Never has a champion faced such a challenge. Forced to defend his WWE World Heavyweight title in the Royal Rumble match as its number one entrant, Roman Reigns’ odds of leaving with the belt were astronomically slim. Was the defiant champion able to pull off the unthinkable and successfully defend the gold, or did the devious McMahon family finally get their way and strip Reigns of his recently acquired prize? What else went down on one of the WWE’s most unpredictable nights of the year?
Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental Championship
Dean Ambrose © vs. Kevin Owens
Dean Ambrose © vs. Kevin Owens
What Happened? Kevin Owens huffed and puffed, but his attempts to regain the Intercontinental championship proved fruitless thanks to the efforts of the determined current title holder. Relentless from the start, Owens smashed Ambrose with anything he could use in order to keep his rival down for the ten count.
Ambrose proved resilient as ever however and got back into the battle with a sudden ‘Dirty Deeds’ DDT. Owens recovered and almost triumphed after delivering a devastating suplex through a table and a ‘Pop Up Powerbomb’, but it just wasn’t enough to keep ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ down for the count.
Desperate, Owens attempted to finish Ambrose with a moonsault through a stack of chairs, but the champion escaped what would have surely been the killer blow and secured the hard-earned victory after pushing Owens off the top turnbuckle and through a double helping of table.
Winner and STILL champion: Dean Ambrose
Thoughts: A superb opening match and one of the best Last Man Standing matches I’ve seen for quite some time. Their previous bouts on pay-per-view might have failed to live up to lofty expectations, but these two highly-talented superstars more than made up for prior disappointments in what should be the final battle in their feud.
As punishing as you’d expect from the stipulation, Owens and Ambrose put each other through hell, thrilling fans with a seemingly endless slew of highly entertaining-yet disturbingly dangerous spots, but the real highlight was their excellent chemistry and storytelling ability. The two superstars battled in a manner that completely sold us on the idea that these two hate each other, and their intense battle didn’t just raise the quality of their feud, it also helped add some credibility back to the title they were fighting for.
It’s a shame Owens didn’t get a single victory over Ambrose over the course of the feud, but he looked like a monster even in defeat and should be destined to deliver big this year despite the latest setback.
Rating: 3.75/5.0
Tag Team Championship
The New Day © vs. The Usos
What Happened? The trombone is dead, long live the trombone! Francesca Two might not have played a pivotal part in The New Day’s victory over The Usos, but the re-emergence of the trio’s favourite musical instrument almost surely put a little pep back into the collective steps of the defending champions.
Isolating the twins for much of the match, Kingston and Big E enjoyed a lengthy period of success before Jimmy eventually got the hot tag from his brother. Taking advantage of the shift in momentum the challengers came agonisingly close to snatching the titles, but excellent ring awareness from Kofi saved the champions.
A quick tag to Big E went unnoticed and proved decisive as The New Day’s powerhouse scored the pinfall after catching one of the high flying Usos with a mid-air ‘Big Ending’ slam.
Winners and STILL champions: The New Day
Thoughts: The New Day are too damn good. So good that they’re now starting to expose the shortcomings of the tag division’s other tandems.
The Usos are one of the division’s longest established teams, but the former champions aren’t really adding anything new to their shtick. The New Day on the other hand are producing new material seemingly on a nightly basis, and this is the reason they were so prominent here.
The match itself was good with nothing particularly great until the excellent final sequence. The real standout elements were the interplay between the WWE’s favourite trio, and Big E’s impressive finisher. They need new challenges...fast.
Rating: 2.75/5.0
United States Championship
Alberto Del Rio © vs. Kalisto
What Happened? Undeterred in spite of weeks of torment and the hands of his title rival and the League of Nations, Kalisto once again overcame the odds as he captured the United States championship for the second time in almost as many weeks.
Speed and aerial offense bought the former NXT tag team champion early success, but Del Rio soon took control of the match with his punishing arsenal of stiff strikes. Tired of having to deal with his underdog challenger, Del Rio even resorted to ripping at the Lucha Dragon member’s prized mask, the lowest tactic possible for a Mexican grappler.
Kalisto survived the onslaught however and soon turned things around with his patented ‘Salida del Sol’ which almost sealed the match. Del Rio scrambled for an answer to the strong comeback, but ultimately couldn’t save his title as the challenger connected with his finisher for a second time to score the upset.
