Take up thy wrestling boots and walk 100 v.2 - The YBTB Rumble Conclusion
Submitted by Pt2 on Saturday, January 29, 2005 at 6:36 PM EST





Welcome everybody to part 2 of the column that you either read (or didn’t bother to read) part one of.

Now that the fanfare is all out of the way, lets get down to the real YBTB business. Before I go any further though, I’d like to once again thank Tinaali for her work in helping me write this column, and remind readers that she doesn’t actually hate anyone she takes shots at in the commentary - except maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’d also like to thank Davey Boy, Sheepster, Valley Boy and Billy Arceneaux for helping me with the judging, and last but by no means least, the 30+ guys who were interested enough to enquire about this whole thing in the first place, because without them, none of this would have happened and I would have had to have come up with something else for my 100th column. So, thanks to you all. And now, moving swiftly on.

We started with 18. There’s now four guys left. We’ve seen some major league scalps, and several take up readers have outscored LOP mainstays and manage to hang in there right to the end. Left standing, we have TUTWBAW fan Malenko-1000, Mr. Warren, and LOP forums columnists Y2Xavier and Random Guy 5. In case anyone is interested, 2 of these were marked by the same judge, while two different judges marked the other two. Also for the record, I didn’t mark any of the top 4. These are all from my guest judges. I’d like to bear in mind then, that Pt2, the author of this column, has had absolutely no input into the scoring of the scenario’s you are about to read.

Before we get to their answers though, here is the challenge I set, in the original words, to all competitors. As you can see, it is by no means easy.

The day before the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton, the man the company wants to win, quits the WWE, defecting to TNA to begin a feud with Raven. This is big news. The WWE can’t let TNA score such a massive hit, unless they want another all out war.

Vince McMahon has summoned all his writers together to find the best recovery plan. He announces that by the next PPV 4 weeks away, they need to have created a face over enough to face HHH. Vince brushes away the initial suggestions of using Michaels or Benoit, saying that he wants a fresh match and HHH has faced the two of them several times before.

He also says that he has been in negotiations with AJ Styles, and can bring him in - in time for him to debut at the Rumble as necessary. But he only will if he will be used prominently.

So, what Vince wants from you is: A scenario creating a main event competitor to take on Triple H at Wrestlemania. You must get him over in 5 shows (the first of which must be the Royal Rumble, where they must take part in the Rumble match), without exposing him to Triple H too much, thus ruining the Wrestlemania main event. You cannot use Michaels or Benoit. You may use only members of the WWE, or AJ Styles in your Scenario. If using Smackdown! characters in this, you must explain their switchover to RAW within your 500 words. The serious build up of star vs. HHH will begin after the 5 weeks. You must make your this new challenger look main event in your shows, and just start sewing the seeds against Hunter.



As a reminder, the competitor with the highest score returns, to take on Xanman, in a months time, here on LOP. Lets take a look at those top 4 columns, in Alphabetical order:

