For the first time in a while, we had a Royal Rumble party at the Bulldog household... thus the less than immediate written response to the show. But here goes...
The Women's Royal Rumble was a mixed bag for me this year. Loved the surprise entrances of Naomi, Jordynne Grace, Liv Morgan and especially Jade Cargill. While there were a few competitors who brought lots of energy, a lot of them didn't completely capture my interest. I'm over Nia Jax, for example, and really didn't like her repeat role as the unstoppable giant. I'm legit surprised Becky Lynch didn't win the thing, but I'm definitely not mad at Bayley winning it all. She has a super-interesting story to tell, and I'm definitely here for it. Oh, and the R-Truth fake entrance was GOLD.
I did not enjoy the Fatal Four Way involving Roman Reigns, LA Knight, Randy Orton and AJ Styles. They really didn't seem to mesh very well, and honestly, the finish was never in doubt. It's time to change up this pattern of Roman Reigns always winning and if that means switching the title, so be it.
Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul did not disappoint and was the first match to truly wake this sleepy crowd up. Paul is years ahead of where he should be at this stage in his wrestling career and really adds something to the product, and of course, Kevin Owens is Kevin Owens and can do no wrong. These two told a great story in the ring and if the DQ finish leads to a rematch between these guys, I'm here for that.
The Mens Royal Rumble was good, but the crowd response didn't help with the overall aura. There weren't a ton of surprises (Andrade, Pat McAfee and Bron Breakker notwithstanding) and I'm not sure you needed them. At several points throughout the match, you looked at the talent in that ring, and it was one of the more star-studded Rumbles they've had in years. Loved the Jey and Jimmy Uso initial sequence (and am still hoping they have a showdown at WrestleMania). You had a chance for several people to shine at points, including Dirty Dom, Damien Priest, Drew McIntyre and Ricochet. At the end, it (predictably) came down to CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, which isn't a bad thing. I'd picked Punk to win, though Cody was the one I wanted to win. It wasn't an all-time great Royal Rumble, but it wasn't bad.
A fun show for the most part, but I'm hoping their next show has a much more responsive and lively crowd.