The Royal Rumble 2018 - My Ratings
- mysportingstance
- Jan 30, 2018
- 4 min read
The most shocking night in professional wrestling has been and gone. Luckily my first post was timed perfectly for this so here we go. Over the years Royal Rumble has built up the reputation of being unpredictable and just down right good fun. Many years have lived up to this whereas some maybe haven't... *cough* 2017. So without further a due here are my opinions and rating for WWE Royal Rumble 2018. SPOILERS AHEAD
WWE Championship - Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn .V. AJ Styles (C)
As a concept this was a strange one. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn fighting for the chance to become 'Co-Champion' against the WWE Champion AJ Styles in a Handicap Match. However these are 3 of WWE's finest talents so a good match was expected nevertheless, and they delivered in my opinion. Very good contested match with a few funny moments mixed with good pure spots like the Hurricanrana. The match being a handicap lowers the overall rating although it was something new.
3*
Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin .V. The Usos (C)
Although these teams are both very talented in their own right they needed time to excel and really make a match a good one. Chad Gable was building up speed in terms of character making the fact the Uso's got both the first two pin-falls disappointing. These seems like it was down to time more than anything as the card was stacked with matches. Maybe more of an approach towards Gable's team getting the first pin fall then the Uso's fighting back to get the last two and retaining would have gone down better for me.
1.5*
The 30 Man Royal Rumble (Mens)
The first of our Royal Rumble action kicked off with two good picks for first and second Rusev and Finn Balor. Starting the Rumble off with two very over superstars added hype and energy to the crowd which was a very good start. Noticeable moments that stood out to me were Baron Corbin taking out everyone in sight out of anger, Heath Slater and everything he did omg, Andrade 'Cien' Almas and Adam Cole BAY BAY's inclusion, the Hurricanes nostalgia moment, Rey Mysterio's return for the night and the old generation Vs new generation stare down towards the end. An honourable mention is the choice to have Finn Balor as the iron man which I love. Obviously ending the match was Roman Reigns and Shinsuke Nakamura which the crowd had opposing reactions to making this work very well. In the end a very hard hitting and mean 'Kinshasa' was hit and Nakamura tossed Reigns over the ropes to win. I wouldn't have picked anyone else to win this match and Shin definitely deserves it. Hopefully this will set up Styles Vs Nakamura now ayyyyy. I would have liked to see some more shock competitors entering but maybe i'm being greedy haha
4*
Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan .V. The Bar
Nothing much to say sorry, this was a toilet break match. The Bar are a very good team and deserve the Tag titles. The match didn't really evolve into much partly because the crowd were tired out from the Rumble but also because the Seth with a partner rivalry with the Bar has been done too many times so it felt over used. 4 great wrestler being involved bumps up the rating a bit but not the best
2.5*
Universal Championship- Brock Lesnar (C) vs Kane vs Braun Strowman
This truthfully didn't take my interest at all. The inclusion of Kane straight from the start lost my interest in the match, not being able to keep up with the speed and power of both Brock and Braun. The fact everyone knew Kane was taking the pin-fall ruined the match. However the exchanges between Brock and Braun were very good, this is how the No Mercy match-up should have been done. The moment where Braun accidentally kneed Brock resulting in Brock hitting Braun for real was both funny and shocking. Overall this match was nothing more than just alright sadly... Sorry Kane fans
3*
The Women's Royal Rumble
Last but certainly not least was the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match. Just to add in quickly more women were needed to make this feel like less of a nostalgia match. Don't get me wrong seeing old faces back was a real treat but maybe it should have been just 3 or 4 max. The entries of Kari Sane and NXT Women's champion Ember Moon was a great touch but more improvement is needed. As this was the first ever i'll cut it some slack in terms of comparing it to the Men's match. The winner was predictable to a certain extent but that doesn't been it wasn't deserved. The undefeated Asuka claimed the first Rumble for women and she has earn the right to have that title over the past 2 years.
3.5*
Ronda Rousey appears
A special mention to the appearance of Ronda Rousey at the end of the night. I didn't think she was used as well as she could have been. This segment came off as awkward maybe due to the fact it was all in silence, really didn't like that approach. However Asuka slapping away Ronda's hand after a Rumble victory was amazing and well done. Despite the segment not being the best it's Ronda Rousey's first WWE appearance which in it's own right is very special and a great moment
Conclusion
Overall the show wasn't too bad of a night bar some dull matches. Both rumbles respectively lived up to great expectation plus the arrival of Rousey made it memorable. Overall I give this paper view 4*out of 5*
Thank you for reading this post, any ideas as well as your opinions please contact me at mysportingstance@gmail.com or Direct message on social media.
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