Charlotte Flair (C) def. Bayley – RAW Women’s Championship
The ending was never in question because we all know that Charlotte never loses on PPV with her title on the line. There were only four announced matches coming into the night, so I was thinking that this match would go a bit longer than usual for a women’s match on PPV, and I was right. This was the perfect match to start the night’s festivities because the two big title matches are best saved for later in the evening and Rich Swann and Neville aren’t exactly going to get the crowd excited for the rest of the night. In this match, I thought both women worked a great, physical match in a way that was able to keep the crowd engaged. Charlotte used some sly tactics and heel moves to give her the edge, such as using the ropes to make her Figure Eight stronger or using the steel padding on the outside of the ring. Bayley also played the role of being the underdog during the match, trying to mount a comeback. I also noticed a lot more physicality in Bayley here, much more than I’m accustomed to seeing from her. So much so that it caused Charlotte to bleed a little from the mouth. Charlotte’s ring awareness continues to grow and she’s getting more creative in her methods of winning matches. That Natural Selection on the edge of the ring was something else. Very good opener. Finish was kind of flat though. ***1/4
Kevin Owens (C) def. Roman Reigns – Universal Championship (No Disqualification)
Sorry, but something minor to point out before I review the bout. I HATE it when the champion comes out first in a title match. Is that a pet peeve of anyone else? Just me? Anyways, I’ve said ad nauseum about how sick I am of seeing these two face off so frequently because anyone could telegraph the spots in advance, and we just don’t see any creativity. The No Disqualification stipulation added last minute tot his match, however, allowed room for some experimentation. Boy, did they ever experiment, From stacks of chairs, to the announce table to the Stone Cold tribute, this was an astute match from a physical stand point. What I loved was the creativity of the match, and how both men tried to use the weapons around them to get an advantage. It was clear that Kevin Owens would have to get out of his comfort zone and Roman had to stick to what he did before, but just utilize weapons, because he was going to beat KO straight up. Now, the No DQ interference should have made it clear that the advantage went to KO, because not only could he use any cheap means to win the match, but it opened up the possibility of someone interfering on his behalf, due to Foley’s lack of foresight in that regard. So it appears as though we are getting Strowman and Reigns at WrestleMania, and thank goodness those rumors about Roman being a double champion were wrong. While there is technically still a chance for KO to drop the title to Roman before WrestleMania, it’d be in everyone’s best interest to move on. If this was the last time these two fight for a while, and I hope to holy Vince that it is, it was a damn good way to go out. Wonderful physical bout filled with energy, creativity, psychology and brutal bumps. Just how I like my Universal Title matches. ****1/4
Neville def. Rich Swann (C) – Cruiserweight Championship
For the sake of the future of the Cruiserweight Division and how lackluster they have been thus far, I thought that they really needed to give it their all and have a great performance here. Not only did they have steep competition with the other matches on the card, but this is the largest audience watching a Cruiserweight title match, and to give the division momentum, and lord do they ever need momentum, I was really counting on Swann and Neville to at least deliver a performance that the live crowd would enjoy, because I guarantee that they may not remember the matchup in light of the title matches and the Rumble match. Now I did pick Swann to win the match because I thought that they would give Swann a longer run and I also believed that since Neville already beat Swann there was no way they were going to have Swann lose to Neville two times in a row. But then again, that does seem to be the pattern with the Cruiserweight division. Nonetheless, as for the actual match, it certainly wasn’t anything bad, but it wasn’t going to be anything that I’ll remember. Despite Neville winning the match, and I am happy for him because he does deserve it, I can’t think that much will change with the Cruiserweights. We’ll see what the era of Neville can accomplish. Without the flippity floppity stuff that the Cruiserweights did in the summer last year, they really aren’t anything special. Just smaller versions of the main roster with less appeal and charisma. Despite that, for what I got, I can say that I least didn’t fall asleep. ***1/4
John Cena def. AJ Styles (C) – WWE Championship
This marks the second time the world champion has come out first. DAMN IT MAN! But, seriously. Can AJ Styles and John Cena do any wrong? Like seriously, every match the two engage in is something of a magic symphony of wrestling. They represent what the WWE Championship and big matches are all about. John Cena, say what you want about him, delivers the goods when he needs to in big match situations, and the two delivered yet ANOTHER classic in which I believe topped their Summerslam match. Their Summerslam match was really much about who could kick out of the most finishers and it was just big move after big move. This match had more of a story, as we saw Cena get frustrated early by the resiliency of AJ Styles. AJ, on the other hand resorted to what worked in his matches with Cena in the past and matched Cena blow for blow. Even though it was going at the pace that it was in their previous matches, the kickouts still had me shaking in my boots and it had my heart pumping very hard. Unbelievable. I also loved how they played up the finish to their match at Summerslam into the finish of the match and had Cena prevent it from happening again. Like, I’m still shaking writing about the match and it’s over.
