Author: Trafficblast

Royal Rumble 2021: The Biggest Surprises From The WWE PPV

2021 Royal Rumble

2021 Royal Rumble

WWE’s January PPV is one of the most important ones of the year. It’s the Royal Rumble, and during the course of the evening, the two titular battle royal matches feature 30 men or women trying to be the last remaining person in the ring, which will give them a championship match at Wrestlemania.

It’s the PPV that truly sets the stage for the rest of the wrestling year. Some of WWE’s biggest superstars will get a chance to appear during the Rumble matches, and they are sure to put on a spectacular show–especially Kofi Kingston. Taking place in the fanless Thunderdome in Florida, you can watch the event for yourself on the WWE Network.

However, some of the most fun moments from the Rumble matches are all the surprise entrants that show up and get everyone talking. Typically, these are former WWE superstars we haven’t seen in the ring in quite some time. And there’s always more than one surprise, so we are taking note of every jaw-dropping entrant that showed up during the January 31 PPV.

Below, you’ll find every big surprise from both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches as they happen. So make sure to keep checking back to GameSpot as more entrants are revealed.

As we wait for all of this to kick off, let us know who you think is going to make a surprise entrance at this year’s Royal Rumble. Do you think CM Punk will return (no way) or will Carlito show up and spit an apple in someone’s face? Anyone else think Ronda Rousey or Becky Lynch will show up? Let us know in the comments below.

For more on the PPV, check out the live results from the Royal Rumble and stay tuned later in the evening for a special episode of GameSpot’s wrestling podcast Wrestle Buddies.

WWE Royal Rumble 2021: Becky Lynch Trolls Twitter

Former Raw and Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch teased her return at Sunday’s Royal Rumble event, but it was not to be. WWE fans haven’t seen Lynch since last May when she announced her pregnancy on Raw and relinquished her championship to the Money in the Bank winner, Asuka.

During the women’s Rumble event, Lynch tweeted out an interesting image of a curtain primarily used in the Gorilla position. Even WWE responded back in a curious nature as if she would be the latest in the surprise entrants.

For a few minutes, wrestling Twitter went wild thinking she was going to make an appearance in the Rumble match, as she tweeted this out right before the 25th entrant–which was Tamina. However, as the match went on, it was pretty clear she was just messing with everyone, and Lynch later tweeted again about her photography skills.

Since Lynch, real name Rebecca Quinn has been gone, she and husband Seth Rollins had their first child–which happened back in December. She’s made no hint or given any sort of idea when she would return, but in the meantime, fans will wait patiently til the Man comes around again.

Amazon Game Studios Report Details ‘Bro Culture’ and Cancelled Projects

A new extensive report from Bloomberg has detailed some of the dysfunction and struggles at Amazon Game Studios, which included cancelled projects, a troublesome game engine, mismanagement, and a “bro culture” that allegedly does not give women the same opportunities as men.

The report begins by discussing how Mike Frazzini was brought in to start Amazon Game Studios eight years ago without ever making a game. Since then, Frazzini and Amazon Game Studios have released only two games, and have seen multiple cancelled projects that were attempting to recreate the financial magic of games like Fortnite and League of Legends.

The Grand Tour Game was the first Amazon Game Studios console release, and within a year it was removed from storefronts. Crucible was the next game released from the studio, and not only did it return to closed beta after its official launch, it was shut down in November 2020.

Two other projects, which were known as Intensity and Nova, never saw the light of day after the teams tried and failed to create games inspired by Fortnite and League of Legends, respectively.

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All of these cancelled and unsuccessful projects at Amazon Game Studios have done so despite Amazon spending nearly $500 million a year operating the game division. It’s also important to note that the amount doesn’t include Twitch or Amazon Luna – the latter of which is under different management.

Frazzini is an “Amazon lifer” who started his career in the books section of Amazon.com where he “endeared himself to Jeff Bezos as a manager there.” He began his role as head of the games division by bringing in some of the best game development talent in the world, including Portal’s Kim Swift, Far Cry 2’s Clint Hawking, Madden’s Richard Hilleman, and Everquest’s John Smedley. Today, only Smedley remains.

According to numerous current and former employees of Frazzini’s game studios, he continuously ignored much of the advice given by these experienced developers, and despite frequently telling the staff that every Amazon game should be a “billion-dollar franchise,” he would then understaff projects.

Furthermore, instead of using industry-leading game engines like Unreal Engine or Unity, the studio opted to license technology from Crytek to create a homemade engine known as Lumberyard.

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While Lumberyard was meant to integrate with Amazon Web Services and could have been a cheaper alternative than paying for the other engines, it ended up being known as a “boogeyman around the office.” Many cited that it was “painfully slow,” and developers would play Halo or watch Amazon Prime Video as they waited for Lumberyard to process art or compile code. One former employee even went so far as to say, “Lumberyard is killing this company.”

Another big issue with working at Amazon Game Studios is said to be linked to the “bro culture” that has been cultivated there, in which women were often not given the same opportunities as men. Beyond that, “four female game developers said that their worst experiences of sexism in the industry were at Amazon.”

There were stories of them being ignored and undermined by male executives, in some cases being driven out of the company. One source said that not only did a male on the senior leadership team impede her career growth after she disagreed with him, he would then go on to create new management positions above her and hired men to take those positions.

Amazon’s game problems also extend to how they incentivize their employees. While most studios pay bonuses based on the critical and commercial response of a game, Amazon’s stock plan only rewards employees for how long they have been at the company. This has led to some employees choosing to “prioritize job preservation over anything else, say three former employees.”

