WWE DVD Review: Royal Rumble 2013

The Royal Rumble has always been a highlight of the WWE's Pay-Per-View calendar. The main event featuring 30 wrestlers battling it out for a shot at main eventing WrestleMania that year, has always been a piece of must-see grapple action. This year the company began the 'Road to WrestleMania' with not only a top notch Rumble encounter, but a highly anticipated and exciting WWE Championship Title match too.

That match saw WWE legend The Rock return to the fold once again. This time he had the intention of dethroning the companies longest (modern era) reigning champ CM Punk. This match is worth the price of the disc alone. Punk and Rock gelled well and once again the Hollywood movie star proved that he can indeed still kick it in the squared circle. The result is of course well-known by now, but the match is a hugely enjoyable affair all round.

The Rumble saw some excellent encounters. There were a few nostalgic appearances by former stars and some innovative and edge-of-the-seat action. Kofi Kingston pulled off yet another innovative return to the ring as well.

The rest of the card saw Alberto Del Rio defend his World Title against Big Show in a highly rated Last Man Standing match-up. Team Hell No battle Team Rhodes Scholars for the WWE Tag Team gold and Antonio Cesaro in a United States Title defence, facing The Miz.

Royal Rumble 2013 was a very impressive show. The main event and Rumble itself both sowed the seeds for what the 2013 WrestelMania card may feature. The matches here were for the main above par and everyone involved seemed to have their work boots on. Rock especially deserves credit for pulling off yet another top notch bout. His years of acting and non-wrestling do not seem to have slowed him down a bit.

It is always good to see a former wrestler return to the ring in as good a condition as he was when he left. We are often presented with beaten down former legends and we can never really believe they can pull of a title win. Rock is of course a very different story.

Alberto Del Rio and Big Show's scrap was memorable too. Show and ADR certainly seem to work well together.

The rest of the card delivered as well. We highly recommend this new WWE release.

Royal Rumble 2013 is available now on DVD.
RRP £17.99 (DVD, £19.99 (Blu-ray).

wwe.dvd.co.uk
By Phil Allely

Royal Rumble 2013 - Live Review

WWE Live Review: Royal Rumble 2013

The Royal Rumble serves many purposes in the world of the WWE. The very nature of the event itself see's it stand out from the rest of the company's PPV output. This is after all a show that features a (usually) exciting over-the-top-rope battle royal style match-up. This scrap see's 30 wrestlers (inc. some surprises) battle it out and win a World Title shot at that year's WrestleMania. The Rumble is also not only the first WWE PPV of the year, but it is also what we fans like to call 'the first step on the road to Mania'. 

The Royal Rumble is normally the place where the first seeds are sown as to what we may look forward to at the WWE's biggest show of the year WrestleMania. Last year of course we all knew that we were to expect a Rock/John Cena bout at that very event. However this year we were still in some doubt as to what may unfold at the Rumble and what effect it may have in relation to Mania.

First of all there were hints at a Rock/Cena re-match and of course we all want to know if Undertaker will make his annual appearance to defend his WrestleMania winning streak.The good news is that one of these questions was (pretty much) answered at the 2013 Royal Rumble.

Royal Rumble 2013 was kind of overshadowed by the main event encounter between (Hollywood action star) The Rock and the WWE's best bad guy CM Punk. 

But the rest of the card was well worth a look too. The dark match (ie for live fans and DVD viewers only) saw United States Champion Antonio Cesaro battle The Miz. Your reviewer may not be a fan of Cesaro, but for what it is worth he did fare well here and his win over former world  champion The Miz bodes very well for his character. Miz's face turn seems to be coming along well too.

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio then kicked things off proper by beating The Big Show in a 'Last Man Standing' encounter. Show and Del Rio worked well together here, using the available weapons to the best of their ability and also pulling off a few nice stiff moves. Show's chokeslam through a table looked great and the finish was well worked. Del Rio retaining over his much larger foe shows the WWE's faith in him and his tenure as champ.

