WWE did their last-ever show at the IZOD Center Saturday night, with the same lineup as the night before. Nothing special to mark the occasion. They could have at least have had Cena or someone say thanks for all the years WWE's run there. I guess everyone was worried about getting to Philly for the Rumble.
In a correction to a previous story, while Layla did undergo a surgery recently, it wasn't due to an in-ring injury. Nevertheless, there's no timetable for her return. Hopefully she doesn't end up as the next Tamina as far as being out for an eternity.
WWE has released Justin Gabriel. As far as I know, this isn't a cost-cutting move. Given how Gabriel had basically been working the undercard and jobbing in NXT, he might have been frustrated with the lack of upward mobility and decided to go somewhere else. He always did good work, even if it flew under the radar. He'll be missed.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Vince McMahon tweeted about The Rock being in Philadelphia before the Royal Rumble. I hope his appearance boosted PPV/Network buys, because there could be some real fallout going forward.
Triple H will be Steve Austin's guest on a podcast after Raw February 2. That should be really cool. I hope it helps the Network.
Randy Orton was in Philadelphia, but obviously not in the Royal Rumble. I'm not sure why not. I guess they wanted all the focus on Reigns. I'm curious to see what Orton's doing at WM31.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Ahh, December to Dismember. The lowest buyrate WWE has ever drawn for a PPV, sandwiched between two other PPVs WWE cared a lot more about and barely having anything announced for the show. The PPV that showed off the weird amalgam of what was left of ECW and people WWE didn't know what to do with. The PPV that led to Heyman leaving WWE, and two ECW originals asking for their releases. There were some good performers there (Punk, The Hardys, MNM), but most of the show was pretty lacking. I can't say there's much disagreeing with their assessment.
2. I don't think it's going to happen unless Brock drops the title. I think Brock vs. Roman is what we're in for unless there's a big fan uprising. Even then, I don't know if Brock vs. Rock is a real possibility.
3. That's a really vague question. I assume it's a reference to how they've been booked. Honestly, Rowan's still rough around the edges. I don't see him not being pushed as a big waste. Wyatt and Harper are the two with big futures (hopefully).
4. I also miss qualifying matches. They could have had Titus beat El Torito or something to get in the match, and that kind of thing. That said, I do think it limits WWE creatively when they have people lose qualifying matches, given how they book somewhat last-minute now. Part of the fun of the Rumble is the unpredictability of who will actually be in it, so just having some names announced is mostly fine by me. I do think something needs to be done to address how someone actually gets in the Rumble in kayfabe. Why was Boogeyman able to come back and take the spot of someone who's actually on the roster? Does the Board of Directors handle it all or something? It's never really mentioned how someone can just announce they're entering the Rumble and they're just in it. Maybe you have to file some paperwork or something...
5. I can't wait to see him on the main roster as either "Red Baron Corbin" or something else completely different from what he's doing in NXT. I like what I've seen so far, but he's just been in short squash matches. It's going to take more time and work for him to be in consideration to actually be a long-term investment for WWE.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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