And because of that, my opinion of Raw and the first step in the road to WrestleMania is inflated.

Based on what happened at the Royal Rumble Sunday night and Raw last night, here’s where it looks like things are going for WrestleMania:

- John Cena vs. The Rock is the headliner of all headliners. However, since Rock is probably still a month away from being on a WWE show, the Kane vs. John Cena feud must continue. Kane attacked (sort of) Eve and told her that until John Cena embraces the hate, he’s going to continue punishing Zack Ryder and by proximity, her. Cena ran down to the ring and was more intense and violent than usual as he hit Kane with the steps a couple times and smiled. He’s also the worst Luke Skywalker of all-time. They are probably going to have a match at the Elimination Chamber, but the key to this will be to see if they turn John Cena full-on heel, or just amp up his violence. He’s going to be the heel against Rock at Mania anyway, so he might as well Stone Cold Steve Austin it up and wrestle as one. Of course, let’s hope he also doesn’t end up with Vince McMahon at the end of the night.

- The Undertaker vs. Triple H should be the semi-main. I didn’t understand this all that much. On the day after WrestleMania XXVII, HHH said he’d want to give it one more go ’round with Taker in 2012. So when the Undertaker came out, allowing Johnny Ace to live another day, HHH looked irritated and a bit disinterested. All of a sudden he doesn’t want to wrestle Taker? He came the closest to beating Taker at Mania than anyone ever has before and now, after Taker has been gone for a year and is seemingly injured beyond end, HHH has second doubts? Or is he showing pity for the Deadman? The match will be fantastic, but I didn’t like not understanding HHH’s reaction.

- CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho looks like it’s a go. And here’s why I didn’t like Sheamus winning last night. If the idea was that Jericho is facing Punk, shouldn’t he have been the one antagonizing the World or WWE Champion since he interfered in the match between the two champs anyway? And when he hit Punk with his Codebreaker, that could’ve been his decision. Of course, he could’ve gone to Smackdown and done the same thing to Bryan giving us a bit of a build up. Instead? We get the happy Irishman Sheamus who likes to say fella a lot. I like Sheamus, but his act seems midcard rather than top of the card. Which leads me to …

- Are we really getting Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan? But if Sheamus hasn’t chosen yet, and Jericho clearly wants Punk, does that narrow Sheamus’ choice down only to Bryan? If it were me, I’d have Randy Orton face Bryan because if anyone gives Bryan his comeuppance, it should be Orton, since he’s the most over guy on Smackdown. Unless the idea is to have the palest World Championship feud, I’m not too hot on this one. They’ll have a good match, but it doesn’t feel special at all. You could shove Orton in here as a three-way, but I don’t think it improves it much. And it looks like they may still be doing the Orton vs. Wade Barrett angle, even though Orton tossed him out of the Rumble like his name was Jey Uso.

They still have work to do. They already promoted that the Raw Elimination Chamber match is set and it’s CM Punk facing Chris Jericho (so early?), The Miz (who just lost to Kofi), R-Truth (a Rumble jobber), Ziggler (jobbed out to Orton) and Kofi who is now more famous for walking on his hands than anything else he’s done in his wrestling career. Because there’s really no stipulation to the match, the only storyline seems to be right now that Punk possibly loses his title to Jericho and has to regain it at WrestleMania.

I’m glad that we’re two months away and we already have the top three matches figured out and they should all be good. And maybe because the top three are strong for the show, they can take a chance with Sheamus and Bryan, or whoever has the title by then. I just worry that Sheamus’ Royal Rumble victory turns out to be unimportant. I’d hope not because it could kill the Royal Rumble stipulation.

We’ll see where they go next week!

The Royal Rumble was not a good show and we’ll talk about why. We discuss all the matches and go through the entire Royal Rumble, all the way down the the head-scratching conclusion.

Then, we discuss the second UFC On Fox show, which was also not as good as we’d hoped from an entertainment perspective, but seems to have done its job from a ratings perspective. We’ll go over all three fights and discuss where those fights should lead to.

