Royal Rumble

[Meth]

Anyone watch it. I just watched the Rumble match itself.

A couple of thoughts.

Penta's feet touched the ground. He botched it. That said, they really seemed to push him and I don't understand why. He's so boring.

Big push for Jacob Fatu. I love his unhinged character.

HATED iShowSpeed's involvement and it really made me think Logan Paul was going to win it.

Bron Breaker got a bit of a push.

I think we're gearing up to Reigns v Rollins (and possibly Punk) at Wrestlemania.

Loved Cena eliminated so anticlimactically for Jey Uso to win. Smart booking.

But yeah, a pretty average event.

 

[Marshall_magic]

I enjoyed the men’s. When it came down to 6 I thought it was the perfect 6 as seemingly anyone could eliminate anyone. When it came down to 2 I thought Jey would take it. The guy is MASSIVELY over whether you like him or not. Cena’s story of the year will surround the chase more than the reign, he probably wins at chamber and faces Cody. Gunther will face Jey. The match itself really picked up when Roman came out although the early half was kept alive by guys like Penta, Bron, Jacob and Hendry.

The women’s was fine until that massive 6 person elimination spot which took out anyone who had a prayer of eliminating Charlotte, leaving her to toss some NXT stars to win. A few returns I expected didn’t happen (Jade, Becky and Asuka). The secondary women’s belts…Chelsea got a bit to do but Lyra did absolutely nothing.

Haven’t seen the tag match yet

Ladder match was largely acceptable, both guys worked their butts off for a match that was absolutely a forgone conclusion.

I would book the following for Mania
Cena vs Cody
Jey vs Gunther
Punk/Roman vs Seth/Drew
KO vs Sami
Bron vs Sheamus
Logan Paul vs Styles
Tiffany vs Charlotte
Jade vs Bianca

 

[mozza91]

The women’s was terrible. Charlotte Flair is mediocre when she isn’t hurt. Would’ve preferred Liv or Bianca Belair go over. Also love Chelsea Green, easily the most entertaining in the match.

Men’s was better. Really enjoyed the second half. Was cool to see Jey go over unexpectedly.

Cody/Owens was excellent. Did the ladder match slightly different to normal and the spot to finish was insane. KO sold it that well I thought he was actually f**ked up.

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

I agree with Mozza, one everything

Womens match was so forgettable. Nice to see Trish and Nikki there. Didn't think Charlotte should have won though.

The mens match was awesome. Such a good field of stars, and yet someone that no one predicted to make the final 4, let alone wins gets a push he so rightfully deserves. I think my only 2 complaints were IShowSpeed but I just don't like that kid. I see from a business point why he was in. Other than that, there were no legend surprises. I felt Hendry should have lasted a little longer, but that's neither here nor there.

The tag match I thought was a bit meh. DIY was always going to win, I'm not sure how I feel about Ford and Dawkins getting involved. Maybe they are building a 3-way fued to go to Mania, in which I'd like to see MCMG win on the big stage.

KO and Cody was pretty decent! I enjoyed the mini ladder, and that ending as well. Good that Zayn didn't needlessly get involved as well

1 forgettable match, 1 meh match and 2 good matches. A decent rumble overall

 

[Marshall_magic]

I can’t stand iShowSpeed (whose career is basically to brown nose CR7) but his stint was largely fine as it was basically him getting broken in half by Bron.

I think the women’s match fell into the trap of overcrowding the ring. Obviously they wanted Nia to break the elimination record in a women’s match but she should have been out 5 spots earlier. A final four of Nikki, Nia, Roxanne and Charlotte - only one of them has a chance of winning. Even extending to the final 6 - Bayley wasn’t winning again and Liv just dropped the title to Rhea and wasn’t winning the rumble to get a shot at winning it back.

 

[Valheru]

The women's match is a prime example of what happens when you put things on for the sake of equality.

There just isn't enough star power for a 30 woman match year on year.

Cut it to 20 and you would get a much better product.

 

[BennyV]

I don't think the star power was the issue for the women's match. I really enjoyed seeing some of the NXT call ups. Perez was MVP, Jordynne Grace is a star, first time seeing Giulia and she was impressive, Stephanie Vaquer looked great. Plus a lot of the main roster women worked well enough. The issue was overcrowding the ring. Took forever for eliminations to start, and by the time you got to the home stretch it was obvious who was winning. If they'd kept Alexa, Bianca, Sky until the end then at least there'd be a chance of a swerve. Also more Chelsea. Boring winner though - Charlotte vs Rhea has been done and I'd hate to see Tiffy fed to Charlotte so soon.

Men's match was a level above though. Paced well, built well, loads of epic match ups and stared downs, star power and an excellent tangle of storylines down the home stretch. Even started on a great note with Rey vs Penta. Im glad that they actually allowed all the stared downs to result in throwing hands and not just a bunch of random interference.

All the parallel storylines going into Mania really shine a light on how dull Gunther is by comparison. I like him, but you could pick any 2 of Cody, Reigns, Rollins, Punk, McIntyre, Cena and have a high stakes, high emotion main event. Uso will be carrying this fund against Gunther.

Also can't wait for both Owens and McIntyre to get their deserved title runs soon!

