What should of been the first big event of the year, showcasing what to expect from the WWE in 2015 and beginning the winding Road
to Wrestlemania, has instead been one of the biggest flops in terms of a PPV in
quite some time.
With a
very weak undercard of matches we’ve seen a hundred times before, a divas tag
team “match” that signalled the usual tea break of any PPV and the
old boys versus the new boys, the WWE was always going to be reliant on the
Triple Threat for the the World Heavyweight Championship and the Royal Rumble
match itself. The WHC match had the added pressure of having to steal the show
due to the lack of defenses made by Brock Lesnar during his now lengthy title
reign, and boy did it deliver.
This
match will go down as a classic; the destructive nature of the Beast Incarnate,
the rapidly developing in-ring ability of the Architect Rollins and the
dependability of “Big Match” John complimented each other perfectly,
and each man performed like their life was on the line. There was of course
many signs of things we’ve seen before, like the numerous suplexes and throws
from Lesnar and the constant reversals from Cena and Rollins, but these only
really added to the jaw dropping moments. Cena driving Lesnar into the timekeeping
area was a personal favourite of mine, simply because of the differing and more
aggressive offence from what we all know after years of Cena (ruthless
aggression springs to mind in fact). However, Rollins is slowing showing why so
much faith is shown in him by Triple H. There are very few members of the
current roster that would even try a big elbow from the top rope down to the
announcer’s table, let alone nailing it the way that Rollins did. Then there
was the Phoenix Splash on Cena. Yes it wasn’t 100% perfect, but 99% isn’t bad.
Cannot wait to see Mr Money in the Bank use this move more often, especially as
a finisher following a big curb stomp whenever he finally does cash in. The
overall result of the match was not at all a surprise, there is no way Lesnar
could lose this match, not with Wrestlemania just 2 months down the line. In
fact, this match could quite easily of stolen the show at any Wrestlemania.
In
hindsight, the WWE crew should of made the WHC match the main event of the
Royal Rumble, because there is no way the Rumble was fitting for a PPV main
event. I don’t think it could of been any more obvious that Roman Reigns was
going to win. Vince McMahon has finally got his way. His Samoan Superman is
headed to the top of the food chain. That would of been alright a few weeks ago
before Reigns was thrust down the throats of the WWE Universe. His time away
from the company due to surgery allowed him to work on his acting skills, and
the changes are evidently visible. Left to do his own work, I’m sure Reigns
could carry the company for the foreseeable future. But the constant pushing
and scripted nature of his work is tiresome and fake.
Initially,
the Rumble started quite well. The inclusion of Bubba Ray Dudley gave the
biggest pop of the night, and could of just done with a bit of D-Von to liven
the crowd up even more. Bray Wyatt’s mid-match mic session sent viewers
back to the days of Pipebombs and CM Punk, and his dominance showed he does
have the potential to one day be the face of the company. Daniel Bryan’s early
entry was ideal to keep the match flowing; his impromptu exit enough to cause
riots, especially in an ECW region. I didn’t think for one moment that he would
win, but all they had to do was keep him in the match for 15-20 mins, get the
crowd going and keep everyone happy. But from the moment Bryan’s feet hit the
floor, that was it. The crowd was lost. Even the most popular faces were booed.
Big moves went unnoticed. Even the superstars, who to their credit worked
theirs boots off to try and rescue the match, knew that nothing could help.
They looked as dejected as the crowd, shown clearly through the eliminations of
Ziggler, Ambrose and Wyatt; three potential winners cast aside by 2 has beens
from the end of the attitude era. The irony of the CM Punks chants mirrored the
exact gripes that Punk had with the company upon his departure. I can imagine
The Best in the World laughing his head off at the tale of events that
unfolded. Vince really does need to learn that his theory of ‘Big Guys’ will
not provide a long term solution. At one point, with at least 10 superstars in
the ring, the smallest superstars were Dean Ambrose and Cesaro; one’s been
built up as a lunatic yet hasn’t been allowed to do anything out of the
ordinary, the other voiced his opinions and is now forced to team with a
Hart-wannabe and a ‘party loving’ borefest. These are the kind of guys that
made the company what it is today. People like Stone Cold or HBK were not shown
off for their size or strength, they attracted an audience because of their
skills between the ropes and their natural characters that were allowed to
flourish.
The
WWE cannot hope to continue this way. The roster is possibly the strongest its
been in years, the depth of talent could provide for some very interesting match
ups and storylines, but without a wider perspective on things, there will soon
only be the World Heavyweight Championship and a handful of superstars deemed
big enough to hold it by the company.