We then talk about the build up to Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit, and preview the rest of UFC 143, which is this weekend. Lastly, I give a 30 second review of Gina Carano’s Haywire.

Thanks for listening.

Right click to download or stream below.

1. Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. The Big Show

The story of this match is that Daniel Bryan is a pinball and he’s bouncing around for Big Show and Mark Henry. Mark Henry couldn’t really do anything. He was not the world’s strongest man tonight. He could barely get his foot off the ground.

Bryan went to the top of the cage to try and leave, but the every so swift Big Show kept catching him. Big Show trapped Daniel Bryan’s arm and then also had him by his head so it looked like Bryan was hanging from the top of the cage, which was pretty cool. Show had a grip on him and Bryan was hanging from Show’s wrists, and finally let go and won the match.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Bryan did the “Yes” screams after the match. (Photo sent in by my friend Jenn who is there live.)

2. The Bellas, Natalya, and Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox, Eve, Kelly Kelly, and Tamina

Beth Phoenix tagged herself in by slapping one of the bellas pretty hard, immediately gave Kelly Kelly the Glam Slam for the win. Beth projects her character better than most of the dude wrestlers.

Winner: The Bellas, Natalya, and Beth Phoenix

3. John Cena vs. Kane

Your biggest star is used as the backdrop dor a terrible angle where Kane just keeps beating up Zack Ryder. The match was actually okay. Cena did a pretty sweet “You Can’t See Me” fist drop from the top rope.

They were both counted out and they brawled to the back. Earlier in the show, Zack Ryder was wheeled into the arena and Johnny Ace gave him a room to relax in. As they were brawling in the back, Kane found where Zack was, beat him up, brought him back to the ring and beat him up some more. For whatever reason, Cena was no where to be found. Eve was pleading with Kane, but to no avail. It was tombstone time. He was put on a stretcher and taken to the back.

Winner: No one (double count out)

And right after that brutal bullying, they ran an anti-bullying ad. Hmmm.

4. Drew McIntyre vs. Brodus Clay

And here we all thought that Drew was fired. He might as well be. Brodus with the squash.

Winner: Brodus Clay

5. Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk

It’s too bad that the Johnny Ace/CM Punk feud was given more importance than this match because it could’ve been so much better. It was still good. Lots of back and forth, but it was mostly hurt by the constant interfering by Ace. Punk had the match won a couple of times, but there was a ref bump and Ace was the ringside enforcer and wouldn’t count the pin. Punk had him up for a GTS and clipped Ace who was upset and wouldn’t count the pin again. Dolph hit the Fame Asser for a near fall. Punk hit the GTS again and Ace came in to help the referee count the pin. Odd finish.

Winner: CM Punk

6. Royal Rumble

Miz eliminated Riley fairly easily and now has to face Truth. Miz eventually eliminated Truth. Mick and Ricardo eliminated Gabriel. It looks like Mick is going to pair up with anyone and everyone. Santino gave Ricardo a wedgie before throwing him out. Foley and Santino did a socko vs. cobra stand-off. Epico was quickly socko’d out.

Cody tossed out Foley from behind. Lawler came out, hit the fist drop and was thrown out by Cody. Cody and Miz are cleaning up. The Great Khali comes back and immediately eliminates Khali and Big Zeke. No wonder Jinder hates him. Booker came in and only had a shirt and tie on. He must’ve been pantsless. Miz tossed out Kofi, but Kofi did a handstand so his feet didn’t hit the floor and he walked on his hands to the steps so he’s still in the match. Awesome. Duggan wasn’t long for this match. Cody and Miz are still running things.

Kharma, Booker, and Lawler eliminated Cole. Kharma press slammed Hunico out. After Kharma did her move on Ziggler, he threw her out. Sheamus tossed out Kofi. Barrett tossed out Road Dog. It was fun while it lasted. Orton tossed out Barrett like he was Jey Uso. He also threw out Jey Uso. Jericho didn’t run around the ring and slap fives with fans. He immediately eliminated David Otunga. Show eliminated Miz, Rhodes, and Ziggler.

