Road to Royal Rumble 2015 (A Decade of..Well, Not Domination Exactly , But The Counterfactual Turns 10 Nonetheless)

Survivor Series is here.

(I started publishing the Counterfactual a decade ago.  Holy cats that's a long time.  My life has completely turned over since then. If you've been here since December, 2005 - I mean, I hope it's been a good ten years.  And it has, right?  And awful too.  I lost my house and my job and two members of my immediate family.  Just devastating.  And I got married, got a better job, and my clubs won 3 World Series, an NBA Title and the Niners even had a stretch as the best team in football.  It's a lot; you've had a lot too in the last ten years.  Whatever portion of that you've spent here in an alternate universe, I appreciate.  I don't know when it stops, there's no plan.  I was 35 then, I'm 45 now.  It seems unlikely that I'm still writing this at 55; it sort of seems unlikely that WWE still has its current configuration in ten years such that this still makes sense.  Here's a shoot - I haven't written but I've noodled around a post to be published upon my death - cause things happen, you know, and moreso than any of my other online presences, the one readership that I'd want to know I didn't just quit without notice would be this one.  Here's the deal I can make - if/when I stop, I'll give you warning if I'm able.

You know the other big difference between now and then - I used to say that this is the type of story that I'd want to read; I don't know if that's true anymore.  Not because I don't like the story, it's that I've largely stopped reading; a huge percentage of the time I used to devote to reading is now spent listening to podcasts and producing sports content on my other blog. Most of the sports analysis I consume is in podcast form; I think about that - I can talk a little bit, you don't know that about me but it's so, and sometimes I consider if it makes sense to turn the Counterfactual into a podcast.

My lean is no, not because I wouldn't listen to it (I would) it's that the difference between me now and me in 2005 is I wouldn't start this blog today.  I don't have the time to devote to what is purely a vanity project that I did ten years ago; I'd like to find a small revenue stream doing something that I enjoy, but that doesn't exist here.  It's a labor of love or some equivalent thereof.  If I were 35 in 2015, I think this endeavor would be a podcast, either additionally or exclusively.

But I'm not.  So it ain't.

Anyway, for as long as you've been here; for as many chapters as you've read - thanks.  It's an enormous, weird, satisying, half-crazy undertaking that will probably one day devour me.  And thanks to WWE for never quite staying on the right path.  What If Balor Beat Cesaro?...doesn't have the same level of righteous indignation.)

The Rumble is coming in January from Philadelphia.

Here’s the card.

WWF Title: Claudio Castagnoli v. Brock Lesnar(w/Heyman and Kenta)

Tags: Philly Street Fight: The Shield (Black/Ambrose w/Langston) vs. Booker T’s Mystery Team

Nick Nemeth v. Bray Wyatt

IC: Luke Harper v. Dustin Rhodes

John Cena v. Jack Swagger

Women:  Natty Neidhart v. Paige (w/4Ground)

Tyson Kidd v. Ka$h Kingston

Rusev (w/ GHB and Lana) v. Truth Killings

Usos (Reigns/Jimmy) v. Wade Barrett/Damien Sandow

Here’s how we get there.

The night after Survivor Series we meet the new GDI, Steen/Claudio/Generico/Pac; it’s a vignette, sometimes, I’ll say “promo” and mean vignette, the fewer RAW promos the better (and vignettes, as I’ve mentioned previously, are either verite or speaking directly to camera, as opposed to real world WWE vignettes/backstage segments which are nearly as bad as WWE promos (nearly - that in ring real world RAW promo, particularly to open the show is almost always an automatic FF for me)

They establish that Steen is the new leader of GDI; Steen says these are the nicest guys in the sport, Pac, Claudio, the nicest WWF Champion in history – and Generico, “if something were to happen to me and my wife, the guy under that mask who will raise my kids”.  (Under the mask is not throwaway language)

But, as he explains, that’s the problem – GDI’s too nice and so they get their ass kicked.  

Underground. Paul Heyman Guys. The Wyatts. It's war and GDI needs a wartime commander.  Steen says the GDI he liked was Punk’s GDI – he liked the guys who jumped into the Cell and nearly killed Edge and Matt Hardy at Wrestlemania. 

In the build, Steen cheats to win matches; the lesson being to the other GDI members that they should consider jumping on board.  Kevin Steen's a heel.  He's a heel surrounded by faces and a heel that will get cheered, certainly at the beginning, but he's an unapologetic heel.

