There are some really mixed reactions out there about the Royal Rumble, so I thought I would throw my hat into the proverbial ring.
First, the matches before THE match were all fairly decent. The women's matches, aside from Naomi getting the win over Alexa Bliss I found to be sort of lackluster. They were all pretty short, too. Maybe it's just because there was a stacked card or whatever, but even the title match felt short. The Cruiserweight match felt a bit underwhelming, but putting the title on Neville is a good move. He should have been champ from the beginning and not including him felt a bit silly. But whatever, the title is where it belongs now, so I'm good with it. Neville has been straight fire lately with his promos and aggressiveness in the ring. Who knew that Neville had that sort of ruthlessness in him?
The Roman/Owens match was great. So many spots that made me wince and wonder how people could actually do those things to their bodies and move afterwards. You knew that Jericho wasn't going to be a non-factor. If you were going to have that match end with Strowman, why introduce the brass knuckles? Also, why Strowman? I don't want to see Roman vs. Stroman. Ugh. Is Roman going to be the one to get the pin? Otherwise, why do this? I can't see you feeding Roman to Braun, but why let Roman beat Braun? What sort of storytelling is that?
No Seth Rollins? None? Just a replay of what he did the night before? I'll admit that what they did on NXT was great, but there was no payoff or set up on the Rumble and there should have been. And tonight we'll have to sit and watch Stephanie emasculate him? I only hope he calls her out like Jericho used to do. He'd probably get fired...but hell, send him to Smackdown. He'd fucking thrive there.
AJ/Cena was a great match. I mean, the best of the night, in my opinion. Those two guys have such amazing chemistry. I was bummed that AJ lost (because wouldn't it be awesome to have one guy in all of WWE that Cena truly couldn't beat?). So, now we have to see Cena with the belt. And potentially Randy Orton vs. Cena. WHY!? Cena has to drop that belt at the next PPV otherwise people will shit all over WM. Orton and Cena isn't going to sell tickets. Been there, seen that, don't want the fucking t-shirt.
Then there was the actual Rumble itself. I'm gonna break it down this way: the good, the bad, the oh my god what just happened?
The Good:
- Tye at #10. It was expected but it was awesome to actually hear "TEN" play over the speakers. And the people in the arena just leapt to their feet.
- Jericho rolling out of the ring as soon as Strowman entered was great strategy. Why stand there and get your ass kicked.
- Baron Corbin eliminated Stowman.
- All three members of New Day being eliminated at the same time
- Brock killed everyone and threw people out left and right.
- Goldberg eliminated Brock right away, setting up a match further down the line between the two, again. Brock has to get his win back, eventually, and this is just building it into a more heated match.
- The face off between Taker and Goldberg and GB's elimination at the hands of Taker was great.
- Sami Zayn was in there a freaking long time!
- Ellsworth was killed by Braun Stroman after Ambrose tricked him.
- Luke Harper turning on Bray
- Roman eliminated Taker (admittedly I was pissed because I had #29 in the solomonster pool. However, the stare down between Taker and Roman was great. I liked it. No complaints there.
The Bad:
- It felt like we went through a very long period of time where we didn't have an elimination. I understand that they were building up the people in the ring so they could be tossed out by one of the big men, but still. It kind of dragged.
- I don't like Strowman and I just don't give a shit about him and I'm ready for him to be off my TV.
- There were no real surprises, except #30. I think everyone was shocked by that one.
Oh my God, what just happened?
- Roman entered at #30. He had just lost a match against KO after Strowman interfered. So, you throw him in at 30? You could feel the disgust and seething of the people in the arena at the moment his music played.
- Randy Orton wins the Rumble. And I think this is where #30 can be explained. It had been released earlier in the week that Orton was the one to win the Rumble. I thought, when I heard, that they were going to have their PPV hijacked once again by fans rejecting the winner. I mean, who would have thought that Randy Orton, who has been out of the main title picture for a while, now, would be the one to win one of the biggest matches of the entire year. However, if you have it come down to Roman vs. Randy, and giving the hatred of the WWE Universe for Roman Reigns (which I just don't fucking understand - I'll elaborate in a minute) putting Roman at #30 guaranteed that Orton wouldn't be booed out of the building. When he eliminated Roman, people jumped to their feet because, as Bray Wyatt said, "Anyone but you, Roman". Wylie Coyote could have been in that match and if he was up against Roman, people would have cheered.
