Royal Rumble Results and Review
Credit: WWE
The Royal Rumble is over and if I could choose one word to describe the PPV, I believe that word would be predictable. Nothing really stood out and there wasn’t any real shock factor throughout the card. Is that necessarily a bad thing? No, but I felt like there was just a lot of broken anticipation. The way some of the matches were handled were not ideal, but it is what it is. The Rumble winners were about as predictable as possible and if I decided to skip the PPV last night, I really wouldn’t have missed a beat. As far as production quality goes, the show looked amazing and the setup at Chase Field was awesome, but creatively it was lacking. Each match had something unique to bring to the table, but it seemed like something was missing and not to mention, it was a very lengthy show.
*Winners are bolded
1. Normal Tag Team Match – Non-Title
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable vs. Rezar and Scott Dawson (w/Drake Maverick)
This match was thrown together as a last-minute starter for the kickoff show. I’m still wondering why this was even a thing. It absolutely did nothing for anyone involved and the fact it wasn’t even announced properly was the biggest question mark. Also, they split two underwhelming tag teams and put them in a match to square off with the team of Roode and Gable. Creative really worked overtime on this one (insert sarcasm). Roode and Gable took the victory fairly quickly, but it wasn’t even for a championship? I mean it’s not like they’re they RAW Tag Team Champs or anything. Wait, they are? Totally pointless match, with nothing at stake at a PPV. Thumbs down for WWE in this one.
GRADE: 1/10
2. United States Championship Match – Singles
Rusev (C) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
As far as unpredictability goes, this was probably the peak of the night. The match didn’t steal the show, but the outcome was one that wasn’t expected. Like I mentioned in the prediction article, I thought Lana would be involved somehow, but not in the way that I thought. Towards the end of the match, Rusev slipped up and ran into Lana and she fell hard on the floor. This caused a distraction for Rusev and Nakamura took advantage of the situation. Nakamura won by pinfall and claimed his second United States Championship. There was nothing really special about this match and moving forward, I don’t really have a clue what is going to take place with these two superstars in the near future, but I don’t think this rivalry will be carried out much longer.
GRADE: 6.5/10
3. Cruiserweight Championship Match – Fatal 4-Way
Hideo Itami vs. Buddy Murphy (C) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto
This was another great showing from the guys on 205 Live. There was a ton of back and forth action in the match and this is one that was just unfortunately placed in the kickoff show. These guys put on a show and I seriously didn’t know who was going to walk away champion. Buddy Murphy secured the victory to retain his Cruiserweight title, but it could’ve easily gone to any of the competitors. I don’t know what’s coming next in terms of competition for the purple belt, but I’m excited to see what they come up with at Elimination Chamber.
GRADE: 8.3/10
4. SmackDown Women’s Championship Match – Singles
Credit: WWE
Asuka (C) vs. Becky Lynch
Going into the match, this was expected to be a candidate for best match of the night and in my opinion, I’d say it was close, but no cigar. The match itself was solid, but the outcome and how it all unfolded was a little underwhelming. I expected Asuka to retain, because she has had an excellent reign as champion, but having Becky Lynch lose by submission was not the best direction to go in this one. I had no problem with Becky losing, at all, but they can’t have the company’s biggest star tapping, no matter who they’re tapping to. People say all the time that there’s no shame in tapping, I call complete bull crap on that statement in this particular situation. I think it’s the worst way for her to lose. If they want her to be female Stone Cold Steve Austin, have her struggle to reach the ropes and then “pass out”, have someone interfere, heck, have a count out or anything other than The Man tapping out. She doesn’t have to win the match, but come on. Losing doesn’t necessarily make you look weak, but tapping out I about as weak as it gets. This obviously makes Asuka look even stronger and I’m glad it does, but having Becky lose by tapping and to go on to do what she achieves later in the PPV absolutely doesn’t add up. I know this was obviously a set up for something to come later, but this wasn’t the right way to do it. It was a really solid match, but the outcome wasn’t the right way to go, otherwise, it would’ve been the Match of the Night.
GRADE: 8/10
5. SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match – Normal Tag
The Bar (C) vs. The Miz and Shane McMahon
This was a neat match, but not particularly impressive. It was a little lengthier than I was anticipating, but it worked. The match seemed pretty one-sided to me and that was a shame, because The Bar demolished them on Tuesday night. It was all but a guarantee that Miz and McMahon were going to win the title, but the most impressive thing of the match was Shane’s high-flying move at the end to seal the victory. They can’t say that the McMahon’s don’t love their business. This is obviously setting up a match between the two at WrestleMania and we really shouldn’t think otherwise. I’m interested to see their title defenses coming up though.
GRADE: 6.5/10
6. RAW Women’s Championship – Singles
Ronda Rousey (C) vs. Sasha Banks *Match of The Night*
This was another match I was expecting to be good, but this one didn’t disappoint in the end. Rousey looked like a champ last night and Sasha looked great also. The match was aggressive, intense, and the story told what it needed to tell. Ronda is getting better with each match she has and it isn’t a secret. She actually won by pinfall in this one, which was something different. Whatever happens within the next 2-3 months, I can say she has been nothing but good for the women’s division. I want her to stay, but if she doesn’t, that’s fine as well. Sasha Banks proved that she belonged in a match of this caliber, although that isn’t really a surprise. She’s just been lost in the shuffle since Ronda came to the WWE and that is unfortunate. I fully expect Sasha Banks and Bayley to be the first WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions in a month and that is something that I am looking forward to.
