WWE's Habbo No Way Out: Grand Prize Winner Announced

I just took a peek at Habbo, and the WWE has selected the grand prize winner in the No Way Out Elimination Chamber competition on Habbo.com.

The lucky Habbo, Attires, has won a non-virtual (read that, 'real-life') WWE Heavyweight Championship replica belt.

In addition, the Habbos with the top 5 Elimination Chambers (as voted by Habbo users) each received an in-game personalized trophy from WWE Superstar & ECW original, Tommy Dreamer.

The article goes on to say:

"Stay tuned because coming in March, WWE will be returning to Habbo with Wrestlemania. It will be bigger, badder, and bolder than both Habbo Royal Rumble and Habbo No Way Out combined!"

I'll, of course, post more info about WWE Habbo Wrestlemania when information is released.

For the full article: Attires has the Top Elimination Chamber

WWE Monday Night Raw 2/11/2008

Monday Night Raw opened with the Hornswoggle vs. Mr. McMahon match. You know, almost every time that Vince walks the ramp (especially so if he is in wrestling gear), I have to chuckle. See, I can't help but remember the Vince McMahon of my childhood, the 1980's, skinny announcer, pre-powerwalking Vince. It's really quite remarkable how big he is now, when compared to the younger Vince McMahon.

Anyhow, enough reminiscing... Hornswoggle vs. Vince:

I can't say that I was looking forward to this match since they announced it last week. To be honest, I don't really like where the whole story line has gone, and is going (Seriously, a steel cage match next week? C'mon). Regardless, there were some things to talk about:
* An Elbow & Collar tie-up between a 6'2" man and a 'little person'. Um, what's the point?
* Speaking of points, Vince McMahon's incredibly pointy elbows. I'd swear he had 'pointy elbow implants', if there were such a thing
* A 'Test of Strength' between a 6'2" man and a 'little person'. Again, what's the point? Heh.
* Finlay clubbing Vince McMahon with a shillelagh. My gut reaction was, 'Holy s***! He really hit him!'. We would see later in a promo with William Regal that Vince, indeed, was clubbed. He had a huge golf ball-sized bump on the back of his head. It looked like the lump that appears when an anvil is dropped on Wile E. Coyote. Ouch.

Y2J vs. JBL. A fairly good-paced match. I was surprised to see Chris Jericho using some dirty tactics (forehead biting, face raking, etc), but I suppose this is a part of the 'new Jericho'. Jericho also did a nice step-up enzuigiri, reminiscent of a shining wizard. The match ended with Jericho's new finisher, the codebreaker, and Y2J getting the pin. I was actually fairly bummed that this is his new finisher, an obvious rip off of Carlito's backstabber. Umaga ran in after the match and gave samoan spikes to both Y2J and JBL. I can't say that this surprised me... I've never seen the Umaga character as having loyalty to anyone. he's a stand-alone character.

Tonight, we also saw an anti-steriod WWE PSA featuring John Cena. Viewing Audience, we've been put on notice... In addition to the locker room, the entire viewing audience is now governed by WWE's Wellness Program. So don't use drugs, use steroids or growth hormones... and watch what allergy medications you take or we'll all be suspended. There are no shortcuts to your goals.

Next up, the re-introduction of Paul Burchill (& his 'sister'), vs. Brian Kendrick. It irritated me that JR acted as if we'd never seen Paul Burchill before. ('...very talented, or so we have been told'). It's hard to forget the pirate gimmick, JR. No, he wasn't on Raw before, but still.
...oh by the way, the WKC Dog Show is now being shown on CNBC. Dogs Rule! (if you watched Raw, you know what I am talking about)... now back to the rant...
Paul Burchill does have a pretty cool finisher... it's his old finisher from OVW, the Curb Stomp (deathlock surfboard followed by a head stomp into the canvas). He followed this with a rolling cutter.
A couple of side notes:
* Stop the subliminal incestuous chemistry gimmick between the Burchills now. It's freakin' creepy.
* It's really a shame that Kendrick is being wasted as a jobber. The guy has a lot of talent. Seriously, he's becoming the Raw version of ECW's Colin Delaney.

