Category: Sport

Achieving the Unachievable

Frank Sinclair said it best with these words – “We have achieved the unachievable”.

I rarely talk about Colwyn Bay FC, the claret and blue coloured love of my life, on this here blog. Usually when I show my passions with it then I rant on here (it’s a personal blog, I’m allowed). The last rant was back in January, whereby I bemoaned the “Crisis” at the club. In short, I wrongly stated a few things, which were:-

  • Nobody gave Lee Williams the chance.
  • The players weren’t taking responsibility.
  • Frank Sinclair would never become manager of Colwyn Bay Football Club.

Fast forward a week after that post and:-

  • Lee Williams was rightly sacked, he had too long in the job anyway.
  • The players were taking responsibility.
  • And Frank Sinclair was the new manager of Colwyn Bay Football Club.

At first, it was roses and petals and everything was lovely. Two great draws away at promotion chasing Guiseley and Altrincham, followed by a wins against Corby Town and Harrogate Town saw Colwyn Bay edge closer and closer to safety, but a defeat at Histon (that still annoys me to this day, hence why I struggle to write about it on You’re Supposed To Be At Home saw the season unravel. Chance after chance was spurned, and then following a defeat to already relegated Droylsden, many fans saw that as the end, as with six games to go – it looked bleak, as although we had 3 games in hand over third from bottom Corby Town, a dramatic upturn in form was needed to escape.

table10thapril

And, lo and behold, a lifeline was thrown.

Colwyn Bay scraped a win against Gainsborough Trinity. I remember following the game on the Bay forum like a ridiculously hungover stalker on the train home from BrightonSEO, shaking in a combination of nerves and acute alcohol poisoning, and it sounded like we weren’t going to win. Gainsborough were all over us, and we were defending too deep, and they were certain to score. Not so, albeit it took a 95th minute wonder save from Chris Sanna to claim all 3 points. People said our season turned on that save. I’m inclined to agree. 3 points in the bag and 6 points with three games in hand due to Corby’s loss with Workington meant that the table all of a sudden didn’t look too bad.

Fast forward to a Tuesday night, and a cobbled together night out at #Mancdigibowl. I still wasn’t convinced that we’d get out of it, so for the first time in a while I had my phone switched off as Colwyn Bay made the long away trip to Brackley Town, a promotion chasing side that if they won would guarantee a spot in the playoffs with games to spare. Take a draw and the dream is still on.

Half time, we were 3-0 up. Brackley pulled one back but all of a sudden we were now 3 points behind Corby with two games in hand. Oxford City at home was next up, two days after and this game I was locked in my room – refreshing the forum and checking Twitter like a madman, as a win would put us ahead of Corby on goal difference. After we were drawing at half time, it was looking unlikely, before two quick goals early in the second half saw us win 3-1, and a gap that 8 days before had seemed substansial was now gone:-

table18thapril

Corby taking the place in the relegation zone, and displayed a class that you don’t see higher up the league system:-
https://twitter.com/steelmendotcom/status/324986939814051841


The work, and the games didn’t stop though. Workington away on the Saturday was next up, and we were afforded the luxury of BBC Radio Cumbria who were covering the game. Another 1-1 at half time was converted into a 2-1 after 90 minutes, and could’ve been more when Workington inexplicably brought their keeper up for the final corner of the game to try and salvage a draw. Following a clearance, Shelton Payne was unlucky to score right at the death. A small niggle in a fantastic performance (especially as Shelton’s performance towards the end of the season has been phenomenal). Due to Corby’s win at Gloucester and Histon’s draw to Boston United meant a trip two days after that to Bradford Park Avenue would see a win take us nearly safe, and definitely safe should results go our way on the Tuesday. This happened:-

Another 2-1 win, the fifth win in nine days, saw us nearly safe. Histon grabbed a draw against Solihull Moors the day after, which meant that a win or a draw against Gloucester City on the final day would see us definitely safe.