In a subsequent RAW, Brock is the guest on Heyman’s Hustle, they do their comedy routine – it’s not serious Brock, Brock only cares about Danielson, no one else gets him going; he's still the only guy in the promotion whose name he knows (only one who has beaten him) they joke about
Paul cutting his commission on Brock’s purse for the Rumble because of his Swagger indiscretion, about where the victory party’s going to be, about how they’ll hold up the promotion when they need to book a title match for Mania.

Steen hits the ramp, says Brock talks like he’s the champ – but when Steen looks in the ring, he sees a guy who washed out of WWF, and New Japan, and the NFL, and UFC, and now is wearing the same number of titles around his waist as SG Ryback. 

Brock thinks this is funny, asks Paul who the fat guy with the jokes is. 

Heyman tells Steen that there aren’t any obstacles between he and the ring, feel free to meet Brock up close and personal.

Steen says nah, says one day Brock will learn his name, but not today – and he exits.

There’s a build for a Generico/Kenta match for the go home show, Kenta wins with Steen at ringside, as Kenta and Heyman go back up the ramp Steen attacks Kenta from behind ('cause he's a heel) that draws Lesnar from the back, and that draws Claudio, Pac and Generico – a full GDI v. Paul Heyman Guys brawl on the ramp, the result of which is multiple WWF referees wind up injured. (That there are fewer Paul Heyman Guys than GDI does not go unnoticed by Heyman)

Claudio, trying to extend his title reign for a full year, defends against Lesnar.

Trying to extend their title reign a full two years is The Shield and that’s their angle on the Rumble match; now that they’re the greatest tag team of all time, the next climb is 2 years – WWF Mt. Rushmore, in the Wrestlemania era only 3 men have two year long title reigns.  Savage.  Bret.  Angle. 

When The Shield keeps their belts at the Rumble and defends them – again – at Mania, that will mean a 2 year title run.  The Shield joins Mt. Rushmore (they’ll have some type of art to show this, their giant heads eclipsing the three legends referenced above).

After a Shield match – a surprise – the return of former WWF Champion Booker T.

Book says he’s heard a lot of talk about the Shield being better than all the past tag champs – but hasn’t seen them beat a lot of those champs.  20 years ago, Book says, he and his brother won the NWA Tag titles (clip) and ten years ago, he and GHB won the WWF tag team titles (clip)  Book says he’s retired, but he’s gonna come to the Rumble with two guys who are also former tag team champs, and in a Philadelphia Style Street Fight – we’ll find out if the Shield can hang with some actual legends.

Now can you dig that…sucka (GHB and Book can do one comedy vignette together at some point, harkening back to their largely comedy based mismatched tag partnership)

Three Wyatt Family matches.

The first thing we find out is that, with the latest example being Swagger/Cena from Survivor Series, if Bray/Luke Harper/Cena/Virgil interfere in any matches, they will not get a Mania slot. 

The second thing we get is a Wyatts vignette where Bray tells Harper he should give the belt to the Family.

Harper says no. “And my name is Luke Harper.”

Bray says he’s selfish, that if he had been Bray’s bodyguard at Survivor Series, then the Family would have the WWF Title, and the four of them could keep control of it for years.  Instead, Harper had to go on his own. 

“Luke Harper.”

Bray says he’s letting his brothers down.

Luke nearly snaps – getting in Bray’s face – says maybe Bray should let his brothers speak for themselves.

Virgil and Cena look at each other, it’s fair to consider that they perhaps are starting to question Bray – and Bray senses that also – he shifts the discussion, tells Harper that he’s right, he worked hard for that IC title and he should not hand it over.

Instead – he should give his brothers a chance to win it for themselves.  They’ve never had a shot at the IC title, either of them, and they’ve been in the WWF much longer than Harper has.  Bray says Virgil and Cena will fight and the winner will take on Harper for the title at the Rumble.

That bait was taken.  Whatever possible suspicion that Cena and Virgil might have felt about Bray becomes a hunger to take the IC belt.  Harper agrees to the match.

Virgil beats Cena.

 In the build, we see Virgil’s desperation; he started in the WWF a quarter century ago, backing up his dad in the Hogan feud.  He’s never wrestled for a singles title.  Through all the permutations, he now sits, having dispatched of both his brother and dad, one pinfall from winning the IC belt.

There’s an end of the build vignette with him quietly talking to camera expressing some version of this story and culminating in his saying that after 25 years, it wont be Virgil stepping inside the ring at the Rumble, it’s gonna be Dustin Rhodes. This draws some chatter, Dustin's been around forever - so even though he's evil, having just ended the WWF tenures of his father and Piper, one recognizes that's driven by an enormous hunger - and after a quarter century in what is clearly his last ever chance at a WWF singles belt, there will be people rooting for him.

