A
royal rumble which is hard to predict, a lot of rumors of returns
form injury and superstars from NXT, this can only be great...
Charlotte
Flair(Champion) vs. Baylay
Baylay is challenging
Charlotte for the WWE Raw Women's Championship and i just can't get
invested in this match. Charlotte has still not lost on a PPV, why
would she lose against Baylay. Don't get me wrong, i love Baylay but
i do think she needs a better finisher. The match was fine for what
it was, a couple of spots that looked kinda botchie. The natural
selection on the apron was a nice move. It was an OK match but it
didn't feel like the title would change hands because of Charlotte's
record on PPV and Baylay needs a few more moves and a bit more time
to become big. Charlotte Flair wins.
Kevin
Owens(Champion) vs. Roman Reigns
I don't have a lot against
gimmick matches, when they make sense. This one is a no dq match with
Jericho in a shark cage suspended over the ring. I said to a friend
of mine that this is really stupid because since it's No DQ you know
that Jericho is going to interfere. My friend said that that wasn't
possible. When i saw that they didn't take his belt of him i knew
that something was going to happen. He dropped some brass knuckles to
Owens. I don't care what he dropped really, it could have been the
belt, it wouldn't have made any difference. Having said that, if you
can just ignore the shark cage it was a pretty good match. More or
less as good a match as AJ Styles vs John Cena, i just enjoyed the
Styles vs Cena more. A couple of huge spots, especially the tower of
chairs. It was a bit crazy but i think the michinoku driver on a
ladder at Money in the Bank was worse. Still, very crazy and cool
looking. Reigns is a superman in this match too, kicking out after an
insane amount of damage. Even after the brass knuckles. Even after a
stunner from Owens(my personal favorite moment of the night). It
takes the interference of Braun Strowman to get Reigns down for good.
I know they want him too look strong but that's just insane. A bit to
much superman Reigns, OK ending, stupid gimmick, great match. Kevin
Owens wins.
Rich
Swann(Champion) vs. Neville
Neville is challenging
Swann for the Cruiserweight Championship. Another match that is kinda
hard to care about for me because it is the cruiserweights. WWE has
not shown me any reason to watch them outside of PPV. I am a fan of
Neville and heel Neville is best Neville, the fact that he won might
do so it's worth to check out. To be fair, it was a fine match. A
couple of good spots, nothing really insane but the best match i have
seen of this iteration of the cruiserweights. Neville Wins.
AJ
Styles(Champion) vs. John Cena
This was an amazing match.
It started of really slow and maybe a bit boring but it built up
nicely. First of all, I am one of those people that has no problem with Cena.
He has had his fair share of bad moments and bad decisions but he is
in a really good place right now. He doesn't win every match and he
helps put some people over. He is not burying so much anymore. AJ
Styles is still phenomenal. He was phenomenal when i saw him in TNA,
he was phenomenal when i saw him in New Japan and he is still
phenomenal(even though i miss the spinal tap). Every bit of Styles is
great , from his moves to his selling. A lot of huge spots, a great
sunset flip power bomb by Cena(i love when he does that), and great
finishers. Let's see what happens going forward with Cena as
Champions but it might just be Styles vs Cena at Wrestlemania but i
hope they'll add 2 more and make it a fatal 4 way, just because i
feel like i have seen Cena vs Styles enough now. This was easily
match of the night for me. John Cena wins.
The Royal
Rumble
If
i get any of this wrong I'm sorry but there is a lot to remember.
This is going to be a long one so let's just get to it.
Entry #1 is Big
Cass. Not a lot to say about that, i enjoy Big Cass and he is really
good at kicking people in the face. We know he isn't going to win, he
is part of a solid team and he hasn't done much as a solo wrestler.
Love seeing him get to do some spots though.