By now, people were starting to take up and notice the achievements of the Bay, and the gate for the game swelled to a massive (for us) 633. The town were finally proud in their football club, and many fans (myself included) took to fancy dress to celebrate the occasion.

bayvsgloucester

But would a celebration be premature?

Gloucester City were spirited, with a team struggling for players, and the City faithful were a good laugh, but Colwyn Bay completed their amazing turnaround in form by winning 1-0, to finish 5 points clear of the drop. For once the result didn’t matter, but not that you’d notice with the pitch invasion right at the end. With all due respects to the achievements of last season, this season felt something a little more special.

I cannot describe how dejected I was with my football club in mid April, with trips to Skelmersdale United, rather than Stockport County on the cards. In short I wanted the season to end. Now, I can’t wait for the new one to start. Hopefully this has been the shot in the arm the Bay needs, and the town begin to get behind their team more.

And to all my friends, I apologise profusely, to Cass, Shane and Alex, as well as my housemates, who have seen the brunt of my “OMFGWTFHAVEWEDONE!” in the last 2 weeks. Not one of them cares a single bit about football (well, Shane did quite enjoy his trip to Vauxhall Motors on Boxing Day). Think of this blog post as my final say on the matter, as now I’ll bloody shut up about it.

In short, we achieved something as a football club incredible.

You see, very few teams in a season go on a six-game winning streak. Very few teams begin that winning streak from 20th in the table. To win six games from 20th in the league in 15 days is unheard of*. Players showed a monumental effort to play these games, with cases of players having to stop on the drive home to vomit out of the window as they were so banged up, it is unheard of. This isn’t the Premier League, where players can be rested, it was largely the same 11 players throughout the run (with possibly one or two changes, due to suspensions). Furthermore, the players are all part time, meaning that many after arriving home at 2am, would be up the next day to earn a living.

Just incredible really. I’m so proud of what they have achieved, and am proud to say that my post in January was wrong, dead wrong. Bring on next season, as I would say we completed The Great Escape, but even then, Steve McQueen didn’t quite jump over the fence.

We did.

Header Image Credit: @Wayheyland

* Through reddit I did a bit of research, and managed to find that towards the end of the 2000/01 season Canvey Island played 7 games in 14 days, winning 4.

‘Crisis’ at Colwyn Bay Football Club

In the last few years, I’ve taken a more “official” capacity at my local football club (Colwyn Bay FC) becoming an operative on one of the official channels (@ColwynBayFC). What I’m about to say is my own opinion, rather than anything associated with the club.

In case you’ve missed the mental breakdown of fans on the Colwyn Bay forum, let me summerise exactly where we stand. After two back-to-back promotions that took us from the Evostik Division 1 North to the Blue Square North, Colwyn Bay survived on the last day of the season to confirm their place in the Blue Square North for a second season. The manager at the time – Jon Newby (who is held in high regard by many of the Colwyn Bay faithful due to scoring the winner against FC United to put us into the Blue Square North) – was agreed to be kept on for the 2012-13 season. After a tough start, results began to go against us, and after a 4-2 loss at home to Vauxhall Motors on January 1st, Jon Newby was sacked, in what many believe to be less than auspicious circumstances – it was widely reported he was sacked at half time.

His replacement was brought in immediately – Lee Williams who managed Bangor a fair few years ago. After a few friendly wins against League of Wales opposition, defeats against Solihull and Workington has caused the club to be third from bottom in the Blue Square North, in the relegation zone (though, if you look at past form with the AGM Cup, and the fact we’re entering the end of the financial year, I wouldn’t be surprised if – providing we’ve balanced the books – we get reprieved even if we finish 20th).

If you read the Colwyn Bay forum, the place seems to be in complete and utter meltdown. People are demanding things of the club, a lot of this is funded by myths and fallacy. These main demands are listed below, as well as what I would do and where the blame for me lies.

Three Counter-Productive Demands

1. Drop Ticket Prices & Get More People In

I can’t see this happening, nor do I want to.

