Royal Rumble Rate Royal Rumble 2016

[Mr. Roman Empire]

Wow...good for him

WWE AJ Styles Merchandise Is Already Sold Out

 

[alexb]

Given the fact that for the last couple of years we got served with two mediocre (to say the least) Royal Rumbles and also given the garbage we've been constantly fed on RAW, I guess this time you've got to give WWE some props for delivering a pretty solid show. It certainly wasn't the best RR of all time bu it was about fuckin time we got something interesting and enjoyable to watch so a 7/10 sounds just about fair.

Now, we all know the results and what took place so just a few notes:

Pre show: During my predictions, my quote here was "who cares" and as we all saw, it really didn't matter after all. So Swagger and Mark Henry won. And? They earn their spots in the RR to only get eliminated in less than a minute...combined. So, what purpose did the pre show really serve? I understand the idea of having Mark Henry make an appearance being it was probably his last one but if you're going to do so, give the man at least 5-10 minutes to pull a couple of moves for all times sake...Just terrible...

IC title: Glorious way to kick off the show and an awesome match overall which, though way too early, may very well be a contender for match of the year come December. Now, while I really like Dean Ambrose and how WWE are giving him a proper push, I personally feel that KO should have come out as the winner; idk, in my view it felt like a step backwards as far as KO is concerned but nevertheless, an excellent match...

Tag Team Championship: As expected, New Day retained and is was really a no brainer. The timing was just off for the Usos and as we all witness, the entire crowd thought the same by heavily booing them throughout the match. Nice to see the trombone back and good job to New Day overall. Interesting to see what's next given how weak the division is but come Mania, New Day I think will have to drop the belts so I guess it remains to be seen as far as who's going to step up...

US title: I was a bit surprised they gave the belt back to Kallisto and I feel, as many of you I'm sure, WWE just messed up the whole thing going back and forth with the belt. At the end of the day, I feel it was a rather indifferent match they we really didn't care about and probably the worst of the night given the multiple botches. Anyway, congrats to Kallisto and at least we can hope for some more entertaining matches with him champion, perhaps elevating the belt just a bit...

Divas: Typical stuff with Ric being the key in Charlotte winning. It kind of sucks for Becky but it was rather obvious that WWE are looking to stick with Charlotte till Mania and having Sasha Banks come out was actually very cool. Amazining pop and though premature, I think it's safe to say that we are looking at a Triple Threat for Wrestlemania, which I am totally fine with.

RR match: Even my two year old nephew knew what the outcome was going to be so Michael Cole...freakin save it with the "surprise act". Speaking of Cole, didn't everyone just wish he got knocked out in the opening match when Ambrose ran KO through the announce table and on to Michael Cole; I know I was...

Back to the main event, I think overall they did a good job. My main complaints:

a) I feel they overdid it with Roman Reigns. I mean, why have the League of Nations come out in the midst of the match and attack Roman? I felt it was unnecessary and well, if you're going to screw him, at least do it right: beat him up IN the ring and toss his ass out, just like the Wyatts did with Brock.

b) Speaking of the Wyatts, I was surprised that Bray wasn't the one to personally eliminate Lesnar and was kind of "uh, ok" when teh rest of the family did the deed instead.

c) The constant screwing of Tyler Breeze. Just give the guy a damn chance will you WWE?

Other than that, we all knew Triple H was going to win, we all know what the main event at Mania is going to be but it still felt nice to listen to the Game's music hit and it was funny that he went a little DX on Roman after tossing him out.

Last but not least, good to see AJ Styles. Amazing pop, good showing overall and though I wasn't really sure about the whole thing, I feel that WWE at least played it right by having KO being the one to eliminate him.

Wrapping this up, I think the road to Mania will be quite interesting and I will certainly update my thoughts in the thread I've already opened, with a few of my ideas mentioned already looking to actually flourish. For now, let's just see how they follow things up on RAW tonight...

