Men’s Royal Rumble
WWE’s second biggest show of the year started with Pat McAfee making his return to join the commentary team. The Crowd were happy, Michael Cole was happy, Corey Graves was not happy. The match started with old rivals Gunther and Sheamus before a bunch of guys came down to the ring. Karrion Kross was surprisingly eliminated by Drew McIntyre after only being in the ring for about 4 minutes and for the second straight year, Kofi Kingston messed up his survival spot. The game then changed when Brock Lesnar came out at number 12. Brock dumped out a bunch of people before the Beast stood face-to-face with the Ring General. As that happened, Bobby Lashley’s music hit and the All Mighty managed to eliminate Brock Lesnar. Brock was pissed by this and he went absolutely mad before he decked Baron Corbin (who was making his way to the ring). Seth “Freakin” Rollins then entered and he quickly eliminated the Modern Day Wrestling God. Rey Mysterio’s music hit, but we never saw him and when Dominik Mysterio entered next, he was wearing Rey’s mask. I can tell you that nobody took Rey’s spot and that seems really strange. Seth Rollins eliminated Bobby Lashley which was surprising before all 3 members of the Judgement Day entered and they took control of the match. Booker T also entered at number 21, but he was quickly eliminated by Gunther.
Johnny Gargano had an impressive Rumble showing (lasting 30 minutes), but someone who did not was Montez Ford. Ford was eliminated after just 44 seconds before the Rated-R Superstar made his return. Edge was able to eliminate both Damian Priest and Finn Balor before Finn Balor eliminated Edge from the outside. Edge brawled with them up the ramp before Rhea Ripley attacked Edge. However, Ripley was then laid out by a Spear from Beth Phoenix. Logan Paul made his WWE return at number 29 before Cody Rhodes entered at number 30. The final 5 ended up being Austin Theory, Cody Rhodes, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Logan Paul and Gunther. Cody managed to eliminate the United States Champion before he starred off with Seth Rollins. During this, Paul came up from behind and chucked out the Visionary. I didn’t particularly like this, but I’m fine with it as long as this leads to a match between the two at Mania. Cody Rhodes was then able to eliminate Logan Paul meaning one of Gunther or Cody Rhodes was going to the main event of WrestleMania. These two were given a lot of time and they had a hell of a scrap that saw both men nearly win the match. In the end though, Gunther, who’d started from number 1 and been in the ring for over 71 minutes, was eliminated by Cody Rhodes meaning the American Nightmare is heading to Hollywood! Overall, I thought the match was pretty good and it had some good stories in it. There were a few strange decisions, but on the whole, it was a fun Royal Rumble.
Grade: B+
Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match: Bray Wyatt VS LA Knight
The second match of the night saw Bray Wyatt make his in-ring return against the Megastar LA Knight. The lights went out and we then got this awesome lighting that made everything glow. LA Knight and the ring ropes were neon yellow and Bray Wyatt looked amazing. The match didn’t go on for too long and Wyatt was dominant. However, LA Knight did send both of them crashing through a table. He also got out a kendo stick that looked exactly like a lightsaber. In the end, Bray picked up the win with the Sister Abigail. His face then changed again and he stalked Knight before he choked him out with the Mandible Claw. Uncle Howdy then appeared on a platform above before he jumped onto Knight and flames appeared. As Bray stood over Knight, the Firefly Fun House puppets were watching from above. As a match goes, it was ok. From a spectacle, it was really, really cool. I love bright colours and there were a lot of them in this match and Wyatt looked really creepy which is what he is supposed to be.
Grade: C+
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair VS Alexa Bliss
Bianca Belair battled Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship in a short match. Belair was on top for the most part, but Alexa definitely got some offense in. However, as the match looked like it was about to step into second gear, Bianca just won with the K.O.D. Not only was that a shame for the competitors, but it also made it feel like a bit of a waste. For the second straight match, the loser didn’t get one close near-fall. Alexa never hit her DDT and she didn’t even attempt the Twisted Bliss. Also, the story made it seem like Uncle Howdy was going to appear, but that didn’t happen during the match. It didn’t happen on the big screen after the match though.