We saw Cena vs. Mark Henry with RKO at the announce table last night. Not much to note except it was a relatively short match. I'm sure 'the message' was supposed to be, 'Cena can beat Henry in about three minutes', but the message I received (and I'm sure many other marks received) was, 'we're continuing to rest Cena'.
Side note:
* None of us believe that the Randy Orton character is afraid of Cena to the point that he won't make eye contact or stand up. Ridiculous.

Kennedy & Ric Flair in-ring promo. Great promo. Awesome promo. These two characters were made to rant at each other. I have to say, I'm pretty damn excited about the possibilities here. Not that I am necessarily excited about the match itself, but the possibilities afterward (Sorry, I'm not a Ric Flair fan. I haven't been in many years. Frankly, he's boring). Regardless of who wins, picture Flair taking Kennedy under his wing and mentoring him. I agreed with what HBK said at the Royal Rumble about the similarities between the two characters (loud mouth with platinum blond hair with catch phrase, that gimmick will never work), but agree even more so after last night's promo. Honestly, I am hoping that what HBK said was foreshadowing. I wouldn't consider it a predictions, but I would like to see Kennedy retire Flair, they shake hands, Flair retires from wrestling and becomes Kennedy's valet.
Side note:
* Kennedy's Flair strut is hilarious

There was Divas match between Maria & Melina last night. It wasn't as bad as usual Diva matches we've been seeing. Not much overselling or missed spots. Melina has certainly improved and executed a pretty cool octopus stretch that I'd not seen her use before. The screeching and squealing still irritates the Hell out of me, and there was more than usual last night. Whoever in creative told the Divas, 'okay, I'd like you to give us more squealing' is a moron.
Side note:
* We still don't care about Divas being in Playboy.
* Someone please teach Maria how to throw a clothesline (Bradshaw, I'm looking at you)

The Main Event was Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Hardy. As one would expect, a match with good pace and good action. For once I didn't get irritated with HBK's tired signature moves (nip-up, elbow drop, inverted atomic drop, etc. Sweet Chin Music always irritates me. Whenever he throws SCM I want someone to capture suplex him), they actually fit into this match quite well. HBK busted Jeff Hardy open after a very hard clothesline (HBK, maybe you should be the one to teach Maria). Soon after Jeff was seen bleeding from the nose and lip piercing. We also saw HBK put various submissions on Jeff, who would then escape. The match ended with a Swanton (of course), giving Jeff Hardy the win. I hope they let Jeff main event Wrestlemania, instead of building him up like they did before the loss at Royal Rumble. It's time for a different kind of champion.

Final side note:
Week #2 with no sign of Triple H. Well, at least they didn't replace him with the fugliest of fuglies, Gene Snitsky, like they did last week.

Update: WWE No Way Out on Habbo

Since discovering the new WWE No Way Out campaign on Habbo last Friday, I've periodically been checking Habbo.com for updates. (Just a refresher, Habbo Hotel is a virtual 'hangout for teens')




This morning I found a new article detailing the new campaign and competition.

For starters, Habbo and WWE are offering free WWE No Way Out backgrounds for Habbo Home pages. (In addition to the virtual world, Habbos also are able to build their own MySpace-like web pages). The background is the No Way Out graphic featuring Houdini-esque Jeff Hardy under water in the Elimination Chamber.

As for the competition itself, Habbos are to create a room in-game, and build their own Elimination Chamber out of Habbo 'Furni' (virtual furniture). According to the article, "to qualify, the room must resemble the elimination chamber (an enclosed area) and have the initials NWO somewhere in the room." After building their Elimination Chambers, Habbos put their rooms on the 'WWE Habbo No Way Out floor' of the virtual hotel. The article goes on to say that Habbos have until Friday, February 15 to complete their designs.