Team Hell No (WWE Tag Team Champs) then successfully defended their belts against the formidable and fun combo of The Rhodes Scholars. Am I the only one amazed that Cody Rhodes moustache can at times receive more attention than him? The match here unfortunately wasn't much to talk about. We have all seen this before and we also get the idea that the WWE will keep the gold with Kane/Danielson until they feel they have lost their charm. 

The Royal Rumble itself had its moments and whilst much of the 30 man match was predictable. There were some nice touches and some pleasant surprises too. First up were surprise entrants Chris Jericho (a man who we have interview here and reviewed his rock band Fozzy too), Goldust and The Godfather. Jericho entered the match at number 2 and he lasted almost 50 minutes. Goldust had a memorable few moments and his exchanges with his brother Cody may lead to a match down the line. Godfather did his usual nostalgic thing and it went down a storm too. There were also a few returns by formerly injured stars , Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella and Sin Cara all received a nice pop when they made their entrance. The final four saw Ryback dispatch Randy Orton and Sheamus with ease, he then as we feared fell to John Cena to see Cena move one step closer to a rematch with The Rock.

Speaking of that result. The Rock did indeed best WWE Champion CM Punk in the main event of the show. Punk's recent knee injury did not seem to slow him down here and even though he lost his beloved title, he did leave the match without too much tarnish to his name. With only a few mistimed moves, this was a fine outing for both men (considering Rock's long in-ring lay-off and Punk's injury). 

Royal Rumble ended with us now knowing that Cena could very well (or may have by the time you read this) decide to challenge Rock for the title at Mania. Hopefully Rock/Punk will get a re-match at Elimination Chamber to address the few faults we saw at the rumble and maybe now we almost have one half of the main event, we will see Punk challenge Undertaker to a match.

Royal Rumble 2013 was very good in parts and the Ruble itself had some extremely fine points and moments. The build up to WrestleMania is now in full swing and I cannot wait to see what else we get along the way. We also have the Hall Of Fame coming up too, so far Mick Foley and Bruno Samartino have been given the nod and of course many more will follow.

www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely

DVD Revew: TNA Genesis 2012

DVD Review: TNA Genesis 2012 By Phil Allely TNA’s Pay-Per-View assault on 2012 was a fun-filled one, each match had its fair share of high spots and most of them had results that fans at home and in person approved of. Genesis featured a nice ‘four corners’ X Division free for all for the title. There was also a hard-hitting match between Gunner and Rob Van Dam, living legend Ric Flair even turned up for this one to add to RVD’s woes. Gail Kim and Mickie James had a nicely paced fight over the Knockouts gold. The ‘Monster’s Ball’ war between Abyss and Bully Ray was an as expected exciting and brutal affair. We also got to see the new team of Samoa Joe and Magnus tackle the dominating duo of Matt Morgan and Crimson. The two most highly anticipated matches did deliver what they promised too, they were James Storm’s action-packed match with Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy’s attempt to wrestle the world Title away from the very sneaky champion Bobby Roode. Genesis 2012 started TNA’s year off with a bang and makes for a fun DVD release. You can buy it now from all good retailers.

WWE PPV Review: Royal Rumble 2012

WWE PPV Review: Royal Rumble 2012


By Phil Allely



The Royal Rumble is one of the WWE’s most popular, talked about and often exciting events on its Pay-Per-View calendar. The 2012 effort may not join some its predecessors in historic terms, but it did offer up some interesting encounters/results and it did (as it should) pave the way for event of the year WrestleMania.

Opening up with a steel cage match, the Rumble tried its utmost to build a decent level of momentum to carry the live crowd and viewing audience through to the all-important 30 man over the top main event.

Said cage match saw World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan face off against the huge lumbering duo of Mark Henry and Big Show. Although average at best this was a decent bout for all concerned (considering the opponent for Bryan’s gold). Bryan fared well against the mighty power of Henry/Show and escaped the cage to retain his belt and hopefully progress to a more worthy championship defence at Mania.