Show, Jericho, Sheamus, and Orton are the final four. Orton eliminated Show and Jericho eliminated Orton. It’s Jericho and Sheamus. Holy crap. Sheamus won.

Winner: Sheamus

Entry order
1. The Miz
2. Alex Riley
3. R-Truth
4. Cody Rhodes
5. Justin Gabriel
6. Primo
7. Mick Foley
8. Ricardo
9. Santino
10. Epico
11. Kofi Kingston
12. Jerry Lawler
13. Big Zeke
14. Jinder Mahal
15. The Great Khali
16. Hunico
17. Booker T
18. Dolph Ziggler
19. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
20. Michael Cole
21. Kharma
22. Sheamus
23. Road Dogg
24. Jey Uso
25. Jack Swagger
26. Wade Barrett
27. David Otunga
28. Randy Orton
29. Chris Jericho
30. The Big Show

Elimination order
1. Alex Riley
2. R-Truth
3. Primo
4. Justin Gabriel
5. Ricardo
6. Epico
7. Santino
8. Mick Foley
9. Jerry Lawler
10. Jinder Mahal
11. Big Zeke
12. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
13. Booker T
14. The Great Khali
15. Michael Cole
16. Hunico
17. Kharma
18. Kofi Kingston
19. Road Dog
20. Jey Uso
21. Wade Barrett
22. David Otunga
23. Jack Swagger
24. The Miz
25. Cody Rhodes
26. Dolph Ziggler
27. The Big Show
28. Randy Orton
29. Chris Jericho

I’m talking the Royal Rumble. Two men enter the ring, and approximately two minutes later somebody else comes in. If you get tossed over the top rope and BOTH of your feet touch the floor, you’re eliminated. After 30 people (man, woman, rooster, tugboat, or mantaur) have entered the ring, the last person with both feet solidly in the ring gets a promise of a title shot at WrestleMania.

The Royal Rumble match itself usually lasts over an hour long, and has a cavalcade of gimmicks, feuds, and moments all rolled into one. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out FGB’s Royal Rumble Preview, of our writer’s Favourite Moments, Most Surprising Moments, and our pick for who’s going to win.

The 2012 Royal Rumble has a surprisingly strong undercard, with both the WWE and World Heavyweight Title being defended. Also John Cena will face off against “The Prophet of Hate” Kane in a match not unlike Professor Moriarty trying to convince Sherlock Holmes to join him, so they can rule London together. Because we’re all tired of the Star Wars references.

Oh, and I’m sure there’ll be a few other undercard matches that haven’t been announced yet.

Let’s run down this sucker match by match.

1. Random undercard match. Let’s say, I don’t know, Tag Team Champs Primo and Epico (WITH ROSA MENDEZ. THAT’S ROSA MENDEZ. DON’T FORGET ABOUT HER!) vs. The Uso’s, who will not try to blow themselves up with their entrance.

The Uso’s are the only “face” tag team in the WWE right now, as the tag team division is once again at a very low point. As a huge proponent of tag teams, I’m amazed the WWE isn’t using their wrestlers on Superstars or NXT as tag teams, even putting a veteran together with an up-and-coming rookie. But I digress. Primo and Epico are a no-name team that most people would probably confuse with Hunico and Camacho, wondering why they’re not riding out on their pimped-up bike. Anyways, the WWE is pushing the once-Beth Phoenix stalker Rosa Mendez as the star of the tag team, with her gyrating hips and other Spanish overtones. The Uso’s, as mentioned, are getting a shot because they’re like Logan Couture or Phil Kessel being picked last in the NHL All-Star team draft the last few years… they’re the only ones left.

WHO SHOULD WIN THIS MATCH THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN: If this match does happen, Team Mendez will find a way to win for the reasons listed above.