It’s usually the same people that bring this up time and again, and those who bring this up are often the ones who do little or nothing for the club on a personal capacity. Nobody becomes a football team’s fan because the team is cheap, the same way nobody becomes a smoker due to a pack of cheap fags from the airport, the only people this serves okay is existing fans.

I’m lucky, I must admit – a good job and few commitments means it’s quite easy for me to get to games financially.

2. Appoint A New Manager

According to two very helpful “through the grapevine” comments, the club has sacked their manager and are looking for a new manager. Lee Williams has only been in the job for a month and from the one game I saw them play under him (a friendly via Rhyl) we played some nice football. Nevertheless, fans aren’t happy and two names that have cropped up whenever this is mentioned is ex manager Jon Newby and defender Frank Sinclair.

Jon Newby I don’t believe is a right fit. Yes he is a nice guy, and a credit to the club, and a club legend, and missed by the club, and if he was sacked the way it was reported it wasn’t the right way to do it. However I don’t believe it is the step forward we are chasing if we hire him back. It frustrates me as people who are clamouring for Newby to return are largely the same that a month ago were calling for his head.

Frank Sinclair would be interesting but I don’t think he would take it. He plays for us inbetween broadcasting stints for Chelsea TV. Do I think his media commitments would allow him to be an effective manager? Probably not.

One thing that is said time and again is that Lee Williams isn’t up for the job due to his lack of experience at Blue Square North level. He has the same amount of Blue Square North experience as both of the above should they take the role.

I’m not saying he’s the right man for the job, just feel that these comments are counter productive.

3. The Club is Dropping Through The Leagues Deliberately To Join The League of Wales

Please? Really?

We have no affiliation with the League of Wales. Those of us over a certain age would remember the battle we took to keep out of the League of Wales. Many of those people are still shareholders.

If we were doing this: why the heck did we work so hard to raise £70,000 to build a stand last season? Surely it’d be easier to resign from the league then?

Three Areas Where The Blame Lies

1. Promote The Club

Linked to the previous number one, those who are clamouring for the football club to drop their prices are often the same ones who barely lift a finger. Clubs our size can be successful (I’m friendly with loads of the Gloucester City bunch, and they seem to have a great setup with everybody pulling in the right direction), but it requires everybody to be on the same page.

At the moment those who are actually getting off their arses and doing something are getting hounded for being lazy and thoughtless by those who don’t. This isn’t on, and I see the same names refusing to lift a finger for the club they claim to love, yet are happy to want to cut off a vital revenue stream.

If the club had a larger fan base, then they could get a larger revenue stream, sign better players, and maybe even drop prices. That requires promotion.

One issue that has been done to death and never gets done is putting up posters in the town. This should be one of the first and easiest ways to promote the club in town. I think I’ve seen one poster up around town (in a launderette in Old Colwyn). If those who truly loved the club would help promote it, then maybe their ideas will be better received.

I’ve found the board to be rather approachable and open to ideas, but it needs people to drive them. If you suggest ideas yet aren’t willing to implement them, then that’s like complaining about the government when you don’t vote.

Those who know me, know that I’m quite an emotional fella. I take every little pop at the club personally. I shouldn’t, but I do. I’ve got a couple of updates to the Facebook and Twitter stream that I’ve not done due to the backlash I know will happen. Too many pops and snide remarks at those who actually get off their arses and do stuff and they’d walk away from the club. What happens when everybody walks away? Who runs the club then?

2. Players Need To Take Responsibility

I believe a lot of players who play for the club have gotten off lightly recently.

The team from a few years ago are held in higher regards than a lot of other players who come in, and it frustrates me whenever players turn up and don’t play to the level that I know they are capable of. They have gotten off lightly in my opinion, seemingly turning up, collecting a paycheck, and then disappearing.

This does begin at management level and I think that needs to be addressed. One rumour that is going around is that the team haven’t trained in a month. If that is the case, then that is inexcusable from the club’s management level. But that I’ve heard is a rumour.

Update: It is reported that the lack of training is true, but more than this than meets the eye. The current training facilities in Chester are out of action, and it’s been nigh on impossible finding new facilities due to the snow.