Next up was a hastily thrown together Divas encounter, which to be honest only ate into valuable ring time. The teams of Beth (Divas Champ) Phoenix, Natalya and the Bella Twins facing off against the quartet of Kelly Kelly, Tamina, Alicia Fox and Eve Torres. The ladies tried their best, but the short length of the match and talent on offer reduced the quality here. Phoenix nailed a reasonable Glam Slam to take the win for her team after some back and forth action.

Kane’s return under his mask once again has seen his character back at its more edgy self. The match between him and perennial main eventer John Cena was an adequate effort from both, Cena especially was on the receiving end of some serious fan reaction. His heel turn teasing continued (but will probably never happen) and Kane showed no sign in losing any of the momentum his newly rejuvenated character has gained. Kane’s monstrous nature came to the fore throughout the match, he took a beating from Cena, but kept on ticking. The pair ended up being counted out for a non-decision, although a laughing Kane decided to take things further by brutalising both Cena and Zack Ryder, leaving them prone in the ring as he strode off in celebration.

In another bonus match the repackaged Brodus Clay tackled Drew McIntyre in an unfortunately poor (squash style) encounter. Clay nailed his ‘What the Funk’ finisher to net himself the win.

The match of the night (as expected) was the semi-main event pitting Dolph Ziggler against WWE Champion CM Punk. John Laurinaitis as guest referee proved inconsequential, when push came to shove. Both combatants shone and although we never expected Ziggler to net the title, he did try. Punk true to form overcame the eager Ziggler by nailing a nice GTS to retain his gold and taking another step towards WrestleMania.

The main event Royal Rumble was lacking star power at times, but the performers on hand did make the most of their time in the ring. With a short 90 seconds gap between each participant it was really a case of make your entrance, hit a move and then move aside as the next combatant arrived on the scene. Highlights were Mick Foley having a Socko versus Cobra stand-off with Santino Marella, Kharma making her Rumble debut (and in-ring return), Ricardo Rodriguez lampooning his former cohort Alberto Del Rio (with cheap car etc.), legend hacksaw Jim Duggan entering to a healthy pop from the live crowd, former DX member Road Dogg making a re-appearance and the entire announce team (Booker T, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler) dipped in for some ring time too.

The rumble boiled down to match favourite Chris Jericho and Irish tough guy Sheamus, both worked hard to create tension and tease the decision. Jericho took the advantage on several occasions before Sheamus countered a ‘codebreaker’ and nailed a nice loking ‘brogue kick’ to send his foe over the top rope and himself into the history books.

Royal Rumble 2012 was a mixed bag of matches, but it did serve its purpose, the road to WrestleMania is looking good and having a guy like Sheamus win a title shot at the biggest event of year certainly makes things interesting.

WWE Royal Rumble 2011 DVD Review

WWE DVD Review: Royal Rumble 2011


By Phil Allely

The Royal Rumble is not only the event that kicks off the WWE’s assault on the Pay-per-View and live event market, it is also the one that sets the scenes for one or more of the main events for Wrestlemania. This year’s effort was no different and it had a few tricks up its sleeve too.

This was the biggest rumble match ever, featuring 40 participants instead of the usual 30. Meaning that not only did things move quicker than normal, but the whole match felt more intense. The fans were into it right from the start too.

Rumble highlights included Nexus dominating for a short period of time, the hilarious John Cena/Hornswoggle double team moves, appearances by veteran stars Booker T and Diesel (Kevin Nash). John Morrison’s cat like reflexes and athleticism are shown well too in one set-piece. Watch out for Chavo Guererro’s crazy suplex spot too. The over the top rope match was an eventful one and one that saw a relative newcomer pull of a shock win and progress to mania.

Elsewhere The Miz defended his WWE Championship against ‘The Viper’ Randy Orton in a heated match-up. Dolph Ziggler squared off against Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship in a very decent bout. The Divas Championship went from a handicap match to a fatal four brawl (via a RAW GM email) and saw Champion Natalya face Michelle McCool, Layla and Eve Torres, the girls had some good spots here, Natalya’s double sharpshooter was impressive and the end a bit of a surprise.