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Amazon Game Studio’s next project is the MMO New World. Originally planned for a 2020 release, it was pushed back to Spring 2021 to improve the quality of the game. Bloomberg’s report explains that the project was originally going to be a survival game where players would take on the role of colonists in a fictional version of 1600s America.

The problem, however, was that the enemies players originally were going to face “looked a lot like indigenous people.” When developers pointed out to Frazzini’s deputy, Patrick Gilmore, that the setting and villains could be considered racist, he “expressed disbelief.”

Amazon did eventually hire a tribal consultant who did find that the portrayal was offensive, and the Native American imagery has since been removed.

Our latest preview of New World’s high-level PvE zone show a game that may not be for everybody, but one that shows promise and a big improvement, in both PvE content and general polish, from the previous build.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

WWE Royal Rumble 2021: Live Coverage, Results, Match Card, And Rumble Entrants

It’s finally time for the greatest PPV of the year, the Royal Rumble. Sorry Wrestlemania, but the Rumble is the most fun WWE event of the year, and you can check out all the winners and losers for every match below as the show streams live.

Taking place in the WWE Thunderdome, Tropicana Field will host the first PPV of 2021, and while fans will only be able to virtually attend the event, they’ll be back in time for this year’s two-night Wrestlemania. The main attraction for tonight’s Royal Rumble are none other than the two battle royal matches, where both 30 men and 30 women will battle for a chance to face the WWE or Women’s Champion of their choice at Wrestlemania.

And if you want to now about some of our predictions, check out the episode of Wrestle Buddies above, where Chris and Mat make picks for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches. Mat chose Alexa Bliss and Jey Uso while Chris picked Alexa Bliss and Daniel Bryan. If you want more details, check out the podcast.

Also, stay tuned to GameSpot later tonight for a special post-Royal Rumble episode of Wrestle Buddies, where the guys will give their thoughts on the PPV. And while you’re waiting for that, why not check out the Icons documentary on Yokozuna, airing on the WWE Network right after the Royal Rumble?

How to watch:

If you’re looking to watch WWE’s TLC PPV, you’re going to have to sign up for the WWE Network, which costs $10 a month. The streaming service no longer offers one month for free, but it is well worth the price of admission, as there is plenty of other content to keep you entertained, like old episodes of Raw, Smackdown, WCW Nitro, PPVs, and original content. There is also a free tier, which you can use to watch the Kickoff Show of the PPV, but not the main card.

Below, you’ll find the up-to-date match card for the event. Obviously, the card is subject to change–and there will most likely be a few changes during the Kickoff Show as well. If you want to know more about the battle royals themselves, check out the confirmed entrants for the Royal Rumble matches.

Match card:

  • Men’s Royal Rumble
  • Women’s Royal Rumble
  • Sasha Banks (c) vs. Carmella (Smackdown Women’s Championship)
  • Charlotte Flair & Asuka (c) vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax (Women’s Tag Team Championship)
  • Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing match for the Universal Championship)
  • Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg (WWE Championship)

Aside from the two Rumble matches, both the Universal Championship and WWE Championship have a lot of hype around them. Kevin Owens will continue his journey to get a major win over “The Head of the Table” Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match, so you can expect that to be pretty brutal.

Goldberg returned out of nowhere to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. However, McIntyre tested positive for COVID, and it put doubts on the match. But don’t worry, the match is still happening, and hopefully, it’s longer than a spear and a jackhammer–probably not, though.

As the night moves forward, you’ll find the updated results from every match, along with important notes in case you aren’t watching. We’re kicking things off below with the pre-show.

Kickoff Show

Notes and changes for the main card will be updated below as they are announced. Keep refreshing for more info as the preshow and main cards air on the WWE Network.

The Kickoff Show probably won't have The Fiend on it...
The Kickoff Show probably won’t have The Fiend on it…

The Kickoff Show begins at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET.

This Kickoff Show will only be an hour long.

Updating…

Daily Deals: Save On Sound Bars, 4K TVs and Snacks

If you missed it yesterday, don’t worry, the Doritos sale is continuing through to today. Along with some tasty snacks, you can save a ton of cash right now by purchasing a Samsung audio setup for your home, and even get a great new 4K TV in the process as well. The perfect setup is only a few clicks away in this edition of Daily Deals.

Daily Deals for January 31th 2021

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Just Released: New Alienware RTX 30 Series Laptops for Preorder

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MLB The Show 21 Cover Leak Seemingly Confirms Xbox Version

The cover has allegedly leaked for MLB The Show 21, but this time for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox One, seemingly confirming that the Sony-exclusive baseball game will make its way to other platforms in 2021.

Known leaker ANerdyDad on Instagram shared the covers, which both feature San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., and the Xbox version even comes complete with the PlayStation Studios logo, as well.

Another potential leak has made its way to Reddit, showing that there may also be a Jackie Robinson special edition version of MLB The Show 21, which is said to be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Unfortunately, there is no mention of PC or Nintendo Switch.

The Jackie Robinson Edition leak also reveals that the game is planned to be released on April 20, 2021, with an Early Access Weekend beginning on April 16.

Following these leaks, it has been announced that the official MLB The Show 2021 cover reveal will take place tomorrow, February 1, on Hot Ones. So, it appears we won’t have to wait long to learn the truth.

In 2019, it was confirmed that MLB The Show would be making its way to other platforms as early as 2021, and it appears this just may be the year these great games will be playable by many more people.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.