Grade: C
Women’s Royal Rumble
The Women’s Royal Rumble started with Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan before Roxanne Perez came in at number 8. By number 10, all three members of Damage CTRL were in the ring and they took over the match, eliminating a bunch of people (including the NXT Women’s Champion). Natalya made her return and she went straight after the woman that injured her, Shayna Baszler. This ended up costing them both as Damage CTRL eliminated them both after the two were fighting on the apron. Zoey Stark entered the match at number 13 (she had a good showing) before Becky Lynch arrived at number 15 and went straight after Damage Control. The crowd then went mad at number 17 as Asuka came out with a brand-new look. It then got even better as Piper Niven (no longer called Doudrop) came in at number 18. Chelsea Green also made her return to WWE before she was immediately eliminated by Rhea Ripley. A strange decision, but I’m hoping it will lead to something (MMM). Becky Lynch was then able to eliminate both Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky before Bayley eliminated Becky. Whilst the Role Model was celebrating, Morgan came from behind and tossed Bayley over the top rope. Raquel Rodriguez was in at number 22 and Michelle McCool, who was in the crowd with her daughters, entered the fray. I was then happy as Indi Hartwell came out at number 26, but I was then pretty annoyed at Michael Cole for not knowing who she is. Then, in a strange moment, number 30’s music hit before the countdown had started. That person was none other than Nia Jax. She looked dominant to start with before she was eliminated by all of the remaining 11 competitors. I think they missed an opportunity to do a face-off between Jax and Niven. Rhea Ripley eliminated Michelle McCool and Raquel Rodriguez eliminated Piper Niven meaning we were down to the final 5.
The final 5 saw Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Nikki Cross and Asuka all battle for their spot at WrestleMania. Rhea Ripley was able to eliminate Raquel before Liv Morgan got rid of Nikki Cross. Asuka, Rhea and Liv were then all fighting on the ring apron and as Asuka was about to spit blue mist into the eyes of Ripley, the Nightmare moved out of the way and the mist struck Morgan right in the face. Ripley was then able to eliminate the Empress meaning we ended how we started. Liv tried her absolute hardest to eliminate Rhea, but she could barely see anything and this allowed Ripley to eliminate Morgan meaning Rhea Ripley is heading to the Main Event of WrestleMania! Overall, this was another good rumble. I don’t think it was as good as the men’s and the reason for that is there was more star power in the Men’s Royal Rumble. However, I still enjoyed this match and Rhea winning from number 1 makes her look truly unstoppable.
Grade: B
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns VS Kevin Owens
The main event of the evening saw Roman Reigns put his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line against Kevin Owens. This was a pretty hard-hitting affair and both men were clearly up for it after having lots of matches in front of nobody a few years ago. Roman Reigns hit a spear for a near-fall before he accidentally chucked Owens into the referee. KO then dropped Reigns with the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but there was no referee to count the pinfall. Reigns then hit the low blow onto Owens before he ordered Sami Zayn to get a chair. Zayn seemed quite hesitant and this allowed Kevin to hit the Stunner for a genuinely close near-fall. Roman then wrecked KO with a second spear, but the Prizefighter kept up his Just Keep Fighting mantra. This pissed Roman off and he speared Owens through the barricade before he smashed his head and back onto the steel steps. I wouldn’t watch this unless you're a fan of brutality. Sami Zayn actually looked quite concerned at this before Reigns delivered another Spear to Owens to pick up the win. I thought this match was pretty good, the storytelling was superb.
Grade: B
After the match, the whole of the Bloodline were out and as Jey Uso was about to give Sami Zayn the family necklace, Roman Reigns stopped him and issued him with attacking Kevin Owens. The Usos then destroyed Owens before they handcuffed him to the ring ropes. The Usos then hit about 15 superkicks to KO before Roman Reigns was about to strike his rival with a chair. Sami Zayn stopped Roman and told him that he doesn’t need to do this, that this is beneath him. Reigns agreed so he gave the chair to Sami Zayn. Zayn was clearly worried about this and in a shocking moment, Sami struck Reigns in the back with the chair. Sami then dropped the chair and apologised to Jey before Jimmy and Solo attacked Zayn. They beat the hell out of the former Honorary Uce, but Jey Uso looked really conflicted. When Roman went to ask him to beat up Sami Zayn, Jey Uso rolled out of the ring and walked off. This angered Roman so he beat the living hell out of Sami Zayn and the show closed with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn out in the ring and the Bloodline standing on the stage (without Jey Uso). I thought this was superb. I think everyone’s said for months that if WWE does the Sami Zayn turn well, it’s going to be incredible. It’s fair to say that they did that. Roman looked like the biggest heel in the world and Sami felt like the biggest babyface in the world. Kevin Owens also looked fantastic (sort of) and Jey Uso leaving is just brilliant. I have no idea what WWE is going to do from now to Mania, but I’m damn well excited.
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