On the extras front there is an interview with Eve and a celebratory piece with Alberto del Rio from the January 31st Raw.

As the biggest and one of the best Royal Rumble’s in recent years this is a pretty good DVD to add to your collection, the matches are mainly worth a viewing or two and the 40 man bout certainly requires that to see all of high points.

Royal Rumble 2011 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

DVD RRP £17.99 runtime 2hrs 56mins

Blu-ray DVD RRP £24.99 runtime 5hrs 42mins

Alberto Del Rio Rumours

If Alberto Del Rio wins the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 27, he will be only the second heel to have won the Royal Rumble and then followed it up with a title win at WrestleMania. Yokozuna was the first, winning the 1993 Royal Rumble and the WWE Title from Bret Hart, only to lose the belt to Hulk Hogan seconds later.




Del Rio is expected to win the belt at WrestleMania. The original plan called for him to win it at the Royal Rumble but it was pushed back.

Royal Rumble 2011 Review

Royal Rumble 2011 PPV Review




By Phil Allely



The annual Royal Rumble event is a great one for fans of wrestling, the main event being one of those things that we all love simply for the spectacle of it. This year the Rumble itself was its biggest yet, featuring 40 performers all of which were to enter the ring at 90 second intervals and take their chances against their peers for a shot at winning a place in a Wrestlemania Main Event for a WWE World Title.



The fun part of the rumble as always is the trying to work out who may win the over the top battle royal and head to this years Mania. Of course along the way there are usually a few shocks, surprises and perhaps even a mix up or two. This year was no exception as some surprise entrants joined the match and a man nobody thought would win the match did just that.



Things started with a bang as World Heavyweight Champion Edge put his belt on the line against Dolph Ziggler. Edge was on top form as usual here and opened proceeding well against his younger and quicker opponent, Vickie Guerrero at ringside to assist Ziggler helped things along too. After many near falls, underhand tactics and outside interference from Vickie all things went to pieces, the ref went down, Vickie fell too and Edge struck a nice spear to put Ziggler away and keep his gold.



Next up Randy Orton challenged The Miz for his WWE Title, of course where there The Miz is, normally there are a few people to help him out too. Miz having not only Alex Riley by his side, but Nexus and CM Punk on his side too. Orton was all over Miz for most of the bout, each trading the advantage and vying for the win, but the numbers game and eventual Nexus run-in caused Randy to lose his place in things and miss CM Punk’s appearance. As Orton RKO’d Miz, Punk ran in and hit his GTS finisher to allow Miz an easy pin and to retain his strap.



The planned Diva’s title handicap match became a fatal four way brawl thanks to the e-mail-aholic Raw General Manager , leaving champion Natalya to face not only the team of Layla and Michelle McCool, but Eve Torre as well. Lay-Cool worked as a unit for most of the bout, attacking both Natalya and Eve, although McCool did accidentally nail her partner at one point. After a nice looking double sharpshooter by the champ and some near falls, the finish came when Eve’s moonsault put down Layla down for the three count (controversially at precisely the same moment McCool was pining the defending champion), the referee spotting Eve’s pin and awarding the gold to her.



Finally it was Royal Rumble time and it started well as CM Punk and he found himself in between a gang war as his Nexus group took on the recently formed Corre faction. The Raw GM luckily sent an e-mail to ban both teams from ringside and competitor number two Daniel Bryan entered the fray. The action went back and forth and as each new man entered alliances and old feuds began to rear their heads. It was fun to see guys like William Regal, John Morrison and Mark Henry face off against Nexus up and comers like Michael McGillicutty and Husky Harris as well.