3. We’re Punching Above Our Weight

When I told a non-league fan of the issues at the club, he turned to me and told me that I should just enjoy the ride. Look at Nuneaton Town fans: they are likely to be relegated at the end of the season from the Conference. Do they care? Not really. They’re enjoying their time in the highest level of non league football. We are punching above our weight, and as I said last season to a friend of mine we’re probably somewhere between tenth in the Blue Square North and tenth in the Evostik League Premier on average. We were a sleeping giant for years, now we’re where we should be. Lets just enjoy the ride. I almost had a nervous breakdown when we nearly got relegated last year, it’s not healthy this negativity.

Even if we do go down, so what? As things stand I think we’re in a stronger position than where we were five years ago, and I’m confident we’re not going to the wall.

I have rambled on too long. It’s a beer job this post, and I apologise. I just think that the club is going back from where it came from, and the fans need to take some responsibility. Dissension in the ranks has led to a lot of clubs going bump (ask any Hucknall or Eastwood Town fan this), and I don’t want it done to my beloved club.

COME ON THE BAY!

TNA Maximum Impact V – Manchester TV Tapings

Please Note: The Below does contain a number of spoilers from as yet aired TV Shows

The past weekend me, Si & Shane attended the TNA Maximum Impact V tour, held in the MCR Arena in Manchester. This was me and Si’s time attending TNA, and Shane’s third (though admittedly, this was the second year we have made a proper day of it.

This event had a number of firsts. Firstly it featured the first time ever in the UK a cage match (a first for me, as I’ve never seen a cage match before), but probably more importantly, it would be the first time the Manchester shows would be taped for TV. I’ve attended TV Tapings before with WWE, and they are…interesting to say the least. Sure you get all the big starts, but TV tapings generally mean that things are filmed a number of times, leaving the crowd getting restless. Also, as the UK is such a small part of the WWE “Universe”, rarely any advancement is made on storylines. Thankfully TNA realise how big it is over here, and we were treated to a number of large storyline developments.

As well as the big stars like Sting, Bully Ray, RVD, James Storm, Bobby Roode and Hulk Fricking Hogan being on tour, Manchester also got two of the three stars of TNA’s British Boot Camp. You had the winner – Rockstar Spud – who as somebody who has had a keen interest in the British scene I’ve never seen wrestle live. We also got an appearance from The Blossom Twins, who I’ve seen a few times for Futureshock Wrestling in Stockport, the last of which they wrestled one of my Facebook Friends.

So we’re like besties. Honest.

So, despite nearly getting thrown out of Nando’s in the Printworks for having the audacity to believe that CM Punk will beat The Rock at the Royal Rumble to some “It’s still real to me, dammit!” nobodies, it was a heck of a show. It is always a highlight of my year, as it feels that we’re actually leaving winter when it happens. Photos follow below, but be aware, there are spoilers from the TV Show!

My Top 5 Greatest Royal Rumble Moments Ever

On Sunday, the 26th Royal Rumble is held in Phoenix, Arizona. Sod Wrestlemania, I bloody love the Royal Rumble. Easily the best match that the WWE has ever invented, the Royal Rumble is the highlight of the year. I’ve even threatened to go onto Mastermind with my specialist subject being “Royal Rumbles”. In preparation for this year’s event, I watch – one a night – each Royal Rumble up until the night of that year’s Royal Rumble. They are superb. Love them.

“But Rhys!” you ask “what is a Royal Rumble”? Well it’s a match where two men start and, after a certain period of time (usually around 2 minutes), a new participant enters the match. You can only lose when you’re thrown over the top rope and both feet hitting the floor. The last man left in the ring after all participants have entered wins and goes onto to receive a title shot at that year’s Wrestlemania.

It’s rather exciting, and – with a few exceptions – there are a few names with a legitimate shot of winning. Also, over the course of the rumble some people have strong showings so much so that you could believe they can win. A classic example is in the 2001 edition where Kane, probably the sixth favourite (it was a strong field), eliminated 11 competitors (a record) to only fall to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin right at the death. Although not winning it that year, it remains probably the greatest Royal Rumble performance in one of the strongest rumbles ever.