WHO WILL WIN THIS MATCH THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN: Team Mendez. Although I am dubious about this match coming on first, if it happens, as they may need to have it before the main event to give everybody a bathroom break.

2. John Cena vs. Kane

Inexplicably, this feud has started and continues, with Kane trying to get Cena to turn to the Dark Side. Cena is on his way to facing The Rock at Mania, and this stopgap of a feud is to what? Make the Miami fans boo him more than before? In the past few weeks, Kane has been getting deeper and deeper under Cena’s skin, making for some cringingly cheesy television. What has Kane to gain from this feud? If he wins the match, where does he go? A heel back to Smackdown to feud with the heel Mark Henry, who injured him in the first place?

WHO SHOULD WIN: John Cena, rising above the hate, facing down all his inner demons, having thrown down his lightsabre and refusing to strike down Darth Vader in front of the Emperor. Then somebody, let’s say Curt Hawkins (Zack Ryder’s former tag team partner), saves Cena from the lightening shooting from Kane’s hands, by throwing Kane down into an abyss. Of course, that will lead to a clone of Kane returning in the future, turning Cena to the Dark Side, with only the love of his friends being able to save him. What?

WHO WILL WIN: I have an inkling Kane will pull out a win here, as not to hurt him. He’s back with his mask and hair, he’s a big bad mofo, and he can’t afford to be knocked down a peg. Well, at least that’s the idea. I can see this match going into storyline mode where it doesn’t matter who ins in the first place.

3. WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler, with “Big Johnny” Laurinaitis as the special guest referee. Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger are banned from ringside due to referee incompetence.

So it’s come to this. CM Punk vs. the future of the WWE in Dolph Ziggler. In what should be a match focused strictly on wrestling ability, we have — once again — an authority figure who wants to take the title away from the champion. Because that storyline never gets old. Punk has held the title since November 20, after the WWE CHAMPIONSHIP BELT changed hands 8 times last year. EIGHT TIMES.

Ziggler is a future champion, needless to say, but hasn’t been given the chance to shine recently. His recent big wins, have come at the help of the “well meaning” Laurinaitis. Although Ziggler’s pinned Punk in recent weeks, he hasn’t looked like the man who deserved a title shot.

Most of the time, unless Daniel Bryan is on the card, Ziggler is going to have the best match of the night. If given enough time, and limiting shenanigans from Laurenaitis, this should be a good match. So yeah, at least the match will hopefully get some time.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Triple H fans, as Poochie returns to the camera to chew out Big Johnny. Oh, and CM Punk will probably pull out a win. But who cares about that? Poochie is returning to save us all! Okay, seriously, Punk got part one of his revenge against Laurinaitis by hitting his GTS on him on last week’s RAW.

WHO WILL WIN: CM Punk, with Dolph Ziggler’s credibility hopefully coming in a close second. However, with the return of Chris Jericho and his jacket, he’s promising an REM song at the Rumble. And that REM song, also covered by Newfoundland’s Great Big Sea, he could be referring to Punk, who’s calling himself the best wrestler in the world. It turns out that Jericho is the best in the world at what he does… and what he does now is wrestling.

4. World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. Big Show – Triple Threat Steel Cage match

In one of the most interesting storylines in the WWE today, the undeserving (but capable) champion Daniel Bryan will get his… uh… his comeuppance as he’s trapped in a cage with two huge men? Somehow it doesn’t look right when you read that sentence, but the Bryan character has made it work. He’s been a jerk, and ego maniac, and he made the Big Show cry. He made him cry! He even made the injured (shhh) Mark Henry “run” after him. What a jerk!