That leaves Bray/Cena and Nemeth/Swagger from the feud that’s gone on since the Summer Slam build. Nemeth and Swagger have yet to tag together, except as part of larger teams and even then, they were careful not to physically tag.  That remains true here even as these four wind up together.

There’s one spot where Cena tries to goad them into teaming up against he and Bray, but Wyatt steps in and shuts that down quickly (Cena’s puffed up by Bray, that’s the control Bray has over him, but Bray knows the score, and Division One is portrayed as a little mythical, they started modern day Underground, came right up and won the belts, beat everyone and then broke up – it’s sort of like Foley turning into Cactus Jack).  But there's enough of a tease to generation some D1 buzz, it's not subtle. 

Bray takes on Nemeth; it’s Cena and Swagger one more time – at the Rumble.

As mentioned at Survivor Series, the next night we see 4-Ground (Paige/Sasha/Becky/Charlotte) take AJ out of the company; they put a couple of beatings on Natty in the build, can she keep her newly won belt away from Underground at the Rumble?

Kidd and Kingston started their feud in the build to last year’s Mania; it’s continued, Kidd as the hipster-y heel, with his knit cap and head phones, often worn at the same time; Kingston as the longtime “take any risk” babyface.  That starts to move a little here; Kidd seemingly broke kayfabe at Survivor Series postmatch with Natty, and now while his gimmick doesn’t change he does a lot of crowd pleasing high spots that should drive some cheers his way.

Seemingly unrelated – we get the debut of Dr. Xavier Woods, PhD.; he wears tweed sportscoats and turtlenecks, talks about the exigencies of 21^st century sport necessitating rapid structural alteration, in other words, it’s time for “a new day” to dawn in the WWF.

Two more.

Truth Killings apparently believes he's the Iron Sheik and Rusev is Nikolai Volkof and why won't Nikolai talk to him?  They've got to get the belts back from Santana and Beefcake.  Killings goes over one of the Colons who he thinks are the Killer Bees, "B Brian Blair is Jew!" and then they cut his mic.

Killings tries to get Rusev to tag with him to take their belts back from the Shield "We will make Tito and Beefcake humble" - and eventually an irritated Rusev just lays him out.  Killings thinks Nikolai has been coerced by Albano (GHB) and Cindi Lauper (Lana) to turn against him and so we have a match.

Finally - Sandow is on his last possible chance, and with his former rival Barrett returning to action as his partner there's a lot of pressure for him to shake off his year and half long lethargy to beat the remaining Usos (Reigns and Jimmy as Jey died at TLC, furthering the TLC kills guys nature of the stip).

Add in a special show opening announcement from Stone Cold Steve Austin regarding RAW the night following the Rumble, and that's your show.

Claudio v. Lesnar - let's do it.  Royal Rumble 2015

Survivor Series 2014

The build is here.

Survivor Series 2014, the 28^th Survivor Series, is coming to you from St. Louis.

(Dark – Kalisto d. Kidd

              Devitt d. Kenta)

Note that Devitt continues to not be referenced on any WWF platform and his dark match is not shown on the network.

Quick highlight package of the first 27 Survivor Series, the matches for which have been counting down on the Network in the build, one per day, as part of a full 30 minute documentary about each.

From 87 – the Harts losing the tag titles, ending the longest tag reign in WWF history

From 88 – the Heenan Family forming, Rude/Hennig/Arn/Tully

From 89 – Hennig taking the WWF Title from Savage

From 90 -  Undertaker debuting, destroying Jimmy Snuka

From 91 – Piper beating Bret to take the IC title

From 92 – HBK wrestling twice, beating Savage to take the IC but then dropping it to Owen

From 93 – Razor turned on Shawn and Diesel after they beat up Waltman

From 94 – Shawn wins the triple crown, beating Owen for the strap

From 95 – Bret keeps the title over his old partner Davey Boy

From 96 – Rock’s debut, he goes over the Taker.

From 97 – Bret fastening the title belt around Owen’s waist after the Montreal match

From 98 – Austin beats Regal to keep the IC.