Entry #2 we've got
Chris Jericho. A lot of people were rooting for Jericho to win this
rumble which i never thought would happen. The Jericho Owens thing is
too good to break when it still works. Maybe at Wrestlemania
something happens between them but i think its up to the fans. As
long as we as fans are OK with Jericho and Owens they are going to
use it which means that they are not going to make him fight Owens at
Wrestlemania. Jericho did spend most of his time outside the ring
hiding which could have been good if he won. Now it's just a thing he
did. Not a strong look for him.
Entry #3 is
Kalisto. I don't have a lot of feelings about Kalisto. He's a fun
wrestler but was he really going to win. Good showing for him though
Entry #4 is the one
and only Mojo Rawley. He had a couple of great moves but he didn't to
that much and the he was out. He was in there for a bit but this was
their possibility too show us what Mojo is all about. It's a huge
show and if I'm not mistaken Ryder is injured. Show us why we should
be interested in what Mojo can do. He doesn't need to win but give
him some big spots. Let him slam some big names. Let him stay in the
Rumble a long time and let Lesnar throw him out. You don't look weak
when Lesnar throw you out. Instead he is still seen as Ryders friend.
Entry #5 is Jack
Gallagher. I haven't seen much of this guy but in the rumble he was
more of a comedic guy. He had an umbrella that he beat people up
with(is that a Kingsman thing?). Seen him do it before but it's cool.
The he jumps from the top rope with the umbrella for some reason. I
still don't know why, maybe to hit someone? And then he was gone. It
was kinda funny but not a strong showing for him.
Entry #6 a bit of a
surprise, its Mark Henry. It's been rumored that he has been on his
way out for a long time but it was kinda fun to see him again. I'm
not huge on big guys in the rumble, it is fun right when they come in
and go crazy but after that everything becomes really slow. Early
entry for Henry would mean that he probably wouldn't win.
Entry #7 is Braun
Strowman. It had to be since Sami Zayn is number 8(we knew that from
earlier in the show). With the history between them it had to be
Strowman, also because they needed someone to take out Henry.
Strowman had a great showing at the rumble, he went crazy, threw out
a lot of people(both Big Show and Mark Henry if I'm not mistaken). He
was more or less a monster and that is awesome.
Entry #8 as said
it's Sami Zayn. A OK showing for Sami, nothing new, nothing old but a
huge helluva kick to Strowman in
the corner.
Entry #9 we need
someone to fight with Strowman and its' the Big Show. Big Show looks
great, get some great moves in but he wasn't going to win. It is said
that he will have a match with Shaq and even if he doesn't have that
he wasn't going to last from 9 and win, in my opinion.
Entry #10 surprise,
it's Tye Dillinger, The perfect 10. I love Tye Dillinger, i think he
is great and he might be ready for the main roster. I would like to
see him change his finisher first though. The one thing i that annoys
me is that they made him come out at 10. Why have the balls with the
numbers and Sami and Ambrose earlier in the show if you are going to
tell us that Dillinger is 10. No way he picked that, it fits to well.
It broke my immersion completely, sadly. He had a great showing
though, with some great spots.
Entry #11 it's
goddamn James Ellsworth. They did a «fun» thing between him and
Ambrose but was it really necessary to use a spot on Ellsworth? I
think there is room for Ellsworth on the roster but to give him a
spot in the rumble when there are so many other superstars we wanted
in it really sucks.
Entry #12 is Dean
Ambrose and we kinda know he won't win. He is number 12, he is the
current Intercontinental Champion. He got to do his spots to, dirty
deeds, wacky clothesline. Nothing new but it was fine. We just knew
the outcome.
Entry #13 we've got
Baron Corbin who had a pretty huge rumble. He was the man who got the
elimination on Strowman which makes him look strong. He also had some
really good high impact moves. Corbin is shaping up to be a really
good wrestler.
Entry #14 we've got
Kofi Kingston. The biggest thing with Kofi is to see how he would
avoid elimination in the rumble. There has been things like pogoing
in a chair, and walking around the outside on his hands. Was he ever
going to win? Doubtful as long as he is in a tag team.