On to the prizes... here are the details:
* The top 20 rooms will be picked based on design and NWO lettering and those Habbos will receive an exclusive NWO badge that can be displayed on their avatar.

* The top 20 NWO Elimination Chamber rooms will be posted on Habbo.com for Habbos to vote on their favorite room. At the end of this voting process, the top 5 designs will move on to the next round. Based on a sliding scale, the top 5 designers will split a purse of 'coins' (virtual Habbo money).

Here is the prizing scale for the top 5 designs:
1-1000 total votes: 50 coins purse
1001-3000 total votes: 100 coins purse
3001-7000 total votes: 200 coins purse
7001-10000 total votes: 300 coins purse
10001-15000 total votes: 400 coins purse
15001-20000+ total votes: 500 coins purse

Voting will happen Friday and Saturday (Feb 15-16).

Additionally, the Habbos who own one of the top five rooms receive a virtual trophy, personalized from a WWE Superstar. (Doesn't look like it has been announced who the Superstar is yet. In any case, pretty cool! )

* Grand Prize: After the top five rooms are determined, the WWE will pick the winning room out of the top 5 designs. The grand prize winner will be posted on Habbo.com by Tuesday, February 19th. The Habbo that owns the room the WWE chooses will receives a "real world" WWE World Heavyweight Championship replica belt.

Here's the prizing recap:
Top 20 Designers: A No Way Out badge.
Top 5 Designers: A personalized trophy from a WWE Superstar and up to 100 Habbo Coins each based on the total votes
Grand Prize: A "real world" WWE World Heavyweight Championship replica belt

Why couldn't there have been stuff like this when I was a kid? I'm jealous... maybe I'm regressing. Heh.

For the full article, and to learn more about Habbo, just click on the article graphic at the top of this post. To take a peek at the Habbo No Way Out group page, click the image to the left.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown! 2/8/08

This is late, but better late than never...

Smackdown began with the 6 Elimination Chamber entrants trading words in the ring. Typical WWE fare... Batista starts by being interviewed by Michael Cole, then superstar after superstar interrupts until everyone is in the ring. This match at the upcoming No Way Out PPV confuses me a bit... Batista, Khali, Big Daddy V and Undertaker all make sense. I'm still confused as to why MVP and Finlay are in this match. I don't think anyone can take the idea of either MVP or Finlay winning that match seriously, so why bother putting them in it? If it were me booking the match, I would have included Kane, and re-introduced Big Show (The internet rumor mill suggested that Big Show would be unveiled at the Royal Rumble, but that never happened). I mean, if you are going to have a match filled with giants, make them all giants. Don't get me wrong, as Batista said, there will be a ton of men in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber... but I think my version would be far better.

Next up we saw Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin. I'm not sure what it is, but Shelton Benjamin's mic skills have waned. He used to be quite good on the mic, particularly during the Shelton Benjamin/Triple H feud. My gut tells me that he's really quite a humble guy, and it's hard for him to play the part of the conceited 'gold standard' of ECW. This was an entertaining match. SB did an impressive flying neck breaker off the turnbuckle... it put John Cena's 'throwback' to shame.

After commercial, we were served another bland episode of 'Chuck Palumbo fights with Jamie Noble over Michelle McCool'. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by this match, It was actually a good, quick-paced match... but of course, that would soon be ruined. After the Chuck pinned Noble... this whole episode... dragged on... forever. Seriously, all the oversold (Chuck, you're not a good actor) street fight garbage lasted longer than the wrestling match (Trust me, I timed it). You know, I think my biggest gripe with this whole story line is, how are we supposed to believe the new. 'American Bad Ass Rip-off' Chuck Palumbo (see Exhibit A), when all that we can remember is the 'ambiguously gay Billy & Chuck', Chuck Palumbo (see Exhibit B)












Seriously... I think this is why, at least in my mind, he never got over in the 'new' version of the F.B.I. stable.