In this blog post, I’m not looking at the best “Rumble” match ever, but rather the greatest moments in Rumble matches ever. Ironically, a number of these unforgettable moments are from very forgettable matches, with one notable exception. Bear with me though, as these are my top 5 favourite moments in Royal Rumble matches ever.

Honourable Mention: Y.M.C.A. – PCW Never Give Up Rumble

I was quite close in throwing a googly and sticking a non WWE-Royal Rumble moment in this list, but decided against it. As such, I’m placing it here.

The moment comes from Preston City Wrestling’s “Never Give Up” show, a benefit show for a young chap named Callum Murray, who is a massive wrestling fan I’ve had the pleasure of meeting on numerous occasions. Callum suffers from two conditions called Arnold Chiari Malformation and Hydrocephalus (you can read more about Callum’s life story here). Callum is monumentally brave and is seen at many shows, often with a beaming smile on his face.

I love this moment as – because I’m a fan – I watch wrestling to be entertained. I don’t care how, and this moment sums up why I watch wrestling. I know a lot of it is pre-determined, but it’s great to see wrestlers having fun. I watched this moment probably about 10 times, back-to-back, and guffawed with belly laughter each time. After regaining my composure, I showed it to fellow grapple geek Shane, who showed it to every wrestling fan he knew. It is brilliant.

The match in its entirety is online, oh and whilst you’re at it, donate to Callum’s cause please?

5. Shawn Michaels – “Only One Foot Hit The Floor” – 1995 Royal Rumble

Probably the only “moment” in this list I’ve not seen live, so it is low in the list because of it’s impact on me. However it’s on the list because of it’s impact on wrestling.

Up until the 1995 Royal Rumble, the “over the top rope to the floor” rule was applied with various levels of leniency. In 1988 Jesse “The Body” Ventura exclaimed on commentary “Wrestlers have to be thrown over the top rope, it doesn’t matter where they land, they are eliminated!”, was it was when it was strictly applied, to its most lenient in 1992 where “Macho Man” Randy Savage (who always seemed confused at the rules, after attempting a pinfall in the 1993 Rumble) launched himself over the top rope to attack Jake “The Snake” Roberts – which was covered up by Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan saying that he wasn’t eliminated as you cannot eliminate yourself (a fact disproven earlier in 1989 when Andre The Giant eliminated himself running, ironically, from Jake “The Snake”).

Then the 1995 Rumble hit, and there were no doubts on the rule.

Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog – starting #1 and #2 – had outlasted the entire field that exposed the depth of talent that 1995’s WWF had, with such luminaries as Timothy Well & Stephen Dunn, The Heavenly Boddies, and “The Portugese Man-of-War” Aldo Montoya. When surprise guest appearances include a morbidly obese Dick Murdoch and the bloody Bushwhackers, you’re confident that two of your bigger names can outlast the entire field, especially when you consider that that two of the hotter heels at the time (Owen Hart & Bob Backlund) last less than a minute combined.

Fan favourite Bulldog sends Shawn tumbling over the top rope in a moment that suckers in pretty much everybody in the top brass in the WWF (as well as Ysgol Pen-Y-Bryn Year 6 class), as “Rule Britannia” begins to play to signal Bulldog’s victory, Michaels sneaks up behind Davey Boy, eliminating him from the match. As referee’s went onto explain, Shawn Michaels had held onto the top rope, landed on one foot, swung the other foot around, landed on the apron and had not been eliminated. Shawn wins the match, Pamela Anderson, and the match at Wrestlemania XI.

The likes of this moment were never seen before. Previously Rumbles had been rather slow affairs, with very little athleticism. This slowly heralded a new more athletic WWF, and the Royal Rumble has benefitted from it.

Also it launched the career of Shawn Michaels, and everybody is now clear of the Royal Rumble’s rules – both feet must hit the floor.

