Royal Rumble was held on January the 28th 2018 in the Wells Fargo Centre within the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and provided 2 30 person Royal Rumbles for both the men's, and for the first time for the women's also. Straight off the bat a shorter ramp than last year made things much more bearable ESPECIALLY with the notion of said 2 Royal Rumbles... how did it fare though?
Pre-Show Matches:
6-Man Cruiserweight Tag Team Match
WWE love to pull these out the bag and to the unsuspecting viewer this may seem like a repeat of the ordinary. However, with the understanding that there were 4 huge main event level matches on the main card, and the recognition of the Enzo Amore situation... this was surprisingly solid. The triple moonsault spot was on point, the springboard stunners were great and Gulak's gimmick (with specific example to Gallagher's hilarious "no fly zone" part) continues to impress the fans. 6/10
Gallows + Anderson VS The Revival
Far greater than their Raw 25 match... albeit in reality that's just saying it wasn't awful. The match was pre-show filler. Yeah... pre-show filler... yeesh. The result of The Revival scraping a victory added to the matches lack of importance, but The Revival needed a win... they got one... very skippable match. Not necessarily bad but you'll forget it the very next day. 4.5/10
Bobby Roode VS Mojo Rawley (United States Championship)
By far the worst match on the show in my opinion. Rawley as Roode's Open Challenge for the Rumble was a fairly tepid and boring choice. The story was clear on paper but the Philidelphia crowds lack of investment made it fairly dull and not a match worthy of Roode's capabilities. 4/10
Main-Card Matches:
AJ Styles VS Kevin Owens + Sami Zayn (WWE Championship, 2 on 1 Handicap)
The WWE Championship going first on most cards is criminal... on THIS night it made so much sense. All 3 men are notorious of near falls and quick offense, and despite Kevin Owens injury plaguing, this match still lived up to hype. The roll up victory on Owens with Zayn as tagged partner combined with the backstage "yep" Shane segment indicates their feud will continue on. Overall... quick but sweet and a nice kick-off to the main show. 7/10
The Usos VS Chad Gable + Shelton Benjamin (SD Live Tag Team Championship, 2/3 Falls)
This match was difficult to grade for me as it started off so wonderfully what with the near falls happening before the first fall and the utilisation of finishers throughout... however... WWE chose to have the second fall occur out of nowhere. Now, The Uso's as tag champs is great and the 2/3 falls stipulation was used differently. But at the same time you can't help but feel this hurts Gable and Benjamins credibility. Bit of a stumper. 6.5/10
Men's Royal Rumble Match
For the rumbles I shall grade them by positives and negatives in dot point form:
+ The first 2 being Rusev and Balor
+ Corbin hangs everyone out continuing his bad-tempered persona wonderfully
+ Elias is given time to perform, timed brilliantly by the last point
+ Cien Almas as a shock No.7 AND the part involving him and Elias was very solid
+ Owens and Zayn blindside Tye which generates heat rather wonderfully
+ The Slater spot and his quick elimination of Sheamus was comedic gold at its finest
- A rather lousy stretch in the middle from around No. 11 to No. 17
- Wyatt and Broken Matt didn't salvage their status after Raw 25's abysmal showing
+ Kofi Kingstons shock elimination with a plate of pancakes was silly but seeing Jinder eliminated was very satisfying
- The Hurricanes return was nice but rather poorly executed with Cena in my personal opinion
++ Adam Cole at No. 23 and Rey Mysterio at No. 27 are legitimate shocks (to the system)
- Goldust at 29 was a dead option
- - By far and wide the biggest disappointment with Ziggler's return being wasted as he is tossed out no sooner than he enters... and as the Number 30 spot that was such a wasted spot
+ The final 6 of the past versus the present was wonderful and the final 4 was even more so
- Reigns having his 5th time in the final 4 in a Royal Rumble... ugh...
++ Shinsuke Nakamuras win was absolute heartwrenching and a perfect note to end the Rumble
OVERALL: An (almost) perfect showcase of the mid-card within WWE at the start of the Rumble alongside the NXT entrants and the veterans crafted the best Rumble since 2007... without a lie. Yes, Ziggler was wasted, and potentially some spots in general could've been better, but they used nearly every superstar to their strength. Not to mention the final stretch with Reigns and Nakamura playing to the Philadelphia crowd crafted a pure heartfelt victory for Nakamura. Him and Styles are looking at 5-star territory at WM34. 9/10
Seth Rollins + Jason Jordan VS The Bar (Raw Tag Team Championships)
WWE created an angle in the form of Jason Jordan's concussion and Rollins having to carry the team... a metaphor to say the least. The match itself definitely paled in comparison to matches at SummerSlam and No Mercy despite the Frog Splash on both The Bar. The Bar as 4 time tag champs is definitely good for business however. 5.5/10
Braun Strowman VS Kane VS Brock Lesnar (Triple Threat, Universal Championship)
Once again the angles hype before a Lesnar match ruined the match. Not to the same extent as his No Mercy but about the same as his GBOF match. The table carnage and steel chair attacks in isolation were wonderful but the overall feel was more sluggish then brutal. Brock Lesnar retaining is however the biggest wasted opportunity considering how big of an asset Strowman is to WWE right now... oh and Kane... yeah he was fine... not greaattttt but... fine. 6.5/10
Women's Royal Rumble Match
- Stephanie at commentary was rather annoying quite often
+ The first 2 of Lynch and Banks, as per the mens Rumble was wisely chosen
+ Lita returning at No. 5 was a shock
- Why would face Becky eliminating Lita be in any way "face" generating?
+ Kairi Sane at No. 6 BUT a - for Dana Brooke eliminating her... seriously?!
+ Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool at No. 9, 12, 14 respectively were nice
- The initial stages of the match took a while to get going
- Riott Squad and Absolution felt as they usually do on SD Live and Raw... in other words they didn't make much of a statement
- Michelle McCool eliminating most of Riot Squad was absurd and in general the offensive of some surprises was either far too much or criminally small
+ Vickie Guerrero at 16 was as funny as it gets
+ Kelly Kelly, Jacqueline, Ember Moon at No. 19, 21, 23 were again, nice entries
+ Ember Moon and Asuka re-igniting their past rivalry and Beth Phoenix and Natalya having their friendship recognised were very nice touches
+ Nia Jax looked incredibly strong with 4 eliminations and her elimination requiring 6 women
- The Bellas in the final 3 was just silly
- The way some women stayed in the match by sitting on the outside such as Banks was unnecessary and made the match feel less like a Rumble
++ Asuka winning was predictable but the right kind of predictable
+ Ronda Rousey is here AND she didn't take Asukas victory by not being in the Rumble
- Ronda most definitely detracted from Asukas victory
OVERALL: The Women's Rumble personally felt like a notch or two less than the Men's but by and far justifies the hype and expectations met. The "feel good" atmosphere showcased women of now, women of the future and veterans within a single night not to mention the winner in Asuka and the cliffhanger of Ronda Rousey providing for both a great rumble and future angle. Not the best, and it has its slow parts, but very entertaining 7.5-8/10
IN SUMMATION: This Rumble was indeed the best in recent memory, that's not to say it wasn't perfect. I personally found the tag team championship matches rather underwhelming, the pre-show as an entirety felt like 2 hours that was completely skippable and Lesnar retaining AGAIN was annoying. The future in both Nakamura and Asuka alongside the sheer enjoyment of both Rumbles made this years RR 2018... a resounding success. The Road to Wrestle Mania looks great... how refreshing. 7.8/10 overall