Entry #15
Aaaawesome, its The Miz. I've become a huge fan of The Miz through
out 2016 and he was also one of the people i would have liked to see
win the rumble. After The Miz lost the Cruiserweight title it seemed
natural for him to go into the main event scene. He is one the best,
if not the best heel on the roster right now. We'll see if he gets in
there after Wrestlemania then.
Entry #16 is
Sheamus and he is probably not a happy man having lost the Raw Tag
Team Championship on the Pre-show. The most notable thing he was a
part of was when he and Cesaro eliminated all three members of The
New Day at the same time. And then he turned on Cesaro and tried too
throw him out which resulted in them both getting eliminated by
Jericho. Don't think they are going to be a team for much longer.
Entry #17 it's Big
E. I don't remember him doing much, which is probably not a good
sign. He did do a splash on another superstar with the help of Xavier
Woods and Kofi Kingston. Got thrown out by Cesaro and Sheamus.
Entry #18 is Rusev
with a mask because apparently he broke his nose earlier that week,
don't know if that was real or not but he looked a bit silly. He came
in, kicked someone, got thrown out by Goldberg.
Entry #19 and its
Cesaro. He comes in and just uses the giant swing, or Swiss swing or
whatever we are calling it now on everyone he can find. He almost
does it to Sheamus but he is interrupted by other wrestlers before
anything happens there. He doesn't do much more until he and Sheamus
eliminate The New Day. This is also one of those guys i would have
liked to see win. I mean why not, the lost the Tag Team Championship,
he is a very very good wrestler. Why not push him into the main even
scene and see what he can do?
Entry #20 It's the
last member of The New Day, Xavier Woods. Biggest thing he did is to
get eliminated as a team when Cesaro and Sheamus threw the entire New
Day out at once. That's really to bad because he is a really good
wrestler. I think he might be used to little in general.
Entry #21 Oh my
it's Bray Wyatt. He was kinda silent this rumble, but he went far and
hopefully some people will remember that. He was another one of those
i would have like to see win. He should get a shot at the Main Event
scene, with or without the rest of the family. Either way, it's going
to be interesting too see what happens if Orton takes the
Championship at Wrestlemania. Can Wyatt demand it from him? Will
Orton give it too him. Will Orton turn on Wyatt?
Entry #22 It's
Apollo Crews. He enters does a couple of things, gets thrown out by
Harper, very forgettable.
Entry #23 It's the
Viper Randy Orton. He comes in and RKOs a couple of guys. Then he
helps Wyatt up so you know they are still on the same page. After
that its just the regular stuff. Until the end.
Entry #24 is Dolpe
Ziggler and he comes in, goes a bit crazy, superkicks a bunch of
dudes then he kinda disappears to the back and all of the sudden he
was out of the rumble.
Entry #25 it's Luke
Harper. There is a pretty big storyline between Harper, Wyatt and
Orton going on, or it might be resolved now. Who know, we'll see this
week i guess. Anyway, Harper had a mediocre showing. It could have
been way better. I was actually kinda pulling for Harper to win. If
you have seen Harper actually wrestle you can see he is not bad, and
if he is breaking from the Wyatt group that would make him a solo guy
so why not push him a bit.
Entry #26 is The
beast incarnate Brock Lesnar. Lesnar just came in and threw a bunch
around the ring, some even went to the outside. At number 26 this is
a really late entry, and we know that there are two more big guys
coming in The Undertaker and Goldberg. This is the point that i put
my hope in that number 30 will be someone really cool. A lot of
rumors and hype to fulfill.
Entry #27 is of
course Enzo Amore. Who else? And who is standing tall in the ring
after destroying everyone? Lesnar. Enzo more or less walked to the
ring, talked smack, got run over and got sent out. Easy as that.
That's another spot where i feel they could have done something more,
and maybe with someone else.