And now he’s stuck in stuck in a steel cage with these two monsters. Bryan has made his gradual heel turn work so well, we’re looking forward to seeing him get squashed. However, we then run into a Catch-22 situation. We want to see the Daniel Bryan character get his, but we don’t want to see him lose the title. If he loses to Big Show, then we’ll have some more big man matches down the road. If he loses to Henry, there’s a chance Young Randall Orton (shout-out to GG) will go on to get his win back against Henry… and I’m getting ahead of myself.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Young Daniel Bryan. His character is the freshest thing on Smackdown right now, and will be able to get a good match out of anybody, literally.

WHO WILL WIN: Unlike the Punk match, the result of this match is still a bit of a head-scratcher. Will the WWE realize what they have in Bryan and keep the title on him, or put the title on the bigger man? If Henry wins, it may come down to Randy Orton getting his revenge at WrestleMania. I’ll still pick Bryan here.

5. 30-Man Royal Rumble Match – Winner receives his choice of a WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXVIII, meaning Santino will once again, not win. Neither will anybody else whom the WWE doesn’t think belongs in the WrestleMania title match.

Participants: WWE has announced that, for the first time, “Every WWE superstar is eligible to compete in the Rumble match.” Which doesn’t mean that much. We do know, however, that Miz will be the #1 participant after losing to R-Truth on RAW last week. Otherwise, I haven’t seen any hints on who’s going to be returning.

As I mentioned previously, the Royal Rumble is my favourite match of the year, even though it doesn’t make sense for the WWE to give away a title shot. Of the 30 names, there’s only about three or four men who could possibly win, which in turn takes away part of the fun of the entire hour-long match.

This year is no different. We’re expecting the return of Randy Orton, who is a favourite to win. Why? Because he’s a big guy who won’t be going over the top easily? No. Because he’s just so good? No, not really. Because the Royal Rumble is in his home town? We’re getting closer. Because he’s one of the top stars who will probably get a title shot at WrestleMania due to his name and history? Ding ding!

Anyways, I digress. The best Rumbles were the ones in which the winner was a surprise. Rey Mysterio in 2006. ___________ (name retracted) in 2004. Even Undertaker in 2007, which probably had the best ending of any Rumble not featuring Ric Flair winning in 1992, as Taker finally eliminated Shawn Michaels to win.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Here’s what I wrote earlier: I’d like to see somebody like Sheamus win, as he’s been getting a good push. But I can’t see him facing either Punk or Bryan (if either of them are still champion) at Mania. Jericho is presumably going to be involved in the Punk/Ziggler match, causing them to eliminate each other in the Rumble match itself. I presume Orton will probably win, but as a fan I hope not. I’d also like to see Daniel Bryan win it, so he can challenge Punk in an effort to unify the titles (if he survives the cage match). Hell, Rock could be a surprise entrant and win.

WHO WILL WIN: (Check FGB’s predictions at http://fightgameblog.com/2012/01/2012-royal-rumble-preview-part-3/)

Fight Game Blog predicts either Chris Jericho or Randy Orton are going to win this year’s Rumble. Whereas neither would be a surprise, the idea of Jericho winning without having to do anything would have made for an ingenious spot at the Rumble.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
- Another spin-a-roonie?
- Dusty’s boys going at it
- Brodus Clay stealing the show
- Chris Jericho’s entrance taking over two minutes
- Random celebrity / oldtimer appearance who may be a former Rumble winner
- At least 4-5 minutes of “Who is that? No wait, who’s THAT?” as guys from NXT and Superstars make appearances
- A misunderstanding between Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger
- Young Randall Orton exacting some revenge on Wade Barrett
- SOCKO
- The world will end (re: Chris Jericho)

FINAL THOUGHTS

FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!

BZZZZT!

Here’s hoping the Rumble will have each wrestler come out every two minutes and not 90 seconds as in random previous years. This is the kind of match I don’t want to end.

However, this card is strong even without the Rumble, as both title matches should be ones to go out of your way to see.

Now go watch the show with some friends, and make sure you do your Rumble drawings. I came THIS close to winning last year as I drew Santino Marella.

I’m sure this year I’ll probably get Hornswaggle.