 

[Prince Bálor]

Prince Bálor's WWE Journey
Destination: Royal Rumble - Orlando, FL
Date: 1/24/16

​

- Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens was a very good show opener. ***½
This Last Man Standing match was about as good as you could ask for, given unprotected chair shots to the face and blood are prohibited. It was fun and violent, although not as much as it could've been, but what can you do? The guys did some big bumps and the crowd was into it and that's what matters. The Cannonball into the barricade spot, as well as the Swinging Fisherman Suplex through a table and the finish itself were cool. Loved 'em. The right man won and this was a hot way to kick things off.

- The New Day vs The Usos was rock solid. **¾
The New Day's pre-match promo was awesome, loved it. And I'm really glad Francesca II has risen. NEW DAY ROCKS!
Now, I hate The Usos, but they're carriable. They were sloppy here, but Big E and Kofi made this mostly work and thankfully, The New Day retain the titles. The finish was great. Big E caught a flying Uso in mid-air and hit him with Big Ending. Great, great finish.

- Alberto Del Rio vs Kalisto was solid, despite being sloppy/botchy in places. **½
They've had good matches before, but this one just wasn't up to scratch. It wasn't horrible, but these two didn't click. In a perfect world, this would've been Kalisto's first US title win. I hate it when a company keeps playing hot potatoes with their titles. See: NJPW's Jr. division.
Hoping something good comes out of this and Kalisto gets an actual run from here on out. The dude can be a star.

- Charlotte vs Becky Lynch was decent, but nothing to write home about. **
I liked the post-match segment the most. It was really well done. Sasha Banks came out to a huge pop, kicked Becky out of the ring, faked friendship with Charlotte and then applied the Bank Statement to another huge pop.

- The Royal Rumble match was the best Rumble match in years. ****
Unlike previous RR matches, this one wasn't a total snoozefest.
- I marked for AJ Styles and he was handled well. He could've easily lasted till the end, but oh well. His theme song sounded dope, though.
- Y2J got the iron man run, for whatever reason.
- LOL, R-Truth.
- The Zayn/KO stuff was nice. I marked. Hoping it continues.
- Strowman eliminating the old monsters known as Kane and Show was a'ight.
- Kofi Kingston got the spot in the Rumble only to do something underhwelming. smh
- Lesnar killing people is always fun! Also, him eliminating Harper/Strowman/Rowan was good, as well as how the whole family eliminated Lesnar afterwards. Although I was surprised Lesnar didn't go berserk after he was eliminated and then went back to the ring to go BORK SMASH KILL mode on everyone. Anyways, Lesnar vs Wyatt at WM will be fun.
- LOL, silly WWE. Reigns was handled poorly and I feel bad for the guy. Man, they really thought Reigns was gonna get cheered after being helped to the back and then coming back fresh as a daisy. Reigns would've garnered some sympathy had he returned to the ring broken and beat, followed by HHH screwing him out of the title by pulling a Vince from the '99 Royal Rumble. But hey, at least Reigns didn't retain, 'cause that would've caused a massive backlash. Something was done right after all.
- Now, onto the ending itself. I was expecting it and I have nothing against HHH being the WWE-WHC, but if they really wanted sympathy for Reigns, instead of massive cheering for HHH, then they should've booked HHH to win as a chickenshit heel, as I wrote above. Hope Reigns can maintain the status of the top face going forward, though.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Royal Rumble was a good show. The undercard was decent to good and the RR match was surprisingly good. 7/10
Looking forward to RAW tonight, which I haven't in a long time.

 

[The GOAT]

I thought it was an excellent PPV through and through. I'm not about to break down every little thing I liked or disliked because that's boring, but I didn't think there a bad match on the show at all last night. Ambrose vs Owens was a spectacular opener, Sasha Banks is finally on her own and with apparent disregard for faces and heels alike (which fits her character perfectly), and the Rumble match itself was the best we've had in years. Styles' debut, Sami Zayn throwing out Kevin Owens, Brock rag-dolling a bunch of people at will (though I wish he had eliminated more folks than he did), Jericho lasting almost through the entire match (sad how a 40-something year-old Jericho has the stamina to last almost an hour, but a barely 30-something year-old Reigns has to be put on the shelf for nearly half the match because he'd pass out from extreme exhaustion if he wasn't), The Wyatt Family getting rid of Brock Lesnar, HHH having an eye to eye with the likes of Ambrose and Wyatt, the final two coming down to HHH vs Ambrose, etc. Great night.

