Ronda Rousey joins WWE!
Rey Mysterio returns!
And Asuka and Nakamura win the Rumble matches!
Vince McMahon is turning Japanese, I think he’s turning Japanese, I really think so.
I’m Oli Davis, and this the WWE Royal Rumble 2018...in about 7 hours.
Pre-Rumble The pre-show was made up of Kalisto, Gran
Metalik and Lince Dorado beating Drew Gulak, Jack Gallagher and TJP - with the luchadors
being typically impressive; The Revival targeting Karl Anderson’s left leg to beat the Balor
Club; and Mojo Rawley answering and losing Bobby Roode’s US title Open Challenge.
The pre-show’s best moments, though, were Jason Jordan and Chad Gable tensely running
into each other backstage, and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn making fun of the social media
lounge.
But nobody cares about any of that stuff.
Because it’s now time to get more Rumble than ever!
AJ Styles beat Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens 2.5* A raucous Philadelphia crowd opened the main
card, which started with AJ Styles just overcoming Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Styles was phenomenal as always, pinning KO in the end, but nothing much separated this
from your weekly Smackdown main event.
Owens, however, wasn’t the legal man - furthering the Smackdown main event storyline.
The Usos beat Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin - 2.5*
Carrying on the weekly Smackdown episode feel, we then got an underwhelming Usos vs Chad
Gable and Shelton Benjamin match!
Their 2-out-of-3 falls encounter had the chance to steal the show, given the talent and chemistry
of those involved, but The Usos winning with a clean sweep cut the match short.
Men’s Royal Rumble Match - 4.5* WWE more than made up for it, though, with
by far the match of the night, and quite possibly one of the better Rumbles they’ve ever put
on - with Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler being the first entrant to the commentator’s Rumble
match.
Please eliminate Michael Cole.
The men’s match began with arguably the most over wrestler of the night, Rusev.
And then came out someone else who’s pretty over, Finn Balor - who would put on the match’s
ironman performance.
Entries came thick and fast - a brilliantly comedic Heath Slater, a great showing from
NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas.
Kofi Kingston standing on a plate of pancakes to avoid elimination.
John Cena coming in at number 20 to be beaten up by the generation of wrestlers replacing
him.
The Hurricane Shane Helms returning for a wonderful nostalgia spot.
An Adam Cole NXT cameo, still battered from the night before.
And Rey Mysterio returning to WWE… wisely not at No. 30 this time.
The only sour notes were Roman Reigns eliminating Seth Rollins like missing out on a WrestleMania
main event title shot is all just friendly banter.
And Dolph Ziggler coming back at No. 30 to do absolutely nothing.
The final six, though, was a beautifully told story of the new school of Reigns, Balor and
Nakamura facing off against the old guard of Cena, Orton and Mysterio.
Eventually, it came down to Nakamura and Reigns - WWE playing the Philly crowd perfectly,
who were incredibly behind Shinsuke, and very much against Roman.
And then, in a rare case of a rising star winning the Rumble, Nakamura eliminated Reigns
for the right to point at the WrestleMania sign.
And who will he face at WWE’s biggest show of the year?
AJ Styles, a rematch of the WrestleKingdom 10 classic from 2016.
A fantastic Rumble match, and one that should’ve arguably closed the show.
Because the next two matches greatly suffered from a worn out crowd.
The Bar beat Champions Club - 2* While the story of Jason Jordan selling a
concussion on the outside was kind of interesting, this match was booked to die following such
a terrific Rumble.
The Bar isolated Seth Rollins for a way too long match, and won to become the new tag
team champions.
Brock Lesnar beat Kane & Braun Strowman - 2* Apart from a few fun spots, including Braun
Strowman’s battering ram drop kick, and Brock Lesnar momentarily forgetting this isn’t
the UFC, this match never fully connected.
Weirdly, it was the type of big spot monster mash Lesnar and Strowman should’ve had at
No Mercy, but Kane’s presence dragged the match quality down, mostly because everyone
figured out he was taking the pin about three weeks ago.
Women’s Royal Rumble - 3* Stephanie McMahon won’t tell you this, said
Michael Cole on commentary during her entrance, but she really is one of the trailblazers
for women’s wrestling, ending global poverty and world peace.
Thing is, Michael Cole - this is a show ultimately scripted by McMahons.
So Stephanie in some way did tell us this… and then not much else, being a rather fumbling,
irritating voice on commentary.
The women’s Rumble itself though was really fun - from the NXT cameos of Kairi Sane and
Ember Moon (who had the match’s best moment with her Asuka brawl), and the surprise Royal
Rumble entry of every woman who ever wrestled.
Lita, Torrie Wilson, who should’ve won, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool - who now holds
the record for most women’s Rumble eliminations ever - Beth Phoenix, Vickie Guerrero, Kelly
Kelly, Jacqueline, the Bella Twins and Trish Stratus.
Which is a lot of nostalgia pops (11 in total), the majority of whom went toe-to-toe with
the current active roster, despite not wrestling for many years.
I know wrestling allows for this sort of stuff, with The Rock and Goldberg being kayfabe just
as good as in their prime, but those are just one at a time comebacks.
This was 11 at a time, and while it was really fun, it made the Women’s Rumble feel like
a gimmick match, a nostalgia Rumble, which was a very different, not as momentous impression
as the other ‘firsts’ in the women’s division.
But really, this was all about the post-match angle - where just as Asuka was about to reveal
who she’d face at WrestleMania, out came Ronda Rousey in an enormous jacket to awkwardly
point at the WrestleMania sign!
So that was the 2018 Royal Rumble in about 7 hours.
Vote in the poll above my head to give your rating, where you can choose from - In Awe,
Cor, AVRAWGE, Poor and Bore.
This was one of the best and most fun Royal Rumbles in years, which is why it’s getting
a very solid Cor.
But NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia was even better!
Click the screen now to watch our review and more great wrestling videos.