Now, we’ll go through who we think is going to win. In our most recent edition of FGB Radio, Jason and I broke down who had a chance to win and who didn’t. We decided that there were really only a few guys who could realistically win the match (Jericho, Orton, Barrett, and Sheamus), unless there was a complete surprise winner. WWE TV has recently been pushing that everyone is eligible to join the Rumble, but they haven’t really said what that means. In the early years, everyone was eligible, including champions, so I’m not sure what the big deal is.

I’m going to guess that this means CM Punk and Daniel Bryan can be in the match even if they are still champs. I don’t really see what good that would do being that the stipulation is still that the winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania. The only way a current champion winning makes sense is if they want to go back to having one undisputed champion and I don’t see that happening.

Possible wrestlers returning at the Rumble may be Alberto Del Rio and Christian, just based on them being on the WWE Superstars page. I’m not sure who can be a “surprise” these days.

Alan: I’m really thinking it’s Jericho. We’ve had 29 men enter the Rumble, there’s 4 guys left – Wade Barrett, Sheamus, and two others. The two others get eliminated by Wade and Sheamus. Then those two start battling it out – hell for leather. The clock comes up for No. 30. The countdown starts: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. They are beside the ropes, going at it. 5. Sheamus hits a big clothesline and both men go over. 4. It’s ruled that BOTH are eliminated. 3, 2, 1 – BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! BREAK THE WALLLLS DOWWWWWN!!!! Jericho makes his big spectacular entrance, jacket a-glowing and he walks to the ring as the WINNER of the Rumble without having to touch anyone. It would be unforgettable.

Duan: I’m also leaning towards Jericho as winner. I was actually saying to my brother on Tuesday it would be good if they brought back Rikishi as a surprise entrant. I expect Foley to be in there as well. Not sure if that constitutes a surprise or not though.

Don: I’d like to see somebody like Sheamus win, as he’s been getting a good push. But I can’t see him facing either Punk or Bryan (if either of them are still champion) at Mania. Jericho is presumably going to be involved in the Punk/Ziggler match, causing them to eliminate each other in the Rumble match itself. I presume Orton will probably win, but as a fan I hope not. I’d also like to see Daniel Bryan win it, so he can challenge Punk in an effort to unify the titles (if he survives the cage match). Hell, Rock could be a surprise entrant and win.

Big D: Randy is the winner IMO.

GG: Before they put him in the title match, I thought Dolph Ziggler winning would be perfect. But now, I don’t think that’s happening. (Cody Rhodes would be excellent too, but they don’t have the balls to give it to him.)

Even though there are many scenarios going around, I think it falls to two guys; Jericho and Young Randall Orton. Orton has the home town crowd and I would imagine he would get a pretty unforgettable pop if he’s booked to win the right way. I think if Jericho wins, it will be in some smarmy way. I’m going to lean towards D and say Orton, though Jericho hasn’t ever won the match before and it’d be nice to see him win one.

Over the weekend, Cadillac Don will post his Royal Rumble preview, listing every match on the show and giving you his thoughts on what may happen.

Alan: HBK returning into the ring and eliminating Davey Boy. Was crushed by it as a kid. I was like “NOOOOO!!! This can’t happen!”

Duan: Vince McMahon’s win in 1999. Even at the height on Russo’s madness, I never envisioned Vinny Mac winning the Rumble. Then again, I never envisioned him being ECW champion either, so maybe it’s just a Vince thing. I fully bought Santino as a potential winner last year, but not McMahon in 99. I’m still stunned. I just googled it now to make sure it actually happened.

Don: I’d have to go with the return of John Cena at the 2008 Royal Rumble. It’s not too often that I’m surprised by anything in wrestling these days, so when it caught me off-guard I rather enjoyed it. It was apparent he was going to win as soon as he came out, but I still rewound that sucker 2-3 times to watch the crowd reaction.