Jamie & Festus vs. Deuce & Domino: Ugh... please don't waste my time.

Cutting Edge with Vickie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio. I am more sick of this storyline than other. Seriously, it's really in poor taste. After the whole Matt Hardy/Lita/Edge fiasco, I don't put anything past Edge, but I am astounded that Vickie, Rey & Chavo would agree to have anything to do with this storyline, especially in light of Eddie Guerrero's death. Yes, I know Eddie would want the show to go on, but I hardly think that he's condone this nonsense. Plus, Vickie is the worst on the mic than anyone. ...and I repeat what I said in a previous entry, put away and forget the 'GM in a wheelchair' storyline. It's lame, and we're really sick of seeing it.

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins got over on Jimmy Yang Wang and Shannon Moore again. Should be any day now before they are given the tag titles.

The Main Event presented the Elimination Chamber entrants in a 3-on-3 tag. Seriously, did you guys really need to come back from commercial to show the 6 entrances, just to go back to commercial when they're over? On a side note, I still chuckle when I think about the Royal Rumble... I think the real reason Undertaker was the first in the ring was due to the length of his entrance. If he was anywhere but #1, the next three guys would have made it to the ring before he even got there. Heh.

Anyhow, when we returned from commercial I was pleasantly surprised at the speed of this match considering the size of the men in it. Things wrapped up with Batista, Undertaker and Finlay in the middle of the ring staring down each other. I could help but laugh... Finlay, seriously, you have no chance... You and MVP shouldn't be in the chamber at No Way Out.

Breaking News: WWE No Way Out on Habbo

I was just at Planet WWE, and at the top of the homepage was the following banner:



It looks like the WWE is doing another campaign with Habbo. As you can see from the banner, Habbo is having a 'Build the Best Elimination Chamber Room' competition. If you click the banner, it will take to you the Habbo No Way Out group page, which features WWE's No Way Out trailer, a Habbo-ized poster of Jeff Hardy, as well as Habbo-ized Superstars. There are Umaga (or U-Manga as William Regal would say), Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Jeff Hardy that were used in the Habbo Royal Rumble. Looks like Chris Jericho and JBL have been added for No Way Out. Very Cute.

I looked at the Habbo.com news articles, but there was nothing posted about the competition, or prizing (In the Royal Rumble campaign, the Grand Prize was two tickets to Wrestlemania with airfare & accommodations). I don't think anything has officially been announced, but word seems to have gotten out. As I'm writing this there are already over 700 Habbos in the No Way Out Group.

If you recall, last month I wrote a few blurbs about the Habbo WWE Royal Rumble Campaign. Looks like this partnership may be a trend.

When I know more, you'll know more...



Oh, what's Habbo? From last month's press release:

About Habbo:

Habbo is a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual community and game environment for teens. Users join by creating a fully customized online character called a Habbo. From there, they can explore many public hang-outs, play a variety of games, connect with friends, decorate their own rooms, and have fun through creativity and self expression. Currently there are Habbo communities in 31 countries on five continents. To date, over 86 million Habbo characters have been created and 8.3 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics). Habbo is operated by Sulake Corporation, a Finnish online entertainment company.

WWE Superstars Rumble in Habbo's Virtual World

Posted by Fenn Jan 28 2008 at 10:11:11 PM

The press release below was floating around the internet last week. I had a chance to check it out and it was a pretty cool competition. There were even video promos by Tommy Dreamer, Funaki, Beth Phoenix, Brian Kendrick and DH Smith lobbying for votes, as well as the ability to send messages from Superstars to your friends' cell phones. Very cool.

There was even commentary from Habbo-ized J.R. & King.

