Tons of Rumble news, from Meltzer
--Lots of stuff coming out of the Rumble. Most of the talk coming out relates to the reaction that both Kevin Nash and Booker T received, which blew away every one else on the show (we did get live reports who said Cena and Booker both had the loudest reaction followed by Nash, but nobody else close). Booker signed a long-term deal but was slated to be a manager who did some wrestling and coaching, but he may get a run out of this because he can still go. Nash was only scheduled for a short-term, but they were open to doing business with him as a possible trainer or coach but not in the ring. Based on crowd reaction, both may get a little run out of things. As TV is being rewritten, their roles tonight will probably give a good clue as if there are any substantive plans for both. We have heard a few ideas thrown around for Booker with main-level guys.
--With only three weeks between shows, they're going to have to build the Elimination Chamber matches tonight and tomorrow, perhaps with matches to determine who goes in.
--Awesome Kong was backstage at the show but not used. She is set to debut imminently.
--David Hart Smith and Darren Young were the two guys announced for the Rumble that were not on the show. Neither were there but they were not scheduled in the match. Both were told earlier in the week they had been taken off the show. Smith is in Providence tonight so may appear in a Superstars match or on Raw, more likely the former.
--Tonight's TNA Impact tapings are also noteworthy as the Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy title match is scheduled tonight. The original plans, as of last week, was for this match to build for a ladder match at the Against All Odds PPV on 2/13. Ric Flair being or not being on television will tell the tale of his future with the company. We had only heard during the week that they wanted him back to finish the European swing because the tour was built around his name and that a decision would be made about his future after they got home.
--The idea of "They" being the revival of the Main Event Mafia looks to be dropped. It now may be a collection of babyfaces working together. Bobby Lashley is not booked on the show nor does he have any deal to come in.
--We got tons more feedback on the Rumble last night than the last few years. It was also the biggest day on our site since Cain Velasquez's win over Brock Lesnar in October. There is usually a correlation with feedback and buys and it may indicate a surprisingly high number. However, on Google trends last night, Rumble was not showing much interest. There is nothing regarding the Rumble today, and even right after the show there was nothing. A few hours later, there was Booker T at No. 17 but the NFL Pro Bowl had a lot more response. It was trending on twitter, but almost every Monday there is WWE stuff trending on twitter, and Tyler Reks a few weeks ago was trending on twitter so I'm still pretty skeptical of what that means.
--As noted last night, the changing of the Divas match was not a last minute thing. The T-shirts at the show listed it as the four-way that took place in the ring and not the handicap match advertised. (thanks to Scott Isaacs and others)
--Some more notes from Boston live from Matt Cail. C.M. Punk was over big with the live crowd. Lots of chants for Dolph Ziggler. Fans very much into Punk vs. Daniel Bryan.
--From Scott Isaacs, Rick the Sign Guy in the front row was surrounded by fans with "We Hate Sign Guy" signs. He also noted crowd was dead for Orton vs. Miz until Nexus came out. He said that Alex Riley and Michael Cole were high-fiving after Riley interfered in the Orton vs. Miz match. Cole jumped up and down in celebration when Miz scored the pin. Very funny. There were also fans dressed as Roddy Piper, Sgt. Slaughter, Iron Sheik, Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Paul Bearer and the Road Warriors.
--Although a number of people have confirmed the Super Luchas story of Mistico signing with WWE, CMLL's press officer Sandra Granados released a statement denying the story.
--MVP's debut with New Japan Pro Wrestling on 2/20 in Sendai was actually covered today on the TMZ.com web site.
The reason was they had to work through a lot of red tape because of MVP's conviction for kidnapping and armed robbery and difficulty getting him a Visa to work in Japan. TMZ said he's agreed to wrestle there for one year.
--WWE Classics is airing an NWA telecast from 1987 where John Laurinaitis is Johnny Ace as The Sheepherders flag boy. (thanks to David Kaplan)
--The reason there was so much confusion in commentary regarding Alex Riley is that he was not supposed to go out when he did. He was supposed to hang on when thrown over, which is why the announcers were asking about him after he had been eliminated and didn't call his elimination.
--I don't know this as a fact, but as Kevin Nash as Diesel was getting up, one of the referees told him something. He then did the stare down spot with Big Show, so that may have been a backstage audible based on him being so over and trying to do something for him.
--Nash wrote that the response last night was the high point of his career and thanked everyone for it. "Absolutely the best night of my wrestling career. It's so nice to be back in WWE family. Thanks Boston for making me feel so special."