 

[Marshall_magic]

The women’s division is lacking some stat power at the moment, the NXT division is absolutely stacked but the main roster side of things is very light on. Flair returning helps that as does Bliss but you’ve got several other big names on the shelf (Becky, Asuka, Sane, Cargill).

The women’s match really grinder to a halt when they got to the PFC section, those three are all reasonably talented but as a unit are not threatening. It would have been like having an extended part of the mens match dominated by the final testament.

 

[BennyV]

PFC are a weird one. Individually, all 3 could be massive (except Baszler unfortunately, I dont think she’ll ever recover from being buried in her MR debut). Together they should be a fairly unstoppable heel faction - it’s entirely conceivable that, with some building, they could go to war with Ripley and the belt could end up on Deville after the other 2 take her out, then she holds for a while it the same way Baszler did in NXT. But someone doesnt want to pull the trigger and they keep getting knocked off.

Maybe its just because they chose a terrible name for their group.

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

Anyone watch it. I just watched the Rumble match itself.

A couple of thoughts.

Penta's feet touched the ground. He botched it. That said, they really seemed to push him and I don't understand why. He's so boring.

Big push for Jacob Fatu. I love his unhinged character.

HATED iShowSpeed's involvement and it really made me think Logan Paul was going to win it.

Bron Breaker got a bit of a push.

I think we're gearing up to Reigns v Rollins (and possibly Punk) at Wrestlemania.

Loved Cena eliminated so anticlimactically for Jey Uso to win. Smart booking.

But yeah, a pretty average event.

That was a terrible moment (the Penta 2 feet), but what made it was worse Wade Barrett trying to tell us only 1 foot touched. Bruh, we saw both feet clearly touch.

I wonder if Penta would get pushed so much if he had a generic mask and no contacts. He has a unique look. I'm not overly familiar with his work, outside of seeing some matches in AEW but he seems to be incredibly popular.

Jacob Fatu reminds me a little of Umaga. Actually thought he was his son but turns out he's Umagas nephew. I feel from the new blood line members, he's the one who'll go far. Just hope they book him correctly.

It's gonna be very interesting this year (and next) to see who holds the gold. Owens is well overdue for a title run. They've been positioning Drew for a title run. Cena with his farewell tour will surely get a gig. Styles should get a title run before he retires. Then theres Jey Uso, who deserves his chance. I haven't even mentioned Punk or Rollins yet. Then theres the potential likes of Fatu, Breaker or Knight. Although the first two it may be too soon. Reigns doesn't need it.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Actually surprised to see the backlash to Jey winning the rumble. My general belief is “over is over” meaning if you’re over with the fans the rest doesn’t matter so much. Jey’s is a massive mercy mover, has an over catch phrase and the fans in attendance always seem into him.

Another thought, imagine if someone told you after the 2018 Royal rumble that the next member of the Anoai’i family to win the rumble (men’s or women’s) would be Jey Uso.

 

[Meth]

I can’t stand iShowSpeed (whose career is basically to brown nose CR7) but his stint was largely fine as it was basically him getting broken in half by Bron.

yeah that was a great spot. wish he didn't eliminate anyone. Hate that Paul eliminated Punk and Styles?

 

[Marshall_magic]

yeah that was a great spot. wish he didn't eliminate anyone. Hate that Paul eliminated Punk and Styles?

If Logan Paul faces AJ at mania I can live with that. As for Punk, I don’t think you want that heat on Cena or Jey. Paul has shown in his time that he takes the business seriously and has some talent.

 

[Meth]

If Logan Paul faces AJ at mania I can live with that. As for Punk, I don’t think you want that heat on Cena or Jey. Paul has shown in his time that he takes the business seriously and has some talent.

fair enough. I’m a bit to casual to have observed Paul’s work

 

[Valheru]

If Logan Paul faces AJ at mania I can live with that. As for Punk, I don’t think you want that heat on Cena or Jey. Paul has shown in his time that he takes the business seriously and has some talent.

fair enough. I’m a bit to casual to have observed Paul’s work

I would say he has done more than shown some talent...

IMO he is quite clearly the best celeb worker in history. The bloke gets it and if he ever committed full time he could be one of the great workers.

 

[Valheru]

Actually surprised to see the backlash to Jey winning the rumble. My general belief is “over is over” meaning if you’re over with the fans the rest doesn’t matter so much. Jey’s is a massive mercy mover, has an over catch phrase and the fans in attendance always seem into him.

Another thought, imagine if someone told you after the 2018 Royal rumble that the next member of the Anoai’i family to win the rumble (men’s or women’s) would be Jey Uso.

Yeah I don't get it either

This choice goes back to the days of choosing a winner with the goal of giving them a push and hopefully getting them over the edge. Think HBK 1995, Steve Austin 1997 and Benoit in 2004 as notable examples.

 

[Marshall_magic]

fair enough. I’m a bit to casual to have observed Paul’s work

He’s annoyingly good at this. His matches are very largely rehearsed against the best workers but he more than holds up his end of the bargain
-Miz
-Reigns
-Rollins
-Ricochet
-Mysterio
-Owens/Orton triple threat
-LA Knight

Any of his matches against these guys are very good