen Hart...

2000...Cactus Jack...

2001...Chris Benoit...

2002...Kurt Angle...

2003...Kurt Angle...

2004...Kurt Angle...

2005...Chris Benoit...

2006...Rey Mysterio...

2008..Shelton Benjamin...

2009...Chris Jericho...

2010...Chris Jericho...

2011...Edge...

2012...Bryan Danielson...

2013...Bryan Danielson...

2014...Bryan Danielson...

2015...Brock Lesnar...

2017...AJ Styles...

2018...Shinsuke Nakamura...

2019...Shinsuke Nakamura...

2020...Tyler Black..

12. WWF TITLE: BRYAN DANIELSON d. RICOCHET (w/BWI)

The 61st WWF Champion is Bryan Danielson. It's his first WWF Title in 7 years; it is Danielson's 3rd reign, tying him with Bret/Owen/Punk as the only men to hold the WWF Championship 3 times.

It's a great match; the lack of crowd the only thing keeping it from being one of the greatest matches of all time; 30 minutes of a full main event style match - Danielson wins clean with a submission.  

Joe enters to interview Danielson postmatch - Joe actively dislikes oGDI, it's the thing that bonds he and Heyman, but he and Danielson have a long history - and Joe knows how many years Danielson has worked to climb back to this summit, he tries to communicate that, to maybe have a moment of connection with the Dragon - but Danielson cuts him off - Danielson says the only problem with this moment is there are people still there - he demands that everyone leave - they don't get it - the Thunderdome fans, the referee, the ring announcer - even Samoa Joe - no one understands the nuances, no one understands the intriacies of Danielson's delicate genius.  So he demands they all leave - and that Thunderdome is turned off.  

They do - Royal Rumble 2021 ends with Bryan Danielson, alone - totally alone in the building, one camera on him - standing alone in a quiet, deathly quiet arena holding aloft the World Wrestling Federation Championship.  

That's the Rumble.  

The 2 part build to Mania starts next month and in April, live crowds return at Wrestlemania.  

Road to Royal Rumble 2021

Survivor Series is here

One more Thunderdome PPV; the Rumble is the first live PPV of the Covid era, from Tampa in January.

But before that - it's December, that means it's the 16th anniversary of the Counterfactual.  So (1) thanks for reading and (2) nope, I don't have an end date yet.  Maybe 20 years?  Or Wrestlemania 40?  Or the 150th PPV?  I don't know; I'm closer to the end than the beginning though and that leads to the AEW discussion.

I think my original AEW take was I wanted to see four years of quarterly PPVs before considering what to do with them; that was insufficiently optimistic, once Cult of Personality hit for the first time in Chicago, it was evident they're going to outlive the Counterfactual. Tony Khan's 39, over a decade younger than I am and doesn't appear to need my two cents.  My inclination is to leave AEW in its real world form; maybe I revisit at some point, but like ROH or the Japanese promotions, I think probably it exists as is without a counter history.  

The Rumble's pretty good, not for nothing.

WWF Title: Ricochet v. Bryan Danielson

IC Title: AJ Styles v. Claudio Castagnoli

Tags: New Day (Langston/Woods) v. Hooligans (Sheamus/McIntyre) v. Miz/Nitro

Women's Title: Sasha Banks v. Bayley

#1 Contender Elimination Match: Rey Mysterio v. Kevin Steen v. Sami Zayn v. Matt Riddle

No DQ: Edge v. Christian

Tyler Black v. Nick Nemeth

Shinsuke Nakamura v. Bobby Lashley

Roman Reigns v. Jeff Hardy

Shayna Baszler/Rhea Ripley v. Bianca Belair/Toni Storm

Defiance (Orton/Priest) v. Ali/Otis

Asuka v. Natty Neidhart

Here's how we get there.

#1 Contender Elimination Match: Rey Mysterio v. Kevin Steen v. Sami Zayn v. Matt Riddle

Tyler Black v. Nick Nemeth

WWF Title: Ricochet v. Bryan Danielson

After Survivor Series, oGDI is given the opportunity to fill 3 match slots at the Rumble; the WWF Title, a Number One Contender's match and a third match TBD.  This creates tension in the group, all 3 men believing they should be fighting Ricochet for the title.  The conceit is that whomever arrives at Titan Towers first to claim the shot gets it.  They identify this as an attempt to divide them and say they aren't going to take the bait, they do though largely take the bait, the idea being we are supposed to understand there's no honor among thieves.

However, they decide among themselves (sorta) what the match sorting will be.  It starts with Steen; Rey is named the first competitor in the Number One Contender's Match; Rey, recall from Survivor Series, is doing another "I want these guys fired" angle, this time with Murphy/Aleistar Black, and that really grates Steen, as he left the promotion for months the last time Rey decided to do this.

Steen interrupts a Rey/Regal promo; Steen and Rey haven't been together in nearly a year, since Steen turned on him on the Rumble, Steen says he thought he beat the God Complex out of Mysterio, but apparently he needs another lesson and takes the slot available to him in the #1 Contender's Match.  

Rey says he'll beat Steen at the Rumble - and who knows - maybe he'll get Steen fired one day anyway.