Entry #28 Ohhhh
it's Goldberg. This is what we have been waiting for, again. Lesnar,
Goldberg. What can happen? Well, Goldberg runs in, spears Lesnar and
send him to the floor. I don't have a big issue with this since i
think they will clash again, most likely at Wrestlemania. But i got
to hand it to WWE, brave too do that twice on something so hyped.
Entry #29 and the
sound of the bell rings through the arena, it's The Undertaker.
Lesnar might be gone but Goldberg is still there to welcome The
Undertaker. The have an epic staredown and then all the other
wrestlers jump in and starts beating both Undertaker and Goldberg so
we never see them clash. Undertaker ends up throwing Goldber out but
he himself gets eliminate by entry #30.
Entry #30 is Roman
Reigns. This is the one that pissed the most people off. I
immediately lost interest in the rumble. Of everyone we wanted to
see, the big dog was probably way down on that list. Then something
happened, the big dog threw out Undertaker. The ring is know as
Undertakers yard, but its also The big dogs yard. Undertaker went out
and was staring at Reigns, Reigns staring back. The reason why i like
this is that i think Reigns will go heel, Undertaker will challenge
Reigns for a match because he threw him out of the rumble at
Wrestlemania and it will be for Undertakers career. Reigns will beat
Undertaker on Wrestlemania and forcing Undertaker to retire, all
doing it heel-style. That would be explosive. If they don't do this
then i don't know why he was number 30.
Randy Orton wins the
Royal Rumble 2017
Oh my, that was way more
than I thought it would be...
What
I think this means going forward.....
I'm not sure what will
happen between Charlotte and Baylay. As i said earlier i think Baylay
needs a bit of a better move-set, or at least a better finisher, and
then she is good to go. Charlotte is as good as ever and ready for
who ever will try next. I guess maybe Emmalina will challenge her. Or
maybe Nia Jax.
I don't think Owens and
Reigns will fight again. Well, maybe at Fastlane but i doubt they
will go into Wrestlemania with a match against each other. As i wrote
earlier i think and kinda hope for it to be Reigns against The
Undertaker. I don't know who will be coming for Owens title now but
maybe , if we are lucky, it could be Finn Bàlor.
John Cena winning the
title from AJ Styles might be because they wanted to give him that
sixteenth run, which is fine by me. He deserves it. He has been very
good for WWE and for his fans. I think Styles will get the title
back, maybe as early as Elimination Chamber. As i said earlier, it
might just be Cena vs Styles at Wrestlemania and if that's the case i
hope they make it a fatal 4-way or something like that.
Randy Orton as winner is
fine, i just don't understand why. Is it so the Wyatt stable would
run things for a bit if Orton wins? If Harper had won the rumble he
could have won a title and then Orton and Wyatt could have come for
him with a final confrontation at Wrestlemania. That gives you time
to see if Harper would be a good champion and if not you could give
away the title on Wrestlemania to either Orton or Wyatt.
Either way, the reason for
me that this royal rumble was a bit of a dud is that the was so many
expectations and they gave us none of them. I hoped for a winner i
didn't see coming. I hoped for surprises. There has been a ton of
rumors too so a lot of people were hoping for something really
special. Maybe Samoa Joe, Kenny Omega, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey
Mysterio, Finn Bálor. But non of them was there. When you hope for
that much and get nothing you are going to be disappointed. Having
said that i though it actually was a pretty decent event. AJ Styles
vs John Cena and Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns was great matches, and
even if i didn't get what i wanted in the Royal Rumble I'm really
excited to see where this takes us now. Only 2 weeks until
Elimination Chamber, please be good.
My big question for you
out there who don't agree with how WWE did this is, how should they
have done it?
Until next time, be
excellent to each other
Follow me on twitter to
see when a new post goes live, when i go live or what ever else i
write on twitter: @HarmlessKen
I also stream me playing
video games over at https://beam.pro/HarmlessKen