The results of the virtual Habbo Royal Rumble were as follows:
* The first Superstar to enter the ring was KEVIN THORN
* The first Superstar to be thrown from the ring was BATISTA
* The last Superstar to be thrown from the ring was DH SMITH
* And the winner of the 2008 Habbo Royal Rumble is JEFF HARDY

Now that it's over, a handful of the Habbo players have been complaining about what a 'rip-off' it was in the Habbo Royal Rumble forum. From what I saw, I don't really see how they could say this considering it was a free competition, and someone won tickets to Wrestlemania 24. In addition, the players of Habbo received custom exclusive 'stickers' for their Habbo homepages, as well as a Royal Rumble 'badge' that they can display on their avatar. (One of the stickers was a Habbo-ized version of the No Way Out poster featuring Jeff Hardy). An example, and I'm paraphrasing here, "We were promised a Royal Rumble and that's what we expected." I'm not a player of Habbo, but it clearly stated in the news article that the winners of the virtual Royal Rumble would be announced, with no mention of an actual 'Habbo Royal Rumble event. Reading is fundamental. Don't expect things that aren't in writing, kid.

Spoiled children. Tsk tsk. Too bad they aren't bright enough to know that with a brand like WWE, companies that work with WWE have to play be WWE's rules. If that's they way the competition was, it's most likely because that's how WWE wanted it.

The official press release follows:
___________________________________________________________________________

Press Release

Source: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

WWE Superstars Rumble In Habbo's Virtual World

Wednesday January 23, 11:30 am ET

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pixels are flying as World Wrestling Entertainment® takes their annual Royal Rumble® to Habbo’s virtual world. Though the actual Royal Rumble doesn’t take place until January 27, live on pay-per-view, the action on Habbo.com has already begun. And just like the real Rumble, the winner will be going to WrestleMania® 24 on March 30 in Orlando.

WWE began their invasion of Habbo earlier this week, engaging the largest online world for teens in one of their signature events. Already, the “Habbo Royal Rumble” has seen a huge response by users.

After being assigned a virtual avatar to one of 59 WWE Superstars, Habbo.com’s 1.6 million online citizens will vote for which of the top 30 WWE Superstars they think will play various roles in the event (e.g., ultimate winner). Users who correctly predict at least one of the roles will be entered into a sweepstakes, sponsored by Habbo, for a chance to win a trip for two to WrestleMania 24 in Orlando, Fla. on March 30.

“WWE is giving fans access to our brand in new and exciting ways– utilizing virtual worlds, social networking sites, widgets, and much more,” said Geof Rochester, Executive Vice President, Marketing. “This promotion with Habbo’s large, active community is a perfect fit for our expanding digital footprint.”

WWE engaged Millions of Us LLC, an agency specializing in virtual worlds and large online communities, to help manage the campaign.

“Habbo users are drawn to our online community for engaging activities and to be connected to the biggest names and events in entertainment,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, EVP, Habbo business and President, North America. “By partnering with the WWE and Millions of Us for the Royal Rumble, we are bringing our audience to the center of sports entertainment.”

“Habbo pioneered the booming youth virtual world space and is one of the most internationally successful communities of its kind," said Reuben Steiger, CEO, Millions of Us. “We're especially pleased to be inaugurating our presence in Habbo with our longstanding client WWE. That aside, the ‘Habbo Royal Rumble’ campaign is jam-packed with fun, innovative programming and the stakes are high - the prize is among the most valuable we've ever offered in a promotion.”

Check out the promotion, including the 59 WWE avatars, at habbo.com.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE - News) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/

About Habbo:

Habbo is a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual community and game environment for teens. Users join by creating a fully customized online character called a Habbo. From there, they can explore many public hang-outs, play a variety of games, connect with friends, decorate their own rooms, and have fun through creativity and self expression. Currently there are Habbo communities in 31 countries on five continents. To date, over 86 million Habbo characters have been created and 8.3 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics). Habbo is operated by Sulake Corporation, a Finnish online entertainment company.

www.habbo.com

www.sulake.com

About Millions of Us LLC

Millions of Us LLC is an agency specializing in virtual worlds and large online communities. Founded in 2006 and based in San Francisco, the agency's clients include 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Toyota, Microsoft, and Intel.