GRADE: 8.8/10
7. Women’s Royal Rumble
Credit: WWE
WINNER: Becky Lynch
FINAL 4: Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Bayley
I excluded Rumble matches for the Match of the Night, but if I didn’t, this would’ve been it. It was a great showing, but it could’ve been better. It was a little lengthy, but the whole show was, so I’m not going to discredit the quality of the match because of it. There were no legend surprises, which was kinda disappointing, but the ones that were in it were great. This was another predictable outcome though. At this point in the show, everyone and their mother knew that Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch would be the last two in the match. I totally get it, but it could’ve been better. I liked that Ember Moon had a lengthy stay in the match, but Natalya was in the ring the longest, which was perfectly fine. Personally, I think that Kacy Catanzaro and Rhea Ripley stole the show for the amount of time they were in. I want to see those two on the main roster as soon as possible. I personally thought that Lacey Evans was kind of underwhelming. She lasted in the match for a good bit, but she just didn’t impress me that much. It’s difficult to determine her based off of one Royal Rumble match, but I don’t think it was a great start. Lana was “injured” prior to the Rumble in Rusev and Nakamura’s US title match, so that is how Becky Lynch became an entry. The way that was handled could’ve been a lot better, but it worked, I guess. Lynch is my favorite WWE superstar right now, but I don’t think they did a great job of utilizing her last night. On one hand, they made her look strong by winning the Women’s Rumble with a hurt knee, but on the other hand, she tapped out to Asuka. It was a confusing scenario to say the least and I think it kind of hurt her momentum more than it helped, but we now know that Becky is heading to WrestleMania, against whom? Prior to the match I would’ve said, no doubt, Ronda Rousey, but getting revenge on Asuka now is a possibility, which I’m fine with, but some would say it is disappointing.
GRADE: 9/10
I am a big fan of the IIconics, here’s their reaction to being eliminated in the Royal Rumble.
8. WWE Championship Match – Singles
Credit: WWE
Daniel Bryan (C) vs. AJ Styles
Another match that I was expecting to be decent and it was just that, nothing more. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the match, but a random appearance from Erick Rowan was puzzling. Why did Erick Rowan, in street clothes, just randomly appear to the aid of Daniel Bryan? I don’t have a clue. There is most definitely something cooking up in the near future, but it made no sense to just have him come out. I thought this would be a Bray Wyatt appearance, but it wasn’t, just Erick Rowan. This rivalry between Bryan and Styles is over and it’s about time, not that the rivalry was lacking, there just isn’t any more to tell between the two. Bryan’s character development moving forward will be something to keep an eye on, but I’m interested to see how everything plays out.
GRADE: 7.5/10
9. Universal Championship Match – Singles
Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Finn Bálor
Brock Lesnar and Finn Bálor worked together pretty well in this contest. It was a little shorter than anticipated, but it did the job. Bálor looked to have an actual shot, but the moment I knew he wasn’t The Demon, I knew it would be a Brock Lesnar victory. Lesnar looked legitimately injured in the match. He could’ve been just selling it wonderfully, but I don’t know, he looked like he was in pain. It added to the match and Bálor capitalized on it, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to make him champion. I think this match was slightly better than the one prior to it, but it was another predictable victory in the moment. It sounds like it was the theme going into the PPV, judging by the outcome of every match. I just thought that Bálor had an actual shot with the way he was being pushed on RAW, but we’ll see what happens on Monday night.
GRADE: 7.7/10
10. Men’s Royal Rumble
Credit: WWE
WINNER: Seth Rollins
FINAL 4: Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Andrade
The show’s main event has received a great deal of positive reviews, but I disliked it a lot. The storylines within the match were all kinds of jumbled up, half of the competitors in the match were RAW superstars, and looking back at the results of the match, they made it no secret that Seth Rollins was going to be the winner. It sounds like, by my word choice, that I didn’t watch it, but I watched every minute of it. Once I saw Drew McIntyre exit the match, I knew nobody else had a legitimate shot other than Rollins. Not to say Rollins doesn’t deserve it, he does, but it didn’t do anything for me. I fully expected Rollins to win and if I didn’t watch the PPV, nothing would’ve changed. It was nice to see Pete Dunne in the match, I really like what he brings to the table. Also, the other NXT guys that made an appearance were interesting to see, but they really didn’t pose a threat. Jeff Jarrett took a guitar shot from Elias, which was neat to see, but that was the only legend appearance in the whole show. The only spot where we didn’t know who was going to make an appearance was at the 28 spot and it happened to be Dolph Ziggler. It seems as if he is the “surprise” appearance each year. He happens to find himself at the end of each Royal Rumble, despite never being in great storylines. Nothing against Ziggler, he’s one of the best competitors in the WWE, but he is dry as far his character development goes at this point. R-Truth entered at number 30 and was taken out by Nia Jax. Jax and she made herself the number 30 entry in the Men’s Rumble. This is about the last thing that I wanted to see as a fan. There was so much anticipation going into this PPV and the last person we are seeing enter the contest is Nia Jax? What was WWE creative thinking last night? She made the most of her opportunity though by eliminating the person with the second longest time in the match, Mustafa Ali, which also made no sense, because she was fairly easily thrown out by Charlotte Flair in the Women’s Rumble. It was a great moment for Jax personally though, she can now say she was super kicked by Dolph Ziggler, 619’d by Rey Mysterio and RKO’d by Randy Orton in one fluid motion. Rollins winning the match was the most obvious solution, but I figured they would do a better job with it. Braun Strowman has practically been buried, but he’s a guy that can easily put himself back in the title picture. This main event has no re-watch value to me personally and I figure Rollins will challenge Lesnar at WrestleMania, but we shall see.
GRADE: 6.5/10
Yacs
*Was I too harsh with my review? Not harsh enough? Let us know on Twitter @thesportschief or let me know personally @JacobGilreath