Winner and NEW champion: Kalisto
Thoughts: Meh. Playing hot potato with the title in the buildup to this match robbed Kalisto of what should have been a star-cementing turn. Instead his second title triumph just felt like a rehash of his initial win on Raw a couple of weeks ago.
Kalisto and Del Rio are two talented performers who almost always deliver. They didn’t seem to be on the same page here however and this resulted in a few too many botched moves and awkward sequences. Luckily for both the finish was hot and the rope grab from Del Rio after the first ‘Salida del Sol’ helped amp up the drama.
The future looks bright for Kalisto; set to become the WWE’s newest Latino superstar, holding the United States title could open a number of tantalising matches with some of the midcard’s best talent (Kalisto vs. Neville would be epic). A continuation of the Del Rio/League of Nations programme seems likely for now however.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Divas Championship
Charlotte © vs. Becky Lynch
What Happened? Keeping her father in the corner proved key as Charlotte survived the challenge of her game former friend, Becky Lynch. Intent on capturing the title and taking the champion’s arm home with her, Lynch spent the majority of the bout targeting the arms of her former PCB teammate, but repeated interference from the legendary Ric Flair prevented the Irish challenger from achieving her goal.
Distracted following ‘The Nature Boy’s’ second infraction, Lynch stumbled straight into a second spear from the champion who proceeded to hook the leg for the count.
Winner and STILL champion: Charlotte
Post-Match: Making her return following a brief spell in the WWE’s crowded injury room, Sasha Banks made her way to the ring to a thunderous reception from the Orlando crowd. Initially teasing a union with her former NXT title rival, Banks instead attacked the champion, locking her in the ‘Bank Statement’ submission.
Thoughts: With a high billing, a lengthy pre-match promo and a semi-decent build, great things were expected from this match pitting two of NXT’s finest female exports. Unfortunately it fell a little short of expectations.
Just about everything overshadowed the champion here. Becky Lynch’s strong effort, Ric Flair’s constant and needless meddling, and finally Sasha Banks’ division-shaking actions post-match. Charlotte is an excellent performer, but she’s not being afforded any opportunities to solidify herself in her own right.
This felt more like a match to build towards something bigger rather than a meaningful title showcase.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
30 Man Royal Rumble Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
30 Man Royal Rumble Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
What Happened? His actions in December came back to haunt Roman Reigns. Big time.
Surviving early threats from Rusev and the debuting AJ Styles, Reigns battled to keep his WWE World Heavyweight title from the clutches of 29 hungry challengers. Interference from Vince McMahon and the League of Nations removed the champion from the equation for a large portion of the match, affording the likes of The Wyatt Family and Brock Lesnar the opportunity to dominate the field.
It looked as if Reigns wouldn’t be able to continue to defend the belt after suffering a Rusev splash through the announcers table, but ‘The Big Dog’ continued to defy both expectation and his employers as he returned to the ring. The light at the end of the tunnel appeared within reach for the champion, but there would be a final twist in this year’s match.
Making an unannounced return following a vicious beatdown at the hands of the champion a month prior, COO Triple H entered the fray as the final entrant. The final gambit of the McMahon family, the veteran authoritarian succeeded in dumping Reigns out of the Rumble before finally overcoming the resistant Dean Ambrose to win the match and claim his 14th world title.
Winner and NEW champion: Triple H
Thoughts: Finally. A decent Royal Rumble match. Seemingly taking on board all the booking mistakes that caused the last two instalments to suffer a brutal-but-deserved universal panning, the WWE delivered its best Rumble match since 2010.
Remember when Rumble matches used to set up potential WrestleMania feuds? Tick. Potential programmes pitting Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, Brock Lesnar vs. The Wyatt Family and even Bray Wyatt vs. Triple H (Unlikely I know) were all teased in the match. The tradition of setting up meaningful angles in the Rumble match was an element annoyingly absent in recent years so it was great to see this finally return this year.
Remember when a return or debut would be legitimately shocking? Tick. AJ Styles might have received the biggest pop since Brock Lesnar returned on the post-’Mania Raw in 2012. We’ve been waiting for a long time for Styles to arrive in WWE, and while his actual participation will likely be forgotten fairly quickly, the cue of an unfamiliar theme followed by an ear-splitting roar from the crowd will live in the memories of fans forever.
Remember when the finale of a Rumble match was exciting and unpredictable? Tick. Triple H’s elimination of Reigns was pretty obvious as soon as the familiar growl of the late Lemmy blasted over the arena’s PR, but few expected that Dean Ambrose would be ‘The Game’s’ final, match-winning elimination. The move was actually very smart on the WWE’s part: Eliminating Reigns last would have definitely drawn cheers from the crowd, but dumping the uber-popular, and far more deserving Ambrose out last instead produced a far better reaction. Instead of boos ringing out in protest of a face, the negative reaction was carefully orchestrated. Well done WWE.