 

[Solidus1]

AJ Styles/10, I marked hard.
I share pretty much the same opinions. Wish Brock eliminated more etc..
The potential feud between Styles/Zayn/Owens is so good. Should Owens have won the US title though? Gives all 4 men something to feud over.

 

[CM Punk]

I think it's pretty funny people wanted Bray Wyatt to win the Rumble, one of the most poorly booked characters today in WWE.
I also find it funny people wanted AJ Styles to win. And don't get me wrong, that'd be a sweet sight to see, it'd make no sense.

 

[The GOAT]

I think it's pretty funny people wanted Bray Wyatt to win the Rumble, one of the most poorly booked characters today in WWE.
I also find it funny people wanted AJ Styles to win. And don't get me wrong, that'd be a sweet sight to see, it'd make no sense.

His booking has certainly been flawed, but in no way is he "one of the worst booked people in the company" lol. He and the Family still win far more than they lose, and they're credible enough at least to go up against big name stars like Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, etc., so that's still something.

Can't see how it would have made sense for him to win the Rumble given the direction everything is headed in, but it wouldn't have been awful from a believability standpoint either.

 

[CM Punk]

His booking has certainly been flawed, but in no way is he "one of the worst booked people in the company" lol. He and the Family still win far more than they lose, and they're credible enough at least to go up against big name stars like Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, etc., so that's still something.

Can't see how it would have made sense for him to win the Rumble given the direction everything is headed in, but it wouldn't have been awful from a believability standpoint either.

You really think they're credible? I mean, their wins over mid-carders through interference means nothing. The main focus of The Wyatt Family is supposed to be Bray Wyatt, yet he's unable to beat anyone clean without the assistance of the family.

Would it have been farfetched for Wyatt to win the Rumble? No, but only if the family were able to help him. They tried to make him the next Taker, but here he is unable to beat any huge star without interference. Poorly booked guy, no one give shit about him anymore, they can add more members but until they book him right, he's going nowhere.

 

[The GOAT]

You really think they're credible? I mean, their wins over mid-carders through interference means nothing. The main focus of The Wyatt Family is supposed to be Bray Wyatt, yet he's unable to beat anyone clean without the assistance of the family.

Would it have been farfetched for Wyatt to win the Rumble? No, but only if the family were able to help him. They tried to make him the next Taker, but here he is unable to beat any huge star without interference. Poorly booked guy, no one give shit about him anymore, they can add more members but until they book him right, he's going nowhere.

In what way aren't they credible? Any group of thugs like this who can swarm and attack you and pummel you mercilessly into the ground has instant credibility. Even a monster like Brock isn't impervious to being laid out by them. Bray has also been competitive in every match he's been in, be it Cena, Taker, Reigns, etc. He may need help to win at times, but he's a mesmerizing cult leader, not a dominating monster like the Undertaker or Kane were. He doesn't have to be steamrolling through everyone on his own all the time.

And it's not like Bray has lost to nobodies either. He's a jobber to the stars unfortunately, but at least he's not doing jobs for just anyone. Look at who he's lost feuds to: Cena, Undertaker, Reigns, The Brothers of Destruction.

Really wouldn't hurt to let him win a big feud for once (and I certainly don't foresee that being one with Lesnar), but he's not booked quite as horrible as people make out. Shame Sting is injured though, he was rumored to fight Bray at Mania and would have definitely done the job for him. Oh well.

 

[CM Punk]

In what way aren't they credible? Any group of thugs like this who can swarm and attack you and pummel you mercilessly into the ground has instant credibility. Even a monster like Brock isn't impervious to being laid out by them. Bray has also been competitive in every match he's been in, be it Cena, Taker, Reigns, etc. He may need help to win at times, but he's a mesmerizing cult leader, not a dominating monster like the Undertaker or Kane were. He doesn't have to be steamrolling through everyone on his own all the time.