Big D: Definitely Cena’s comeback. No question. I watched that in the living room and was like “WHAT?” “WHAT!?!?!?!” Then I cursed out Scherer and Meltzer for not telling me.

GG: I have to agree with Don and Big D. Nothing these days about John Cena will ever surprise any of us, unless he turns heel. And then people will say, “I knew it all along.” But when he won that Royal Rumble, it may have been the last time I was truly “surprised” and had no clue was going to happen. We were worried that he wouldn’t be at WrestleMania and low and behold he shows up at the Rumble. That dude is tough, no matter how stale his character may be.

In this first part, I asked the FGB crew about their favorite Royal Rumble moments ever.

Here are the memories:

Alan: Benoit winning in 2004. Sure it’s been tainted by non-wrestling stuff but at the time it happened I was over the moon. It was such a well crafted Rumble from beginning to end, and the finish by taking over Big Show with the guillotine was incredible. I remember really not wanting Goldberg to win and freaking out when Brock caused him to get eliminated.

Duan: Austin’s entrance in 1998. If I was to point to the one time when I was most invested in the WWE product, it would probably be that first quarter of 1998. Stone Cold had picked fights with pretty much everybody in WWE leading up to the Rumble. Watching the packed ring fall deathly still as Austin’s music hit, and he prepared to face down his ten on one odds, was one of the most tense moments the company ever created.

Cactus Jim: The show where the Rock just bashed the shit out of Foley with unprotected chair shots. That was pretty memorable.

Don: 5. Bushwhacker Luke power-walking down to the ring, climbing inside, getting tossed out by Warlord, then doing his power-walk to the back.
4. Mr. Perfect’s return, complete with the swatting of the gum.
3. CM Punk cutting promo after promo in the middle of the Rumble.
2. Hogan/Warrior stare-down. Compare the crowd noise to the apathy of the 2011 crowd noise when Cena and Orton had their stare-down.
1. Demolition Ax is #1. Demolition Smash is #2. Awesomeness ensues.

Big D: 5. Mr. Perfect’s return in 2002
4. Foley in 2004 replacing Test
3. Cena’s return in 2008 with the huge pop at #30
2. Diesel stiffing Virgil and murdering the entire roster in 1994
1. Ric Flair and Bobby Heenan’s commentary in 1992

GG: There have been some tremendous Royal Rumble moments. But if I were to rank one on top of all the rest, it would have to be the 1992 Royal Rumble. Back then, I was almost sure that Ric Flair was going to enter early and stay late. But I was still counting on the Hogan/Flair moment to set it off. Instead, it was Flair vs. everyone. Watching that match back, there were so many memorable wrestlers in the match that I’d never seen Flair in the ring with whether it was Tito Santana, the British Bulldog, or Jake Roberts. It just seemed surreal to see the NWA icon in a WWF battle royal. And Bobby Heenan’s commentary just made it that much better. Be fair to Flair. Heenan turning on wrestlers during the match who were helping Flair earlier and then beating him up after. Just tremendous stuff. It’s my favorite booked Royal Rumble ever.

If you haven’t seen that 1992 Royal Rumble, someone put the entire thing on YouTube. You can watch below.

We recorded the show very soon after my beloved San Francisco 49ers lost in the NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants so we talk about football for the first few minutes, but quickly thereafter, we segue into talking about the top three fights on the 2nd UFC on Fox show, which is this weekend. We talk about Sonnen vs. Bisping being a true number one contender’s fight, Weidman being thrusted into the spotlight, and the funny circumstances between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones.

We then discuss the 2012 edition of the Royal Rumble which is also this weekend. We talk about the few guys who actually have a chance to win the Rumble and wonder if there’s a secret guy out there who we’re missing. We talk Punk/Johnny Ace and how Dolph Ziggler is kind of just a third wheel in the angle as well as Daniel Bryan and how he’s doing as champion.

Lastly, we talk about the heavily rumored rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, going through most of the possible guys who Pacquiao could even fight.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Right click to download or stream below.