Eliminations were timely and as the ring filled there was a distinctly Nexus heavy side to things. The surprises were this fewer in number, but overall better than expected, first up Booker T made his return to the WWE (he will now work as a colour commentator and sometime wrestler), Hornswoggle took to the ring and alongside John Cena had a fun series of exchanges working in tandem with Cena. The biggest pop of the night came as Kevin Nash strolled down the aisle as his former WWE incarnation Diesel (complete with old ring outfit and jet black hair).



Booker and Diesel were never going to threaten the outcome of the match, but it was good to see them back in the WWE (especially since both were heavily hinted for a TNA return this very month). Diesel’s face-off with Big Show may lead to a match down the line, perhaps alongside one with Wade Barrett who he also took a disliking too during the match, plus Booker is now back for another run it seems.

Back to the match itself and the biggest Rumble in WWE history quickly started losing people as they got sent packing over the top rope to the floor, some hanging on for dear life and scrambling back in, others falling to hit the unforgiving floor and see their dream Wrestlemania match gone for yet another year.



As the numbers lessened a few fan favourites remained, Rey Mysterio, Cena and Kane amongst them, but that soon changed as Kane fell to Rey, and he went out to Barrett, Cena got taken out by a run-in from Miz leaving Barrett, Alberto Del Rio and Orton. The match itself form there seemed to be Orton’s, he threw Barrett out, scuppering his plans for a Mania title shot and then he went to Del Rio. Del Rio’s celebrations were short lived but, Santino Marella (who had slipped under the ropes earlier was still and active participant and tried to sneak in and steal the win. Santino of course had bitten off more that he could chew with Del Rio and soon he went sailing over the top rope to leave the shock winner of the rumble to be relative WWE new boy Alberto Del Rio the man who can pick and chose his WWE Championship match at the biggest PPV of the WWE calendar.



The 2011 Royal Rumble was a great way for the WWE to open its PPV year, the matches were all very good and built nicely to the battle royal main event. The rumble itself had it all, thrills, spills, surprises and a shock finish that few saw coming. It was also good to see the younger and newer roster members get a look in over the more established ones, the returns of Booker T and Diesel were fun too. Let’s now see what else we get as the road to Wrestlemania rolls on.

The planned Diva’s title handicap match became a fatal four way brawl thanks to the e-mail-aholic Raw General Manager , leaving champion Natalya to face not only the team of Layla and Michelle McCool, but Eve Torres.

Kevin Nash Pic as Diesel 2011

Kevin 'Diesel' Nash Interview Highlights

When the 32nd competitor at the 2011 Royal Rumble Match was revealed, the crowd at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden erupted with a mixture of shock and exhilaration. Heading into the fray was a man not seen in WWE since 2003: Diesel. WWE.com’s Joey Styles caught up with the former WWE Champion after his elimination to ask about his performance.




WWE.com: How does it feel to be back in a WWE ring?



DIESEL: I wish I had a thesaurus, so I could explain it. It’s nice to be in a building with people [laughs]. When you get in this business, you strive to get to WWE, and when it’s time to hang up your boots, you definitely want to end up a Yankee. So, if this was my last one, I couldn’t be happier.



WWE.com: Are you saying you expect this to be your last night in the ring?



DIESEL: I hope not. I know Randy Orton, he’s got pull around here [laughs]. I’d stay as long as they’ll have me, or as long as my body will hold on.



WWE.com: Speaking of which, it looked like The New Nexus got a good jump on you.



DIESEL: Yeah, they would definitely test my durability. Hey, I’ve been around a long time, I’m sure there’s a lot of people that want to take a shot at me.



WWE.com: Anything to that stare between you and Big Show?



DIESEL: A lot of history there, either together or on the opposite side of the ring. I’ve probably had 200 matches with Big Show in my life. He’s still probably the most impressive physical specimen I’ve been in the ring with – by far the strongest, still the measuring stick. I’d like to give him another run for his money.



WWE.com: When’s the last time you actually had the jet-black Diesel hair?



DIESEL: I feel young with this hair. I want to go with ’96. It was a while ago.



WWE.com: Any final words for the WWE Universe?