And it's not like Bray has lost to nobodies either. He's a jobber to the stars unfortunately, but at least he's not doing jobs for just anyone. Look at who he's lost feuds to: Cena, Undertaker, Reigns, The Brothers of Destruction.

Really wouldn't hurt to let him win a big feud for once (and I certainly don't foresee that being one with Lesnar), but he's not booked quite as horrible as people make out. Shame Sting is injured though, he was rumored to fight Bray at Mania and would have definitely done the job for him. Oh well.

You forgot part timer Jericho and Ambrose.
He literally picks fights he can't win repeatedly. That doesn't make him credible whatsoever.

 

[The GOAT]

You forgot part timer Jericho and Ambrose.
He literally picks fights he can't win repeatedly. That doesn't make him credible whatsoever.

I said who he lost entire feuds to... He walked away from his rivalries with Jericho and Ambrose getting the last word, despite trading wins with them throughout.

 

[CM Punk]

I said who he lost entire feuds to... He walked away from his rivalries with Jericho and Ambrose getting the last word, despite trading wins with them throughout.

So he trades wins with upper mid-carders but can't beat main event stars. Which majority of his feuds revolve around, main event stars...

 

[CM Punk]

I honestly forgot the point I was trying to make.

 

[The GOAT]

So he trades wins with upper mid-carders but can't beat main event stars. Which majority of his feuds revolve around, main event stars...

Point is... He's one of the most valued superstars on the roster (because win or lose, he is nearly always booked in feuds that matter) and has the kind of character that can easily recover from a loss or a string of losses to anyone with the right booking. His character as already mentioned isn't being some indestructible monster who needs to win all or nearly all of the time to maintain cred. (And hell, even some guys who are booked like that - The Big Show - can recover if they're handled the right way.)

If you can feud with someone and have people believing that there's a reasonable enough chance of you winning, then you have credibility in my eyes. Bray can do that. He's the kind of individual who imo could be booked to go over a main event star cleanly tomorrow (possibly even Brock Lesnar himself) and most would accept it if so long as they booked the match right.

Also, most fans don't hang onto every single win or loss a person has.

 

[RVD_86]

6/10

IC Title match - this was a great match and a really good opener for the event.Strong performance from both and dint do either guy any harm. Two of the finest new generation performers around just now and stole the show with their match.

Tag titles - Boring. Never been a New Day fan. Find their gimmick silly and irritating. Was disappointed in the Uso's. Think they are far more capable of putting on a show than they did. Was a big let down this match, no spark and deflated the crowd a bit.

US Title match - This would have been a really good match as well if it wasn't for the few botched manoeuvres that took place. Just looked really bad as a fan watching from two guys who have been around long enough not to make mistakes like that and especially so many in one match. Having said that, wasn't that bad even with the mistakes. Still an entertaining encounter and an interesting title change. Clearly WWE has big plans for kalisto and are viewing him as the new age Rey Mysterio. But whether he is successful remains to be seen......I doubt it though!

Divas Title - Really bad match. In ring performance was poor by their standards and Becky's footwear mess up was embarrassingly unprofessional. Crowd were never into it and Charlotte is cringeworthy in her verbal taunts combined with Becky having no personality. Disaster this match.

Royal Rumble match - certainly was nothing special. Seen a lot better in the past. But it was better than last years disaster of a rumble match. I liked how there were only a few veteran appearances and more of the current roster being used. AJ Styles was a huge hit and the best thing that happened on the night. I could've thought of better ways to debut him and the way he was eliminated didn't exactly do him and the fans any favours. Was al a bit strange. The ending was the worst. HHH being made the winner was totally the wrong call. It's not just the IWC that don't like this, I'm sure most fans thought this was stupid. A huge step back once again WWE, who clearly don't see the damage they're doing to the future of the business.

Overall, if it hadn't been for the IC title match, this event would have been one of the worst of all time. It's sadly becoming a running theme in the WWE nowadays.