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ECW is a trademark of WWE Libraries, Inc. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, feature films, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events both domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, our dividend is based on a number of factors, including our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan, our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends and such other factors as our board of directors may consider relevant.

Contact:

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Media:
Gary Davis, 203-353-5066
or
Susan Mills, 323-202-1050
or
Investors:
Michael Weitz, 203-352-8642

---

Source: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

2008 Royal Rumble

Posted by Fenn at Jan 28th 2008 2:46:57 PM

Welcome to the first 'real' blog entry. It's a big one... you might wanna sit down.



Last night was the 21st annual Royal Rumble. The 'Road to Wrestlemania' begins... Open, Madison Square Garden.

Madison Square Garden
For starters, let me comment on MSG. I know that many hail MSG as 'the Mecca', but personally, I can't really stand it. Sorry, but I happen to like to watch the entrances and the walk down the ramp. Superstars (as usual) entered from beneath the seats for a grandiose 20 foot walk to the ring. I couldn't help but focus on the (apparently) mentally challenged guy in the yellow shirt at ringside. Again, sorry... but I like the fanfare. The overall theme of the evening seemed to be, 'let's see how many times we can blow a spot on the biggest PPV next to Wrestlemania'.

Ric Flair vs. MVP
The opening match on the card was Ric Flair vs. MVP in a career-threatening match. To be blunt, even before the event, for the life of me I couldn't understand why this match-up was even on the card. Did anyone really believe that a mid-carder like MVP was going to retire Flair? C'mon, seriously... if Flair is going to be retired, it's gonna be to give a main-eventer a push. Speaking of MVP... what a lame gimick... an inflatable football tunnel? ...and what is up with that unitard? MVP/Alvin Burke may have talent, but let's get him a different character. In my opinion, this match was a complete waste of time that ate into the upcoming matches (which all seemed rushed, by the by...). I now feel bad for Flair every time that I watch him. Slow and painful. Ric couldn't even pull off what I can only assume what was supposed to be an Oklahoma Roll. At least we didn't have to see the same tired, lame 'crooked backdrop' and Flair climbing the turnbuckle just to be tossed off. Yes, Flair was one of the greats... but it's time for him to go. I'd rather see him in an on-camera, non-wrestling role. He was great as the GM of Raw. To this day, I still think Ric's final match should have been the Street Fight with Vince McMahon at the 2002 Royal Rumble. I have seen Ric in a great match since that one... (side note, no one bleeds like Flair)

Following the match, was a package with Vince, Hornswoggle and then Finlay, foreshadowing the upcoming rumble. I honestly like the whole 'bastard son' angle... although I'm not sure why Hornswoggle isn't allowed to speak anymore. What's with all of the grunts and nearly-inaudible 'yeahs' now? Heh.

The next big surprise, the newest member of the broadcast team is... the guy that used to host the original American Gladiators? Why the hell did they hire Mike Adamle? I wouldn't even mention him... but later in the PPV he refers to Jeff Hardy, as Jeff Harvy. Yes, he did correct himself, but that's just inexcusable.