From 99 – Dudleys win the title in a tables match to take the title from the Hardys

From 00 – the only Eddy v. Dean PPV match in WWF history

From 01 – DDP hits the diamond cutter to beat Austin

From 02 – Brock destroys HHH outside the ring

From 03-Matt Hardy attacks RVD with a fork

From 04-Angle/Benjamin take the tag titles from  Rey/RVD

From 05-The creation of the 51% Solution, Hunter beats Michaels in a weapons match, Flair and Steamboat exchange chops on the ramp.

From 06-Punk beats Flair for the title, then throws down the belt, the key moment in late period WWF.

From 07-Rey keeps the WWF Title over the Taker.

From 08-Orton beats Regal in a parking garage brawl.

From 09-Steamboat introduces the future of the WWF, Danielson and Low Ki

From 10-Danielson beats Low Ki in their only WWF match

From 11-Foley brings GDI, including the Kings of Wrestling, back to WWF to go after Underground

From 12-Danielson keeps the title over Rey

From last year – the creation of the Paul Heyman Guys, Brock and Swagger attack Danielson and Punk after their draw

Joey is calling his 37^th PPV.  Alongside is a surprise, Paul Heyman, calling his first PPV since Rumble ‘93

Heyman’s been gone during the build, he’ll re-establish Brock’s relevance throughout the night.

1.       Fandango Curtis/Heath Slater d. Damien Sandow/Justin Gabriel

-The stip, recall, is someone’s getting let go from Underground.  Heyman puts Regal over, discusses how well he handles developmental – says a guy like Kalisto, who we saw here in the pre-show match, is ready to come up, so someone’s got to make room for him.  There is a machine building at WWFU, and Heyman knows that he’s fighting the inevitable – that Regal is right, there will be a day when every match is Underground vs. Underground.

The story here is Sandow, again he seems listless and that leads to a finish where Gabriel gets pinned.

Fortunately for Sandow, Gabriel gets hurt – so as part of the build for the Rumble, we see a Hard Knocks like scene where Regal releases him. 

2.       Rusev (w/GHB and Lana) d. Colons

-A squash, GHB and Lana do their act outside, Rusev does his power man stuff, both Colons get pinned simultaneously – Heyman puts over GHB as a guy who knows how to mine for talent and has really found someone in Rusev.  Says he’s wary of Lana and wonders how long this partnership can stay strong.

3.       John Cena NC Jack Swagger

-          This is a shmozz, ref bump, Virgil enters, Cody enters, the match gets thrown out.  Cena and Swagger fight back up the ramp and the Rhodes brothers brawl can’t be contained – they won’t get in the ring – so on the fly the match is changed to a Falls Count Anywhere.

4.       Falls Count Anywhere: Virgil d. Cody Rhodes

-          Dustin was part of the Wyatt attack on Dusty and Piper, laying both old men out – that’s ratcheted up this feud, Cody moves from trying to help his older brother escape this cult to wanting to kick his ass.  They brawl all over the arena and it’s Dustin, still called Virgil officially although Joey forgets sometimes, who goes over.  Heyman puts Dustin over, says he’s known him for almost 30 years, and he’s on fire.  He puts over Bray, says he understands he’s unpopular among guys like Joey Styles, but Bray has turned on the fountain of youth for Virgil.

We get a pretape.  Regal and Steamboat announce a partnership.  What has been GDI’s weekly wrestling show will now be GDI v. Underground (or GVU).  GDI has had a weekly show for 8 years, sometimes on television, now on the Network – sometimes it’s been a live wrestling show at the Manhattan Center, branded The Dragon’s Lair – sometimes on the road, working with any indie or international promotion that they can work with.

But now – with Underground growing, the show becomes GVU and is primarily based at Full Sail, it probably starts off 50/50 but slowly becomes more like 75/25.  In addition, WWF main roster guys will sprinkle their way onto the shows, the gimmick is that the main event is always GDI vs. Underground, but other matches can be any configuration, given how many more bodies Underground has than GDI.

G-V-U.   

5.       Women’s Title: Natty Neidhart d. Paige d. AJ

-          Before the match, the Harts, in their hockey jerseys, come down to ringside to sit in the front row.  Bret, Anvil, then Jericho – not in the JerichoDeath persona but wearing his #7 jersey, then Storm, then Edge.  All in the pink and black Hart Foundation hockey jerseys that have existed the full three decade run of the WWF WM era. 

Heyman helps set the stakes – given who AJ’s husband is, there is no doubt that since her deal is up tomorrow, she will take this belt and go home.  Paige is representing Underground, and as much as Regal is preparing to dominate the men – Underground is training a squadron of the best women’s wrestlers in WWF history, and once they get the belt they might never lose it.  And for Natty, she has a chance to get a jersey, to become #11, and you have to know it would be the biggest moment in her life.

