Royal Rumble By the Grade

Hey Wrestling Freaks!

The Royal Rumble has come and gone, and obviously you really want to know my opinion on the whole shindig (Just humor me).

That’s why I present to you: Royal Rumble By the Grade

It’s simple, I run down the matches and give a grade to each one. If you don’t agree with me, get a blog and do your own.

PRE SHOW: The Dudley Boyz vs. Mark Henry and Jack Swagger vs. The Ascension vs. Damien Sandow and Darren Young

This gave the opportunity for one of these tag teams to make it into the Royal Rumble, and what a mismatch of characters we had here. Sure, the established tag teams are a good fit, but Mark Henry and Jack Swagger, and Damien Sandow and Darren Young? What the heck was someone smoking?

This was just filler, but I thought surely they would give the Dudleys a chance to make the main card…I was wrong

WINNERS: MARK HENRY AND JACK SWAGGER

MATCH GRADE: D+

 

LAST MAN STANDING MATCH FOR THE IC TITLE: KEVIN OWENS VS. DEAN F’N AMBROSE

After the bazaar choice of winners in the pre show,  that could only be equated to someone taking a triple dog dare to make that decision, it was nice to see the WWE cleanse our palette with this little ditty.

If you want to define brutality as beautifully done, you need to look to further than this match. These guys are the perfect example of “Just because you start the card, doesn’t mean you can’t make it feel like a main event. And while some were angry with the finish, I think keeping the title on Ambrose is the perfect fit to keep this feud alive.

Question though, in these matches, why hasn’t someone just brought a gun to the ring and told the guy to “STAY DOWN!” Life’s little mysteries…

WINNER AND STILL YOUR IC CHAMP: DEAN AMBROSE

MATCH GRADE: B+

 

TAG TITLE MATCH: THE USOS VS. THE NEW DAY

Quick aside; why do all tag teams have to start with “The”. Just some food for thought.

Anyways, what can you really say. These teams just have “It” when it comes to tag team wrestling, and the trombone coming back was just an added bonus (Except for the people who bought the R.I.P. Francesca t-shirts).

Also, thank god they kept the titles on The New Day. The Usos, while good, have kind of grown tiresome to me. Eventually I hope a NXT team, such as Enzo & Cassady, benefit from this lengthy title run with a huge win at Wrestlemania 32.

WINNERS: THE NEW DAY

MATCH GRADE: A

 

US TITLE MATCH: KALISTO VS. ALBERTO DEL RIO

This match would have served better if the two hadn’t fought each other a couple times already in the past week, but the elevation of Kalisto still has me intrigued, while the lack of push for Alberto has me confused.

Fast paced, high flying action from Kalisto, matched with the sound technical skill of Alberto. That’s what we got here (And on Raw, and on Smackdown) and it’s what makes you love wrestling. It’s also very refreshing to see guys legitimately WANT the U.S. title. Something that’s been missing ever since the John Cena U.S. Title Open.

WINNER AND NEW US CHAMP: KALISTO

MATCH GRADE: B

 

DIVAS TITLE: BECKY LYNCH VS. CHARLOTTE

FINALLY, we get a Diva’s match that doesn’t include the Bellas in some fashion, and the crowd response to both competitors showed their joy as well.

This is what we were looking for in the #DivasRevolution . Good wrestling, good story telling, just overall good. We even got a little tease of Charlotte’s heel turn going to the next level with some dissention with her father, Ric Flair.

Then at the end, we got the next piece to the puzzle with Sasha Banks making her return, without the sandbags that are Team B.A.D., possibly setting up a Sasha vs. Bayley in the future.

WINNER AND STILL DIVA’S CHAMP: CHARLOTTE

MATCH GRADE: B+

 

30 MAN ROYAL RUMBLE FOR THE WWE WORLD TITLE

This year’s Rumble had a lot to be excited about. The World Title was on the line, with the champ actually being in the match, the ideas for possible winners were endless, and, as always, the chance for some surprise entrants.

Let’s start with what everyone is talking about, Jack Swaggers performance…kidding. AJ Styles made his WWE debut at number 3. While the camera work was a little less than great, focusing on Roman Reigns reaction, rather than the Titan Tron that everyone was freaking out about, the debut was simply PHENOMENAL! Also, did anyone else notice him putting the Bullet Club sign during the beginning of his entrance?

And how about Sami Zayn coming out? That was completely out of left field.

Sure, we’re all disappointed that the Wyatt Family, for a reason I don’t understand, left the ring after helping Bray once. Sure, it wasn’t the perfect winner. But, talk about a complete 180 degree improvement from last year’s edition.

WINNER AND NEW WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: TRIPLE H

MATCH GRADE: A+

 

This year’s Royal Rumble was a great time, and left us a lot of questions for the future. How will Triple H handle the title reign? Will the crowd get more behind the ever so hated Roman Reigns? Do the Wyatt’s get a better push than they have in the past? Will Sami Zayn stay on the main roster? And most importantly, what’s the future like for AJ Styles and the potential debut of the Bullet (Balor) Club?

Either way, you can feel it in the air, it’s definitely Wrestlemania season.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

Loving regards,
Lazy E

(Photo credit: WWE.com)