Y2J vs. JBL
Next up, Jericho vs. JBL. I'm happy that Jericho is back. I was was even happier when they stopped making him wear that sequined vest. Sorry... I know he was doing musicals and stuff, but that vest was 'way gay'. I'm just as happy that JBL is wrestling again, but I must say, I hate, and have always hated the rich tycoon angle. I had my hopes up when Bradshaw and Farooq/Ron Simmons (DAMN) ran in as A.P.A. to rescue Hornswoggle a few weeks back, but oh well. More of the same. The match started with lots of slow, back-and-forth action. Not a whole lot to report until Jericho ate ringpost through the turnbuckles. When he reappeared from the floor he had a gusher. Nice blading, Y2J. Throughout the match, Jericho looked great, but 'Holy Ring Rust, Bradshaw...'. Bradshaw totally blew the spot with Jericho's signature bulldog. Jericho went for the bulldog and JBL stayed put, then dove to the mat a second late. Way to phantom-bump, JBL. This screw-up elicited boos from the crowd, as well as from viewers such as myself at home. Jericho won the corwd back after the lionsault. Eventually the action spilled outside. The highlights of outside the ring action was Jericho's bloody faceprint on the ECW announce table, followed by an unblocked chairshot to JBL's head which ended the match (I was surprised by this. WWE frowns on head-chair contact. I guess Bradshaw was trying to make it up to the crowd for the blown spot). After the match, the action continued inside the ring with Y2J winging a chair from the apron across the ring into JBL's head... again, unblocked. Jericho then grabbed a cable and lynched JBL, using the top rope as a pulley while standing on the ECW table. Bradshaw's tongue hanged out like Umaga's. A bit oversold, JBL.

My WWE Diva Rant
Following this match was a promo with Ashley and Santino Marella, a continuation of the whole, 'Hi I'm Ashley and I need to speak to your girlfriend about posing in Playboy but you won't let me. I haven't mentioned her posing in Playboy, and the audience is too stupid to see this storyline unfolding again for the ump-teenth time' angle. This bring me to my first, of many rants, about the WWE divas. STOP. STOP THE DIVA STORYLINES. IF THEY CAN'T PERFORM IN THE RING, DON'T PUT THEM ON TV. WE'RE SO SICK OF T&A. Sorry... but I remember waaaay back in the day (hey, it's back in the day for me), with wrestlers like Wendi Richter, Lelani Kai and Moolah (and later Chyna and Lita) were on TV, they could actually wrestle. In this blogger's opinion, the only female wrestlers that should be on TV right now are Beth Phoenix and Victoria. So help me god, if I have to watch that annoying twit Mickie James blow one more spot...

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio
Following the promo, Edge vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight title. I don't have much to say about this match... I will, however comment on it's participants:
* Firstly, I don't really like Edge anymore. I haven't since the whole Matt/Lita/Edge fiasco. When I did like Edge, he was much more entertaining as a face. The Edge/Kurt angle rivalry was fantastic (Edge planted the seeds for Kurt's 'You Suck' era. Fantastic).
* Rey Mysterio... the whole concept of Rey being the World Heavyweight Champion is retarded. It was retarded the first time... and it's retarded now. the guy weighs less than 170 lbs. ...and Rey, if you are reading this (I know you aren't, no one is reading this), you can do amazing things. Please get some new moves. The 619 and (toned-down) West Coast Pop are tired.
* Hawkins/Ryder... I am liking this tag team. They have some great moves. It's unfortunate that WWE has hitched your wagon to the character of Edge.
* Vickie Guerrero. Vince, it was awesome of you to give Vickie a job after Eddie passed. Please give her an off-camera job. She's horrendous on the mic. If you won't take her off of the mic, please end the 'GM in a wheelchair' angle. It was dumb when we had to watch Kurt Angle, work the same angle.
Best highlight of the match: Rey 619-ing the back or Vickie's head while she and edge hug. Semi-blown spots: Rey's attempt of a Pete Rose slide to the outside to spinning DDT Edge outside the ring. this probably would have been awesome, if Rey's chest didn't stick to the mat like velcro. This, followed by Edge's labored attempt to same the move didn't come across well. At another point Rey tried to chest-stomp Edge from the atop the turnbuckle. Unfortunately Rey's feet slipped off of Edge's sweaty chest upon landing. Rey fall down, go boom.