4. John Morisson “Spiderman” – 2011 Royal Rumble

The 2011 Royal Rumble was a roller coaster of emotions. It marked the first time a Welshman had appeared in a Rumble – with Porthmadog’s own Mason Ryan laying a beating on Tyler Reks so bad that Tyler decided a year later to become an SEO. It also expanded on its traditional format to 40 competitiors. Whilst the expanded field was expect to kill the rumble, it worked well, allowing two or three great moments, even with quite a weak roster lacking of characters.

One of the favourites coming in was John Morisson. He was on a fairly hot run and – due to the weak field – I truly believed that he was up there. Morisson drew a low number, which didn’t fill me with confidence, and was eliminated when pushed off the apron by William Regal.

Or was he?

See, he wasn’t pushed, but Morisson jumped. He landed, Spiderman-esque, on one of the protective barriers surrounding the ring. Morisson clambered up onto the barrier, tightrope walked around, and then jumped onto the steel steps surrounding the ring. No feet had touched the floor, therefore he re-entered the match.

This moment is up there as it shocked an overtired me into paying more attention to the extended Rumble match, which up until that point had been lackluster. A further exploitation of the “No feet hitting the floor” was done last year, with the company’s latest golden boy Kofi Kingston doing a free standing handstand and then walking, on his hands, to the steps. This was obviously done as they wanted to avoid any Morisson footage, since he had been released later that year.

The only downer on this moment meant that, as a result of this stunt, John Morisson couldn’t be a Rumble winner. It was too high risk, what if he slipped? What if an overzealous fan pushed him off the barrier (the fans were largely a smarky crowd, so I wouldn’t put it past them)? It was too risky to have Morisson complete the stunt and win the match. A fact confirmed as Morisson was dumped out of the match a little later.

3. Kharma Entrance – 2012 Royal Rumble

The WWE, like it or not, usually gives the fans what they want. John Cena has had a longer “run” on the top than Hulk Hogan and The Rock because he – at this time – sells the most merchandise. Screwing the fans over is a bad thing, as constant bait-and-switches have in the path lead to the death of companies.

However, just occasionally, WWE says “We’ll build up something, but the payoff won’t be what you expect, but it’ll be better”.

In last year’s Royal Rumble, one of the storylines that was running through the match was that the announcers were entered. Jerry Lawler & Booker T are both ex-wrestlers, and Michael Cole had a match at the previous year’s Wrestlemania, so it wasn’t too far-fetched.

For much of the previous year, Michael Cole had been a monumental bellend, berating performers and largely getting on everybody’s nerves. He had become a really good “bad guy”, but a bad commentator (only becoming “good” again after the tragic, real life, heart attack on air of Jerry Lawler. Thankfully Lawler recovered).

Cole was the last “commentator” to enter the match, and was largely left on his own for a couple of minutes. The fans, getting restless, were counting down the timer until the predicted payoff – some big burly wrestler would enter the match, beat the living daylights out of Michael Cole, and then toss out Cole.

Enter Kharma.

Kharma is a big, burly wrestler who could eat the scrawny leader of the Cole Minor’s for breakfast, but Kharma is a woman. A terrifying woman, with a manic laugh, but whose expected push in a bland Diva’s Division was cut short when she found out she was with child (a child that was tragically miscarried).

Kharma’s beating up of Cole didn’t last long – he escaped from the match, and Kharma was eliminated soon after, but this moment made me smile as it was one of the few times when you expect something, get another, and it’s better.

A year later, and Kia Stevens (the performer who played Kharma so brilliantly), has left the WWE. This Rumble moment was the last time that she appeared in the WWE, and the Diva’s division is back to being bland. It’s a damn shame.

2. Santino Marella – 2011 Royal Rumble

The second moment in 2011’s Royal Rumble, and this one actually fooled me.

As somebody who has worked on wrestling shows in the past (daren’t say I’m a wrestler, I’m not), and is aware of the inner workings, it can be a bit of a downer as since becoming privy to the inner workings, I’m usually quite good at predicting what happens, going so far as once calling both the main event, but also the outcome and how the outcome comes about in a local show in the North West. I’ve used it to my benefit (thank you Paddy Power for accepting bets on wrestling), but it does spoil the enjoyment a bit.