The psychology allows for fans to dislike Mysterio; that's the idea, he's a babyface, but he's the locker room leader and there's room to find him overbearing - on the other hand, we are supposed to dislike the actions of the men he's opposing; Murphy/Black attacked his son, they brutally attack Kalisto, ending his run with the promotion, and when Regal tells Murphy/Black he can't protect them, there's room to see Rey as doing the right thing.

Murphy/Black finish up in this build (Crews is peeled away, he doesn't appear at all between Survivor Series and the Rumble) they get multiple warnings "hey, you've gone too far" -but attack Dominik, attack Kalisto - it sets up a tag - Rey and the partner he picks -- Zayn - against Murphy/Black; if Murphy/Black win, they get the spots in the Number One Contender Match but if they lose - they're gone.

They lose - they're gone - Regal refuses to intercede - and Murphy/Black leave the promotion.  

That makes Zayn the third man in the match - Riddle beat Lee at Survivor Series, that means Riddle gets the Kliq match at the Rumble, against a former WWF Champion - turns out, the match he gets is this one, against 2 of them.  

Tyler Black peels off into the Nemeth match when Nemeth beats him on TV with assistance from Gable; we're reminded that a year ago, Black and the Bullet Club ended Angle's run with the promotion, Shoot Nation was asked (told) by Lesnar not to retaliate, that they belonged to him and then immediately were funnled into other programs while Lesnar successfully destroyed the Bullet Club.

But who went unpunished was Black - who beat Lesnar at Mania, sending him from the promotion (at least, as of now) and now it's time for Black to catch some hands; he winds up being attacked by all of Shoot Nation (which we like, because he's a heel, but the psychology is weird, because he fights bravely despite being outnumbered - put a pin in that - with the kill shot coming from Lashley).

Penance.  Black has to pay some penance.  

So Black gives up the title shot to angrily take on Nemeth at the Rumble.

Leaving Danielson.

It's a similar build to the last Danielson/AJ match before the heel turn; Danielson has been working to this moment for years; he is supposed to be the best wrestler in the world, but hasn't held the WWF Title in years - this is why he formed oGDI - this is why he's done everything he's done - to get to this moment and beat Ricochet and win the WWF Title for a record tying 3rd time.  

Danielson says he's glad there are no fans; there's a lot of Mania talk now - it's announced that Mania will be the first match in front of a live crowd in over a year - so the huge anticipation for Mania begins right before the Rumble - but Danielson says he's glad he'll be winning the title with no fans, because they don't deserve to see it - they don't understand what he does - don't appreciate the craft - he's Mozart and all the fans understand are Motley Crue cover bands.  

Shinsuke Nakamura v. Bobby Lashley

Roman Reigns v. Jeff Hardy

No DQ: Edge v. Christian

We discussed Lashley in the last section - he's got a big singles match, babyface v babyface, against Nakamura.  And when you see Lashley - you think Reigns/McIntyre/Langston.  Those 4 have been positioned with each other increasingly over the past couple of years - in matches against each other in multiple configurations; and viewed as on the same level - the power men within their respective stables; we've had years of Reigns/Langston matches, with Usos and New Day and before that Usos/Shield - and McIntyre as part of Hooligans and now Lashley with Shoot Nation, all 4 really thought of together; there's an IRL analogue now, it's the AEW four pillars idea, where guys who aren't stabled together, not even in active programs with each other, are still supposed to be thought of as a collective of some sort.

Reigns has the IRL "head of the table" - "acknowledge me" gimmick, not at the same level, because he's where he is on the card, but the narcisissm is the same (and he hasn't lost with the gimmick, allowing for it to continue without apology).  Reigns beat Hardy in a tag at Survivor Series and now gets him in a single.  

Jeff plays a role in the Edge/Christian build  So - Edge returned at last year's Rumble, he and Nitro winning the tag titles for the Kliq, they lost to the Profits at Mania - and not long after Edge got killed by a masked man.

He returns now, with vignettes, he's angry, paranoid - he's going to find the man who attacked him.

He first accuses Nitro - Nitro and Edge never got their rematch, Nitro comes to Edge in this build and Edge turns him down, he doesn't want to tag with him again, he thinks Nitro might be the masked man.  Nitro turned on HBK once, Nitro's been hanging out with Sheamus, who was known as the Kliq Killer; maybe Nitro wanted to take him out.  

Michaels looks to intervene on Nitro's behalf - look, the Kliq is always fighting each other (Michaels does a comical history about how many times X has turned on Y and A then turned on B - but we all make up at the end of the day and put the Kliq first.  

Edge says Michaels forgets - he's only half Kliq - he's also half Hart Foundation - and maybe Michaels didn't forget that - maybe Michaels was the masked man and tried to snuff Edge out.

Jeff's next - Edge accuses him, brings up Matt, brings up Lita, brings up Jeff's former. masked persona the Blood Dragon.  It builds to what will be the announcement - we are told the Masked Man has come forward and he will confront Edge on RAW the next week.

