The Beauty of WWE moving their PPVs to a Saturday night in America means they are shown on a Sunday here in Australia, and I can watch them!
I have always been a fan of the Rumble; it’s just a fantastic event and sets the tone for Wrestlemania. Today’s event had its hits and its misses.
Men’s Royal Rumble
I was surprised they started with the Rumble match, with its good moments and bad. Most of us knew what would happen; Cody Rhodes would get his time to shine. If you were like me, you didn’t care that he would win.
It was a good match, but three things annoyed me a bit. The first one, The Miz is WWE’s company man. He does everything asked of him. At times, his appearances in the match have left a bitter taste in my mouth. This man does everything for the company, from wrestling Bad Bunny at Wrestlemania to dropping the WWE title to Bobby Lashley after eight days. I was expecting a decent showing from The Miz, but he was the first to be eliminated. Let’s hope the rest of the year is better for him.
The second thing to annoy me, Seth Rollins was eliminated by Logan Paul. Paul was the Celebrity entrant in this year’s Rumble, and I’ll give the YouTuber his due; he is very athletic! But why couldn’t he have eliminated someone else instead of Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins? The only reason I can think of is that they will set up a match between the pair at Wrestlemania. Like The Miz, Rollins is a company man.
The third thing that annoyed me, this is probably more a general thing than a Rumble thing, but what exactly are they doing with Karrion Kross”s character? The guy makes a splash by making a surprise return at Smackdown by attacking Drew McIntyre. I thought the sky was the limit for this guy, but he lost to Rey Mysterio on Friday night Smackdown and then was the second person eliminated. They may have given up on him already, but we will wait and see what 2023 has in store for him before making that decision.
Overall, I was happy with Rhodes winning it. I was also pleased that they showcased Gunther; the more I watch him, the more I like him.
Bray Wyatt vs LA Knight
What can be said about this match? I was excited about it, but it didn’t deliver for me. Also, I ignore the Mountain Dew advertising in the lead-up. I was excited about Wyatt’s return and enjoyed seeing him on my TV screen every moment.
I liked the ending when Uncle Howdy launched himself from scaffolding; even though he missed LA Knight, it looked pretty awesome! I also like the red-eye contacts that Bray had on as well.
I think LA Knight is a good wrestler and cuts a mean promo, and I know that this was meant to make Wyatt look like an Undertaker-type Monster, but this match didn’t showcase much for either man. I’m still keen to see where Wyatt goes from here.
Bianca Belair vs Alexa Bliss
Another match that I feel didn’t live up to, well, I will say m expectations, but I’m not sure about everyone else’s.
I am a massive fan of Bianca Belair, she is a fantastic athlete, and I love that she is Raw’s Champion. I feel like this match was too short, and I expected to see Uncle Howdy show up. However, if this match serves the storyline between these two, especially if Bliss is going to go to the dark side, then I’m here for it. If it doesn’t, it was a waste of these women’s talent.
Women’s Royal Rumble
I will start this one off with what I didn’t like, Chelsea Green getting eliminated as soon as she got into the ring. I was a bit excited when I learned that WWE had resigned from Green; I wasn’t expecting this, though. The only thing that made this ok was that Rhea Ripley eliminated her, but why do that to someone you just signed back?
Anyway, I enjoyed this Rumble match. The Aussie and Kiwi women looked strong, with ‘Mami’ herself winning. I was a bit worried after Beth Phoenix speared Ripley when Edge and Judgement Day were having their brawl, but I sighed with relief when she won.
Damage ctrl looked dominating, which is precisely how they should be booked. They ran riot, and I loved every second of it! I also love that Dakota Kai is being showcased the way she is. I have been a fan of hers since the NXT days, and I hope that big things come her way.
The big surprise was that Nia Jax returned, and I wasn’t expecting that.
Piper Niven returned. Yes, you read that correctly; she is no longer Doudrop, and The rest of the wrestling community and I are stoked about that. Let’s see what the creative team do for her.
And Michelle McCool being situated at ringside and then being an entrant was great. I was thinking, how isn’t she in the match, and then boom, her music plays. It was just such a great touch.
Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens.
This is storytelling at its best! I wasn’t expecting Owens to win, but I had a feeling we might get a Sami Zayn moment. I enjoyed the match itself; Reigns has gone from strength to strength as Universal and Undisputed Champion. During their time at the top, the Bloodline has been causing havoc, and while it’s not the NWO or DX, it has been great to watch.
Owens is someone that excels as either a heel or a babyface. He looked great but didn’t outshine Reigns. The Champion looked strong, as he should, and the ending was great. The world would love to see Roman and Zayn meet with the Canadian coming out on top, and I am not against that at all. I also thought it was nice to have Jey walk out after Zayn was heated down. We get to see how the Bloodline recovers from this. However, they may implode!
We are now well and truly on the road to Wrestlemania; let’s enjoy the ride!