The 2011 Rumble had a moment that surprised me in a good way, and I was convinced that the WWE had swerved us.

Santino Marella was a comedy character in Royal Rumbles, holding the record of having the shortest time in any Rumble – a measly 1.9 seconds. Rarely does he last more than 1 entrant, and if so, it is a fluke, as he is a bit cowardly.

In the 2011 Rumble, he was cowardly again, sliding under the ring at some point in the match. He then stayed out there for the entire match, until Alberto Del Rio last eliminated Randy Orton to win the 2011 match. Only then did Santino appear and floor Del Rio with his “Cobra” punch, that is such a perfect finishing move in that it is easy to do and elicits a response. And what a response! The TD Garden exploded, could Santino win the Rumble? Well, no. In the time he milked his handiwork, Del Rio recovered and eliminated Marella, to become the victor.

Wrestlers had hidden under the ring before now, but this was done perfectly in that nobody mentioned it. Nobody mentioned it therefore nobody expected it when it happened. Santino came close to the main event in Wrestlemania again in 2012 when he came second in the Elimination Chamber. A popular character with the fans, I wouldn’t put it past anybody if he is in or around the main event in 2013.

1. The Entire 1992 Royal Rumble

Okay, I cheated a bit, but it is brilliant, and how a Rumble should be done.

In late 1991, the title was upheld following a string of controversial decisions in a match between The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan, after no clear winner was found, the WWE announced that the new champion would be the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble. Hulk and Taker, who were battling for the belt, were given preferential numbers between 20 and 30. With the gold at stake, pretty much every non-tag team active member of the roster entered the Rumble, and this rumble had the most star studded line up upto that point.

What was brilliant though was the storyline throughout the Rumble, and had that feature that most Royal Rumbles had – which was you couldn’t call the winner. Would it be one of the four former WWF Champions (Hogan, Taker, “Macho Man” Randy Savage & Sgt. Slaughter)? The newcomer Sid Justice? Rowdy Roddy Piper who was pushed to the moon around the time? Jake Roberts who had turned heel and reinvented himself as a right sinister bastard?

Instead the winner was a relatively unlikely name, Ric Flair. Debuting late the year before, The Nature Boy proclaimed himself as the real world champion, however nobody really believed he would win the Rumble, at least not when he came into the match as the third entrant.

Ric however lasted well over an hour to take the crown and the title, giving a memorable interview after winning the event.

It was so well done, and so well crafted the Rumble, that it is held by many fans (myself included) as the greatest Royal Rumble ever. Arguably the greatest thing about the Rumble though is the commentary, particularly the work of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Heenan, a member of Flair’s camp, is so wonderfully biased with his commentary that as the match goes on, you want to see Flair (a heel) win it, so much so that the commentary when he wins almost seals him turning face. Yes he is the dirtiest player in the game, but you cannot deny the length and quality of Ric Flair’s performance. A joy to behold.

And, with a tear in my eye, this is the greatest Rumble moment of all time, but what is yours? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Welsh Rugby World Cup Semi Final Spotify Playlist

March 469
Creative Commons License photo credit: ArunMarsh*

Tomorrow, Wales kick off against France in the Rugby World Cup Semi Final. We’ve been here once before, bowing out to a strong New Zealand side. France are the opponents tomorrow.

I’m feeling stupidly patriotic this week, despite being scammed and ill in Bulgaria meaning that I couldn’t watch us win against Bulgaria (tip: never go to Bulgaria!). So I decided to make a Welsh Spotify Playlist in preparation for the game tomorrow!

It’s by no means complete, just a few Welsh songs I like, plus some traditional rugby songs. Feel free to add to it, but as many people say they’re supporting the Welsh tomorrow, it’d be good to get you lot feeling a little bit more Welsh.

DEWCH YMLAEN CYMRU!

* Yes I’m well aware that this isn’t from the Rugby World Cup