Last thoughts:
I truly don't understand the vehement hatred for Roman Reigns. I really don't. The guy works his ass off, turns in some great matches (and you can say it's because he has had some great opponents, but it takes two to tango), and is basically doing what he's told to do. As a comparison, imagine that your job is a spectator sport and your boss told you to go make some copies and you were booed for doing what your boss told you to do. In reality, I get that people are booing their displeasure of the situation as much as they are the wrestler, but this guy is doing his damn job, and doing it well, and people are rejecting him after all this time. Who could Roman face that they would actually cheer him? Does he have to do a heel turn? He goes heel and then he gets cheers? And I know that's what would happen. If he did a full turn and went heel, he would be popular as fuck. I feel bad for the guy, is what I'm saying. He's getting a bum wrap because the boss in the back sees him as a face for the company. And why shouldn't he? He's good looking, he looks the part of what a 'wrestler' looks like to the outside world, he's articulate when he's allowed to speak for himself, and he's part of a dynasty of wrestling. This guy has worked his ass off to get where he is (go back and watch the episode of Unfiltered that he did and you'll find out that he was a heavy dude before he started training to become a wrestler - well over 300lbs), he's had great matches, he knows how to tell a compelling story, and the guy is a good, if not great, wrestler. I just don't understand the hatred.
And don't get me wrong. My favorite is Dean Ambrose as I think everything he does is exception, whether it's comedy or cutting a heated promo on John Cena where he tells him he's a part timer (because as Daniel Bryan pointed out on Talking Smack, Ambrose has wrestled more matches than anyone in that company over the last year). He's the workhorse of the WWE and he delivers. But I'm a fan of Roman, so maybe I'm just blind to what everyone hates. I dunno.
I enjoyed the Royal Rumble. I could lie and pretend like I didn't so I could fit in and be cool, but the Rumble match is my favorite and I've hardly ever seen one I didn't like. There were some things I found to be off, but it was fun to watch. If you were disappointed that someone you liked wasn't in the match, then that's on you, not WWE. You built up that expectation in your mind. WWE made no promises about all the people in the match. There were some guaranteed entries, but it's always up in the air. So, yeah. I'm done.
First, the matches before THE match were all fairly decent. The women's matches, aside from Naomi getting the win over Alexa Bliss I found to be sort of lackluster. They were all pretty short, too. Maybe it's just because there was a stacked card or whatever, but even the title match felt short. The Cruiserweight match felt a bit underwhelming, but putting the title on Neville is a good move. He should have been champ from the beginning and not including him felt a bit silly. But whatever, the title is where it belongs now, so I'm good with it. Neville has been straight fire lately with his promos and aggressiveness in the ring. Who knew that Neville had that sort of ruthlessness in him?
The Roman/Owens match was great. So many spots that made me wince and wonder how people could actually do those things to their bodies and move afterwards. You knew that Jericho wasn't going to be a non-factor. If you were going to have that match end with Strowman, why introduce the brass knuckles? Also, why Strowman? I don't want to see Roman vs. Stroman. Ugh. Is Roman going to be the one to get the pin? Otherwise, why do this? I can't see you feeding Roman to Braun, but why let Roman beat Braun? What sort of storytelling is that?
No Seth Rollins? None? Just a replay of what he did the night before? I'll admit that what they did on NXT was great, but there was no payoff or set up on the Rumble and there should have been. And tonight we'll have to sit and watch Stephanie emasculate him? I only hope he calls her out like Jericho used to do. He'd probably get fired...but hell, send him to Smackdown. He'd fucking thrive there.
AJ/Cena was a great match. I mean, the best of the night, in my opinion. Those two guys have such amazing chemistry. I was bummed that AJ lost (because wouldn't it be awesome to have one guy in all of WWE that Cena truly couldn't beat?). So, now we have to see Cena with the belt. And potentially Randy Orton vs. Cena. WHY!? Cena has to drop that belt at the next PPV otherwise people will shit all over WM. Orton and Cena isn't going to sell tickets. Been there, seen that, don't want the fucking t-shirt.
Then there was the actual Rumble itself. I'm gonna break it down this way: the good, the bad, the oh my god what just happened?
The Good:
- Tye at #10. It was expected but it was awesome to actually hear "TEN" play over the speakers. And the people in the arena just leapt to their feet.
