The Road To Wrestlemania is set to be underway. With the match that draws itself, the Royal Rumble having both 30 men and 30 women wanting to set themselves up for success at Hollywood’s So-Fi Stadium. The Bloodline has a Kevin Owens problem and LA Knight looks to brawl in Bray Wyatt’s Pitch Black domain. And Bianca Belair questions will be answered, does she get Alexa Bliss or whoever else involved?
GREAT 30 Man Royal Rumble Match:
Fundamentals, Atmosphere, Match Structure, Psychology, Innovation – 0.75 Stars each. 3.75 total.
Overall this match from a rumble standpoint, it was a really solid rumble with intricate portions of it. Seeing Gunther go the distance for the rumble and him having standout spots was great. Logan Paul was one of the surprises but was still a good surprise with a highlight moment with Ricochet and getting the elimination on Seth Rollins. Cody Rhodes winning was the right move for the placement in the show. Solid rumble that did lack some surprises.
Results: Cody Rhodes By Last Eliminating Gunther Via Entering at 30.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
BELOW AVERAGE Bray Wyatt Vs LA Knight – Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match:
This should be unrated, but really everything had a very low rating. Fundamentals at 0.50, and Atmosphere, Match Structure, Psychology, Innovation at 0.25. I had low expectations and they limboed under it. This match is going to be remembered because of the neon and uv elements along with being the reveal of Bray’s new mask. They had a post match angle that had Uncle Howdy take a big dive and even that did not deliver because Howdy missed. There were some good visuals with the UV light but that’s about it.
Results: Bray Wyatt by Pinfall via Sister Abigail
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 1.50 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Bianca Belair Vs Alexa Bliss – Raw Women’s Championship Match:
This match was good, but the crowd was definitely out of the match. The last sequence was fun. More howdy stuff as he challenges Alexa Bliss by asking if she still believes she is in control. Bianca winning was predictable but something needs to be kickstarted soon to get me interested in her championship reign again.
Results: Bianca Belair By Pinfall via Kiss Of Death.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GOOD 30 Woman Royal Rumble Match:
This match was good, we saw a lot of iron men and women in this event with Liv and Rhea being the final two as the first two entrants. Rhea looked amazing being the tough and badass she was. From wiping her own blood on her face and just having a dominating performance and getting the job done. She needed this the most with this side of her being a great spot career wise. The crowd was not as into it as they were with the mens. Asuka’s return was great as well and Michelle McCool entering from the crowd was enjoyable too. Overall solid rumble.
Results: Rhea Ripley By Last Eliminating Liv Morgan Via Entering at 1.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD Kevin Owens Vs Roman Reigns – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship:
To get things straight, 3.25 is the result of the match itself. This does not include the post match angle. For the first half of the match this was fairly slow, Kevin Owens had a botch, we had some very rough spots later on. There wasn’t anything very innovative in the match which I am generally pretty lenient with. The crowd was solid and back into it. The storytelling in the match was good and Kevin Owens selling was on point. 3.25 is still a GOOD rating. This was just a very weak defense that relied on the post match stuff.
After the bloodline looks to end the career of KO, Sami Zayn tells Roman he is above it. After expecting Sami to do it himself, Roman gets hit with a chair by Sami before the bloodline sans Jey Uso lay Sami out. Roman says you are either in or out and Jey walks out. Fuck You Roman Chants, this was storytelling at its finest and it delivered.
Results: Roman Reigns by Pinfall via Spear
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Overall:
From the first watch, a lot of people including us at Wrestling Republic got their hopes up with the expectation of a bunch of surprises. The show had a dip in quality with the second and third match. The match quality was not the best they have been for premium live events lately. The crowd had some high moments and some low moments but the chants directed to Roman were great. Overall I do think this was one of the weaker premium live events that has occurred, but it was still a solid one.
Matches: 0.50/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.50/1 Stars
Atmosphere…: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 1/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.50/5 Stars
Photo Credit: (WWE) For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