Malenko-1000: An hour into the Rumble PPV, HHH enters the ring with Evolution. He explains that neither roster has a champion like himself, and that the business has finally evolved into Evolution at the top forever with his top spot and Flair and Batista second. Batista stops taunting the crowd, staring at HHH. When HHH realizes this, Vince’s music plays and he enters the ring. Vince tells HHH that no one wants to see the same old dirty tactics that Evolution used before. His New Year’s Resolution is that wrestling continues to evolve.
Backstage, HHH wants Batista protecting Evolution; Batista says he is ready for a Mania title shot.
After the 12th entry, Christian, Reigns, Simon, Viscera, Benoit, and Rhyno are in the ring. At 13, the buzzer rings without music. The word “Impact” flashes and A.J. Styles’ music hits. He eliminates Reigns, then 450’s Christian. Viscera lifts him, but he counters with a reverse DDT. He then counters a Gore into a Styles Clash and eliminates Rhyno. He confronts Simon, but Simon leaves. He and Benoit alone, they grapple for two minutes.
The Final four are Benoit, Cena, Batista, Styles. Cena F-Us Benoit out then tries the 5-Knuckle Shuffle, but Batista rises and powerbombs him out. As Batista and Styles grapple, Batista lifts him for a powerbomb, but Styles counters into a hurricanrana. As Batista staggers up, Flair runs down and coaches Batista on the Apron. Styles missile dropkicks Batista sending him over, into Flair, and out. As Styles Celebrates, Triple H emerges on the stage. The announcers comment that Evolution may be seeing the evolved.
Next night, Bischoff comes to the ring questioning whether Styles is the new era of wrestling. He books a Gauntlet Match for Styles where Bischoff will draw five names. Styles defeats Maven, Christian, Tomko, then Snitsky with a 450. Then comes Flair. Styles counters a figure-four into a Styles Clash for the win.
Next week, Styles is met by Batista in the ring. Their match will decide who is the future. Bischoff informs them that the future will be determined in a steel cage. The finish sees Styles with a dropkick from the cage top. Attempting an escape through the door, HHH runs down and dismantles Styles as Raw goes off-air.
Next Raw starts in Evolution’s locker room. HHH is ecstatic because Bischoff booked a Flair/Batista vs. Benoit/Styles submission match. Ric likes the match; Batista tells HHH that true champions fight any type of match.
In the Match, Benoit uses the sharpshooter and Crossface on Batista, but Batista powers out. After a spinebuster, Batista puts a Crossface on Styles, but Styles counters to the figure-four and Batista taps.
Finally, we get Benoit/ Jericho/Styles against Evolution. It comes down to Styles and HHH, but as they are about to go, Hassan, feuding with Jericho, attacks Styles. The entire locker room empties with a brawl leaving only Styles and HHH in the ring. JR alludes to a battle between the present and future at Wrestlemania.

Good show there from Malenko-1000, easy to see why the native of New Jersey did so well. Now, we move on to he next alphabetically, who is… Mr. Warren, of Great falls, South Carolina.

Mr. Warren: Challenger: Ric Flair

Rumble:
First match is Charlie Haas goes over big. Later in the card you see Flair and HHH walking to the ring for HHH’s match they run in to Haas, HHH wisecracks and keeps walking while Flair stops and says how much he liked his match. HHH's match is before the Rumble this year and it’s against Jericho. Flair gets on the apron and throws Trips a chair, HHH swings, Jericho ducks and strikes Flair, busts Flair open, HHH hits Jericho and retains the title. Rumble match starts, AJ enters at #15 with only Shelton being in the ring who AJ eliminates, final 4 Batista, Eddy, #30 a busted open Ric and Cena, Cena is eliminated by Ric and Batista, Eddy Eliminates Batista, and Flair eliminates Eddy after 5 mins. by himself.

1st RAW:
HHH walks in on Evolution looking pissed and is laughing that the plan had worked and he doesn't have to face anyone at Mania. Flair yells about the chair shot the night before; HHH says that flair needs to remember who is in charge. After the break you see Flair in Bischoff’s office with Eric saying the trade that Ric was talking about before the camera came on would be great and he will start working on it only if Ric will have a match and put up the #1 contendership, he agrees. Jericho enters and ask for a rematch for the title in 2 weeks that is granted, then AJ enters who says he is owed a shot at the IC title witch Bischoff says is next, AJ wins to IC title which showing how high TNA's favourite son can get.

2nd Raw:

Show starts with Ric running in to AJ, Ric says that AJ impressed him with the IC win, HHH walks up and rips in to AJ and ask Ric what is up with the match he agreed to; Ric tells HHH to trust him, Ric Vs. Snitsky, Ric wins but is busted open after the match with only Batista coming to help.

3rd Raw:
Ric gets in HHH face asking why he didn't come help during last nights match. HHH says he was to busy and he didn't know that he had to baby-sit Flair, later on that night the Title match, HHH wins and Evolution comes down to celebrate but then turn on HHH and make it clear that Evolution is over

4th Raw:

HHH is shown arriving alone, running in to his dressing room and locking the door. AJ wins a rematch for the IC title. Candace knocks on HHH's door in the middle of the show saying that after the next two matches Bischoff wants to see him in the ring. Matches pass and the two are in the ring when Flair appears saying that HHH will not face Flair the Legend, he will face Flair the leader of the new 4horsemen, Batista, Charlie Hass and Styles come out wearing the 4H shirts.



Well, the grammar may be dodgy, and it’s a little difficult to read because of it, but I’ve fixed it up the best I can, and it’s a decent read - I think our judge may have been a bit of a mark for the Horseman angle this time out! Either way, I can see that it is solid booking, even if I don’t think it’s world beating… but then, it’s not my opinion that counts, that’s why we have the judges.