Next up, an awesome promo with Ken Kennedy and Ric Flair... then Shawn Michaels, Trips and Dave Batista. Ken Kennedy is awesome. Some will argue with me, but I can see Ken Kennedy becoming the new Rock. Great showman... great on the mic... fun to watch. HBK arrives and shoos off Kennedy like only HBK can. I like HBK's Mic skills... almost always makes me laugh. It was funny to see Shawn Michaels tell Ric Flair that a loud mouth with platinum blond hair with catch phrase would fail. "That gimmick will never work!" HBK was the star of this promo. I only wish his in-ring skills entertained me as much. Like so many other Superstars... I get tired of seeing the same crap over and over every match. I realize some folks love it, I'm just not one of them. I want to see some innovation and evolution. Ric and Flair are soon joined by Triple H and Batista for a impromptu Evolution reunion, sans Orton, leaving HBK feeling 'awkward'.

Royal Rumble Kiss Cam. You've GOT to be kidding.
...and now, the first ever Royal Rumble kissing cam with Maria! WTF?!!! Are you serious? I know you guys needed to get her in the ring for the in-ring Playboy promo, but that's the best you came up with? Following the kissing cam garbage, Ashley comes out, followed by Santino (who brought a friend... in a burqa) to reveal the whole 'Maria's going to be in Playboy' announcement. God... who cares. The savior of this waste of time, was everyone's favorite: under the burqa was none other than Big Dick Johnson! Yay!

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
We have finally arrived at the moment that I, and everyone else, has been waiting for. Jeff Hardy winning the title. Time for a new kind of champ! Not so fast... With the major push the Jeff has been given... and all the dangerous spots they've had him pull in the past few weeks. Orton keeps the belt. I (and everyone else) should have known. Jeff is featured on the No Way Out graphic inside the elimination chamber, which is rumored to be a #1 Contender match. All in all though, this was a good match. No one sells dazed and stunned better than Randy Orton. I gasped as Orton's head snapped off the crowd barrier and was twisted at an unnatural angle. Orton won clean... which I didn't expect. Guess we'll have to see what Jeff will do in the Elimination Chamber. Lots of places for him to high-fly from.

Royal Rumble
I've rambled long enough... I'm not gonna describe the entire play by play for the Royal Rumble, but here are some of my favorite moments:
* Much to my shock (and I'm sure everyone else's) he #1 and 2 entrants were Undertaker and HBK.
* The #4 entrant was Khali. I laughed when all of MSG chanted 'You can't wrestle' at him.
* Tommy Dreamer was #6. He clotheslined John Morrison into a backflip. Shades of Bradshaw clotheslining Rikishi.
* The arrival of Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, and then Rowdy Roddy Piper. Everyone in the the ring seemed to stop and just watch them. Side note: Holy crap, Hot Rod. Please keep your shirt on!
* HBK and Taker went out before Miz & Morrison? What the Hell...
* Taker Leg dropping Snitsky on the Smackdown announce table. This sure would have been nice to see. Nice job, camera crew/control room. Camera work over all on the actual Rumble was not good.
* Hornswoggle eliminating Mike Miz. He hid under the ring the majority of the match until Mike Henry lifted him in. Just before Mike Henry and Big Daddy V killed him, Finlay ran in and saved him with the shilelagh. Finlay escorted Hornswoggle to the back. Note: Hornswoggle never was thrown over the top rope. We'll see if this gets addressed on Raw tonight.
* The #30 entrant was... I, like most, was expecting Big Show. The rumor mill suggested that Big show would be returning at the Rumble... but no. John Cena. Yay. Today's rumor mill suggests that WWE kept John Cena under wraps, even from those in the locker room. To be honest, Trips did look shocked when Cena's entrance song started playing (Cena was not supposed to return until after Wrestlemania due to his injury). aaaand.... I thought last night, that it looked like Trips was not supposed to go over the top rope. It looked to me like he was trying to stop from going out. He either sold it very well, or a different outcome was scripted than what actually happened.

I can't say that I'm happy that Cena is back. I preferred him as the rapper heel. I was on my couch, booing with every Cena punch, and yay-ing with every Triple H punch along with the rest of the audience.

Have I been too harsh in this entry? Probably. Can I do what pro wrestlers do? No way... but this is how I see it.