We all knew AJ Styles was going to lose the WWE Championship sooner or later, and for all of those who will claim that Cena buried him, check yourself. Let’s check the stats. AJ Styles won three matches against John Cena in big match situations in a row, Styles enjoyed a lengthy reign as a great heel champion, and Cena needed to put AJ away with Four AA’s, one of which was a Super AA, and a plethora of other moves just to put him away. There’s nothing that AJ or any of his fans should feel sad about. And as long as AJ is on the Smackdown roster, he’ll always be in contention for the WWE Title. And if the rumors are true that he’s headed to RAW after WrestleMania, then he could just win the Universal Championship. Bottom line was that this was WrestleMania caliber and John Cena won his 16th world title in a match that felt important. Well deserved victory and bravo to both men. Your first match of the year contender right here, baby. *****
Randy Orton Wins The Royal Rumble
What’s that saying again? The more things change the more they stay the same? It would appear as though WWE followed the formula of Royal Rumble winners in year’s past. When you look at who has won the Royal Rumble matches in recent years such as John Cena, Triple H and Roman Reigns, it’s no secret that there’s a purpose behind all of this. Now, I personally had Samoa Joe debuting in the match and wrecking havoc, but it appears they’re saving the call-up for another day. Okay, now let’s get to the actual match. What a blown opportunity. I mean, when you look at the star power coming into this match, you’d think that we were in store for surprises, tremendous once in a lifetime like confrontations and more, but what did we get?
I mean, when you look at the star power coming into this match, you’d think that we were in store for surprises, tremendous once in a lifetime like confrontations and more, but what did we get? First we had Enzo and Cass give FAR too much lip service to begin the night. Then, a whole bunch of mid carders or guys who were doing nothing like Kalisto, Mark Henry and others came up. Braun Strowman was the first big name to enter, and he did set the tone, eliminating guys with ease. His elimination came as a complete shock as Corbin clotheslined him clean over the top rope. I mean, with the way he was booked up to this point, you eliminate him that early in the match by Corbin? Tye Dilligner was the surprise of the night coming it at number 10, unsurprisingly, and he a good run, but nothing he did was memorable. But let’s continue.
There wasn’t a lot of star power through the middle portion of the match, and I thought that it was a big mistake, because the crowd was largely uninterested and chanted and waited for Goldberg. However, each time they patiently waited, they got a member of The New Day, Apollo Crews or Ziggler in response. No real surprises certainly hurt the match as well as people had Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle or Finn Balor making returns. The action with the three headliners of the match in Goldberg, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was largely lackluster. Goldberg quickly eliminating Brock was unfortunately too predictable. Then Undertaker lazily just threw Goldberg over the top rope. You’d think he wouldn’t get eliminated so easily. I suppose it was for conditioning reasons why they didn’t appear earlier, but still, what a waste of them.
I understand the knowledge behind their Lesnar/Goldberg feud, but you seriously couldn’t have done anything more with them? And while their Survivor Series finish was shocking, having Goldberg essentially squash Goldberg again? Ridiculous.Like, did it not occur to WWE to perhaps put Braun Strowman, Goldberg, Undertaker and Lesnar in the ring at the same time to spice it up? And then have Roman come in at the end just to make things more unpredictable? Hell no, cause we’re WWE. But after all the confirmed names appeared, who was Number 30? Well, it was a surprise, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. ROMAN FREAKING REIGNS. You could have had a real surprise and give the 30 spot to a man who could have used the spot more, but you use ROMAN REIGNS?
It’s not uncommon for participants in title matches earlier in the night to compete in the Rumble, but still, I could have imagined that spot would have been used for a wildcard. And then when he comes in, Roman just lazily throws Undertaker over the top rope and he’s gone. I suppose that’s a prelude of things to come between those two, but seriously what a damn shame. Jericho being the Iron Man didn’t surprise me at all because he was second all-time in total time spent in a Rumble match (he eclipsed Triple H to get over four hours) and beat it tonight. He also was smart in slowly hiding throughout the match. Overall, once we got down to The Wyatt Family and Roman, it was clear Orton was winning. Now, I’m a HUGE Orton fan, so of course, I don’t have an issue with the result. He also deserves it after his splendid work with The Wyatt Family. But this Rumble match was sourly booked from top to bottom. No real shockers, bad storytelling, lazy use of the big names and a clunky overall match makes for one of the worst missed opportunities in Rumble history. Certainly one of the worst booked that’s for sure. And there was also no special Kofi spot. What gives? **3/4
Conclusion:
This edition of the Royal Rumble was headed to all-time great status, but the Rumble match killed that possibility completely. Both world title matches did deliver to a great degree (AJ/Cena exceptionally so), the women’s match was a good appetizer and the Cruiserweight Title match was decent. If the Rumble match had delivered, I would go as far as to say that it was one of the greatest PPV’s in WWE history, but again, WWE’s inconsistent and 50/50 booking ruined a great chance to capitalize on what was looking to be a promising PPV. If you’re so interested, you must definitely catch both world title matches. As for the actual Rumble, you won’t miss much if you fast forward to all the big names. No, seriously. The first 30-45 minutes was just a lot of fluff, and the ending sequence was just lazy booking and unoriginal finishes. If you’re a huge Orton fan like me, you won’t have an issue with the Rumble, but if you were looking at someone else winning or at least a Rumble match that lived up to the sky-high expectations that it had coming into the match, then you will have to look elsewhere. There was more good than there was bad on the show, there were two title changes (in addition to one more if you watched the pre-show) and as I said before, both world title matches were definitely the real deal. So, I’ll go thumbs in the middle because of the lackluster effort of the Rumble match, but leaning up because AJ, Roman, Cena and KO all delivered great performances. Real shame I had to say that about it though. Until next time.