Next up, it’s the former YBTB champion, Random Guy#5.

RG5: The third entry is counting down in the Royal Rumble, and that
infamous Ric Flair music hits. JR is quick to point out that in 1992,
it was the number three spot that Ric entered in and won the Rumble.
Upon entering, he immediately tosses the number one entrant Dan Puder.

The Rumble match sees an odd development, as Batista seems to be
protecting Flair more than himself. JR announces the man to replace
Orton as AJ Styles promptly eliminates Eddie and Booker with some
highflying maneuvers.

Flair runs into the final four before being heaved out by Kane, who
promptly gets tossed by an angry Batista seeking revenge. An
opportunistic AJ wins the Rumble by taking advantage of Batista's
aggressiveness and catching him with a perfect Pele kick, knocking
Batista over the top rope.

A joint show the night after Rumble sees Cena give props to Flair as
"old school" and a confrontation between Angle and AJ occurs, as AJ
will take on the new SD champion at Wrestlemania. In a back room, we
see Batista and Flair looking at footage of the Rumble as Batista says
it should have been Ric, because he deserves one last shot. Flair wins
a match against Hurricane, who nearly had his legs broken in the
figure four. Hurricane shows respect to the surprise of Flair after
the match.

The next episode, Flair is again backstage this time watching footage
from his days in WCW against Sting. Chris Benoit walks in, watching
out for the rest of Evolution over his shoulder. He says that back in
WCW, Ric Flair would have done anything to win that title, that's why
he's the "dirtiest player in the game". Flair orders him out and
challenges him to a match, which he later wins with brass knuckles,
proving Benoit right.

Raw, week three, its HBK finding Flair this time watching footage from
his first Title win in WWF. He talks about how he used to look up to
Flair, and how he knows about the pressure of running with HHH. But if
he had to spend the twilight of his career as a lackey, he'd retire
today. He tells Flair that he's better than this. HBK leaves and HHH
walks in moments later. Flair seems preoccupied watching the screen
while HHH jokes about the good ole days and is still paranoid about
Batista.

Early in week 4, we see Batista and Flair come out of Bischoff's
office. Bischoff announces that at Wrestlemania, it will be HHH
against another Evolution member. H attacks Batista at the end of the
show, and Flair rushes to the ring to seemingly assist H with brass
knuckles in hand, only to swerve the champion! As HHH scampers away,
Bischoff comes out and tells us that its not Batista he'll be fighting
at 'Mania, it's the 16-Time World Champion, Ric Flair! The show closes
with a smiling Batista backing an angry Flair, staring up the ramp at
a shocked HHH.


Another Ric Flair scenario. Seems that our competitors and judges alike go for the idea of a nostalgic run being the best counter to the defection of Randy Orton. Anyway, this is pretty damn solid too, and doesn’t risk the wrath of the IWC by trotting out another Horseman incarnation.

And so finally, we move on to Y2Xavier, author of “The Xaviator” in the LOP columns forum….

Y2Xavier: Triple H, the World Heavyweight Champion, successfully defends his title against the number one contender coming into the Rumble.
Entering at #11 in the Rumble, Chris Jericho is able to outlast all competitors and win the Royal Rumble.

RAW Week 1

Triple H speaks about how glad he is to still be the World Heavyweight Champion and also how pleased he is that Chris Jericho who won the Royal Rumble. Triple H claims that he is more than happy to face Jericho at Wrestlemania, because, he has never lost to Jericho despite their past.
Jericho appears and says that if Hunter isn’t afraid of him, then why not have a match tonight! Eric Bischoff appears and instead gives Jericho a chance to prove his worth in a Submission-Only match against Ric Flair next week.

RAW Week 2

Chris Jericho appears with the Jeritron and his guest for the Highlight Reel, Triple H. Jericho questions Triple H on his comments from last week how he thinks that he is guaranteed to win a Wrestlemania. Triple H talks about how he has beaten the best of the best in the business and believes that Jericho isn’t of that caliber.
Jericho mentions that he was the first ever Undisputed Champion. Triple H, cockily asks Jericho who it was who ended that title reign. Jericho begins to infuriate Hunter by questioning his ability as a wrestler and such. Hunter turns on Jericho and begins to beat up his leg with the help of Evolution.