DIESEL: Unexplainable to be back, a dream come true, a wonderful night. I was trying to think, What tops this? When I won the WWE Title against Bob [Backlund] at Madison Square Garden, I didn’t really realize what I had. There are definitely more years behind me than ahead of me, so you appreciate these things. It was special tonight. It was probably the best night for me.

Royal Rumble 2011 Eliminations

Royal Rumble Entrants:


1. CM Punk

2. Daniel Bryan

3. Justin Gabriel

4. Zack Ryder

5. William Regal

6. Ted DiBiase

7. John Morrison

8. Yoshi Tatsu

9. Husky Harris

10. Chavo Guerrero

11. Mark Henry

12. JTG

13. Michael McGillicutty

14. Chris Masters

15. David Otunga

16. Tyler Reks

17. Kozlov

18. R-Truth

19. Great Khali

20. Mason Ryan

21. Booker T

22. John Cena

23. Hornswoggle

24. Tyson Kidd

25. Heath Slater

26. Kofi Kingston

27. Jack Swagger

28. Sheamus

29. Rey Mysterio

30. Wade Barrett

31. Dolph Ziggler

32. Kevin Nash (Diesel)

33. Drew McIntyre

34. Alex Riley

35. Big Show

36. Ezekiel Jackson

37. Santino

38. Alberto Del Rio

39. Randy Orton

40. Kane



Royal Rumble Eliminations:

1. Gabriel (via Bryan at 2:35)

2. Ryder (via Bryan at 3:45)

3. Regal (via DiBiase at 8:52)

4. Chavo (via Henry at 15:05)

5. Yoshi (via Henry at 15:34)

6. JTG (via McG at 18:00)

7. DiBiase (via Harris & McG at 18:51)

8. Bryan (via Harris at 20:56)

9. Masters (via Punk at 21:11)

10. Morrison (via Nexus at 21:25)

11. Henry (via Nexus at 21:50)

12. Reks (via Nexus at 22:50)

13. Kozlov (via Punk at 24:19)

14. R-Truth (via Punk at 26:10)

15. Husky (via Khali at 27:23)

16. Khali (via Mason at 28:22)

17. Booker (via Mason at 31:00)

18. Ryan (via Cena at 32:35)

19. Otunga (via Cena at 32:40)

20. McGillicutty (via Cena at 32:41)

21. Punk (via Cena at 35:20)

22. Kidd (via Cena at 37:05)

23. Slater (via Cena at 38:42)

24. Hornswoggle (via Sheamus at 43:53)

25. Swagger (via Rey at 45:35)

26. Diesel (via Barrett at 52:22)

27. Ziggler (via Show at 54:52)

28. McIntyre (via Show at 55:18)

29. Show (via Jackson at 55:33)

30. Riley (via ??? at ???)

31. Kingston (via Orton at 60:42)

32. Sheamus (via Orton at 60:48)

33. Jackson (via Kane at 62:35)

34. Kane (via Rey at 63:29)

35. Rey (via Barrett at 63:37)

36. Cena (via Miz at 66:30)

37. Orton (via Barrett at 68:37)

38. Barrett (via Del Rio at 68:39)

39. Santino (via Del Rio at 69:48)

Royal Rumble 2011 Matches and Rumours

WWE Title Match


Randy Orton vs. The Miz



World Heavyweight Title Match

Dolph Ziggler vs. Edge



WWE Divas Title Match

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Natalya



40-Man Royal Rumble Match



Confirmed: Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, Chris Masters, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, David Hart Smith, David Otunga, Drew McIntyre, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Husky Harris, Jack Swagger, John Cena, John Morrison, JTG, Justin Gabriel, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Mason Ryan, Michael McGillicutty, Primo, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella, Sheamus, Ted DiBiase, Tyson Kidd, Vladimir Kozlov, Wade Barrett, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu and Zack Ryder.