It's Christian.  Making his return.  He and Edge always talked about one day maybe returning together but Edge couldn't wait - it had to be about Edge - he came back early and teamed with someone else to win the tag titles.  Wait a year - wait 6 more months - and it could have been Edge and Christian - but it always had to be about Edge - do they join the Kliq - do they decide to go singles - and while Edge is winning the Triple Crown - Christian is sent to TNA.  

So thats it - they aren't partners, they aren't brothers, they aren't friends - and now they are going to settle it - a lifetime will build up to one fight - they make it clear they aren't going to do this again - there's not going to be a WM rematch, they aren't going to reunite down the road -  they're going to have a fight at the Rumble, once and for all.  Edge is devastated by the betrayal, but he's already been demonstrating being off balanced in questioning everyone - and he turns that into fury - two men who have known each other their whole lives, with years of under the surface aggrievements bubbling up to the surface, battling it out at the Rumble (yeah, you'd want fans for this one, I appreciate that).

Tags: New Day (Langston/Woods) v. Hooligans (Sheamus/McIntyre) v. Miz/Nitro

Women's Title: Sasha Banks v. Bayley

IC Title: AJ Styles v. Claudio Castagnoli

In the last section we referenced Langston/McIntyre as positioned with each other continuously; they're programmed here as New Day (which includes Banks) battles Hooligans (which includes McIntyre).  

Recall, Nitro has the tag title rematch - Edge turns him down - so he goes to Miz to be his partner.  

Miz, of course, is with Hooligans - Nitro joined them at Survivor Series in an uneasy alliance of Miz's friend groups; it didn't work out.  So Sheamus and McIntyre aren't stoked about Miz joining up with Nitro here; here's where that Kliq Killer stuff resurfaces and the 3 men essentially tell Miz he has to pick a side.  

Miz picks Nitro - it's a title shot and he wants it.  

Sheamus says Miz is ungrateful - Miz was the Cuck, a joke, an embarrassment, and Sheamus saved his career, gave him a home, helped him with his first title.  

Miz says when McIntyre came back, Miz became the third wheel - so the choice between being half of the tag champs or being the third guy in some random match that maybe is on the card or maybe not - doesn't seem that hard.  

Hooligans makes it clear that if Miz makes this choice there's no turning back.  

Miz hands over his hockey jersey.  

So that's the first iteration of the tag match, New Day defending against Miz/Nitro -- meanwhile however, Banks is defending against Bayley - Bayley never got a rematch from losing the Women's Title - Bayley and Banks had a good feud that really kicked off this Banks run of dominance over the past year plus - and since Bayley is with Hooligans and Banks with New Day - there's some type of match that is put together in the build where McIntyre gets a fall on Woods -- and with McInyre and Langston talked about as being in the same space - it evolves that Sheamus and McIntyre are then added to the tag title match.  

The other title is the IC - Claudio was to be Garza's opponent, continuing the long Twisted Sun Gods v. Kings of Wrestling feud - but Covid knocked him out, AJ replaced and won the belt.  So - there's an all babyface match here. 

There's stakes for Claudio - he's been WWF Champ and Tag Champ - a win makes him a Triple Crown Winner.

Let's discuss Dark Ride - Gargano is the champ (Walter also holds a belt and "defends" it overseas) but he loses an epic blowoff to his former friend turned rival Ciampa in an all babyface match.  Postmatch, they hug, the feud over - Gargano handing the belt to Ciampa - and then they are attacked by GDI (Cole/Fish/O'Reilly) and beaten down.  

Leading to a 6 man - GDI uses shenanigans and Cole gets the fall on Ciampa.

That sets up Ciampa defending against Cole - all the stablemates are barred from ringside - but the match ends when, from under the ring, emerges Roderick Strong to assist Cole.  Strong, of course, has spent his entire WWF career as a Horseman, but they've broken up and he emerges his - aids Cole and joins GDI - Cole taking the Dark Ride Championship and he is champion as we get to the Rumble (the last show without dark matches)

That leads to an 8 man - GDI against Kings of Wrestling/Ciampa--- and Styles, who doesn't want Claudio injured before their match -- there's miscommunication however between Styles and Claudio (Claudio inadvertantly lays AJ out and Strong gets the fall on Gargano -- Claudio and AJ fight to the back postmatch, leaving Gargano and Ciampa alone - they have to battle all 4 members of GDI - when to the ring comes -- Prince Devitt - who has emerged as a tweener in Dark Ride after his long heel run with the Bullet Club.

Devitt aids Gargano and Ciampa in fighting off GDI -- and then attacks Gargano and Ciampa - leaving us the image of GDI on one side, Gargano and Ciampa on another -- and Devitt opposed to both.  

Shayna Baszler/Rhea Ripley v. Bianca Belair/Toni Storm

Defiance (Orton/Priest) v. Ali/Otis

Asuka v. Natty Neidhart

Belair beat Baszler at Survivor Series and then got beaten down by the Horsewomen; she takes two of them on with aid of her babyface friend Storm.  Orton's new version of Defiance is he and Priest, from developmental - that'll be the opening tag.  And Asuka, longtime Ace of the women's division faces veteran babyface Neidhart.

Royal Rumble 2021 - the Final Thunderdome PPV is in January