During the match, Jericho is able to fight through the pain of several Figure-four locks despite his injured legs and shows his toughness and grit as a wrestler. Eventually, Jericho is able to make Flair tap out to the Walls of Jericho.

RAW Week 3

Following Flair’s loss, Triple H begins to worry about Jericho and feels that he may have underestimated him.

Chris Jericho cuts an emotional promo speaking about what he has achieved in his career from IC to Undisputed title victories, yet he still feels unfulfilled. He says that beating Triple H ‘Final Frontier’ as a wrestler. He says that at Wrestlemania 18, Triple H took everything away from him and at Wrestlemania 21; he is going to do the same to Triple H.

RAW Week 4

Bischoff opens the show and announces the Main Event for RAW, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit Vs Triple H and Ric Flair in an Elimination Tag Match.

During the match, Chris Benoit is the first eliminated by a Pedigree from Triple H.
Despite the odds Jericho is able eliminate Flair with an Enziguri/Lionsault combo.

Jericho and Triple H begin to stare each other down before getting it on. Jericho is on top of Triple H until Flair interferes and Triple H capitalizes and Pedigrees Jericho for the pinfall.
Jericho is irate and throws Flair out of the ring before putting Triple H in the Walls of Jericho. The show closes with a menacing looking Jericho standing over Triple H.


It seems that Xavier has chosen to capitalise on the notable past between Hunter and Jericho, and the undeniable fan base that Chris Jericho has, both on and off the Internet. Logically, Jericho is probably a good choice, although with the Wrestlemania X-8 match between the two being a lasting memory it may put people off. Obviously didn’t put our judge off though, and reading it, I can see why.


So, there you have it: Those are the top 4, and now all the talking is done. It’s time to find out who scored what, who won the 2005 YBTB Royal Rumble Challenge and will go on to face Xanman.

And the final scores are:

Malenko-1000: 92%
Mr. Warren: 91%
Random Guy#5: 93%
Y2Xavier: 90%

And so with that, it seems the experience advantage that Random Guy had coming into this thing has given him the edge over TUTWBAW fan Malenko-1000, whose valiant effort of 92% earned him second place. Those scores show you how competitive this thing was, and how close everybody came to winning - I guess the luck of the draw clinched it.

Many of the scenario’s in the rumble scored highly - and the lower scoring efforts usually did good booking, but didn’t answer the question particularly well, a hazard that has killed peoples chances before now. I think if a lot of the guys in the top half of the field were to perform as well in a title match, they could give their opponent (whether it’s Xan or Random, depending on the result) a solid run for their money.

Well, that was my 100th column. I hope y’all liked it. It’s pretty much time to bring this one to a close, but before I do, there’s time for some plugs:

DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu
The Winter Memmy Awards, by Valleyboy, in the LOP columns forum
The 50th edition of the Nosebleed section by Rumble Winner Random Guy5
The “I have a dream” edition of “Enter the Dream Realm” from Rumble entrant and soon to be 3-time CotM winner, Morpheus
Sheepster’s Under the Fleece
YBTB Champion, Xanman’s column, The Northern Star

And much more of the great talent here at LOP.

Once again, thank you to all who played a part in this column, and thank you to those who read it. Congratulations to Random Guy for coming out on top out of a great bunch of challengers, and hopefully, here’s to another 100 columns.

If you’d like to comment on the YBTB royal rumble, you can reach people at the following addresses:

Pt2 or any competitors: Takeupthywrestlingboots@gmail.com
DaveyBoy: Daveyboy123@bigpond.com
Sheepster: Sheepster5000@yahoo.co.uk
Valleyboy: ValleyboyLOP@hotmail.com
Billy Arceneaux: Jaba4017@aol.com
Tinaali: womenarefromlop@hotmail.com

We regret to inform that no e-mail address is available for Todd Pettengill, Kevin Kelly, or Howard “The Fink” Finkel.

That’s it. You can sleep now. If your still with me at this point, I’d like to thank you, because the official word count for this column is 12231. Thanks for sticking with it. Things will be back to normal around here from now on, and Random will face Xan, coming soon.

Until then

Take up thy wrestling boots and walk.

Pt2.











*NEW GALLERY* The WWE SD & RAW Divas PARTYING in a CLUB! WOW!

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