Rumored or Expected: Christian, Evan Bourne, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Triple H

The Miz Interview Highlights

According to WWE champion The Miz, even if you dream big, work hard, train hard and set huge goals for yourself, you still won't be as awesome as he is.




"Only a special person can actually do it, and I did it because I'm that talented. Everyone else isn't," says the champ on the phone earlier this month from Los Angeles. "Jeez, how much of a jerk am I?"



A pretty big one, in fact, but that's part of Miz's character. And the 30-year-old grappler from Parma, Ohio, has earned the right to be cocky, having clawed his way to the top of the WWE ranks, where he's slated to appear in the main event when World Wrestling Entertainment brings its "Monday Night Raw" program to Joe Louis Arena on Monday.



Mike Mizanin, whose spiky hair and confident demeanor peg him as the frat boy next door, first gained recognition as part of "The Real World's" 10th season in 2001. It was during his MTV stint that he coined himself "The Miz" and declared his intentions to be heavyweight champion of the world.



He finally accomplished his goal just before Thanksgiving, when he defeated Randy Orton to win the championship on an episode of "Raw."



But The Miz is far from an overnight success.



Following "The Real World," Miz moved to L.A. and enrolled in a developmental wrestling school. The affiliation got him backstage at a couple of WWE shows, but the company showed no interest in pursuing him as a performer.



While still training, Miz rode the post-"Real World" gravy train and appeared on several seasons of the "Real World / Road Rules Challenge" and collected checks on the "Real World" collegiate lecture circuit.



Then, in 2004, he muscled his way onto MTV's reality series "Tough Enough," where the winner is awarded a WWE contract. He didn't win, but WWE execs were impressed with his skills, and signed him to a developmental deal.



After learning the ropes, The Miz in 2006 debuted in WWE but found he still had to go far before making it big.



"As soon as I got to WWE, everyone assumed I got a contract because I was on 'The Real World,' so everyone made my life a living hell," he says. "I didn't really have any friends. I got kicked out of the locker room. It felt like everyone was trying to find a way to get me fired."



He hung in there, and eventually began to gain traction as a performer in WWE's ECW promotion. He developed his character and showcased his microphone skills in vignettes with fellow wrestler John Morrison, with whom he eventually shared the WWE tag team title.



More titles followed, until Miz earned his shot at a WWE championship match at a pay per view event in July.



Defeating Orton in November was a highlight for the kid who grew up idolizing wrestlers like Mr. Perfect and the Rock and who bought a $15 plastic title belt during "The Real World" and declared himself the reality TV champ.



"I still can't believe I have it," says Miz of the heavyweight gold.



He has two belts, in fact, one for TV and one he keeps with him at all times.



"For me, it signifies that it's just the next step," he says. "I've been taking steps ever since I came to the WWE, and now I've built myself to where I'm the WWE champion.



"But it doesn't even stop there," he says. "Once you're WWE champion, you want it to be the best championship reign ever; you want the ratings to be the highest. You want the seats to be the most filled. You want to be the poster child for the WWE."



In that regard, Miz says he's willing to work to get it. He's looking to the Royal Rumble pay per view event, where the prize is a shot at the title that's around his waist.



"Last year, I was in the Royal Rumble for at least three seconds," he says of his quick dismissal in the 2010 match, "and now I'm the WWE champion. It's pretty incredible that everyone's fighting to get a spot, basically, to fight me."

WWE Royal Rumble 2011 First 21 Names Revealed

The following 21 WWE Superstars have been announced by WWE.com as competitors in the first-ever 40-Man Royal Rumble Match, which takes place Jan. 30 in Boston.




* Alberto Del Rio

* CM Punk

* Cody Rhodes

* Daniel Bryan

* Darren Young

* David Hart Smith

* David Otunga

* Husky Harris

* John Cena

* John Morrison

* Mark Henry

* Michael McGillicutty

* Primo

* R-Truth

* Rey Mysterio

* Sheamus

* Ted DiBiase

* Tyson Kidd

* William Regal

* Yoshi Tatsu

* Zack Ryder