It’s Three Way Dance rules, Natty pins AJ first, AJ attacks Paige after (Paige was outside) in a way that aids Natty, as Natty will work the body part injured by Paige and eventually get that fall, winning the relaunched women’s belt.

The next night is the last night of AJs deal, she’ll lose to Paige, after which Charlotte, Sasha and Becky will attack, along with Paige beating AJ down and then holding up 4 fingers each.

Their stable name is Four Ground. 

There are four of them, it’s a play off foreground, as in women are no longer in the background – and it’s a play off Underground, as they’re all from developmental.  There’s the Horsemen overtone for Charlotte, there’s the idea of working on the ground for technical wrestling or MMA.  Four Ground. 

But that’s tomorrow – right now, the Harts all come to the ring to celebrate with Natty; Tyson Kidd enters – he and Natty have been storyline broken up for years and Kidd’s been a heel for a year, but Kidd hugs her – and then the Anvil hands Natty the #11 Hart Foundation hockey jersey as Bret fastens the title belt around her waist.  It’s a moment. 

6.       IC: Luke Harper d. Nick Nemeth

-          The 63^rd IC Champion in WWF history is Luke Harper.  He does it alone, no Wyatt interference; Joey loves Nick Nemeth, puts him over in the way JR would have put Shawn Michaels over, to Joey, this is the man – so it’s a stunner – when the powerman from the Wyatts wins clean.

But he does – and afterward Cena and Virgil hit the ring to celebrate with him.  Big night for the Wyatts and the title match is still to come. 

7.       Tags: TLC 2 of 3 belts: The Shield (Black/Ambrose/Langston) d. Usos (Reigns/Jimmy/Jey)

-Prior to the match, a highlight package with the 94 previous WWF tag tram champions, from Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler all the way to Wade Barrett and Ryback.  A win here by the Shield and they will have a longer title reign than all of them.

The last TLC tag match was the 2003 Rumble, so almost 12 years have gone by – the reason is five of the 6 men that night were stretchered out, so that’s what the expectation is – like the Cell gimmick, if its used, the promise is carnage.  Add in the 2 of 3 stip, that all 3 title belts are raised above the ring and the winner is the first to pull down 2 and you have a hurdle worthy of the goal the Shield is looking to achieve.

They get it of course, Reigns gets the first belt – but Ambrose and then Rollins get the second and third.  Jey winds up taking the worst bump, getting stretchered away and its unclear when he’ll return. 

Postmatch Bret and the Anvil return to the ring – they shake hands with the Shield – they’ve been largely cool heels/babyfaces when it made sense; but the length of the run, the desire that fans have to see history – and now this type of body killing match followed up by and endorsement by the surviving members of the team they passed up – the Shield is now pretty clearly a babyface team.  Heyman calls them the greatest tag team in wrestling history.

8.       WWF Title No DQ: Claudio Castagnoli d. Bray Wyatt

-Bray’s got everything going for him; Claudio’s makeshift crew is unlikely to show up to aid him, given the way the evening has gone for Cody and Nemeth.  Conversely Virgil and Harper have both won.  With the No DQ stip – is it all over for Claudio?  Is the Hey Movement dead?

Nope. 

We’re told during the match by Heyman that he’s gotten final word (he can be on his cell pre match for a Dangerous Alliance callback) that negotiations are complete and that Brock Lesnar will be taking on the winner of the match at the Rumble.

It’s mainly a brawl, a lot of ringside stuff – to contrast with the first match.  No interference as it turns out.  Cena and Virgil hit the ramp – but are wiped out by the dive of the video wall, in a callback spot, from a returning Pac and Generico.

Harper then walks by the four bodies, he’s coming down the ramp with his new IC belt – but he’s stopped by some unfamiliar music to a WWF arena, Unsettling Differences by Blue Smock Nancy.

And the emergence of the man for whom that music is playing.

Kevin Steen.

Harper drops the belt – charges at Steen – and they have a wild brawl on the ramp.

Claudio’s gonna get the fall.  And the rest of GDI, with their newest member, will hit the ring – all 4 men ending the show by hitting the turnbuckles.  Kevin Steen is in the WWF.  Kevin Steen is in GDI!

Back in December, the 10^th anniversary, if you can believe it, of the Counterfactual, with the build for Rumble 2015 – your main event, Claudio Castagnoli defending the title against Brock Lesnar.