- Jericho rolling out of the ring as soon as Strowman entered was great strategy. Why stand there and get your ass kicked.
- Baron Corbin eliminated Stowman.
- All three members of New Day being eliminated at the same time
- Brock killed everyone and threw people out left and right.
- Goldberg eliminated Brock right away, setting up a match further down the line between the two, again. Brock has to get his win back, eventually, and this is just building it into a more heated match.
- The face off between Taker and Goldberg and GB's elimination at the hands of Taker was great.
- Sami Zayn was in there a freaking long time!
- Ellsworth was killed by Braun Stroman after Ambrose tricked him.
- Luke Harper turning on Bray
- Roman eliminated Taker (admittedly I was pissed because I had #29 in the solomonster pool. However, the stare down between Taker and Roman was great. I liked it. No complaints there.
The Bad:
- It felt like we went through a very long period of time where we didn't have an elimination. I understand that they were building up the people in the ring so they could be tossed out by one of the big men, but still. It kind of dragged.
- I don't like Strowman and I just don't give a shit about him and I'm ready for him to be off my TV.
- There were no real surprises, except #30. I think everyone was shocked by that one.
Oh my God, what just happened?
- Roman entered at #30. He had just lost a match against KO after Strowman interfered. So, you throw him in at 30? You could feel the disgust and seething of the people in the arena at the moment his music played.
- Randy Orton wins the Rumble. And I think this is where #30 can be explained. It had been released earlier in the week that Orton was the one to win the Rumble. I thought, when I heard, that they were going to have their PPV hijacked once again by fans rejecting the winner. I mean, who would have thought that Randy Orton, who has been out of the main title picture for a while, now, would be the one to win one of the biggest matches of the entire year. However, if you have it come down to Roman vs. Randy, and giving the hatred of the WWE Universe for Roman Reigns (which I just don't fucking understand - I'll elaborate in a minute) putting Roman at #30 guaranteed that Orton wouldn't be booed out of the building. When he eliminated Roman, people jumped to their feet because, as Bray Wyatt said, "Anyone but you, Roman". Wylie Coyote could have been in that match and if he was up against Roman, people would have cheered.
Last thoughts:
I truly don't understand the vehement hatred for Roman Reigns. I really don't. The guy works his ass off, turns in some great matches (and you can say it's because he has had some great opponents, but it takes two to tango), and is basically doing what he's told to do. As a comparison, imagine that your job is a spectator sport and your boss told you to go make some copies and you were booed for doing what your boss told you to do. In reality, I get that people are booing their displeasure of the situation as much as they are the wrestler, but this guy is doing his damn job, and doing it well, and people are rejecting him after all this time. Who could Roman face that they would actually cheer him? Does he have to do a heel turn? He goes heel and then he gets cheers? And I know that's what would happen. If he did a full turn and went heel, he would be popular as fuck. I feel bad for the guy, is what I'm saying. He's getting a bum wrap because the boss in the back sees him as a face for the company. And why shouldn't he? He's good looking, he looks the part of what a 'wrestler' looks like to the outside world, he's articulate when he's allowed to speak for himself, and he's part of a dynasty of wrestling. This guy has worked his ass off to get where he is (go back and watch the episode of Unfiltered that he did and you'll find out that he was a heavy dude before he started training to become a wrestler - well over 300lbs), he's had great matches, he knows how to tell a compelling story, and the guy is a good, if not great, wrestler. I just don't understand the hatred.
And don't get me wrong. My favorite is Dean Ambrose as I think everything he does is exception, whether it's comedy or cutting a heated promo on John Cena where he tells him he's a part timer (because as Daniel Bryan pointed out on Talking Smack, Ambrose has wrestled more matches than anyone in that company over the last year). He's the workhorse of the WWE and he delivers. But I'm a fan of Roman, so maybe I'm just blind to what everyone hates. I dunno.
I enjoyed the Royal Rumble. I could lie and pretend like I didn't so I could fit in and be cool, but the Rumble match is my favorite and I've hardly ever seen one I didn't like. There were some things I found to be off, but it was fun to watch. If you were disappointed that someone you liked wasn't in the match, then that's on you, not WWE. You built up that expectation in your mind. WWE made no promises about all the people in the match. There were some guaranteed entries, but it's always up in the air. So, yeah. I'm done.
