Royal Rumble was good. 7/10
- The pre-show matches were solid. The 6-woman tag is obviously leading to the women's EC, the tag title match was rock solid and Nia vs Sasha was short, but effective.
As for the tag title match: I was a bit surprised G&A dethroned Sheamus and Cesaro and on the pre-show nonetheless, but here we are. Imagine how awesome it would've been if G&A won the titles months ago upon their debut. But, better late than never, I guess.
- Charlotte vs Bayley was good for what it was. ★★★
I wasn't invested in this match at all, because I don't watch RAW's women's division anymore and the tradition known as "CharloteWinsLOL 'cause it's a PPV" ain't bringing me back in. Other than that, the work was a little sloppy in places, but overall good. The finish was nice, also.
- Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns was very good. ★★★¾
Unlike previous Reigns/KO matches that have felt lifeless, this one was quite good and Reigns and Owens tore it up. The match had a good pace and energy and it felt like these guys hated each other. KO retaining surprised the hell out of me, man. I thought Reigns was going to win despite the shenanigans, but ultimately, KO retained and I'm glad I was wrong. Now, I'm looking forward to the inevitable JeriKO break-up.
- Neville vs Rich Swann was good. ★★★
It would've been much better if the crowd was invested, but the match was good and the finish was cool. Hopefully Neville can salvage the division now.
- John Cena vs AJ Styles was fantastic and MOTN. ★★★★½
I absolutely loved this match and it was easily the best thing on the show. It had a big fight feel, great pacing, the crowd was really invested, the near falls were great, some good callbacks to their previous outings, they traded submissions, Cena's facial expressions and the teasing of a heel turn was also great. Styles was great as always, too, and was put over huge despite losing. No complaints.
- The Royal Rumble match was good. ★★★
Far from a great Rumble, but it still entertained me. Things really started to pick up once Strowman entered. And since we're on the subject, I thought they really did a great job with him when he was out there and also protected him when he got eliminated. Corbin eliminating Strowman was great, btw. The dude went full speed and hit a Clothesline and it felt real.
Lesnar's run was fun, and his interaction with Goldberg was good, I must admit, as was the Goldberg/Taker interaction.
Sami Zayn should've been the Ironman, but oh well. Y2J's run wasn't bad, though.
One of the disappointing things was that they brought Reigns back in, but didn't have him get his revenge on Strowman. However, having Reigns eliminate Taker was interesting and probably sets up a match for WM, and this is wishful thinking, but we may finally see a heel Reigns.
Also, the most disappointing thing was the lack of surprise entrants. Tye entering at #10 was perfect, but it was also predictable and we called it like 2 months ago. The reason I love the Rumble is because of surprise entries and we didn't get those this year as much as everyone would've wanted.
Now, as for the winner, Randy Orton, I like him and I do not mind him winning, but it felt a little bit underwhelming given the options they could've gone with. Although having Orton win opens up quite a few possibilities for Mania given that EC is just around a corner. So, we'll see.
All in all, I liked this show.
sycho:
and the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and John Cena was incredible. Very happy. As for the Rumble itself, I personally enjoyed it! This might not go down too well but I love Roman Reigns! Having said that though, I would've loved to have seen some legends return and a Balor return. Still loved it!
and the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and John Cena was incredible. Very happy. As for the Rumble itself, I personally enjoyed it! This might not go down too well but I love Roman Reigns! Having said that though, I would've loved to have seen some legends return and a Balor return. Still loved it!