There were still a couple of issues. Beyond the obvious favourites few were really given a chance to fully shine, Dolph Ziggler’s entry at 29 seemed weird, R-Truth’s ladder spot was as dumb as it was awful, and why after suffering elimination at the hands of Bray Wyatt did Brock Lesnar just wobble to the back? Not having ‘The Beast’ retaliate for such disappointment seemed like a real wasted opportunity.
Rating: 3.75/5.0
It looked as if Reigns wouldn’t be able to continue to defend the belt after suffering a Rusev splash through the announcers table, but ‘The Big Dog’ continued to defy both expectation and his employers as he returned to the ring. The light at the end of the tunnel appeared within reach for the champion, but there would be a final twist in this year’s match.
Making an unannounced return following a vicious beatdown at the hands of the champion a month prior, COO Triple H entered the fray as the final entrant. The final gambit of the McMahon family, the veteran authoritarian succeeded in dumping Reigns out of the Rumble before finally overcoming the resistant Dean Ambrose to win the match and claim his 14th world title.
Winner and NEW champion: Triple H
Thoughts: Finally. A decent Royal Rumble match. Seemingly taking on board all the booking mistakes that caused the last two instalments to suffer a brutal-but-deserved universal panning, the WWE delivered its best Rumble match since 2010.
Remember when Rumble matches used to set up potential WrestleMania feuds? Tick. Potential programmes pitting Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, Brock Lesnar vs. The Wyatt Family and even Bray Wyatt vs. Triple H (Unlikely I know) were all teased in the match. The tradition of setting up meaningful angles in the Rumble match was an element annoyingly absent in recent years so it was great to see this finally return this year.
Remember when a return or debut would be legitimately shocking? Tick. AJ Styles might have received the biggest pop since Brock Lesnar returned on the post-’Mania Raw in 2012. We’ve been waiting for a long time for Styles to arrive in WWE, and while his actual participation will likely be forgotten fairly quickly, the cue of an unfamiliar theme followed by an ear-splitting roar from the crowd will live in the memories of fans forever.
Remember when the finale of a Rumble match was exciting and unpredictable? Tick. Triple H’s elimination of Reigns was pretty obvious as soon as the familiar growl of the late Lemmy blasted over the arena’s PR, but few expected that Dean Ambrose would be ‘The Game’s’ final, match-winning elimination. The move was actually very smart on the WWE’s part: Eliminating Reigns last would have definitely drawn cheers from the crowd, but dumping the uber-popular, and far more deserving Ambrose out last instead produced a far better reaction. Instead of boos ringing out in protest of a face, the negative reaction was carefully orchestrated. Well done WWE.
There were still a couple of issues. Beyond the obvious favourites few were really given a chance to fully shine, Dolph Ziggler’s entry at 29 seemed weird, R-Truth’s ladder spot was as dumb as it was awful, and why after suffering elimination at the hands of Bray Wyatt did Brock Lesnar just wobble to the back? Not having ‘The Beast’ retaliate for such disappointment seemed like a real wasted opportunity.
Rating: 3.75/5.0
Overall Thoughts: The Royal Rumble is back! After a few dodgy instalments the event has bounced back with an excellent effort that should help repair the damaged reputation of one of the WWE’s longest running traditions.
It wasn’t perfect of course. The undercard still suffered from inconsistencies in both approach and execution, but one step at a time. Tonight was all about making the Rumble match great again.
The Road to WrestleMania has officially begun. And for the first time in years, and despite all the missing superstars, I’m legitimately excited for it.
Show Rating: 3.5/5.0
Moment of the Event: AJ Styles’ debut. Hands down one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
Event MVP: Dean Ambrose
What did you think of WWE Royal Rumble? Leave your comments below!
It wasn’t perfect of course. The undercard still suffered from inconsistencies in both approach and execution, but one step at a time. Tonight was all about making the Rumble match great again.
The Road to WrestleMania has officially begun. And for the first time in years, and despite all the missing superstars, I’m legitimately excited for it.
Show Rating: 3.5/5.0
Moment of the Event: AJ Styles’ debut. Hands down one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
Event MVP: Dean Ambrose
What did you think of WWE Royal Rumble? Leave your comments below!
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